Location of the Mariana Trench

The Mariana Trench (or Mariana's Trench) is the deepest part of the world's oceans, and the deepest location on the surface of the Earth's crust. An ocean (from Greek, ''Okeanos'' (Oceanus) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the Hydrosphere. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 In Geology, a crust is the outermost solid shell of a planet or moon It has a maximum depth of about 11 km (6. 8 mi), and is located in the western North Pacific Ocean, to the east and south of the Mariana Islands, near Guam. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The Mariana Islands (also the Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called Ladrones Islands, from Spanish Islas de los Ladrones meaning Guam ( Chamorro: cha Guåhån) officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated

The trench forms the boundary between two tectonic plates, where the Pacific Plate is subducted beneath the Philippine Plate. Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων tektōn "builder" or "mason" describes the large scale motions of Earth 's Lithosphere The Pacific Plate is an oceanic Tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean. In Geology, a subduction zone is an area on Earth where two tectonic plates meet and move towards one another with one sliding underneath the other The Philippine Plate is a Tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean to the east of the Philippines. The bottom of the trench is farther below sea level than Mount Everest is above it (8,848m/29,028ft). Mean sea level (MSL is the average (mean height of the Sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface Mount Everest, also called Sagarmatha (सगरमाथा meaning Head of the Sky) or Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma (in At the bottom, the water column above exerts a pressure of 108. A water column is a conceptual column of water from surface to bottom sediments Pressure (symbol 'p' is the force per unit Area applied to an object in a direction perpendicular to the surface 6 MPa, over one thousand times the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level.

Measurement and study

Cross-section of Mariana Trench, NOAA image

See also: Challenger Deep

The trench was first surveyed in 1951 by the Royal Navy vessel Challenger, which gave its name to the deepest part of the trench, the Challenger Deep. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the The Challenger Deep is the deepest surveyed point in the oceans with a depth of about 11000 metres (about 36000 feet The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) HMS Challenger was a Survey ship of the United Kingdom 's Royal Navy. The Challenger Deep is the deepest surveyed point in the oceans with a depth of about 11000 metres (about 36000 feet ^[1] Using echo sounding, the Challenger II measured a depth of 5,960 fathoms (10,900 metres, 35,760 ft) at 11°19′N, 142°15′E. Echo sounding is the technique of using Sound pulses directed from the surface or from a submarine vertically down to measure the distance to the bottom by means of sound waves A fathom is a unit of Length in the Imperial system (and the derived U ^[2]

In 1957, the Soviet vessel Vityaz reported a depth of 11,034 meters (36,200 ft), dubbed the Mariana Hollow. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. ^[3] (Although this claim was made by the Soviets in 1957, the finding has not been repeated by subsequent mapping expeditions using more accurate and modern equipment. )

In 1962, the surface ship M. V. Spencer F. Baird recorded a greatest depth of 10,915 meters (35,810 ft), using precision depth gauges. ^[4]

In 1984, the Japanese sent the Takuyō (拓洋), a highly specialized survey vessel, to the Mariana Trench and collected data using a narrow, multi-beam echo sounder; they reported a maximum depth of 10,924 meters, also reported as 10,920 meters ± 10 meters). The are the dominant Ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent of these approximately 127 million are residents of Japan ^[2][5]

Descents

January 23, 1960: Trieste just before the dive

The United States Navy bathyscaphe Trieste reached the bottom at 1:06 p. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A bathyscape, bathyscaphe, or bathyscaph is a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea Diving Submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar Design Trieste was designed by the Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard and built in Italy m. on January 23, 1960, with U. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard on board. Don Walsh (born 2 November, 1931) is an American oceanographer explorer and marine policy specialist Jacques Piccard (born July 28, 1922) is a Swiss explorer and engineer known for having developed underwater vehicles for studying ocean currents ^[1] Iron shot was used for ballast, with gasoline for buoyancy. There are several types and uses of Iron shot Small round Iron balls used as Projectiles. Ballast is used in Sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the Sail. In Physics, buoyancy ( BrE IPA: /ˈbɔɪənsi/ is the upward Force on an object produced by the surrounding liquid or gas in which it is ^[1] The onboard systems indicated a depth of 11,521 meters (37,799 ft), but this was later revised to 10,916 meters (35,813 ft). At the bottom, Walsh and Piccard were surprised to discover soles or flounder about 30 cm (1 ft) long,^[6] as well as shrimp. The soles are Flatfishes of various families Generally speaking they are the members of the family Soleidae, but outside Europe, the name 'sole' is also Flounder (rarely fluke) are Flatfish that live in ocean waters ie True shrimp are swimming decapod Crustaceans classified in the Infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh According to Piccard, "The bottom appeared light and clear, a waste of firm diatomaceous ooze". Diatoms ( Greek: (dia = "through" + (temnein = "to cut" i ^[6]

The most accurate measurement on record was taken by a Japanese probe, Kaikō (かいこう), which descended unmanned to the bottom of the trench on March 24, 1995 and recorded a depth of 10,911 meters (35,798 ft). Kaikō (かいこう "Ocean Trench" was a Remote control Japanese deep-sea Submarine that sampled Bacteria from the ocean Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 ^[7]

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is planning to send its Nereus hybrid remotely operated vehicle (HROV) to explore the trench in 2008. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI is a private nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and Nereus is a Hybrid autonomous underwater vehicle (HROV a type of Remotely operated vehicle) built by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ^[8]

References

See also

• Oceanic trench
• Izu-Ogasawara Trench
• Yap Trench