All the world’s oceans have secrets and mysteries. But compared to the Mariana Trench, many areas of the world’s oceans look like small ponds. This is the deepest place on our planet and is shrouded in mystery. Scientists are increasingly inclined to believe that life on Earth originated here.
One of the mysteries of the Mariana Trench is the hydrothermal vent called “Champagne”. The waters of this hydrothermal vent bubble with liquid carbon dioxide gas. This creates a favorable environment for the emergence of life and its simplest forms: comfortable temperature, a variety of chemical substances, and immense pressure. Such vents are called “white smokers”. The Mariana “white smoker” is the only one in the world located underwater.
It is expected that the water temperature in the Mariana Trench will be very cold, as sunlight does not reach there and the water does not warm up. However, it is quite favorable for the inhabitants of the trench and ranges from 1-4 degrees Celsius. This is because the water is heated by hydrothermal vents called “black smokers”.
Unlike “white smokers”, “black smokers” are very hot, reaching temperatures of up to 450 degrees Celsius and are located about 2 kilometers deep. Despite such high temperatures, the water does not boil due to the tremendous pressure.
Located in the western Pacific Ocean, the trench is a depression in the ocean floor. Its shape resembles a crescent moon and stretches for 2,540 kilometers. The depth of the trench is precisely determined and is 11 kilometers. If Mount Everest were placed upside down in the trench, there would still be 1.5 kilometers between the highest point of the mountain and the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The Mariana Trench is a very ancient formation and is approximately 180 million years old.
The Mariana Trench was first discovered by the British research ship “Challenger”. It was during this expedition that the first measurements of the trench were taken, determining its depth to be 8,367 meters. The 2,500-meter error is due to the unevenness of the trench, with different areas having different depths.
The deepest point of the trench, known as the “Challenger Deep,” with a depth of 11,022 meters, was discovered by Russian researchers on the ship “Vityaz”. It is possible that in certain areas, the “Challenger Deep” may be even deeper than 11 kilometers. Furthermore, it was Russian scientists who discovered life at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
The first explorers to descend into the Mariana Trench were Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh in 1960. A total of 16 people have descended into the trench. In 2020, a group of Chinese scientists descended into the Mariana Trench on the “Fendouzhe” submersible and conducted a live broadcast from there. This broadcast was available for every Chinese person to watch on TV.
Creatures living in the extreme conditions at the bottom of the trench have to exist in complete darkness and under pressure that is 155 times greater than on the surface. There are very few resources here, as the trench is far from Earth’s islands. Leaves, fruits, and branches of trees only occasionally find their way into the trench.
Organic remains and dead plankton have to descend thousands of meters to reach the surface of the “Challenger Deep”. Therefore, most microscopic organisms in the trench utilize harmful substances such as methane, sulfur, and hydrogen sulfide for their nutrition. Other inhabitants higher up in the food chain consume these organisms.
There are a total of twenty thousand life forms in the trench. Among them are xenophyophores, giant amoebas measuring up to 10 cm. Various microorganisms, simple organisms, invertebrates, crustaceans, mollusks, sea cucumbers, and more also inhabit the trench.
Recently, a creature called the Mariana snailfish was discovered. This small fish cannot survive in such an aggressive environment, yet it not only survives but dominates the Marianas’ flora.
Researchers were surprised to find garbage bags and other plastic waste on the surface of the deepest trench on Earth. They were even more surprised to discover persistent organic pollution in the bodies of the trench’s inhabitants, similar to the strong pollution caused by industrial production on the ocean’s surface.
This story was published in 1996 after the completion of the research group’s work on the ship “Glomar Challenger”. Some time after the deep-sea vehicle called “Hedgehog” was submerged into the trench, the ship’s instruments recorded strange sounds, creaking, and cracking. The vehicle was immediately brought to the surface.
The researchers found that the “Hedgehog” was crushed and the thick cable it was attached to seemed to have been sawed. Various versions were put forward – some spoke of sea monsters inhabiting the trench, others of aliens, and still others of mutant octopuses. But what really happened remains unknown.
Another mysterious incident occurred with a German team. As they descended to the bottom, their vehicle called “Hyfish” suddenly stopped. On the monitors appeared an image of a huge reptile gnawing at the vehicle. Without hesitation, the Germans scared it away with an electric discharge. The reptile disappeared. Unfortunately, the Germans did not have equipment capable of photographing the reptile at that time.
Another mystery of the Mariana Trench is the discovery of megalodon teeth – giant 25-meter-long sharks that went extinct about 2 million years ago. The youngest set of teeth found is only 11,000 years old.
In 2012, an automatic vehicle called “Titan” was operating in the Mariana Trench. At a depth of ten kilometers, it transmitted an image of a metallic object resembling a UFO. After that, communication with the vehicle was lost.
The Mariana Trench is a unique natural phenomenon that requires constant protection and careful treatment. A barbaric attitude towards the surrounding nature leads to its destruction. In 2009, the Mariana Trench was declared a marine national monument of the United States.
