Deepest Part of the Ocean

How deep can the oceans be? This question has haunted sailors since ancient times! The ocean was and still remains largely unexplored. Its deep reaches hold more mysteries than any other place on Earth. Till the 20^th century, the depths of the ocean remained unexplored and oceans cover 71% of the land surface! With the arrival of submarines and other deep sea diving gear technologies, it actually became possible to access the unknown depths of the ocean. This article will reveal some interesting facts about the deepest part of the ocean and its exploration.

Before we go into knowing about the deepest part of the ocean, let us know some basic facts about the oceans. How many oceans are there? The continuous body of water that engulfs the Earth is divided into five oceans geographically. The oceans of the world are:

• Pacific Ocean (The Biggest)
• Atlantic Ocean
• Indian Ocean
• Southern Ocean
• Arctic Ocean

Let us see which is the deepest part of the ocean on a global scale! There is a whole field of science called oceanography which studies all the aspects connected with the ocean as a whole. Read more on oceanography facts .

Deepest Part of The Ocean - Challenger Deep in Mariana Trench

The 'Challenger Deep', in the Southern part of the Mariana Trench, at a depth of 11,000 meters (about 36,000 feet), is the deepest point of the ocean floor, world over. It is a slot like depression in the Marina trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean, located in western Pacific Ocean, near the Mariana islands. The exact co ordinates of the Challenger deep, situated at a depth of 5,960 fathoms (35760 feet) are 11^o 19' N and 142^o 15' E. It is the lowest point of the Earth's crust and the deepest part of the ocean! The Mariana Trench was formed from collision of two tectonic plates, which were parts of the oceanic crust. One plate subducted while the other climbed over, creating the deepest part of the ocean. The closest piece of land to the 'Challenger Deep' is the Fais Island which is about 289 km southwest of it and the second nearest is Guam, which is about 306 km to the northeast of it.

If mount Everest is placed in the depths of the Mariana trench, it would be totally submerged in water, with about 2000 meters of water above it! The Challenger deep gets its name from the British Navy vessel called 'HMS Challenger' which made a first measurement of its depth in 1875.

In 1960, man reached the ultimate deepest part of the ocean through a special underwater exploring space craft, called 'Bathyscaphe'. The submersible vessel called the 'Trieste' reached the challenger deep on 23^rd January, 1960. At that depth, the two men who were operating the submersible had about 7 miles of water over them, which exerted a pressure of 16000 pounds per square inch! Unfortunately, they could do little except measuring the depth as their descent raised debris which reduced their visibility to zero.

Later in 1996, the Japanese unmanned remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), Kaiko made the deepest unmanned dive ever and brought home samples of bacteria living in these depths. The most productive dive of the Challenger deep was made very recently in May 2009. The US built hybrid ROV 'Nereus' reached the Challenger deep and spent 10 hours on the ocean floor, sending live video data and collecting biological samples by the use of its manipulating arm. Most of the surviving life in those depths of the ocean was found to be soft shelled organisms called allogrmiids and organic walled foraminifera. Read more on, 'Deep Ocean Fish'.

Recently, Challenger deep was suggested as the best site for nuclear waste disposal. It being the tip of a subduction plate, the nuclear waste would be pushed into the depths of the Earth's mantle. However, (thankfully!), this endeavor was banned by International intervention.

In spite of the technological advances, still, the oceans remain largely unexplored. New types of life forms are regularly found in the oceanic depths which survive there, defying the huge pressures exerted from above! Hope this article about the deepest part of the ocean was as enjoyable read, as it was for me to write!