Project on the mariana trench

Yefim Egorov

project on the mariana trench

The Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench, the lowest and deepest point on our planet, has for many centuries been fraught with many puzzles that are not subject to complete research even by the most modern scientific equipment. Legends and bold theories regarding the origin of all life on Earth have more than once been based on the realities of this unique geographical object, where the monstrous pressure of the water, it would seem, doesn’t “favor” the comfortable existence of living organisms, but, nevertheless, they are there!

The Mariana Trench began to explore the British. In 1872, the Challenger sailing corvette with scientists and the most advanced equipment of the time entered the waters of the Pacific Ocean. After measuring, we set the maximum depth - 8367 m. The value, of course, is noticeably different from the correct result. But this was enough to understand: the deepest point of the globe was discovered. So the next mystery of nature was “challenged” (in translation from English “Challenger” - “challenging”). Years passed, and in 1951, the British carried out "work on mistakes." Namely: a deep-sea echo sounder recorded a maximum depth of 10,863 meters.

The water pressure at the lowest point of the Mariana Trench is 108.6 MPa, that is, 1072 times higher than normal atmospheric pressure. A vertebrate simply cannot survive in such monstrous conditions. But, oddly enough, the mollusks took root here. How their shells withstand such a colossal water pressure is not clear. Discovered mollusks are an incredible example of "survival." They exist next to serpentine hydrothermal springs. Serpentine contains hydrogen and methane, which not only do not pose a threat to the “population” discovered here, but also contribute to the formation of living organisms in such a seemingly aggressive environment. But hydrothermal sources emit a deadly gas for mollusks - hydrogen sulfide. But the "cunning" and life-hungry mollusks learned to process hydrogen sulfide into protein, and continue, as they say, to live happily in the Mariana Trench.

Another incredible mystery of a deep-sea object is the Champagne hydrothermal spring, named after the famous French (and not only) alcoholic beverage. It's all about the bubbles that "boil" in the waters of the source. Of course, this is by no means the bubbles of your favorite champagne - it is liquid carbon dioxide. Thus, the world's only underwater source of liquid carbon dioxide is located in the Mariana Trench. Such sources are called “white smokers”, their temperature is below ambient temperature, and around them there are always vapors similar to white smoke. Thanks to these sources, hypotheses were born about the origin of all life on earth in water. Low temperature, an abundance of chemicals, colossal energy - all this created excellent conditions for the ancient representatives of flora and fauna.

The temperature in the Mariana Trench is also very favorable - from 1 to 4 degrees Celsius. "Black smokers" took care of this. The hydrothermal springs that are the antipode of the “white smokers” contain a large amount of ore substances, and therefore they are dark in color. These sources are located here at a depth of about 2 kilometers and spew water, the temperature of which is about 450 degrees Celsius. I immediately recall a school physics course, from which we know that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. So what is going on? A source spewing boiling water? Fortunately not. The thing is the colossal pressure of the water - it is 155 times higher than on the surface of the Earth, so H2O does not boil, but it prettyly “heats up” the water of the Mariana Trench. The water of these hydrothermal springs is incredibly saturated with various minerals, which also contributes to the comfortable living environment of living creatures.