The Mariana Trench It is a geological structure that was formed thanks to an area of the oceans that suffered a subsidence of the land with respect to the lateral blocks. This trench is located in the western area of the Pacific Ocean, at a distance of 200 km from the Mariana Islands, from which it owes its name..
The Mariana Trench is considered to be the deepest sector of all the oceans on the planet. In addition, it has a "u" shape that is 2,550 kilometers long along with about 69 kilometers wide. Regarding its temperature, it has been established that at the bottom it presents between 1 and 4 ° C.
The Mariana Trench received the distinction of National Monument of the United States in 2009, as it is considered one of the most important oceanic geological structures on Earth.
Researchers preserve their interest in this place since they have found several unicellular organisms and unknown microorganisms in the deepest areas of the fossa..
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The first search of the Mariana Trench occurred in 1875 through the British Royal Mary frigate, when the Challenger expedition conducted a survey. This expedition was the one that was taken as a reference to name the deepest area of the pit: the Challenger Abyss..
At that time, without counting on current technologies, scientists were able to calculate a depth of 8,184 meters through the use of a tool called a scandal, which consists of a conical plumb line that is tied to the probe in order for it to reach at the bottom of the sea.
Two years after this discovery, August Petermann (a renowned German cartographer) published a map that was titled Great Ocean depth map, where you can see the location of this first borehole of the pit.
Later, in 1899 a ship of the United States Navy managed to obtain other data, which calculated a depth of 9636 meters.
In 1951, a new calculation of the depth of the fossa was carried out using echolocation, which consists of the ability of some animals to know their surroundings by emitting sound waves, interpreting the echo produced by objects when they are touched by said waves.
This investigation carried out through the resources of the fauna yielded a new depth data: it oscillated in the 11 012 meters.
In 1957 a Soviet ship known by the name of Vityaz made a new depth report of the trench, which calculated about 10,934 meters. However, thanks to the M. V. Spencer F. Baird ship, in later decades they had already been able to calculate up to about 11,000 meters of depth..
During the investigations, the scientists found a giant squid belonging to the classification of the Architeuthis; they also located a hitherto unknown species of sole.
In addition, other unknown species of very small living things were found, along with a type of plankton that had not been found elsewhere. Despite research and the interest of scientists, the Mariana Trench is one of the spaces of the sea most unknown to man.
At present it can be affirmed that the Mariana Trench has a depth of 10,994 meters; however, some meters have been able to record up to 11,034 meters.
The extension of this pit is so deep that, if Mount Everest (the highest on planet Earth) were placed at this point, it would be completely submerged, since its top would still remain submerged two kilometers under water..
The deepest area is known as the Challenger Deep, where the water column has a pressure of 1086 bars, equivalent to 15,750 psi. This means that the Mariana Trench has a pressure 1000 times higher than the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level..
Due to these high pressure values, the density of the water in this pit experiences an increase of 4.96%, which is equivalent to 95.27 of any type of unit of volume of water. The pressure of the Challenger Abyss can contain the same amount of water mass as in a hundred such units on the surface.
As for the area surrounding the pit, it is characterized by having unique environments, which encourages the existence of marine life different from that which inhabits the rest of the regions.
In turn, the pit has a series of vents that bubble carbon dioxide and liquid sulfur, along with several active mud volcanoes..
The trench is constantly in complete darkness (that is, it has no lighting at all), accommodating freezing temperatures. In the deepest parts of this place there are high levels of microbial life.
As for its exact location, it can be established that the Mariana Trench is located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, specifically on the northwestern side, south and east of the islands that give it its name..
Its north latitude is 11 ° 21, while its east longitude is 142 ° 12. This trench is located near Guam, an island that exists between China and the coasts of Indonesia..
In a Discovery Channel program broadcast in 2009 it was suggested that the trench was formed due to an extensive subduction zone of the earth's crust, which submerged below the tectonic mantle..
Subduction is called a sinking process that occurs in an oceanic place of a lithospheric plate, which is placed under the edge of another plate.
In the case of the Mariana Trench, the Pacific plate subducts under the Mariana plate, which explains the presence of the archipelago and the continuous volcanic activity that develops in this.
Due to the strong levels of pressure that develop in the Mariana Trench, researchers have found several marine species never before seen in other territories.
These species have developed a special ability to adapt to pressures a thousand times stronger than the standard pressure of sea level. Some of these are as follows.
It is known as architeuthis to a genus of cephalopods belonging to the order Teuthida. They have been commonly called giant squid due to their unusual length..
Some scientists have proposed the existence of up to eight species of this squid; However, it is considered that in reality there is only one species that has some variants.
These animals are characterized by living in the depths of the oceans, although some have been stranded on the beaches. They can reach truly extraordinary dimensions, the most common measurements being 10 meters for males and 14 meters for females. However, much larger specimens have been found.
In fact, some researchers speculate on the existence of squid that exceed twenty meters, although this has not been confirmed with exactitude..
According to industry sources, in 1887 a 18-meter female was found stranded on a New Zealand beach; Likewise, another specimen captured by accident in 1933 appeared, measuring up to 21 meters.
The solaides, also known as sole, are a family of fish that includes a hundred species. In the Mariana Trench, a sole of a species never seen before was found, so it is assumed that the fish obtained new physical forms in order to adapt to this environment..
Sole are characterized by being flat or pleuronectiform fish and can inhabit both salt water and fresh water..
Their diet is based mainly on crustaceans or other invertebrates. Their scales are dark in color and they are usually thin and still, making them difficult prey..
Sole are widely consumed by humans due to their fine, white meat, as well as having a delicate flavor.
Plankton is a group of organisms, which are generally microscopic, whose main characteristic is that they float in both fresh and salty waters..
They tend to be more abundant after a depth of 200 meters, which is why several of these specimens were found in the Mariana Trench; a species of plankton never seen before was even found.
Most species of plankton are transparent, although they have some iridescence. They can present some colors only if they are visualized through the microscope; when this occurs, reddish and bluish tones appear at its edges. Certain species of plankton can emit luminescence, such as the noctiluca.
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