Who lives at the bottom of the Mariana Trench? Depth of the Mariana Trench. Inhabitants of the Mariana Trench What is found in the Mariana Trench

The Mariana Trench (or Mariana Trench) is the deepest place earth's surface. It is located on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, 200 kilometers east of the Mariana Archipelago.

It’s paradoxical, but humanity knows much more about the secrets of space or mountain peaks than about the depths of the ocean. And one of the most mysterious and unexplored places on our planet is the Mariana Trench. So what do we know about him?

Mariana Trench - the bottom of the world

In 1875, the crew of the British corvette Challenger discovered Pacific Ocean a place where there was no bottom. Kilometer after kilometer the line of the lot went overboard, but there was no bottom! And only at a depth of 8184 meters the descent of the rope stopped. This is how the deepest underwater crack on Earth was discovered. It was called the Mariana Trench, named after the nearby islands. Its shape (in the form of a crescent) and the location of the deepest section, called the “Challenger Deep,” were determined. It is located 340 km south of the island Guam and has coordinates 11°22′ N. latitude, 142°35′ e. d.

Since then this deep-sea depression has been called the “fourth pole”, “the womb of Gaia”, “the bottom of the world”. Oceanographers for a long time tried to find out its true depth. Research different years gave different meanings. The fact is that at such a colossal depth, the density of water increases as it approaches the bottom, therefore the properties of the sound from the echo sounder in it also change. Using barometers and thermometers together with echo sounders different levels, in 2011, the depth value in the Challenger Deep was established as 10994 ± 40 meters. This is the height of Mount Everest plus another two kilometers above.

The pressure at the bottom of the underwater chasm is almost 1100 atmospheres, or 108.6 MPa. Most deep-sea vehicles are designed for a maximum depth of 6-7 thousand meters. During the time that has passed since the discovery of the deepest canyon, it was possible to successfully reach its bottom only four times.

In 1960, the deep-sea bathyscaphe Trieste, for the first time in the world, descended to the very bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Challenger Deep area with two passengers on board: US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard.

Their observations led to an important conclusion about the presence of life at the bottom of the canyon. The discovery of the upward flow of water was also important ecological significance: Based on it, nuclear powers refused to dump radioactive waste at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

In the 90s, the trench was explored by the Japanese unmanned probe "Kaiko", which brought samples of silt from the bottom in which bacteria, worms, shrimp were found, as well as pictures of a hitherto unknown world.

In 2009, the American robot Nereus conquered the abyss, picking up from the bottom samples of silt, minerals, samples of deep-sea fauna and photos of the inhabitants of unknown depths.

In 2012, James Cameron, the author of Titanic, Terminator and Avatar, dived alone into the abyss. He spent 6 hours at the bottom, collecting samples of soil, minerals, fauna, as well as taking photographs and 3D video filming. Based on this material, the film “Challenge the Abyss” was created.

Amazing discoveries

In the trench, at a depth of about 4 kilometers, there is an active Daikoku volcano, spewing liquid sulfur that boils at 187 ° C in a small depression. The only lake of liquid sulfur was discovered only on Jupiter’s moon, Io.

“Black smokers” swirl 2 kilometers from the surface - sources of geothermal water with hydrogen sulfide and other substances that, upon contact with cold water transform into black sulfides. The movement of sulfide water resembles clouds of black smoke. The water temperature at the point of release reaches 450° C. The surrounding sea does not boil only because of the density of the water (150 times greater than at the surface).

In the north of the canyon there are “white smokers” - geysers spewing liquid carbon dioxide at a temperature of 70-80° C. Scientists suggest that it is in such geothermal “boilers” that one should look for the origins of life on Earth. Hot springs “heat” the icy waters, supporting life in the abyss - the temperature at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is between 1-3° C.

Life beyond life

It would seem that in an environment of complete darkness, silence, icy cold and unbearable pressure, life in the depression is simply unthinkable. But studies of the depression prove the opposite: there are living creatures almost 11 kilometers under water!

The bottom of the hole is covered with a thick layer of mucus from organic sediments descending from upper layers ocean for hundreds of thousands of years. Mucus is an excellent breeding ground for barrophilic bacteria, which form the basis of nutrition for protozoa and multicellular organisms. The bacteria, in turn, become food for more complex organisms.

The ecosystem of the underwater canyon is truly unique. Living beings have managed to adapt to aggressive, destructive normal conditions environment, with high blood pressure, lack of light, low amounts of oxygen and high concentrations of toxic substances. Life in such unbearable conditions gave many of the inhabitants of the abyss a frightening and unattractive appearance.

Deep-sea fish have incredibly large mouths lined with sharp, long teeth. High pressure made their bodies small (from 2 to 30 cm). However, there are also large specimens, such as the xenophyophora amoeba, reaching 10 cm in diameter. The frilled shark and goblin shark, which live at a depth of 2000 meters, generally reach 5-6 meters in length.

Representatives live at different depths different types living organisms. The deeper the inhabitants of the abyss, the better developed their organs of vision are, allowing them to catch the slightest reflection of light on the body of prey in complete darkness. Some individuals themselves are capable of producing directional light. Other creatures are completely devoid of organs of vision; they are replaced by organs of touch and radar. With increasing depth, underwater inhabitants increasingly lose their color; the bodies of many of them are almost transparent.

On the slopes where the “black smokers” are located, mollusks live that have learned to neutralize sulfides and hydrogen sulfide that are lethal to them. And, which still remains a mystery to scientists, under conditions of enormous pressure at the bottom, they somehow miraculously manage to keep their mineral shell intact. Other inhabitants of the Mariana Trench show similar abilities. The study of fauna samples showed many times higher levels of radiation and toxic substances.

Unfortunately, deep sea creatures die due to pressure changes during any attempt to raise them to the surface. Only thanks to modern deep-sea vehicles has it become possible to study the inhabitants of the depression in their natural environment. Representatives of fauna unknown to science have already been identified.

Secrets and riddles of the “womb of Gaia”

The mysterious abyss, like any unknown phenomenon, is shrouded in a mass of secrets and mysteries. What does she hide in her depths? Japanese scientists claimed that while feeding goblin sharks, they saw a shark 25 meters long devouring goblins. A monster of this size could only be a megalodon shark, which became extinct almost 2 million years ago! This is confirmed by the findings of megalodon teeth in the vicinity of the Mariana Trench, whose age dates back to only 11 thousand years. It can be assumed that specimens of these monsters still exist in the depths of the hole.

There are many stories about corpses washed ashore giant monsters. When descending into the abyss of the German bathyscaphe "Haifish", the dive stopped 7 km from the surface. To understand the reason, the passengers of the capsule turned on the lights and were horrified: their bathyscaphe, like a nut, was trying to chew some kind of prehistoric lizard! Only by impulse electric current using the outer skin we managed to scare away the monster.

Another time, when an American submersible was diving, the grinding of metal began to be heard from under the water. The descent was stopped. Upon inspection of the raised equipment, it turned out that the titanium alloy metal cable was half sawed (or chewed), and the beams of the underwater vehicle were bent.

In 2012, a video camera unmanned vehicle"Titan" from a depth of 10 kilometers transmitted a picture of metal objects, presumably a UFO. Soon the connection with the device was interrupted.

Unfortunately, there is no documentary evidence of these interesting facts none, they are all based only on eyewitness accounts. Each story has its fans and skeptics, its arguments for and against.

Before the risky dive into the trench, James Cameron said that he wanted to see with his own eyes at least part of the secrets of the Mariana Trench, about which there are so many rumors and legends. But he did not see anything that went beyond the knowable.

So what do we know about her?

To understand how the Mariana underwater gap was formed, it should be remembered that such gaps (trenches) are usually formed along the edges of the oceans under the influence of moving lithospheric plates. Oceanic plates, being older and heavier, “crawl” under continental plates, forming deep gaps at the junctions. The deepest is the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates near the Mariana Islands (Mariana Trench). The Pacific plate is moving at a rate of 3-4 centimeters per year, resulting in increased volcanic activity along both its edges.

Along the entire length of this deepest failure, four so-called bridges—transverse mountain ridges—were discovered. The ridges were presumably formed due to the movement of the lithosphere and volcanic activity.

The gutter is V-shaped in cross-section, greatly expanding at the top and narrowing downwards. The average width of the canyon in the upper part is 69 kilometers, in the widest part - up to 80 kilometers. The average width of the bottom between the walls is 5 kilometers. The slope of the walls is almost vertical and is only 7-8°. The depression stretches from north to south for 2,500 kilometers. The trench has an average depth of about 10,000 meters.

Only three people to date have visited the very bottom of the Mariana Trench. In 2018, another manned dive to the “bottom of the world” in its deepest section is planned. This time, the famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov and polar explorer Artur Chilingarov will try to conquer the depression and find out what it hides in its depths. Currently, a deep-sea bathyscaphe is being manufactured and a research program is being drawn up.

On May 31, 2009, the automatic underwater vehicle Nereus sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. According to measurements, it fell 10,902 meters below sea level. At the bottom, Nereus filmed a video, took some photographs, and even collected sediment samples at the bottom. Thanks to modern technologies, researchers were able to capture a few representatives of the Mariana Trench, so I invite you to get to know them too.

The snout of this terrifying shark ends in a long beak-like outgrowth, and its long jaws can extend far. The color is also unusual: close to pink

Male and female fish monkfish differ in size by a thousand times. Female most spends its life in the coastal zone and can grow up to two meters in length. The mouth is very large, with a protruding lower jaw and a retractable top, armed with a palisade of strong sharp teeth.

Dark-colored, the luminescent organ is absent in photophores. There is a barbel on the chin associated with the hypoid apparatus. True gill rakers are absent. Predators eating small fish and planktonic crustaceans. They usually live at depths from 300 to 500 m (but can be found at depths of up to 2000 m).

Length from 3 to 26 cm. They live in the deep waters of all oceans. Representatives of the genus Pseudoscopelus have glowing organs- photophores.

A ferocious predator despite its small size. This is one of many species inhabiting the depths of the world's oceans. This fish grows about 16 cm, has a long appendage directed towards its chin. This luminous appendage is used as a decoy, blinking and deflecting back and forth. As soon as the unsuspecting fish swims close enough close quarters, she will immediately find herself in powerful jaws.

Grows up to three meters in diameter. The red color helps them camouflage on the ocean floor. The stinging tentacles typical of jellyfish are missing.

This fish has a long and narrow body. Outwardly, it resembles an eel, for which it received another name - pelican eel. Its mouth has a giant, stretchable pharynx, reminiscent of a pelican's beak pouch. Like many deep-sea inhabitants, largemouths have areas of the body with photophores - along the dorsal fin and in the tail. Thanks to its huge mouth, this fish is capable of swallowing prey that is larger than itself.

A spotted, dark fish with huge glowing eyes and a fanged mouth lures its prey with the help of a bioluminescent appendage on its chin.

It is believed that viperfish can live at depth for 30 - 40 years. In captivity, she has a shorter lifespan - only a few hours.

These are incredibly fragile creatures, with large fins like wings and a head that looks like a cartoon dog.

jellyfish of the family Rhopalonematidae

sea ​​snail from the order Naked pteropods (Gymnosomata), class Gastropods(Gastropoda).

order of protozoa of the rhizopod subclass with a cytoplasmic body covered with a shell

giant amoebas, to which scientists have given the sonorous name xenophyophora, reach 10 centimeters in size.

benthic scavenger Scotoplanes Globosa is a marine invertebrate animal from the genus of deep-sea holothurians. They live at a depth of a kilometer or more. The skin is colorless, almost transparent, since the animal lives in a world without light. Depending on the species, the animal has six or more pairs of legs, which are tubular growths on the abdomen. To move, the porpoise does not move these processes themselves, but the cavity on which they grow. The mouth is equipped with a dozen tentacles, with which the porpoise collects small organisms from the bottom. Scotoplanes Globosa are extremely common animals. Its share among all deep-sea inhabitants reaches 95%, which makes the porpoise the main “dish” in the diet of deep-sea fish. Scotoplanes Globosa, in addition to benthic organisms, feed on carrion. They have an excellent sense of smell, allowing them to detect a decomposing carcass in complete darkness.

lead a planktonic lifestyle, moving from the murky depths of a thousand or more meters to the very surface, constantly striving upward.

For its dark, almost black color it is called monkfish.

An underwater version of the Venus flytrap. In the waiting state, their hunting apparatus is straightened, but if a small animal swims there, the “lips” are compressed like a trap, sending the prey to the stomach. To lure prey, they use bioluminescence as bait.

The most amazing representatives from polychaete worms. Worms are distinguished by the presence of small formations glowing with a greenish light, resembling drops in shape. These tiny bombs can be thrown away, distracting the enemy in an emergency for several seconds, giving the worms a chance to escape.

Representatives of this order are small, their body is enclosed in a bicuspid, chitinous, transparent shell. Swim easily with the help of antennae or crawl with the help of antennae and legs

The most mysterious and inaccessible point on our planet, the Mariana Trench, is called the “fourth pole of the Earth.” It is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and extends 2926 km in length and 80 km in width. At a distance of 320 km south of the island of Guam is the most deep point The Mariana Trench and the entire planet are 11,022 meters. In these little-explored depths hide living creatures whose appearance is as monstrous as their living conditions.

The Mariana Trench is called the "fourth pole of the Earth"

Mariana Trench, or Mariana Trench- an oceanic trench in the western Pacific Ocean, which is the deepest geographical feature known on Earth. Research of the Mariana Trench was initiated by the expedition ( December 1872 - May 1876) English ship "Challenger" ( HMS Challenger), which carried out the first systematic measurements of the depths of the Pacific Ocean. This military three-masted corvette with sail rigging was rebuilt as an oceanographic vessel for hydrological, geological, chemical, biological and meteorological work in 1872.

In 1960, a great event took place in the history of the conquest of the world's oceans

Bathyscaphe Trieste, piloted by French explorer Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh, reached the deepest point of the ocean floor - the Challenger Deep, located in Mariana Trench and named after the English ship Challenger, from which the first data about it were obtained in 1951.

Bathyscaphe "Trieste" before diving, January 23, 1960

The dive lasted 4 hours 48 minutes and ended at 10911 m relative to sea level. At this terrible depth, where there is a monstrous pressure of 108.6 MPa ( which is more than 1100 times more than normal atmospheric) flattens all living things, the researchers made a major oceanological discovery: they saw two 30-centimeter flounder-like fish swimming past the porthole. Before this, it was believed that no life existed at depths exceeding 6000 m.

Thus it was installed absolute record depth of immersion, which is impossible to surpass even theoretically. Picard and Walsh were the only people who visited the bottom of the Challenger Deep. All subsequent dives to the deepest point of the world's oceans, for research purposes, were made by unmanned robotic bathyscaphes. But there were not so many of them, since “visiting” the Challenger Abyss is both labor-intensive and expensive.

One of the achievements of this immersion, which had a beneficial effect on the ecological future of the planet, was the refusal nuclear powers from the burial of radioactive waste at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The fact is that Jacques Picard experimentally refuted the prevailing opinion at that time that at depths above 6000 m there is no upward movement of water masses.

In the 90s, three dives were made by the Japanese Kaiko device, controlled remotely from the “mother” ship via a fiber-optic cable. However, in 2003, while exploring another part of the ocean, the towing steel cable broke during a storm and the robot was lost. The underwater catamaran Nereus became the third deep-sea vehicle to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

In 2009, humanity again reached the deepest point of the world's oceans.

On May 31, 2009, humanity again reached the deepest point of the Pacific, and indeed the entire world ocean - the American deep-sea vehicle Nereus sank into the Challenger failure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The device took soil samples and carried out underwater photo and video shooting on maximum depth, illuminated only by its LED spotlight. During the current dive, Nereus' instruments recorded a depth of 10,902 meters. The indicator was 10,911 meters, and Picard and Walsh measured a value of 10,912 meters. On many Russian maps, the value of 11,022 meters obtained by the Soviet oceanographic vessel Vityaz during the 1957 expedition is still given. All this indicates the inaccuracy of the measurements, and not a real change in depth: no one carried out cross-calibration of the measuring equipment that gave the given values.

The Mariana Trench is formed by the boundaries of two tectonic plates: the colossal Pacific plate goes under the not so large Philippine plate. This is a zone of extremely high seismic activity, part of the so-called Pacific volcanic ring of fire, stretching for 40 thousand km, an area with the most frequent eruptions and earthquakes in the world. The deepest point of the trench is the Challenger Deep, named after the English ship.

The inexplicable and incomprehensible have always attracted people, which is why scientists around the world want to answer the question: “ What does the Mariana Trench hide in its depths??»

The inexplicable and incomprehensible have always attracted people

For a long time, oceanographers considered the hypothesis that life could exist at depths of more than 6,000 m in impenetrable darkness, under enormous pressure and at temperatures close to zero, to be crazy. However, the results of research by scientists in the Pacific Ocean have shown that even in these depths, much below the 6000-meter mark, there are huge colonies of living organisms, pogonophora, a type of marine invertebrate animals that live in long chitinous tubes open at both ends.

IN Lately The veil of secrecy was lifted by manned and automatic underwater vehicles made of heavy-duty materials, equipped with video cameras. The result was the discovery of a rich animal community consisting of both familiar and less familiar marine groups.

Thus, at depths of 6000 - 11000 km, the following were discovered:

- barophilic bacteria (developing only at high pressure);

- from protozoa - foraminifera (an order of protozoa of the subclass of rhizomes with a cytoplasmic body covered with a shell) and xenophyophores (barophilic bacteria from protozoa);

- from multicellular organisms - polychaete worms, isopods, amphipods, sea cucumbers, bivalves and gastropods.

At the depths there is no sunlight, no algae, constant salinity, low temperatures, an abundance of carbon dioxide, enormous hydrostatic pressure (increases by 1 atmosphere for every 10 meters). What do the inhabitants of the abyss eat?

Research has shown that there is life at depths of over 6,000 meters

The food sources of deep animals are bacteria, as well as the rain of “corpses” and organic detritus coming from above; deep animals are either blind, or with very developed eyes, often telescopic; many fish and cephalopods with photofluoride; in other forms the surface of the body or parts of it glow. Therefore, the appearance of these animals is as terrible and incredible as the conditions in which they live. Among them are frightening-looking worms 1.5 meters long, without a mouth or anus, mutant octopuses, extraordinary sea ​​stars and some soft-bodied creatures two meters long, which have not yet been identified at all.

Despite the fact that scientists have made a huge step in researching the Mariana Trench, the questions have not decreased, and new mysteries have appeared that have yet to be solved. And the ocean abyss knows how to keep its secrets. Will people be able to reveal them in the near future? We will follow the news.

Close to east coast There is an underwater canyon in the Philippine Islands. It's so deep that you could fit Mount Everest in it and still have about three kilometers to spare. Impenetrable darkness reigns there and acts incredible strength pressure, so one can easily imagine the Mariana Trench as one of the most unfriendly places in the world. However, despite all this, life still somehow continues to exist there - and not just barely survive, but actually thrive, thanks to which a full-fledged ecosystem has appeared there.

How to survive at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?

Life at such a depth is extremely difficult - eternal cold, impenetrable darkness and enormous pressure will not allow you to exist in peace. Some creatures, such as the anglerfish, create their own light to attract prey or mates. Others, such as the hammerhead, have developed huge eyes to capture as much light as possible, reaching incredible depths. Other creatures are simply trying to hide from everyone, and to achieve this they turn translucent or red (the red color absorbs all the blue light that manages to make its way to the bottom of the cavity).

Cold protection

It is also worth noting that all creatures living at the bottom of the Mariana Trench need to cope with cold and pressure. Protection from cold is provided by fats that form the lining of the creature's body cells. If this process is not monitored, the membranes may crack and cease to protect the body. To combat this, these creatures have acquired an impressive supply of unsaturated fats in their membranes. With the help of these fats, the membranes always remain in a liquid state and do not crack. But is this enough to survive in one of the deepest places on the planet?

What is the Mariana Trench like?

The Mariana Trench is shaped like a horseshoe and its length is 2,550 kilometers. It is located in the eastern Pacific Ocean and is about 69 kilometers wide. The deepest point of the depression was discovered near the southern end of the canyon in 1875 - the depth there was 8184 meters. A lot of time has passed since then, and with the help of an echo sounder more accurate data was obtained: it turns out that the deepest point has an even greater depth, 10994 meters. It was named “Challenger Deep” in honor of the ship that made that very first measurement.

Human immersion

However, about 100 years have passed since that moment - and only then for the first time a person plunged to such a depth. In 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh set off in the bathyscaphe Trieste to conquer the depths of the Mariana Trench. Trieste used gasoline as fuel and iron structures as ballast. The bathyscaphe took 4 hours and 47 minutes to reach a depth of 10,916 meters. It was then that the fact that life still exists at such depths was first confirmed. Piccard reported that he then saw a “flat fish,” although in fact it turned out that he only noticed a sea cucumber.

Who lives at the bottom of the ocean?

However, not only sea ​​cucumbers are located at the bottom of the depression. Along with them live large single-celled organisms known as foraminifera - they are giant amoebas that can grow up to 10 centimeters in length. Under normal conditions, these organisms create shells of calcium carbonate, but at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, where the pressure is a thousand times greater than on the surface, calcium carbonate dissolves. This means that these organisms have to use proteins, organic polymers and sand to create their shells. Also living at the bottom of the Mariana Trench are shrimp and other crustaceans known as amphipods. The largest of the amphipods look like giant albino woodlice - they can be found at the Challenger depth.

Food at the bottom

Given the fact that sunlight does not reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench, it occurs another question: What do these organisms eat? Bacteria manage to survive at such depths due to the fact that they feed on methane and sulfur, which appear from earth's crust, and some organisms feed on these bacteria. But many rely on what is called "sea snow" - tiny pieces of detritus that reach the bottom from the surface. One of the most bright examples and the richest food sources are the carcasses of dead whales, which end up on the ocean floor.

Fishes in the Trench

But what about fish? The most deep sea fish The Mariana Trench was discovered only in 2014 at a depth of 8143 meters. An unknown ghostly white subspecies of Liparidae with wide wing-like fins and an eel-like tail was recorded several times by cameras that plunged into the depths of the depression. However, scientists believe this depth is likely the limit of where the fish can survive. This means that there cannot be fish at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, since the conditions there do not correspond to the body structure of vertebrate species.

Mysterious and unusual places planets... Among them, undoubtedly, is the Mariana Trench... The Mariana Trench (Mariana Trench) is the deepest
place in the world's oceans. Moreover, the so-called
Challenger Deep, located in the southwest of the basin. Its depth
more than 11 kilometers. The depression has always attracted the attention of scientists. Beginning with
the middle of the last century several international scientific expeditions
explored its depths, wondering if fish could live there,
under pressure ocean waters at 1100 atmospheres, at low
temperature and in complete darkness? But even modern technologies Not
allow scientists to study the Mariana Trench in its entirety. A little
the bottom was explored and marine life previously unknown to science was discovered
Mariana Trench - deep-sea monster fish living in the depths.

The Mariana Trench is located in the Pacific Ocean, near
from the Mariana Islands (they gave the name to the depression), at the junction of two
tectonic plates. Its length is 1500 kilometers, its shape is
resembles the letter "V". Its bottom is flat, with a width from one to five
kilometers.

Soviet scientists were the first to measure the depth of the trench in
1957, they proved that even with such enormous pressure there
living organisms live.

In 1960, the bathyscaphe Trieste, with US scientists on board, sank to
the very bottom and stayed there for twelve whole minutes. Repeat to this day
No one succeeded. Researchers were able to see several strange
large fish.

In the 90s of the last century, Japanese scientists were able
take soil samples from the bottom of the Mariana Trench, several were found in them
species of protozoan organisms not previously known to science. Amazing, but
they have existed for several billion years!

The depression repeatedly frightened expedition members
monsters that live in its waters. In 2009, an American robot
"Nereus" was able to take several photos and videos in pitch darkness
amazing fish that emit light.

In 2003, the expedition of the ship "Glomar Challenger"
began the descent of the apparatus to study the depths of the depression. Suddenly the devices
began to record some strange sounds, reminiscent of a grinding sound when
sawing iron, and on the monitor screen people saw the shadows of some
huge monsters. An hour later, the sounds did not stop, and the scientists began
raise the apparatus to the surface, afraid that it would be expensive
the equipment will perish in the depths of the waters. After 8 hours of climbing, everyone arrived at
horror of what he saw. The metal parts of the devices are distorted, and
a twenty-centimeter cable on which the equipment was lowered, almost
completely re-sawed! What kind of monster could do this!?

Another strange incident occurred with the German
scientific apparatus "Highfish". Having descended to a depth of 7 kilometers, he
suddenly stopped. Scientists thought that some kind of malfunction had arisen,
and turned on the infrared camera... The picture they saw was
seemed to them like a scene from a science fiction horror film. Enormous
the prehistoric lizard grabbed the apparatus with its teeth and tore it with
with all our strength. Having recovered from the horror, the scientists turned on the electric gun - and
The monster, having received a blow from the discharge, quickly swam into the abyss.

Modern equipment has made it possible to see some
from the inhabitants of the Mariana Trench. They live in pitch darkness, some
some of them are blind, others have huge eyes that capture
the slightest glare of light. Some animals of the depths of the Mariana Trench have
"lanterns" on the head, emitting different colour. There are fish in whose body
glowing liquid accumulates. When an animal senses danger,
then splashes this liquid towards the enemy and hides behind it
"curtain of light" Many deep-sea inhabitants have special
organs that capture the slightest sound waves. But, of course, distinctive
a feature of the deep-sea inhabitants of the depression is a huge mouth and
many teeth. Many people can open their jaws very wide, so
even small predator can completely devour an animal larger than itself.

Scientists are also interested in the question: what is the role of oceanic
Do depressions play a role in shaping the climate on the planet? Research
showed that the depressions essentially act as forested areas– active
absorb huge amounts of CO2 and release a lot of oxygen into the atmosphere.

But it is obvious that all the mysteries of the Mariana Trench are still
not solved. Some strange beast lives in the depths. Not by chance,
sometimes on the shore, not far from the Mariana Trench, people find bodies
dead eighty-meter monsters. Also found in those places
giant teeth. Scientists have proven that they belong to a huge
prehistoric shark. Its weight is more than one hundred tons, its length is 25 meters, and its span
graze – 2 meters. These sharks were thought to have gone extinct around three years ago.
million years ago, but the teeth found are much younger! So have they disappeared?
Are the monsters real or waiting to meet us at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?