- History and discovery
- First records
- Findings during the 20th century
- Features and depth
- Depth
- Other features
- How was it formed?
- Species
- He
- The solaide or sole
- Plankton
- References
The Mariana Trench 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 measures 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 is the deepest area of all the oceans. Source: Pacific_Ring_of_Fire.svg: Gringer (talk) 23:52, 10 February 2009 (UTC) derivative work: B1mbo
The Mariana Trench received the distinction of a National Monument of the United States in 2009, as it is considered one of the most important oceanic geological structures on Earth.
Researchers are still interested in this place as they have found several unicellular organisms and unknown microorganisms in the deepest areas of the pit.
History and discovery
First records
The first search of the Mariana Trench occurred in 1875 by 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 entitled Depth Map of the Great Ocean, where the location of this first sounding of the trench can be observed.
Later, in 1899 a ship of the United States Navy managed to obtain other data, which calculated a depth of 9636 meters.
Findings during the 20th century
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 environment through the emission of 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 MV 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 Architeuthis classification; they also located a hitherto unknown species of sole.
Also, 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 in the sea most unknown to man.
Features and depth
Depth
At present it can be stated 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 hold the same amount of water mass as a hundred such units on the surface.
Other features
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 pit is constantly in complete darkness (that is, it is completely unlit), accommodating freezing temperatures. In the deepest parts of this place, high levels of microbial life are found.
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 close to Guam, an island that exists between China and the coasts of Indonesia.
How was it formed?
In a Discovery Channel program aired in 2009, it was suggested that the trench formed due to an extensive subduction zone in the Earth's crust, which submerged beneath the tectonic mantle.
Subduction is called a sinking process that occurs in an oceanic place on a lithospheric plate, which is placed under the edge of another plate.
In the case of the Mariana Trench, the Pacific plate subducts below the Mariana plate, which explains the presence of the archipelago and the continuous volcanic activity that develops in it.
Species
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 knack for adapting to pressures a thousand times stronger than standard sea level pressure. Some of these are as follows.
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A genus of cephalopods belonging to the order Teuthida is known as architeuthis. Commonly they have been 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 there is actually 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, with 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 about the existence of squid that exceed twenty meters, although this has not been able to confirm exactly.
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 solaide or sole
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 mainly based 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
Plankton is a set 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 200 meters of depth, reason 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, for example, the noctiluca.
References
- Briceño, F. (sf) Trench of the Marianas. Retrieved on June 11, 2019 from Euston: euston96.com
- Cameron, J. (2019) Challenge in the ocean abyss. Retrieved on June 6 from National Geographic: nationalgeographic.com.es
- A. (2009) The Mariana Trench. Retrieved on June 6, 2019 from Universo Marino: universomarino.com
- A. (2013) The Mariana Trench, the deepest place in the ocean, full of life. Retrieved on June 6, 2019 from ABC Ciencia: abc.es
- A. (sf) Mariana Trench. Retrieved on June 6, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org