Mariana Trench

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As They Got to the Seafloor, He 'Knew We Were Making History'

Explorer, retired Navy Capt. Don Walsh, part of first crew to reach deepest part of ocean, is dead at 92

(Newser) - Retired Navy Capt. Don Walsh, an explorer who in 1960 was part of a two-man crew that made the first voyage to the deepest part of the ocean—to the "snuff-colored ooze" at the bottom of the Pacific's Mariana Trench—has died. He was 92. Walsh died Nov....

Go to Earth's Deepest Spot —for $750K

More people have been to space than to Challenger Deep

(Newser) - If now sounds like a good time to escape to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, with $750,000 you probably can. For that price, explorer and retired naval officer Victor Vescovo will take daring travelers to the deepest point on Earth, Challenger Deep in Mariana Trench, which has been...

Deep-Sea Explorer Went as Low as You Can Go in 5 Oceans

Vescovo is now considering a space mission

(Newser) - The Molloy Deep, 3.4 miles below the surface of the Arctic Ocean, has two things in common with the South Sandwich Trench in the Southern Ocean: It's the deepest spot in that ocean, and Victor Vescovo is the only person who has ever been there. Vescovo, a 53-year-old...

In One of Planet's Most Remote Spots, a Plastic Bag
Plastic Bag Found in
Truly Depressing Spot
new study
May 15, 2018 10:45 AM CDT

Plastic Bag Found in Truly Depressing Spot

Not even the bottom of the Mariana Trench is safe from our trash

(Newser) - "Single-use plastic reached the world's deepest ocean trench at 10,898 m," states the study plainly, referring to that great scourge: the plastic bag. National Geographic reports that a review of the Deep-Sea Debris Database, an assemblage of photos and videos taken during roughly 5,000 dives...

Evidence of Deepest Life on Earth Found Near Mariana Trench

Microbes could be living up to 6 miles under the seafloor

(Newser) - A team of researchers may have discovered evidence of the deepest life on Earth (and we're not talking college freshmen taking their first philosophy class). According to a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , there may be microbes living up to six miles under...

In Deepest Part of Ocean, 'Sky High' Pollution
In Deepest
Part of Ocean,
'Sky High' Pollution
NEW STUDY
Feb 14, 2017 9:17 AM CST

In Deepest Part of Ocean, 'Sky High' Pollution

Toxic chemicals reach 6 miles deep in ocean: study

(Newser) - At the deepest spot in the ocean, scientists have found beer cans, plastic bags, a tin of Spam, and now tiny crustaceans contaminated with toxic chemicals banned nearly 50 years ago. The "extraordinary levels" of pollution in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean and the Kermadec Trench...

Near Ocean's Deepest Spot, a 3.5-Second Symphony

Scientists believe it comes from minke whales

(Newser) - The 3.5-second symphony covers nearly half of the sound range that humans can hear, rising from a frequency as low as 38 hertz to an 8,000-hertz "metallic finale." But unless you make a detour to waters above the deepest spot in the ocean, you might never...

Humans Have Polluted Deepest Part of the Oceans: Study

Crustaceans in Mariana, Kermadec trenches rife with chemicals

(Newser) - Survival of the fittest in the depths of the sea likely includes plenty of its own inherent challenges, but now it's got a man-made one to add to the list. A research team out of Scotland's University of Aberdeen has discovered high concentrations of human-created organic pollutants in...

At Ocean's Deepest Point, You Might Expect Silence. Not So

Researchers surprised by 'almost constant noise'

(Newser) - "You would think that the deepest part of the ocean would be one of the quietest places on Earth," says NOAA research oceanographer Robert Dziak, but it's not so. NOAA, with the help of partner scientists, recently listened in on the deepest point of the ocean and...

Earth's Deepest Spot Is Alive With 'Unexpected' Bacteria

Microscopic bacteria are alive and well in the Mariana Trench's deepest canyon

(Newser) - To the naked eye, life gets scarce the deeper into the ocean one goes. But both the ocean's surfaces and its floors are teeming with microscopic life, and the deepest point of all—the Challenger Deep canyon in the Mariana Trench nearly seven miles below sea level—is home...

Deep-Sea Sub Vanishes 6 Miles Down

Scientists believe the Nereus imploded due to the pressure

(Newser) - Some 6.2 miles below the surface of the Pacific, tragedy very likely struck. What the BBC describes as one of the "most capable deep-sea research subs" in existence has vanished—and likely imploded. The $8 million Nereus was in the Kermadec Trench northeast of New Zealand, among the...

James Cameron Donates Historic Sub to Researchers

Still, 'I'd like to go dive the sub again'

(Newser) - Science is getting an anniversary present from James Cameron. It's been a year since the director became the first person to reach the ocean's deepest spot alone. Now, he's giving the sub that made the Mariana Trench journey to the renowned Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts,...

Things Can Actually Live at the Ocean's Deepest Point

Bacteria makes a home 8 miles underwater

(Newser) - The Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench contains the deepest point in all the world's oceans. But despite its nearly eight-mile depth (Mount Everest, by comparison, doesn't hit six miles), Challenger Deep is also home to life, a study finds. Researchers sent a robot into Challenger Deep in 2010...

James Cameron Back From Planet's Deepest Spot

Complete first-ever solo dive 6.7 miles to Mariana Trench

(Newser) - James Cameron is back from a solo dive to the deepest place on earth , having spent three hours exploring the scene 35,756 feet below the ocean's surface, reports CNET . (To put things in perspective, Mount Everest is 29,029 feet tall.) To allow him to film and...

James Cameron Reaches Deepest Spot on Planet

Famed director descending into Mariana Trench

(Newser) - Lights, camera, action. Director James Cameron today set off to do what no man has done before—dive to the Mariana Trench and truly explore it—and he's apparently well on his way. The AP confirms that Cameron has descended seven miles into the Pacific Ocean and has reached...

James Cameron Plans Deepest Ocean Dive Ever

'Avatar' director heading into Mariana Trench

(Newser) - James Cameron has already made the two highest-grossing movies ever, and now the Avatar and Titanic director wants to set another record ... under the sea. Later this month, Cameron plans to go almost seven miles down into the Pacific Ocean's Challenger Deep, the world's most inaccessible spot, in...

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