Ancient and scary creatures, glowing jellyfish, or maybe garbage and plastic bottles? The bottom of the lowest point on the planet is not inferior in mystery to stellar galaxies, but modern technology and brave groups of scientists seem to have almost found the answer. What is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?
Diving to the Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench is the deepest point on earth, located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean south of Japan and northwest of the Northern Mariana Islands. It was discovered in 1875, and in fact a century later – in 1960, the first man tried to reach the bottom. According to scientists’ measurements in 2020, the depth of the depression was more than 10 thousand meters. The deepest point is the “Challenger Deep”, the depth of which is from 10902 to 10929 according to the latest measurements. For example, the highest point of Mount Everest is located at an altitude of more than 8 thousand meters, which means that the famous mountain can easily fit into the Mariana Trench.
Location Mariana Trench
The formation scheme of the Mariana Trench
Scientists have developed many different hypotheses about what can live at such a depth, because the water pressure at the bottom of the depression is incredibly high. Interesting discoveries were made by the Fivedeeps group under the leadership of Victor Vescovo. The dive was so sensational that it was even filmed by the Discovery channel. What did the scientists find at the bottom of the depression?
No, there were no vicious lizards and underwater dragons at the bottom of the depression. Scientists have found several new species of crustaceans, pink snails and fish that feed on petroleum products. However, the deep–sea divers were most struck by other finds – during repeated dives, different groups found plastic bags, candy wrappers and anthropogenic mercury. The latter is the work of man and an extremely dangerous chemical compound for living beings.
There is one conclusion and it is disappointing – the reverse side of civilization and environmental problems have reached the depths of the ocean, which were not explored a little more than half a century ago. Doesn’t this mean that it’s time to think about the fact that our planet needs our protection? In this case, the places that just need to be seen will delight tourists and adventurers for a long time.
At the bottom of the Mariana Trench
Photo at the bottom of the Mariana Trench
