Ever wondered about the Abyss? Well, wonder no more!
We have your top 11 FAQs (11 because we like to go above and beyond)!
6. How much have humans explored the abyss?
Human fascination with the sea is an ageless tale, but few people have ever explored its depths. The multi-year travels of the HMS Challenger, which collected enough specimens and data from all over the world's oceans to fill fifty volumes of information! The specimens gathered from deeper waters disproved explorer Edward Forbes' theory that life could not exist past 550 m (1800 ft). It was the Challenger that first discovered the Mariana Trench (1875). The Challenger expedition sparked increased deep sea exploration by divers such as William Beebe, who was one of the first to observe deep-sea life in the deep sea. In 1951, the HMS Challenger II returned to the Mariana islands and used sonar to more accurately measure the depth of the trench. The deepest point they found was named Challenger Deep. History was made in 1960 when Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh traveled all the way to the bottom of the sea. They were able to spend barely twenty minutes there, but are the only two people to have ever traveled that deep.
Scientists have made many more deep-sea dives since then, and often use machines like ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) or AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) to collect samples and data. There is stil much we don't know about the abyss. Slowly but surely, we are learning more about this strange world under the sea.
Scientists have made many more deep-sea dives since then, and often use machines like ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) or AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) to collect samples and data. There is stil much we don't know about the abyss. Slowly but surely, we are learning more about this strange world under the sea.