The Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world’s ocean, a place tantalisingly close
to the earth’s mantle, a place where no light shines and where pressure is 1000 times
what it is at sea level.
What is down there?
Can anything survive these wretched conditions?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions.
I am your host, Rebecca Felgate and today I am asking what is at the bottom of the Mariana
Trench.
Before we dive deep into this video, I just want to remind you guys to give this video
a thumbs up and leave us a comment to let us know your thoughts on the Mariana Trench
and what big question you guys would like answered next.
So, the Mariana Trench is located in the Western Pacific ocean, just south of Guam.
The trench is a deep scar in the earth’s crust, deeper than any peak on earth.
The very bottom of the trench is officially 10 thousand 994 metres below sea level, so
36 thousand and 70 ft, however some unconfirmed reports add a further 40 or so metres in depth.
The Mariana Trench is pretty huge; spanning 1,580 miles in length and 43 miles in width.
The deepest part is called the Challenger Deep, which has been the location of four
deep sea descents, including one by Canadian film director, James Cameron in 2012.
So, what is down there when James Cameron and research teams aren’t down there testing
their depth limits?
Well, these four descent missions have shed a lot of light on this dark pocket of the
planet.
Living at the bottom of the trench is everybody’s placid mate, the sea cucumber.
What do they do?
Well.. not a lot…they slink about and suck and eat.
Also joining them at the very bottom of the ocean are Amphipods, which look like Albino
Shrimp.
Marine biologists have also observed tiny organisms in samples from the sea bed.
How do how do the things that lives this far down survive….well…mostly from sea snow.
What is sea snow?
Falling cells from dead animals higher up in the ocean, like whales and other big fish.
Hey…wanna build a sea snowman.
Ew.
Unfortunately, with all of the waste dropping down to the bottom of the sea bed like this,
pollution levels are high at the bottom of the Trench.
A 2016 research expedition found very high levels of a chemical toxin called PCB in the
sediment of the trench.
This toxin was banned on land in the 70s as it can cause liver damage and effect hormones
in the body.
Clearly the life at the bottom of the trench is impervious to the harm most animals would
be exposed to with this toxin around.
So aside from some sea cucumber, albino shrimp, and a lot of dead cells…what else is at
the bottom of the trench?
Well.. at the moment a whole lot of nothing, but that may not always be the case.
Presumably due to its location near Guam, the trench has been commandeered by the United
States, who have made it a Unties States National monument.
What do the American’s want to do with their monument and area of key planetary interest?
Well… dump some nukes of course!
Plans to dump inactive nuclear devices in the trench have been discussed, however it
is currently a crime by international law to ocean dump nuclear waste, so we will see
about that one.
On top of that, it is predicted that shifting tectonic plates could push waste from the
trench into the earth’s mantle, and we have no idea how nuclear substances and the mantle
may react together…it could be pretty awful.
So we know what is down there, but what does it sound like?
Well actually, it isn’t as quiet as you would think.
NOAA researchers recorded sounds near the bottom of the trench, and it seems you can
hear distant wale moans, the far off sounds of ships passing by Guam and even the sound
of distant earth quakes.
Although, scientists heard a very strange sound indeed, that they have dubbed the Western
Pacific Biotwang…which some people have said could be the sound of a Baleen Wale making
a previously unheard of mating call…or it could be something else entirely.
We just don’t know.
So, that is one mysterious question answered for you!
What do you think is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?
Let me know in the comments section down below….
What do you think that mystery sound is?
Also, as always, be sure to leave this video with a thumbs up, share it with a friend and
stay subscribed for more big answers.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate, I’ll catch you in the next video, but for now, stay curious
stay alert and never ever stop questioning.