Challenger Deep: The Deepest Part Of The Ocean

If thousands of people have managed to beat the rest by conquering the top of Mount Everest which is the peakiest point in the world, according to records only 3 people have managed to reach the deepest ocean in the world Challenger Deep.

Challenger Deep is located in the Mariana Trench which is in the Pacific Ocean. Many kinds of research have been conducted and the deepest part ever recorded will be 10994 meters. If we were to put Mount Everest in the Mariana Trench, it will certainly sink into the water.

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Why is The Mariana Trench So Deep?

According to its geographical location, it is between the point of 2 tectonic plates of the earth. The collision between these two tectonic plates will produce one deep trench inside which is later called the Mariana Trench.

The development process of the trench in this area is due to the movements and meeting of the Philippines plates and the Pacific plates.

The majority of the Mariana Trench area is now put under the protection of the United States of America which happens to be the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument project.

The Determination of the Mariana Trench Depth

The initiative to measure the true depth of the trench for the first time was done by the British ship, HMS Challenger that is used by the British navy for research around the area in 1875. The depth that was managed to be measured at the time was 8184 meters or 26,850 feet.

Later on, in 1952 another ship owned by the British marine also with name HMS Challenger(not the same ship as before) has been used to do in-depth research in that particular area.

By using the 'echo sounding' method, they managed to find another location nearby which has a deeper depth of 10,900 meters or 35,760 feet.

This deepest part of the Mariana Trench was then given the name Challenger Deep in commemoration of the name of the ship that discovered it, HMS Challenger. In 2009, a group of researchers measured the depth of the trench by using sonar techniques to map another location far much deeper at 10,971 meters or 35,994 feet with a precision of +/- 22 meters.

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The latest study conducted by the United States Center for Coastal & Ocean Mapping in 2010 has found that the location has a depth of 10,994 meters with a precision of +/- 40 meters.

Expedition To Challenger Deep

Aside from measuring the depth of Challenger Deep which was done by several parties, there are also expeditions happening to go to the deepest part of the Challenger Deep. According to records, only 3 people have ever reached this location and there are also other expeditions that use submarines without any helmsman.

The first-ever human expedition to Challenger Deep was done in 1960 by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh using one special submarine(bathyscaphe) that was given the name Trieste. They successfully reach a depth of 10,916 meters.

In 2009, a group of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have done their expedition to Challenger Deep by utilizing a submarine with no helmsman. They have managed to reach a depth of 10,902 meters.

A Place Full of Toxicity

In this depth that is far from any source of light, Challenger Deep happens to be the darkest place yet and not to mention very cold. In fact, the pressure here is also high standing at more than 1000 times the atmospheric pressure.

The surface of the ocean floor here has also been found to produce a type of fluid that is very acidic and hot in nature compared to the surface. Despite all of that, it is also rich in crucial minerals that are needed for wildlife to survive in these climates.

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The temperature of the water is said to reach 450 degrees Celcius(842 degrees Fahrenheit) but appears to be not boiling due to the immense pressure here. The mixture of highly acidic and hot water with the cold water here has created a very toxic environment for many to survive.

The Wildlife That Thrives Here

Interestingly enough, the condition in the Mariana Trench with the high pressure, freezing, and highly toxic has not stopped certain wildlife from thriving here. Some samples were taken here to show that it has become a habitat for some organisms like xenophyophores and amphipods.

Not just that but several scientists from the University of Hawaii, Newcastle University, and the University of Washington have discovered a fish that lives at the depth of 8000 meters from the ocean surface and perhaps a fish that lives in the deepest part of the world.

The fish was given the scientific name Pseudoliparis swirei. Scientists believed that much more wildlife still exists on the ocean floor and these findings are important in Science and will give us an idea of how these creatures are able to adapt to such a harsh environment.

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