Who lives at a depth of 11,000 meters. The amazing Mariana Trench is the deepest place on earth. From reviews of the film

There are many amazing places in this world that have not yet been explored by man. It turns out that only 5% of the ocean area is subject to science, the rest remains a mystery to it, shrouded in darkness. One of these mysterious places is the Mariana Trench, the depth of which is the greatest among all the studied areas of the seabed. Mariana Trench is another name for the place.

Under the thickness of sea water, the pressure is a thousand times higher than the pressure that is recorded in normal sea space. But high-tech devices and caring risk-takers helped us learn at least a little about the deep crevice. The Pacific Ocean is a true nature reserve, not only home to exotic, unique animals, but also to remarkable topographical features.

Everyone knows about the existence of this amazing object. Information about it is given to us from a young age, but over time we forget both the numbers and interesting facts about this strange and enchanting place. We decided to remind you where the Mariana Trench is located and what it is. You can learn a lot about the ocean surface object.

The heroine of our article is named after the islands that are located near the “bottom of the earth”. It is located along the islands. In the Mariana Trench, the depth of which, it would seem, is capable of destroying all life, some microorganisms live that have mutated due to high pressure. This tectonic fault has steep slopes - about 8⁰. Below is a wide area about 5 km, which is divided by stone thresholds. The pressure at the very bottom is 108.6 MPa - more than anywhere else on planet Earth.

History of the study of the phenomenon

1872 is considered the date of discovery of the Mariana Trench; photographs of the object appear a little later. The tectonic fault was explored as best as possible by the British on a military corvette in 1951. The depth of the Mariana Trench becomes known - 10863 meters. Since it was the Challenger ship that sank to the very bottom, to the deepest point, it began to be called the “Challenger Abyss.”

Soviet scientists are joining the study. Since 1957, the scientific vessel "Vityaz" begins to plow the ocean and discovers that the depth of the Mariana Trench is even greater than previously stated - more than 11 kilometers. Our marine researchers established the fact of life at great depths, destroying the scientific stereotypes of that time. Subsequently, the ship was written off as a museum value. Experiments continue to this day. Five years ago, the “bottom of the world” was visited by the Nereus automatic apparatus, which dropped 11 km below ocean level, and took new photos and videos.

The dive to the “bottom of the Earth” takes at least five hours. The ascent is somewhat faster. You cannot stay at the very bottom for more than 12 minutes, taking into account the technology that was at the disposal of the researchers of that time. Cosmic sums have to be allocated for the study of such terrestrial objects, so work is proceeding slowly.

Where is it

The Mariana Trench is located on the western Pacific Ocean, two hundred meters from islands of the same name. It looks like a crescent-shaped chasm, its length is more than 2550 km, and its width reaches almost 70 km.

The results of the study showed that the depth in the Mariana Trench is about 11 thousand meters. Everest reaches only 8840 m. If you need a comparison, the highest mountain on Earth can be turned upside down and placed entirely at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, but there will still be more than 2 km of water above the top. We are talking only about height; the width of the depression and the mountain do not coincide.

Interesting facts and stories

It's hot there. It turns out it’s not cold at this crazy depth. The thermometer column shows a positive value - up to 4⁰С. There are hot springs in the gorge, they make the water a hundred points hotter. High pressure prevents the water column from boiling.

Population. Ignoring the unsuitable conditions for life, the inhabitants of the “bottom of the world” settled down well. Huge xenophyophore amoebas live there - up to 10 cm. These are protozoa, but they have mutated due to hot water and pressure. Amoebas are able to survive in an environment filled with dangerous chemical elements.

Mollusks also became inhabitants of the Mariana Trench, although the form of the cover should have simply cracked under great pressure. But the hot springs contain serpentine, rich in hydrogen and methane. It is these substances that allow mollusks to survive. They were able to adapt even to hydrogen sulfide emissions, converting them into protein compounds.

The origin of life on the planet. The Champagne Key at the bottom of the ocean is unique area under water containing liquid CO2. It forms specific bubbles, similar to those found in a glass of sparkling wine. Scientists have suggested that a primary form of life could have appeared around this key at one time. This is due to the presence of all necessary substances.

The depression is slimy. There's no sand or anything like that. At the very bottom there is a layer of small shells and dead plankton accumulated over thousands of years. The pressure makes this mass look like mucus.

Sulfur in a liquid aggregate state. The Mariana Trench, which is not so easy to photograph, is rich in various geoformations. At a depth of more than 400 meters, there is a whole volcano on the way to it. Near Daikoku is located big lake, filled with liquid sulfur, which cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. The substance boils at a temperature of 187⁰C, and underneath it is believed to be an even larger layer of liquid sulfur, which could also contribute to the formation of life on our planet.

There are bridges there. In 2011, a group of research scientists discovered stone bridges in the Mariana Trench. Four structures stretch between the abyss for almost 70 km. They are located between two tectonic plates - the Pacific and the Philippine. One of them was discovered even earlier, in the 80s of the 20th century. It is very high, more than 2.5 km.

The first person at such depth. Only three people have had the courage to dive into the Mariana Trench since its discovery in 1875. The first was an American, Lieutenant Don Walsh, and with him the scientist Jacques Piccard in 1960. The dive took place on the Challenger. In 2012, film director James Cameron visited the Mariana Trench in a submersible, and took a photo of it as a souvenir. The man was left with a painful impression of complete loneliness from this place

The mystery of sawn cables. The incredible depths are terrifying. And the first explorers were afraid of unprecedented monsters inside the Mariana Trench. The first fact of collision with the unknown happened at the moment of the Glomar Challenger dive. The recorder began to record a metallic sound, like a grinding sound, and shadows appearing around the ship. The scientists became concerned about the expensive titanium equipment in the shape of a hedgehog, and the decision was made to lift the research vessel onto the ship. After extraction, the “hedgehog” turned out to be damaged, the 20-centimeter titanium cables were bent, or rather, half sawed through. There was a complete impression that someone wanted to stop the ship at depth.

Prehistoric lizard. There was a hitch during the dive of the Highfish vessel with scientists on board. The device reached a depth of 7 kilometers and stopped. The researchers turned on the infrared camera. She suddenly snatched a huge dinosaur from the ocean darkness, which was biting into the submersible. They managed to drive him away with the help of an electric gun.

The inhabitants of the Mariana Trench are protected by law. It is a national American monument in its own right. large nature reserve in the world. There are several restrictions on staying in this area. Mining is prohibited here, you can't fish, but you can swim.

The Mayan depression is inhabited by:

1. Scary and not so scary fish

2. Various octopuses

3. And other strange creatures

We are close to the fact that the Mariana Trench will soon become closer to modern humans. Perhaps in the near future there will even be tourism there. But for now, this option remains on par with the possibility of affordable space tourism. It is amazing how similar an earthly object is to distant stars in this respect. It is just as unexplored as the celestial bodies. But at least we know for sure that life exists in the Mariana Trench. According to a common hypothesis, it could have come from there. In this case, the study of the deepest place of the World Ocean acquires global significance.

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Excellent students at school have firmly learned: the most high point earth - Mount Everest (8848 m), the deepest depression - Mariana. However, if we know a lot about Everest interesting facts, then most people know nothing about the trench in the Pacific Ocean, other than the fact that it is the deepest.

FIVE HOURS DOWN, THREE HOURS UP

Despite the fact that the oceans are closer to us than Mountain peaks and even more so distant planets Of the solar system, people have explored only five percent of the seabed, which still remains one of the greatest mysteries of our planet.

With an average width of 69 km, the Mariana Trench was formed several million years ago due to shifts of tectonic plates and stretches in the shape of a crescent for two and a half thousand kilometers along the Mariana Islands.

Its depth, according to latest research, is 10,994 meters ± 40 meters (for comparison: the equatorial diameter of the Earth is 12,756 km), the water pressure at the bottom reaches 108.6 MPa - this is more than 1100 times more than normal atmospheric pressure!

The Mariana Trench, also called the Earth's fourth pole, was discovered in 1872 by the crew of the British research vessel Challenger. The crew took measurements of the bottom at various points Pacific Ocean.

Another measurement was made in the area of the Mariana Islands, but the kilometer-long rope was not enough, and then the captain ordered two more kilometer sections to be added to it. Then again and again...

Almost a hundred years later, the echo sounder of another English, but under the same name, scientific vessel recorded a depth of 10,863 meters in the Mariana Trench area. After this, the deepest point of the ocean floor began to be called the “Challenger Deep”.

In 1957, Soviet researchers established the presence of life at depths of more than 7,000 meters, thereby refuting the prevailing opinion at that time about the impossibility of life at depths of more than 6,000-7,000 meters, and also clarified the British data, recording a depth of 11,023 meters in the Mariana Trench .

The first human dive to the bottom of the depression took place in 1960. It was carried out on the Trieste bathyscaphe by the American Don Walsh and the Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard.

The descent into the abyss took them almost five hours, and the ascent took about three hours; the researchers spent only 20 minutes at the bottom. But even this time was enough for them to make a sensational discovery - in the bottom waters they discovered flat fish up to 30 cm in size, similar to flounder, unknown to science.

LIFE IN utter darkness

In the course of further research using unmanned deep-sea vehicles, it turned out that at the bottom of the depression, despite the terrifying water pressure, a wide variety of species of living organisms live. Giant 10-centimeter amoebas - xenophyophores, which under normal terrestrial conditions can only be seen with a microscope, amazing two-meter worms, no less huge starfish, mutant octopuses and, naturally, fish.

The latter amaze with their terrifying appearance. Their distinctive feature is a huge mouth and many teeth. Many spread their jaws so wide that even a small predator can swallow whole an animal larger than itself.

There are also quite unusual creatures, reaching two meters in size with a soft jelly-like body, which have no analogues in nature.

It would seem that at such a depth the temperature should be at Antarctic levels. However, in the Challenger Abyss there are hydro thermal springs, called "black smokers". They constantly heat the water and thereby maintain the overall temperature in the depression at 1-4 degrees Celsius.

The inhabitants of the Mariana Trench live in pitch darkness, some of them are blind, others have huge telescopic eyes that catch the slightest glare of light. Some individuals have “lanterns” on their heads that emit different colors.

There are fish in whose bodies a luminous liquid accumulates. When they sense danger, they splash this liquid towards the enemy and hide behind this “curtain of light.” The appearance of such animals is very unusual for our perception and can cause disgust and even inspire a feeling of fear.

But it is obvious that not all the mysteries of the Mariana Trench have yet been solved. Some strange animals of truly incredible size live in the depths!

THE LIZARD TRIED TO CHEAT THE BATHYSCAPH LIKE A NUT

Sometimes on the shore, not far from the Mariana Trench, people find bodies of the dead 40-meter monsters. Giant teeth were also discovered in those places. Scientists have proven that they belong to a multi-ton prehistoric megalodon shark, the span of which reached two meters.

These sharks were thought to have gone extinct about three million years ago, but the teeth found are much younger. So have the ancient monsters really disappeared?

In 2003, another sensational results from studies of the Mariana Trench were published in the United States. Scientists have submerged an unmanned platform equipped with searchlights, sensitive video systems and microphones in the deepest part of the world's oceans.

The platform was lowered on 6 inch-section steel cables. At first, the technology did not provide any unusual information. But a few hours after the dive, the silhouettes of strange large objects (at least 12-16 meters) began to flash on the monitor screens in the light of powerful spotlights, and at that time the microphones transmitted sharp sounds to the recording devices - the grinding of iron and dull, uniform blows on metal.

When the platform was raised (never lowered to the bottom due to incomprehensible obstacles that prevented the descent), it was discovered that the powerful steel structures were bent, and the steel cables seemed to have been sawed off. A little more and the platform would forever remain the Challenger Deep.

Previously, something similar happened to the German device “Hayfish”. Having descended to a depth of 7 kilometers, he suddenly refused to emerge. To find out what was wrong, the researchers turned on an infrared camera.

What they saw in the next few seconds seemed to them a collective hallucination: a huge prehistoric lizard, clinging its teeth to the bathyscaphe, tried to chew it like a nut.

Having recovered from the shock, the scientists activated the so-called electric gun, and the monster, struck by a powerful discharge, hastened to retreat.

Giant 10-centimeter amoeba - xenophyophora

WHO IS THE REAL “OWNER” OF PLANET EARTH

But it's not just fantastic monsters that are captured by deep-sea cameras. In the summer of 2012, the unmanned deep-sea vehicle Titan, launched from the research vessel Rick Mesenger, was in the Mariana Trench at a depth of 10,000 meters. His main goal There was video filming and photographing of various underwater objects.

Suddenly the cameras recorded a strange multiple shine of a material very similar to metal. And then, a few tens of meters from the device, several large objects appeared in the light of the spotlight.

Having approached these objects to the maximum allowable distance, the Titan displayed a very unusual picture on the monitors of the scientists on the Rick Mesenger. On an area of approximately a square kilometer there were about 50 large cylindrical objects, very similar to... flying saucers!

A few minutes after the “UFO airfield” was recorded, the Titan stopped communicating and never surfaced.

There are a lot of well-known facts that, if they do not confirm the possibility of the existence of intelligent creatures in the depths of the sea, then, in any case, fully explain why modern science still knows nothing about them.

Firstly, man's native habitat - the earth's surface - occupies only a little more than a quarter of the land surface. So our planet could well be called the Ocean planet rather than the Earth.

Secondly, as everyone knows, life originated in water, so marine intelligence (if it exists) is about one and a half million years older than humans.

That is why, according to some experts, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, thanks to the presence of active hydrothermal springs, not only entire colonies of prehistoric animals that have survived to this day can exist, but also an underwater civilization of intelligent creatures unknown to earthlings! The “fourth pole” of the Earth, in the opinion of scientists, is the most appropriate place for their habitat.

And once again the question arises: is man the only “master” of planet Earth?

FIELD RESEARCH IS PLANNED FOR SUMMER 2015

The third person in the entire history of exploration of the Mariana Trench to descend to its bottom was exactly three years ago. James Cameron.

“Almost everything on the earth’s land has been explored,” he explained his decision. — In space, bosses prefer to send people circling around the Earth, and send machine guns to other planets. For the joys of discovering the unknown, there is only one field of activity left - the ocean. Only about 3% of its water volume has been studied, and what’s next is unknown.”

On the DeepSes Challenge bathyscaphe, being in a half-bent state, since the internal diameter of the device did not exceed 109 cm, the famous film director observed everything that was happening in this place until mechanical problems forced him to rise from the surface.

Cameron managed to take samples of rocks and living organisms from the bottom, as well as film with 3D cameras. Subsequently, these frames formed the basis documentary film.

However, he never saw any of the terrible sea monsters. According to him, the very bottom of the ocean was “lunar... empty... lonely,” and he felt “complete isolation from all humanity.”

Meanwhile, in the telecommunications laboratory of Tomsk Polytechnic University, together with the Institute of Marine Technologies of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the development of a domestic device for deep-sea research, which can descend to a depth of 12 kilometers, is in full swing.

Specialists working on the bathyscaphe declare that there are no analogues to the equipment they are developing in the world, and “field” studies of the sample in the waters of the Pacific Ocean are planned for the summer of 2015.

Started working on the project “Diving into the Mariana Trench in a bathyscaphe” and famous traveler Fedor Konyukhov. According to him, his goal is not just to touch the bottom deepest depression the World Ocean, but also to spend two whole days there, conducting unique research.

The bathyscaphe is designed to accommodate two people and will be designed and built by an Australian company.

What every schoolchild knows from the subject of geography: the highest point on the planet is Mount Everest (8848 m), and the lowest is the Mariana Trench. The Trench is the deepest and most mysterious point on our planet - despite the fact that the oceans are closer than cosmic stars, humanity has only managed to explore 5 percent of the ocean depths.

The depression is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and is a V-shape that flows around 1500 km Mariana Islands- hence the name. The deepest point is the Challenger Deep, which received its name from the Challenger II echo sounder (Challenger), which managed to record 10,994 m below sea level. Measuring the bottom under conditions of pressure 1072 times higher than normal for a person is akin to suicide; in 1875, a corvette of an English expedition was first sent under the water column. The contribution of Soviet scientists is also invaluable - the Vityaz ship in 1957 obtained invaluable data: there is life in the Mariana Trench, despite the fact that even light does not penetrate to a depth of over 1000 m.

Ocean monsters

In 1960, US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Piccard descended into the dark abyss on the bathyscaphe Trieste, depth of the Mariana Trench. At a record 10,915 m, they found flathead fish that resembled flounder. There were some problems: the instruments recorded the shadows of creatures resembling mystical multi-headed dragons. Scientists heard the gnashing of teeth on metal - and the hull of the ship was 13 cm thick! As a result, it was decided to urgently raise the Trieste to the surface before tragedy occurred. On land they discovered that the thick cable was almost half broken - unknown creatures clearly did not tolerate strangers in their underwater kingdom... Details about this dangerous journey were published in the New York Times in 1996.

Later, researchers using special equipment confirmed that there is indeed life at the bottom of the depression - latest developments in the field of technology made it possible to take unique photographs of half-meter-long mutant octopuses, strange jellyfish and anglerfish. They feed mainly on each other - and sometimes on bacteria. Interestingly, crustaceans caught in the abyss have much more toxins in their puny bodies than the inhabitants of the coastal waters of the ocean. Scientists were most surprised by the mollusks - in theory, the monstrous pressure should have flattened their shells, but ocean inhabitants feel good in these conditions.

Champagne at the bottom of the ocean

Another mystery of the depression is the so-called “Champagne”, a hydrothermal source that releases countless bubbles of carbon dioxide into the waters. This is the world's only underwater source of a liquid chemical element. It was thanks to him that the first hypotheses about the emergence of life on Earth in water arose. By the way, the temperature in the Mariana Trench is not the coldest - from 1 to 4 degrees. It is provided by “black smokers” - the same thermal springs that release ore substances, which is why they acquire a dark color. They are very hot, but due to the high pressure, the water in the abyss does not boil, so the temperature is quite suitable for living organisms.

In 2012, famous film director James Cameron became the first person to reach the bottom of the Pacific Ocean alone. Moving on the Dipsy Challenger apparatus, he was able to take soil samples from the Challenger Deep and conduct shooting in 3D format. The resulting footage served science and became the basis for a documentary on the National Geographic Channel. Russia is not lagging behind - for an expedition to the bottom depths of the Mariana Trench Our famous traveler Fyodor Konyukhov is also preparing. Perhaps he will be able to shed light on the mysteries of the lowest point on the planet?

Pavilion “Around the World. Asia, Africa, Latin America, Australia and Oceania"

ETHNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village

In the ethnographic park-museum "ETNOMIR" - amazing place. The “City” street is built inside a spacious pavilion, so Mira Street is always warm, light and good weather- just right for an exciting walk, especially since within the framework of the latter you can complete a whole trip around the world. Like any street popular with tourists, it has its own attractions, workshops, street artisans, cafes and shops located inside and outside the 19 houses.

The facades of the buildings are made in different ethnic styles. Each house is a “quote” from the life and traditions of a certain country. The very appearance of the houses begins the story of distant lands.

Step inside and you will be surrounded by new, unfamiliar objects, sounds and smells. The color scheme and decoration, furniture, interior and household items - all this helps to plunge into the atmosphere of distant countries, to understand and feel their uniqueness.

The Mariana Trench (or Mariana Trench) became known in 1875, when the British survey ship Challenger first explored the depth of this place using a deep-sea survey.

The ship's crew was probably very surprised when they reeled off kilometers of rope so that the boat could finally reach the bottom. Based on the results of the study, it was determined that at the deepest point the bottom is located at a distance of 8,367 meters from the surface of the ocean.

In 1951, a new British expedition on the Challenger 2 ship, using an echo sounder, determined the depth of the depression at 10,863 ± 100 meters. The depth of the bottom varies depending on its topography. Since then, the deepest point on the planet has been called the Challenger Deep.

Progress moved forward, and people began to think about visiting the bottom of the Mariana Trench using a manned deep-sea vehicle.

The first human dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Project "Nekton"

The first two people in history to reach their deepest point globe— Swiss scientist Jacques Piccard and US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh.

The device, which made it possible to dive under extreme pressure conditions, was named “Trieste” and was originally built by two Swiss scientist-enthusiasts - Auguste Picard and his son Jacques Picard. After a series of successful dives in the Mediterranean Sea, Trieste was purchased by the US Navy, which was interested in exploring the ocean depths. After upgrading the bathyscaphe, installing a heavy-duty gondola and modern navigation and electronic systems, "Trieste" was ready to conquer new depths.

The target for the dive was chosen to be no less than the deepest point on the globe. The project, called Necron, planned to take two people to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench and carry out scientific research on the site. On January 23, 1960, at 08:23 local time, the Trieste, with Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh on board, began its slow descent into darkness. After 4 hours 43 minutes, the submersible touched the bottom at a distance of 10,919 meters from the ocean surface.

For the first time, a person found himself at the bottom of the deepest place on the planet. The pressure, 1072 times higher than normal, squeezed the nacelle of the bathyscaphe with terrible force.

The researchers stayed at the bottom for 20 minutes, during which they conducted a number of scientific experiments to measure radiation, measured the water temperature, which was 3.3 °C (the air temperature in the gondola was 4.5 °C), took a large number of photographs of the ocean floor and even we saw a small fish that looked like a flounder.

After dropping the ballast, the bathyscaphe began its ascent, which lasted 3 hours 27 minutes.

For 52 long years, no one else conquered the Mariana Trench, limiting themselves only to the descent of automatic robots into the Challenger Abyss.

Conquest of the Mariana Trench by James Cameron

Who would have thought that the next person who, for the first time in many years, would decide to visit the bottom of the Mariana Trench would not be some ocean scientist, but the famous Hollywood director James Cameron! On March 26, 2012, Cameron dived to a depth of 10,908 meters on the Deepsea Challenger submersible.

Bathyscaphe Deepsea Challenger |

The Deepsea Challenger bathyscaphe, containing the latest scientific equipment and 3D cameras, implies the presence of only one pilot in the cockpit, but allows you to stay under water for up to 56 hours and freely maneuver on the ocean floor using 12 electric motors. Its creation, taking into account the design stage, took almost 7 years, and construction was carried out by a private Australian company.

During the study of the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the director conducted video and photography, and also, using manipulators, took samples of ocean soil, where, as it turned out later, microorganisms previously unknown to science were present.

Currently, James Cameron is the third and last person to visit the deepest point on the planet - the Challenger Deep at the very bottom of the Mariana Trench. In total, only two underwater vehicles with people on board sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Illustration: depositphotos.com | tolokonov

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