The Mariana Trench


The Mariana Trench

by Abigail Slate
Mrs. Meakim
Period 2 Science


Facts on the Mariana Trench

Size:
  • Deeper than Mt. Everest is tall by over a mile
  • 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon
  • Runs for roughly 1550 miles
  • Extends down nearly 7 miles

Location:
  • Located just east of the Mariana Islands
  • East of Japan
  • East of the Phillipine Sea
  • North of New Guinea

Facts:
  • The Mariana Trench Marine National Monument (est. 2009), covering 95,216 square miles of submerged lands, is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.
  • On *date*, James Cameron dove down into the Mariana Trench in a submarine, to study its diverse organisms
    • It took him 2 hours and 36 minutes to hit the bottom on his way down, and 1 hour and 10 minutes to break the surface on his way back up.
  • The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of Earth's oceans; in fact, it is the deepest location on all of Earth itself.
  • The deepest part of the ocean is known as the abyssal zone.


Mariana Trench Images

Map Location


In comparison to Mt. Everest
what does this do

Sea cucumber

Angler Fish

Biology in the Mariana Trench

  • MICROORGANISMS
    • The microorganisms living at this depth are immune to heavy metals that are toxic to other organisms; this could lead to biomedical breakthroughs if scientists can discover how these microorganisms resist the metals.
    • These microorganisms can also feed on methane and various oils.

  • XENOPHYOPHORES
    • Single-celled organisms
    • Many nuclei, but one cell
    • Up to 4 inches in length
    • They consume food by surrounding and absorbing it

  • FISH
  • Snailfish
    • Currently hold the record as deepest living fish ever photographed
    • It was filmed 4.8 miles below the surface

  • CRUSTACEANS
  • Amphipods
    • Related to shrimp
    • They will eat almost anything, including each other

  • MOLLUSKS
    • It's hard for them to grow shells because of the water pressure deep in the trench
    • Snails with soft shells have been discovered in the trench

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