The first - ever crew mission has reached the bottom of the Atacama Trench , the deep area of the Eastern Pacific . On January 21 , veteran ocean explorer Victor Vescovo and oceanographer Dr. Osvaldo Ulloa traveled to the deepest spot , called Richards Deep , which they measured as 8,069 metre ( 26,465 feet ) below ocean stage .
The abyssal canyon , also known as the Peru - Chile Trench , was created by the subducting of the Nazca oceanic plate underneath the South American continental plate . It extends for 5,900 km ( 3,666 miles ) flank a large part of the western side of the continent .
explore the bottom of the sea require a exceptional submarine capable of handling incredible pressure . Vescovo has exactly that . Called Limiting Factor , the little submersible warship has attain the deepest point underwater , but it is far from easy . In an interview with IFLScience , explorer Richard Garriott told us justwhat it was likegetting to the Mariana Trench in the submersible ahead of time last twelvemonth .
The mission to the bottom of the Atacama Trench is not just about disc - breaking , it has important scientific objective lens too . This is why it regard Dr. Ulloa , Director of the Instituto Milenio de Oceanografia ( IMO ) . The IMO is studying the seabed of the trench and its elaborated depths so that in the future tense it will be potential to set up sensors for the Institute ’s IDOOS labor ( Integrated Deep Ocean Observing System for geoscience research ) .
“ It was a corking prerogative to pilot the first human stock to the bottom of the Atacama Trench with Dr. Ulloa . Being able-bodied to glide along the seafloor for three hour , personally inquire interesting points with someone who has studied the area for much of their career , was just fantastic , ” Vescovo , the beginner of Caladan Oceanic , pronounce in a statement seen by IFLScience .
“ This has been a keen day for Chilean scientific discipline . Thanks to Victor Vescovo and Caladan Oceanic we were able to directly stick out witness to the amazing geological and biologic richness of the Atacama Trench , ” Dr Ulloa , add .
“ Doing geographic expedition at Victor ’s side has been a marvellous privilege and rewarding experience , and we are very thankful to him , as well as the intact squad of the submersible Limiting Factor and its accompaniment vessel Pressure Drop . ”
attain Richards Deep was only the first of several dive design across the Eastern Pacific , all the direction to the Mid - American Trench off the western coast of Mexico . The military expedition also key out the secondly - deepest pip – 7,727 meters ( 25,350 feet ) below sea level – in the trench , locate 142 kilometers ( 88 miles ) north of Richards Deep . This localisation was then visited by Vescovo and Dr. Ruben Escribano on January 23 .
Despite the incredible depths , the explorers saw that life survive there undiscouraged . The footage show many holothurians – commonly named sea cucumber or ocean pigs – on the ocean floor , where no light has ever reached before the submersible warship got there .
“ Together we witnessed some amazing evidence of what seem to be more examples of chemosynthesis in the world ’s deep sea deep , ” Vescovo continued . “ Here , however , we saw long bacterial tendrils get off of John Rock face that never see any sunshine , and incur their energy from the minerals and gun seeping from the rocks , circumvent by a freeze seawater environment , Just sinful . ”
