Challenger Deep - the race

It's quite nuts to think that in this day and age, when we've been so far into space, that so few people have been a few miles down under our oceans.

Really looking forward to the documentary.

Bets on Avatar 2 being set underwater?
 
ianh said:
This is the coolest thing and the real shame is that he's only the 3rd person Ever to do it and there's no real publicity about it (only found out due to this post!)
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There's a fair bit it on news sites like BBC, there's more coming. Richard Branson is going to do it in a two man sub he's financed and a company has made a 3man sub which they intend to do it as well, oh and a 4th team as well sponsored by google. Not sure of time scales though.


Tefal said:
wait how is it a race if it's already been done? :confused:
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First solo and first to get any real data, the first attempted lacked instruments and also kicked up sea bed, so couldn't see anything.

Now roll on the documentary, should be fascinating. I hope it's several parts so it can properly explain technology, the actual preparation/"flight", life and geology.
 
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Tombstone said:
I really wish we could just remove all the water from the planet temporarily and take a good look at the seafloor, I'd wager we would find all manner of wonderous things. The archaeology alone would be incredible, not to mention the natural discoveries.
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where would we put it need a big pump...:eek:
 
I love the fact that after James Cameron tweeted when he reached where he was heading that the first reply was "Twitpic or it didn't happen" :D
 
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And apparently, there was nothing down there. Oh well, there's my dreams of prehistoric abyssal dwelling monsters gone for a burton.

Must be a little jarring. Spending all that money and risking your life, and there's bugger all there.
 
i just want a link to the videos i guess the area he actually saw was so small compared to the total area of the trench it was like a needle in a haystack to actually see something but theres got to be stuff down there if not right at the bottom in that area
 
robfosters said:
I think sadly, most, if not, all of Challenger Deep and the Mariana Trench itself will be quite sparse of lifeforms.

The real interest at that depth is more geological than biological.
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No not at all, there is likely thousands to millions of undiscovered species at that depth. Once you get a few miles into the aybss then pressure kind of 'makes no difference' to evolved life forms at that depth (i.e. its already insane and they have evolved there internal pressure to equal the water pressure), in fact its been seen many times when these creatures are bought to the surface they die, as the pressure is to low.

Obviously there will only be chemosynthetic and animal life that deep, but id bet my life on there will be millions of new species, it really is, a new world.

Combat Squirrel BSc (in ocean science)
 
Surly they don't need to equal pressure, as their internal pressures are the same as water pressure anyway. It's not like they evolved on land at 1 atmosphere and taken them down to 1000atmospheres.

However once you get above a certain pressure isn't there issue with being. Able to use gases or something.
 
Glaucus said:
Surly they don't need to equal pressure, as their internal pressures are the same as water pressure anyway. It's not like they evolved on land at 1 atmosphere and taken them down to 1000atmospheres.

However once you get above a certain pressure isn't there issue with being. Able to use gases or something.
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Well yeah thats what i meant, there internal pressure is the same as the surrounding water.

Not that I know of, as far as gases go, oxygen is in the water, you get issues with gases in humans obviously, as pressure changes, Im not totally sure but id imagine with the animal operating at abyss pressures anyway it won't make any difference to it, iv defo seen animals at 5-6 miles deep before so 7 is no big leap.
 
Perhaps it was just limited in size of creature, I'm sure there is some process that gets very hard at extreme pressures. Will see if I can find anything. It might not be about gasses. I'm sure I read something though.
 
Cool look it up, I know on the Trieste in the 60s the only thing they saw was a starfish, so life is defo there. Yeah there size is limited because it's a low energy environment, barely above freezing and not a great deal changes apart from hydrothermal vents, that's where all the life forms Eco system starts
 
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