From what this deep part of the ocean is like, to what lives in it, and more, join me as
we explore the question of what it would be like to take a trip to the Mariana Trench.
In terms of mystery, as well as being a least explored place on Earth, few places are as
deep and unexplored as the Mariana Trench.
This is mainly because the Mariana Trench is 36,000 feet below sea level.
It's so deep, that if you don't have a specially made craft, the pressure of the ocean would
crush you in an instant.
Furthermore, because of how deep it is, there is no light from the sun or sky that reaches
down there, so thus the only lights you'll have are the ones on your ship.
Fun fact, only four humans in history have ever been able to go to the Mariana Trench.
The first two were in 1960.
Swiss Oceanographer Jacques Piccard and USN Lieutenant Don Walsh went down in a special
submarine and are in fact the two humans to go the deepest into the ocean.
However, they only lasted about 20 minutes before their submarine had to be surfaced
because of the pressure of the ocean.
The other came 52 years later in the form of the one and only James Cameron, who went
down in a single man pod and stayed there for quite some time before surfacing back
up.
Then, in 2019, American Victor Vescovo’s took a sub and actually hit the very bottom
of the Trench, and stayed there for four hours.
While their accomplishments are noteworthy in every way, it goes to show that while they've
been to the bottom of the Trench, or close to it, they don't really know everything that's
done there.
Until we get a craft down there that can be there for extended periods, there's no way
of knowing all that resides with the Mariana Trench.
What's more, there are some who believe that there are places nearby that are even DEEPER
than the Trench, though this has not been definitively proven.
And even if it could be proven, it's unlikely that we could reach it right now given the
various factors about the Trench itself.
But let's look at this from the objective sense.
If you were to get a boat and then a submarine to get to the Mariana Trench, what would it
be like as you went down into the depths of the ocean?
What would you see and experience?
Well, let's start at the beginning, with where the Mariana Trench is on a map of the world.
The Mariana Trench is located in the Western Pacific Ocean about 124 miles outside the
Mariana Islands (hence the name!).
So thus, you can't just fly to the Mariana Trench, you'll have to go and get a boat to
take you there, and you'll likely have a nice view of various islands and oceans to see
as you get ever closer to the spot where you dive...dive...dive...
Anyway, once you reach the spot, you'll head into your submersible and get ready to dive
down into the depths of the ocean.
This is something that many people have done in their own right over the last 150 years-ish
(the Trench was first sounded in 1875).
At the top of the ocean, as you go down, you're going to see a lot of very familiar things.
You'll see fishes in the water, creatures of various kinds, and potentially, depending
on your team, you can even see human swimmers around making sure that you're going down
safely and aren't hitting any immediate obstacles.
This is because the top parts of the water are technically some of the easiest to live
in.
The water is spacious, planet life can be all over the place depending on the topography
of the place, and because of the lack of pressure, most sea life can live there without issue.
This is why you can dive into the waters with nothing but a breath of air and not feel anything
wrong (outside of your lungs wanting more air) because there's nothing pressing against
you in a significant way.
So thus, the earliest parts of your adventure are going to be some of the smoothest sailing
you'll have on your adventure.
But as you can probably tell via the sound of my voice...things will get more complicated
as you go further down the depths of the ocean.
Before we get to the deeper parts of the ocean and the Mariana Trench, be sure to like or
dislike the video so we can continue to improve and make you the best videos possible!
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As you reach about 65 feet below sea level, you'll start noticing a different type of
sea world (pun intended) opening up.
You'll see a bunch of coral reefs around (again, depending on where exactly you're heading
down into the trench).
What's more, you'll still see people here, but this time it'll be as Scuba Divers, as
by this point not only will the pressure of the ocean be a lot more intense, but that
far down it'd be very hard to dive down and get back up with one breath (people have proven
this to be wrong though...but they were trained, the average person couldn't do it).
Once you reach about 140 feet below sea level, the pressure is too much for scuba divers
to continue, or at least, the scuba divers that are there for recreational purposes.
More on that in a bit.
As you reach about 200 feet below sea level you'll start to notice more and more whales.
Specifically, you'll see Orcas (aka Killer Whales) as well as Whale Sharks (the biggest
sharks in the world today, and the biggest fish in the world today as sharks are fish).
Both of these creatures are impressive in their own rights, but you've got a lot more
to see as you continue to dive further down.
If you hit 330 feet, you'll notice scuba divers again.
But these aren't your average Joe divers, these are professional scuba divers.
They are ones with even more specialized equipment than your regular divers.
Some of them are even paid to dive into the deepest parts of the ocean (that are possible
by humans of course) so that they can explore underwater caves and such.
But, they are also in serious trouble, because if they rise to the surface of the ocean too
fast, they can die via decompression sickness.
As you keep going down, you're going to see some Octopuses, specifically the Giant Pacific
Octopus.
But what you'll see from here is a bit...tricky.
You see, at around 500 feet below sea level you'll reach what is known as the Dark Zone
of the ocean.
For at this depth, only 1% of all light from the sun reaches this depth.
Which means the further you go down, the darker and darker it'll get.
Which is why submersibles like the ones our four brave adventures from before had were
equipped with lighting fixtures that could withstand the pressures of the ocean so that
they could see what was all around them.
The deeper you go, the more exotic of life you're going to see, such as the Giant Oarfish,
the Japanese Spider Crab, and more.
And as you reach 1640 feet, you'll see the magnificent Blue Whale at its deepest depths.
These majestic creatures are the biggest creatures on the planet right now, and many fight to
keep them alive despite many countries hunting them down for their oil and blubber.
At around 3300 feet below sea level, you reach a key point in the ocean: The Midnight Zone.
It is here that NO sunlight pierces the veil as it were.
Meaning that all around you will be pure darkness outside of the faintest traces of light that
are emitted by the animals and plants that live there at times.
This is known as Bioluminescence, and many creatures of the deep (and the depths to come)
have this so that they can both sea, and ward off predators.
Or, in some cases, lure in prey.
But there's another point to this depth that needs to be made.
Because at the depth you are at, the pressure of the ocean is squeezing on you so tightly
that if a human body somehow drifted down into this depth without having protection
from a metal sub?
They'd be crushed into nothing in seconds flat.
Not the best way to go, don't you think?
At 4200 feet, you'll see the deepest depths that one of the most terrifying predators
of the ocean can go to, the Great White Shark.
Yeah, they live in shallow waters mostly, but they don't mind getting deep, and because
of how they hunt, via their noses and electrical signals and not sunlight, they don't mind
the darkness.
As you reach 6000 feet, you'll have met a major landmark...if you were on land.
Because that's the depth of the deepest point in the grand canyon.
But for this Trench?
We have many times that depth to go before we reach the bottom.
At 7400, you'll find the deepest that any whale species can reach, in this case, the
Sperm Whale, one of the most aggressive whales in the world.
But in truth, why they would need to go this far down to live in any situation is a bit
of a mystery.
When you get to 9900 feet below sea level, you'll get to witness something that only
a few have ever laid eyes on, Deep Sea Coral Reefs.
These treasures of the ocean are in every single ocean in the world.
But, because they're in the Midnight Zone, you can't see them unless you shine your light
on them.
Here's a fact I bet you didn't know, at 12,100 feet, you'll have reached the ocean floor...for
most oceans in the world.
Yeah, there's an average depth to the oceans of the world, and you just crossed it, not
that there's a sign that says, "You've crossed the ocean floor's average!" but hey, we can
dream.
The ironic thing though is that to get to the depths, you have to go three times that
depth.
So let's do it!
Alright, once you get to 19,700 feet, you'll reach the upper edge of the Mariana Trench.
"But wait a minute!
You said at the beginning that it was 36,000 feet deep!"
And it is, the deepest parts of it are 36,000 feet below sea level.
But everything has a top and a bottom.
But because of the uniqueness of the trench, people prefer to use the bottom number to
show off its depth.
Anyway, if you get to 19,700 feet below sea level you are indeed in the Mariana Trench.
Which is where our four explorers from before were able to reach and beyond.
Not to mention, certain discoveries between them and unmanned vehicles were made, such
as the Snailfish.
Which is the deepest fish EVER FOUND.
How deep was it found at?
26,000 feet below sea level.
Though it is technically unproven, scientists believe that anything below this point is
beyond the scope of most "normal" animals.
Meaning vertebrates.
The reason for this is believed to be the pressures that the waters at this point in
the Mariana Trench.
But does that mean that there is no life at the bottom?
No, not exactly.
As you reach the deepest parts of the Trench, you'll reach a spot known as the Challenger
Deep.
And it is here that creatures known as Invertebrates, which include Shrimp and other creatures,
as well as Microbes exist.
There is also very likely all sorts of plant life that is around in certain forms.
But as for what you will actually see if you go there?
That's...unclear.
Mainly because it hasn't been fully explored.
James Cameron was the first to reach this depth for a significant amount of time.
But even he didn't get to the full bottom.
He reached 35,787 feet below sea level.
A couple hundred feet short of the max depth (36,037 feet).
And even then, he could only stay there for a few hours in the exact same spot, observing
everything he could via his cameras and video recorders.
Needless to say, it was a pretty big deal, and the man from 2019, Victor Vescovo, had
an even deeper dive by about 50 feet and he still wasn't able to explore it all.
So in short, if you wanted someone to paint a picture of what the bottom of the Challenger
Deep was...you'd likely have to look at the video footage and extrapolate exactly what
is there, because the answers aren't something you can find in a textbook, or even online
in certain ways.
This is a major reason why more people want to take trips to the bottom of the Mariana
Trench, because there's still SO MUCH left to explore.
Think about it, there are mysteries there that we don't have on land.
Such as how the fish and creatures in the waters can survive with the pressures put
upon them.
How they evolved in such a way to live down there without issue.
And of course, the question of, "How many new species of animal and plant are down there?"
Just when Cameron was down there he discovered many new species, and further attempts have
done various discoveries as well.
Imagine if a manned craft was able to stay down there for days instead of hours?
The discoveries could be lifechanging.
And that is why the Mariana Trench is still such a wonder and a mystery to this day.
Because we know some things about it, but not all, and as this dive into the oceans
has hopefully shown you, there are many wonders to see and experience the deeper you go.
Thanks for watching everyone!
What did you think of this look at the Mariana Trench and what it is like to dive into its
depths?
Did you learn something new about the ocean?
Do you yourself want to go and do a dive into the Mariana Trench?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel.