In our article we want to talk about the mysterious Mariana Trench. This is the deepest point on the surface of the Earth. By and large, this is where our knowledge of this place ends. But the Mariana Trench, the monsters that live in it, is an eternal topic for debate and speculation. Her secrets are as deep as she is.
The first mystery of the Mariana Trench
One of the mysteries of the cavity is its depth. Until recently, it was believed that the Mariana Trench, so it is more correct to call this place from a scientific point of view, has a depth of more than eleven kilometers. However, the latest modern technical measurements give a value of 10994 kilometers. Although, it is worth noting that this value is very relative, since diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench is a technically very difficult event, which is influenced by many factors. Scientists talk about a possible error of forty meters.
Where is the Mariana Trench located?
The Mariana Trench is located in the western Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Guam and Micronesia. Its deepest point is called the Challenger Abyss and is located 340 kilometers from the island of Guam.
Answering the question of where the Mariana Trench is located, it is possible to give its exact geographical coordinates - 11 ° 21 's. w. 142 ° 12 'in. e. This name was given to the place because the Mariana Islands, which are part of a state such as Guam, are located nearby.
What is the Mariana Trench?
What is the Mariana Trench? The ocean carefully conceals its true size. One can only guess about them. This is not just a "very deep hole." The gutter itself stretched along the seabed for one and a half thousand kilometers. The depression has a V-shape, that is, from above it is much wider, and narrowing of the walls goes down.
The bottom of the Mariana Trench is characterized by a flat relief, and the width varies from 1 to 5 kilometers. Its upper part is eighty kilometers wide.
This place is one of the most inaccessible in our land.
Is it necessary to explore the hollow?
It seems that life at such depths is simply impossible. Therefore, it makes no sense to study such an abyss. However, the secrets of the Mariana Trench have always interested and attracted researchers. It’s hard to believe, but space today is easier to explore than such depths. Many people traveled outside the Earth, and only three brave men sank to the bottom of the gutter.
Gutter study
The first to explore the Mariana Trench began the British. In 1872, the Challenger ship with scientists entered the Pacific Ocean to study the gutter. It was found that this point is the deepest on the globe. Since then, the mysteries and creatures of the Mariana Trench have been haunting people.
Time passed, research was conducted, a new depth value was established - 10863 meters.
Research is carried out by lowering deep-sea vehicles. Most often, these are unmanned automatic vehicles. And in 1960, at the Trieste bathyscaphe, Jacques Picard and Don Walsh descended to the very bottom. In 2012, he ventured into a deep-sea dive Jace Cameron on the apparatus of Deepsea Challenger.
Russian researchers also studied the Mariana Trench. In 1957, the Vityaz vessel headed for the gutter area. Researchers not only measured the depth of the gutter (11022 meters), but also discovered the presence of life at a depth of more than seven kilometers. This event made a revolution in the world of science in the mid-twentieth century. At that time it was believed that at such depths there can be no living things. This is where all the fun begins. How many stories and legends exist about this place - just do not count. So what exactly is the Mariana Trench? Are monsters really living here or are they just fairy tales? Let's try to figure it out.
Mariana Trench: monsters, puzzles, secrets
As we mentioned earlier, the first brave daredevils to descend to the bottom of the hollow were Jacques Picard and Don Walsh. They came down on a heavy bathyscaphe called Trieste. The wall thickness of the structure was thirteen centimeters. She was sunk for five hours. Reaching the deepest point, the researchers managed to stay there for only twelve minutes. Then immediately began the rise of the bathyscaphe, which took three hours. No matter how amazing this may seem, living organisms were discovered at the bottom. The fishes of the Mariana Trench are flat creatures that look like flounders, no more than thirty centimeters long.
In 1995, the Japanese descended into the abyss. And in 2009, a miracle machine called Nereus descended to the deepest point. He not only took a series of photos, but also took soil samples.
In 1996, the New York Times published materials on the next dive of the apparatus from the Challenger research vessel. It turns out that when the equipment was started to be lowered, after a while the devices recorded a strong metal rattle. This fact caused the immediate rise of equipment to the surface. What the researchers saw stunned them. The steel structure was pretty dented, and the thick, sturdy cable was like a file. Here is such an unexpected surprise presented by the Mariana Trench. Whether the monsters were so crushed by the technique or by representatives of an alien mind, or mutated octopuses … A variety of proposals were made, each of which was more incredible than the previous one. However, no one found the true reason, since there was no evidence of any of the theories. All assumptions were at the level of fantastic conjecture. But the secrets of the Mariana Trench are still not revealed.
Another mysterious story
Another incredibly mysterious incident occurred with a team of German researchers, who lowered their device under the name "Highfish". At some point, the device stopped diving, and the cameras installed on it gave an image of the enormous size of a lizard, which was actively trying to gnaw at an unknown thing. The team drove the monster away from the device using an electric discharge. The creature was frightened and swam away and did not appear again. It is unfortunate that such events were not recorded by the apparatus, so that there was irrefutable evidence.
After this incident, the Mariana Trench began to grow into new facts, legends and speculation. The ship's crews have now and then reported a huge monster in these waters, which tows ships with great speed. It has become difficult to make out where the truth is and where is the speculation. The Mariana Trench, whose monsters haunted many people, still remains the most mysterious point on the planet.
Indisputable facts
Along with the most incredible legends regarding the Mariana Trench, there are very specific, but incredible facts. They have no doubt, since they are supported by evidence.
In 1948, lobster hunters (Australian) told of a large transparent fish that was at least thirty meters long. They saw her in the sea. Judging by their description, it looks like a very ancient shark (a species of Carcharodon megalodon), which lived several million years ago. Scientists from the remains managed to restore the appearance of the shark. The monstrous creature was 25 meters long and weighed one hundred tons. Her mouth was two meters in size, and each tooth was at least ten centimeters. Just imagine this monster. It was the teeth of such a creature that were discovered by oceanologists at the bottom of the vast Pacific Ocean. The youngest of them is at least eleven thousand years old.
This unique find makes it possible to assume that not all such creatures became extinct a couple of million years ago. Perhaps, at the very bottom of the cavity, these incredible predators are hiding from human eyes. Research into the mysterious depths continues to this day, because the abyss is fraught with many secrets, the disclosure of which people have not yet come close.
Interesting Facts
At the bottom of the trench, living organisms are under tremendous pressure. It would seem that under such conditions nothing living can exist. However, this opinion is erroneous. Mollusks live quietly here, their shells do not suffer from pressure at all. They are not affected even by hydrothermal sources emitting methane and hydrogen. Incredible, but true!
Another mystery is the hydrothermal spring called Champagne. Carbon bubbles bubble in its waters. This is the only such object in the world and it is located in the hollow, which gave scientists an occasion to talk about the possible birth of life in water in this place.
In the Mariana Trench there is a volcano Daikoku. In its crater there is a lake of molten sulfur, which boils at a huge temperature of 187 degrees. Nowhere else on earth can you meet such a thing. The only analogue of this phenomenon is in space (on Jupiter’s satellite called Io).
