Just 5% of the ocean has been exploded by mankind, meaning very little is known about what lurks beneath the surface – a pretty terrifying prospect.
Yet, found in the western Pacific Ocean, in the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia, lies the deepest point of the seabed – that we know of so far.
It is found within the crescent-shaped Mariana Trench, the deepest trench on Earth.
The Challenger Deep plunges to an estimated 10,935 metres (roughly 6.8 miles) below sea level – more than 1.2 miles farther from sea level than the peak of Mount Everest.
The depression is named after the British Royal Navy survey ships, HMS Challenger, whose expedition between 1872 and 1876 first located it and HMS Challenger II whose 1950-52 expedition established its record-setting depth.
The Challenger Deep is made of a series of three seafloor basins, located at the bottom of a steep-walled submarine valley, but researchers are yet to have conclusively identified which of the three is the deepest.
There is, however, general agreement that hydrostatic pressures measured near the bottom of these basins are greater than 1,089 standard atmospheres (atm) – 16,000 pounds per square inch. This extreme pressure would crush most human-made objects.
For context, the theoretical limit for humans is 1,000 metres, which has a pressure of around 100atm. Beyond this, the pressure from the water would push in a person’s body, causing any space that’s filled with air to collapse.
Due to its depth, the trench is completely dark and experiences near-freezing temperatures.
One-celled organisms called monothalamea have been found in the trench at a record depth of 6.6 miles below the sea surface by researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Data has also suggested that microbial life forms thrive within the trench. These creatures are adapted to the high-pressure, low-light environment, using chemosynthesis instead of photosynthesis for energy.
As of July 2022, only 27 people have ever descended to the Challenger Deep.
The first descent by any vehicle was conducted by the United States Navy using a self-propelled submersible, Trieste, in January 1960, in a descent that took five hours.
Humans did not visit the trench again until 2012, when the Oscar-winning Canadian director and explorer, James Cameron, reached a depth of 10,898 metres in a solo dive aboard the submersible, Deepsea Challenger. In addition, several probes and autonomous submersibles have also explored the Challenger Deep.
Earlier this year, a single glass beer bottle was discovered within the Challenger Deep, discovered by oceanographer Dr Dawn Wright. Posting on social media, she wrote, “What did we see upon 1st touching bottom, at 10,900+m depth w/in #ChallengerDeep? A BEER BOTTLE!
“Further evidence that we MUST as humanity do BETTER by the ocean and for the health of habitats that we ourselves share & ultimately depend on!!! #ThereIsNoPlanetB #DeeperSeaDawn.”
Continued research in the Challenger Deep could provide clues about similar environments on other planets and moons.
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