“Unveiling the Abyss: Scientists Reveal Astonishing Secrets from the Ocean’s Mysterious Deepest Depths”
Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the ocean’s surface—like, way beneath? Scientists recently stumbled upon an astonishing discovery about 36,000 feet down, in the infamous Mariana Trench—yes, the same place where James Cameron made his deep-sea dive for inspiration, and no, he didn’t find a lost Titanic prop down there! Nestled in a spot known as Challenger Deep, this remarkable location is not just the deepest point on Earth; it’s also a treasure trove of previously unseen microbial life. And get this—nearly 90% of the 7,000 microbe species identified had never been documented before! Just imagine—life thriving under unimaginable pressure and freezing temperatures! So, what the heck does this mean for our understanding of life on Earth? Grab your diving gear, and let’s plunge into this fascinating find! LEARN MORE.
Scientists have made a never-before-seen discovery located some 36,000 feet below the surface of the Earth.
Located in the Mariana Trench section of the western Pacific Ocean, the find happened to be located at a location known as Challenger Deep.
Some 36,037 feet underwater, or 10,984 metres, it’s incredibly deep. You can’t actually get deeper without breaking through the crust of the planet.
First located by Royal Navy ships HMS Challenger and Challenger II (hence the name), it’s a location that 27 people have descended to.
The first dive took place in 1960 with oceanographers Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard the very first pair to reach the bottom. This was followed by none other than Titanic filmmaker James Cameron some 52 years later in an expedition that saw him become the first solo diver to get to Challenger Deep successfully.
Scientists have been studying the Mariana Trench for years (NOAA OER, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas)
Now, experts examining this deepest point on the planet have found thousands of microbes in this region of ocean. And the amazing thing about the find is that they have never been seen before.
Going further than that, they are also nothing like what we think life is back on the surface.
Able to withstand horrific cold and extreme high pressure environments, they survive at the very bottom of this planet we call home.
The deepest point of the Mariana Trench (NOAA)
The new find has been published in a new study released this week (6 March) in the Cell journal, providing the first systematic view of the ecosystem in what scientists call the ‘hadal zone’. To me and you that’s academic speak for the deepest point in Earth’s oceans.
Based on findings from a Chinese expedition to the bottom of Challenger Deep in the deep-sea submarine Fendouzhe, the crew of scientists did a total of 33 dives to the bottom.
They collected a range of samples, from seawater, to organisms and sediment on the ocean floor, ranging from 6,000 metres underwater right down to the bottom.
A ghost fish in the Mariana Trench, first spotted in 2016 (NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research/NOAA)
All in all, experts behind the study found an eye-opening 7,000 microbe species down there.
Of these, almost 90 percent had never been found before by human studies.
They also found tiny crustaceans and snailfish down there; a location that scientists did not know they called home until now.
A deep-ocean submersible uses its lights to illuminate a hydrothermal vent field at Chammoro Seamount, within the Mariana Trench (NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research/NOAA)
All in all, the study said that this section of the planet is ‘playing irreplaceable roles in global processes with unique ecosystems and extreme life processes’.
It adds: “The extraordinarily high novelty and diversity of hadal microorganisms indicate resource potentials of novel genes, structures, and functions, which may be alternative choices to alleviate the current depletion of terrestrial biological resources taking place over the past decades.”
