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177-673: The pass has been used since colonial times as the most direct link between the Pacific seaport of Valparaiso and the Atlantic port of Buenos Aires , avoiding the 11-day, 5,630 km (3,498 mi) journey by sea, via Cape Horn , between the two ports. In 1817 it was used by the Army of the Andes to cross the Andes, in the campaign to free Chile from the Spanish Empire . Reaching

354-505: A trough deeper that Vitiaz 's record by 5 metres (16 ft) was detected. There is a possibility that a depth exceeding 11,000 metres (36,089 ft) with a horizontal scale less than the beam width of measurements exists in the Challenger Deep. Since each SeaBeam 2.7-degree beam width sonar ping expands to cover a circular area about 500 metres (1,640 ft) in diameter at 11,000 metres (36,089 ft) depth, dips in

531-551: A 12 kHz Precision Depth Recorder (PDR) with a single 60° beam. They mapped one, "possibly two", axial basins with a depth of 10,915 ± 20 m (35,810 ± 66 ft). Five dredges were hauled 27–31 March, all into or slightly north of the deepest depths of the western basin. Fisher noted that this survey of the Challenger Deep (western basin) had "provided nothing to support and much to refute recent claims of depths there greater than 10,915 ± 20 m (35,810 ± 66 ft)." While Fisher missed

708-613: A Kongsberg Maritime EM 122 multi-beam echosounder system coupled to positioning equipment that can determine latitude and longitude the team determined that the Challenger Deep has a maximum depth of 10,925 m (35,843 ft) at 11°19.945′N 142°12.123′E  /  11.332417°N 142.202050°E  / 11.332417; 142.202050 ( 11°19′57″N 142°12′07″E  /  11.332417°N 142.20205°E  / 11.332417; 142.20205 ), with an estimated vertical uncertainty of ±12 m (39 ft) at one standard deviation (≈ 68.3%) confidence level. The analysis of

885-457: A brief transit of the area on Cruise #25. She returned in 1958, Cruise #27, to conduct a detailed single beam bathymetry survey involving over a dozen transects of the Deep, with an extensive examination of the western basin and a quick peek into the eastern basin. Fisher records a total of three Vityaz sounding locations on Fig.2 "Trenches" (1963), one within yards of the 142°11.5' E location, and

1062-484: A depth of 10,920 ± 5 m (35,827 ± 16 ft), located about 290 m (950 ft) southeast of the deepest site determined by the survey vessel Takuyo in 1984. The 2002 surveys of both the western and eastern basins were tight, with especially meticulous cross-gridding of the eastern basin with ten parallel tracks N–S and E–W less than 250 meters apart. On the morning of 17 October, ROV Kaikō dive #272 began and recovered over 33 hours later, with

1239-440: A depth of 10,951 m (35,928 ft) was located at approximately 23.75 nmi (44.0 km) to the east at 11°22′11″N 142°35′19″E  /  11.369639°N 142.588582°E  / 11.369639; 142.588582 in the eastern basin of the Challenger Deep. JAMSTEC returned Yokosuka to the Challenger Deep with cruise YK10-16, 21–28 November 2010. The chief scientist of this joint Japanese-Danish expedition

1416-492: A maximum depth of 10,030 ± 10 m (32,907 ± 33 ft), and thus established that the Challenger Deep was about 800 metres (2,600 ft) deeper than the Philippine Trench. The 1959 Stranger surveys of the Challenger Deep and of the Philippine Trench informed the U.S. Navy as to the appropriate site for Trieste 's record dive in 1960. The Proa Expedition, Leg 2 , returned Fisher to

1593-417: A maximum depth of 10,915 ± 10 m (35,810 ± 33 ft) at 11°20.0′N 142°11.8′E  /  11.3333°N 142.1967°E  / 11.3333; 142.1967 . Discrepancies between the geographical location (lat/long) of Stranger 's deepest depths and those from earlier expeditions ( Challenger II 1951; Vityaz 1957 and 1958) "are probably due to uncertainties in fixing

1770-421: A maximum depth of 10,920 ± 10 m (35,827 ± 33 ft) below sea level . A subsequent study revised the value to 10,935 ± 6 m (35,876 ± 20 ft) at a 95% confidence interval ). However, both the precise geographic location and depth remain ambiguous, with contemporary measurements ranging from 10,903 to 11,009 m (35,771 to 36,119 ft). The depression

1947-417: A maximum elevation of about 3,830 m (12,566 ft), the pass runs between the peaks of the 6,962 m (22,841 ft) Aconcagua to the north and the 6,570 m (21,555 ft) Tupungato to the south. In the 1990s it was the most used pass in all of South America. A railroad tunnel built by the now defunct Transandine Railway (1910–1982) runs underneath. The Pan-American Highway runs through

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2124-561: A new species of snailfish from the Northern slope of the Challenger Deep at 7,581 metres (24,872 ft), newly designated Pseudoliparis swirei . They also placed four or more CTD casts into the central and eastern basins of the Challenger Deep, as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology dispatched the research vessel Shinyo Maru to

2301-411: A quick but thorough depth survey of the Challenger Deep, 11–13 January 1998, under chief scientist Kantaro Fujioka. Tracking largely along the trench axis of 070–250° they made five 80-km bathymetric survey tracks, spaced about 15 km apart, overlapping their SeaBeam 2112-004 (which now allowed sub-bottom profiling penetrating as much as 75 m below the bottom) while gaining gravity and magnetic data covering

2478-582: A survey of the Marianas Trench between Guam and Ulithi atoll, using seismic-sized bomb-soundings and recorded a maximum depth of 5,663 fathoms (33,978 ft; 10,356 m). The depth was beyond Challenger II 's echo sounder capability to verify, so they resorted to using a taut wire with "140 lbs of scrap iron", and documented a depth of 5,899 fathoms (35,394 ft; 10,788 m). The Senior Scientist aboard Challenger II , Thomas Gaskell , recalled: [I]t took from ten past five in

2655-733: A third at 11°20.0′N 142°07′E  /  11.3333°N 142.117°E  / 11.3333; 142.117 , all with 11,034 ± 50 m (36,201 ± 164 ft) depth. The depths were considered statistical outliers , and a depth greater than 11,000 m has never been proven. Taira reports that if Vityaz 's depth was corrected with the same methodology used by the Japanese RV Hakuho Maru expedition of December 1992, it would be presented as 10,983 ± 50 m (36,033 ± 164 ft), as opposed to modern depths from multibeam echosounder systems greater than 10,900 metres (35,800 ft) with

2832-523: A transverse line across the Challenger Deep on 1 December 1992. The center CTD was located at 11°22.78′N 142°34.95′E  /  11.37967°N 142.58250°E  / 11.37967; 142.58250 , in the eastern basin, at 10,989 metres (36,053 ft) by the SeaBeam depth recorder and 10,884 metres (35,709 ft) by the CTD. The other two CTDs were cast 19.9 km to the north and 16.1 km to

3009-490: A trip to New Zealand waters (YK13-09), with the return cruise identified as YK13-12. The project name was QUELLE2013; and the cruise title was: "In situ experimental & sampling study to understand abyssal biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles". They spent one day on the return trip at the Challenger Deep to obtain DNA/RNA on the large amphipods inhabiting the Deep ( Hirondellea gigas ). Hideki Kobayashi (Biogeos, JAMSTEC) and

3186-664: Is Fais Island (one of the outer islands of Yap ), 287 km (178 mi) southwest, and Guam , 304 km (189 mi) to the northeast. Detailed sonar mapping of the western, center and eastern basins in June 2020 by the DSSV Pressure Drop combined with manned descents revealed that they undulate with slopes and piles of rocks above a bed of pelagic ooze . This conforms with the description of Challenger Deep as consisting of an elongated seabed section with distinct sub-basins or sediment-filled pools. Over many years,

3363-542: Is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km (170,000,000 cu mi). Due to the effects of plate tectonics , the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size. Along

3540-643: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a place in Mendoza Province , Argentina is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pacific Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica ) in

3717-426: Is a relatively small slot-shaped depression in the bottom of a considerably larger crescent-shaped oceanic trench , which itself is an unusually deep feature in the ocean floor. The Challenger Deep consists of three basins, each 6 to 10  km (3.7 to 6.2  mi ) long, 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, and over 10,850 m (35,597 ft) in depth, oriented in echelon from west to east, separated by mounds between

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3894-470: Is especially important when sounding in deep water, as the resulting footprint of an acoustic pulse gets large once it reaches a distant sea floor. Further, sonar operation is affected by variations in sound speed , particularly in the vertical plane. The speed is determined by the water's bulk modulus , mass , and density . The bulk modulus is affected by temperature, pressure , and dissolved impurities (usually salinity ). In 1875, during her transit from

4071-545: Is named after the British Royal Navy survey ships HMS  Challenger , whose expedition of 1872–1876 first located it, and HMS Challenger II , whose expedition of 1950–1952 established its record-setting depth. The first descent by any vehicle was by the bathyscaphe Trieste in January 1960. As of July 2022 , there were 27 people who have descended to the Challenger Deep . The Challenger Deep

4248-471: Is not available). Yayanos noted: "The lasting impression from this cruise comes from the thoughts of the revolutionary things that Seabeam data can do for deep biology." On 22 August 1988, the U.S. Navy-owned 1,000-ton research vessel Moana Wave (AGOR-22), operated by the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics (HIG), University of Hawaii , under the direction of chief scientist Robert C. Thunell from

4425-491: Is not known with any certainty what level of maritime technology was used by these groups – the presumption is that they used large bamboo rafts which may have been equipped with some sort of sail. The reduction in favourable winds for a crossing to Sahul after 58,000 B.P. fits with the dating of the settlement of Australia, with no later migrations in the prehistoric period. The seafaring abilities of pre-Austronesian residents of Island South-east Asia are confirmed by

4602-477: Is part of China's national marine research fleet but is owned by a Shanghai marine technology company. CAS' Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering sponsored Tansuo-1 's return to the Challenger Deep 20 January – 5 February 2017 (cruise TS03) with baited traps for the capture of fish and other macrobiology near the Challenger and Sirena Deeps. On 29 January they recovered photography and samples of

4779-541: Is the deepest known point of the seabed of Earth , located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench , in the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia . The GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names indicates that the feature is situated at 11°22.4′N 142°35.5′E  /  11.3733°N 142.5917°E  / 11.3733; 142.5917 and has

4956-701: The Admiralty Islands in the Bismarck Archipelago to Yokohama in Japan, the three-masted sailing corvette HMS Challenger attempted to make landfall at Spanish Marianas (now Guam ), but was set to the west by "baffling winds" preventing her crew from "visiting either the Carolines or the Ladrones ." Their altered path took them over the undersea canyon which later became known as

5133-697: The Americas , although evidence for this remains inconclusive. The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão , via the Lesser Sunda Islands , to the Maluku Islands , in 1512, and with Jorge Álvares 's expedition to southern China in 1513, both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca . The eastern side of

5310-575: The Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica 's Ross Sea ), the Pacific reaches its greatest east–west width at about 5°N latitude , where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia  – halfway around the world, and more than five times

5487-829: The International Date Line into the East Pacific and the West Pacific , which allows it to be further divided into four quadrants, namely the Northeast Pacific off the coasts of North America , the Southeast Pacific off South America , Northwest Pacific off Far Eastern / Pacific Asia , and the Southwest Pacific around Oceania . The Pacific Ocean's mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). Challenger Deep in

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5664-767: The Mariana Trench , located in the northwestern Pacific, is the deepest known point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,928 meters (35,853 feet). The Pacific also contains the deepest point in the Southern Hemisphere , the Horizon Deep in the Tonga Trench , at 10,823 meters (35,509 feet). The third deepest point on Earth, the Sirena Deep , is also located in the Mariana Trench. The western Pacific has many major marginal seas , including

5841-601: The Pacific War ; however, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. The Japanese-ruled Northern Mariana Islands came under the control of the United States. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states . The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by

6018-631: The Philippine Sea , South China Sea , East China Sea , Sea of Japan , Sea of Okhotsk , Bering Sea , Gulf of Alaska , Gulf of California , Mar de Grau , Tasman Sea , and the Coral Sea . In the early 16th century , Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and sighted the great "Southern Sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). Afterwards,

6195-694: The Polytechnic University of Marche , Italy (UNIVPM) were investigating the dynamics in virus/ prokaryotes interactions in the Mariana Trench. From 16–19 December 2014, the Schmidt Ocean Institute 's 2,024-ton research vessel Falkor , under chief scientist Douglas Bartlett from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, deployed four different untethered instruments into the Challenger Deep for seven total releases. Four landers were deployed on 16 December into

6372-715: The Southern Hemisphere . The North Equatorial Current , driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds , turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current . Turning eastward at about 45°N , the Kuroshio forks and some water moves northward as the Aleutian Current , while the rest turns southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current. The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms

6549-685: The Strait of Magellan to the Philippines , the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful; however, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific. The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes . Tsunamis , caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns. The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507

6726-498: The University of South Carolina , transited northwesterly across the central basin of the Challenger Deep, conducting a single-beam bathymetry track by their 3.5 kHz narrow (30-degs) beam echosounder with a Precision Depth Recorder. In addition to sonar bathymetry, they took 44 gravity cores and 21 box cores of bottom sediments. The deepest echosoundings recorded were 10,656 to 10,916 metres (34,961–35,814 ft), with

6903-800: The Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere , as well as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility , are in the Pacific Ocean. Ocean circulation (caused by the Coriolis effect ) subdivides it into two largely independent volumes of water that meet at the equator , the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean (or more loosely the South Seas ). The Pacific Ocean can also be informally divided by

7080-750: The Western Hemisphere . The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole ) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge . For most of Magellan's voyage from

7257-512: The crab claw sail ) – it is likely that the progressive development of these technologies were related to the later steps of settlement into Near and Remote Oceania. Starting at around 2200 BCE, Austronesians sailed southwards to settle the Philippines . From, probably, the Bismarck Archipelago they crossed the western Pacific to reach the Marianas Islands by 1500 BCE, as well as Palau and Yap by 1000 BCE. They were

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7434-526: The "11-K camera system" lander for sediment cores and water samples to "Station C" at the deepest depth, i.e. 11°22.19429′N 142°25.7574′E  /  11.36990483°N 142.4292900°E  / 11.36990483; 142.4292900 , at 10,903 metres (35,771 ft). The other stations were investigated with the "Multi-core" lander, both to the backarc northward, and to the Pacific Plate southward. The 11,000-meter capable crawler-driven ROV ABIMSO

7611-606: The "Marianas Deep" (sic) in October 1951. Using their newly improved echo sounder, they ran survey lines at right angles to the axis of the trench and discovered "a considerable area of a depth greater than 5,900 fathoms (35,400 ft; 10,790 m)" – later identified as the Challenger Deep's western basin. The greatest depth recorded was 5,940 fathoms (35,640 ft; 10,863 m), at 11°19′N 142°15′E  /  11.317°N 142.250°E  / 11.317; 142.250 . Navigational accuracy of several hundred meters

7788-483: The 142°30.00' longitude line, about 30 nmi east of the earlier DY37II cruise survey (see Xiangyanghong 09 above). In November 2016 sonar mapping of the Challenger Deep area was conducted by the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)/ GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel aboard the 8,554-ton Deep Ocean Research Vessel Sonne . The results were reported in 2017. Using

7965-410: The 16-beam Seabeam "Classic". This allowed chief scientist Yayanos an opportunity to transit the Challenger Deep with the most modern depth-sounding equipment available. During the pre-midnight hours of 21 April 1986, the multibeam echosounder produced a map of the Challenger Deep bottom with a swath of about 5–7 miles wide. The maximum depth recorded was 10,804 metres (35,446 ft) (location of depth

8142-429: The 1998–1999 surveys include the first recognition that the Challenger Deep consists of three "right-stepping en echelon individual basins bounded by the 10,500 metres (34,400 ft) depth contour line. The size of [each of] the deeps are almost identical, 14–20 km long, 4 km wide". They concluded with the proposal "that these three individual elongated deeps constitute the 'Challenger Deep', and [we] identify them as

8319-588: The 1999 Kairei cruise shows that the greatest depths in the eastern, central, and western depressions are 10,920 ± 10 m (35,827 ± 33 ft), 10,894 ± 14 m (35,741 ± 46 ft), and 10,907 ± 13 m (35,784 ± 43 ft), respectively, which supports the results of the previous survey. In 2002 Kairei revisited the Challenger Deep 16–25 October 2002, as cruise KR02-13 (a cooperative Japan-US-South Korea research program) with chief scientist Jun Hashimoto in charge; again with Kazuyoshi Hirata managing

8496-560: The 37th China Cruise Dayang (DY37II) sponsored by the National Deep Sea Center, Qingdao and the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Sanya, Hainan), to the Challenger Deep western basin area (11°22' N, 142°25' E) 4 June – 12 July 2016. As the mother ship for China's manned deep submersible Jiaolong , the expedition carried out an exploration of the Challenger Deep to investigate

8673-908: The Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent the entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines . The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands , such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition , led by

8850-533: The Atlantic. The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. A petrologic boundary, it separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins. The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc , along

9027-573: The CAS 3,300-ton research vessel Shiyan 3 deployed 33 broadband seismometers onto both the backarc northwest of the Challenger Deep, and onto the near southern Pacific Plate to the southeast, at depths of up to 8,137 m (26,696 ft). This cruise was part of a $ 12 million Chinese-U.S. initiative, led by co-leader Jian Lin of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ; a 5-year effort (2017–2021) to image in fine detail

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9204-583: The Challenger Deep from her home port of Sanya, Hainan Island. On 12 July 2016, the ROV Haidou-1 dived to a depth of 10,767 metres (35,325 ft) in the Challenger Deep area. They also cast a free-drop lander, 9,000 metres (29,528 ft) rated free-drop ocean-floor seismic instruments (deployed to 7,731 metres (25,364 ft)), obtained sediment core samples, and collected over 2000 biological samples from depths ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 metres (16,404–32,808 ft). The Tansuo 01 operated along

9381-455: The Challenger Deep in 12 km (7.5 mi) sidesteps, covering more than 90 nmi (166.7 km) north into the backarc with overlapping swaths from their SeaBeam 2000 12 kHz multi-beam echosounder and MR1 towed system. They also gathered magnetic and gravity information, but no seismic data. Their primary survey instrument was the MR1 towed sonar, a shallow-towed 11/12 kHz bathymetric sidescan sonar developed and operated by

9558-453: The Challenger Deep on 12–13 April 1962 aboard the Scripps research vessel Spencer F. Baird (formerly the steel-hulled US Army large tug LT-581 ) and employed a Precision Depth Recorder (PDR) to verify the extreme depths previously reported. They recorded a maximum depth of 10,915 metres (35,810 ft) (location not available). Additionally, at location "H-4" in the Challenger Deep, the expedition cast three taut-wire soundings: on 12 April,

9735-563: The Challenger Deep with multibeam ensonification. Under chief scientist Hideo Nishida, they used CTD temperature and salinity data from the top 4,500 metres (14,764 ft) of the water column to correct depth measurements, and later conferred with Scripps Institution of Oceanography (including Fisher), and other GEBCO experts to confirm their depth correction methodology. They employed a combination of NAVSAT , LORAN-C and OMEGA systems for geodetic positioning with accuracy better than 400 metres (1,300 ft). The deepest location recorded

9912-557: The Challenger Deep, mainly with biological objectives. "Echo soundings were carried out primarily with a 3.5 kHz single-beam system, with a 12 kHz echosounder operated in addition some of the time" (the 12 kHz system was activated for testing on 16 January). A benthic lander was put into the western basin ( 11°19.7′N 142°09.3′E  /  11.3283°N 142.1550°E  / 11.3283; 142.1550 ) on 13 January, bottoming at 10,663 metres (34,984 ft) and recovered 50 hours later in damaged condition. Quickly repaired, it

10089-521: The Challenger Deep. Depth soundings were taken by Baillie-weighted marked rope, and geographical locations were determined by celestial navigation (to an estimated accuracy of two nautical miles). One of their samples was taken within fifteen miles of the deepest spot in all of Earth's oceans. On 23 March 1875, at sample station number #225, HMS Challenger recorded the bottom at 4,475 fathoms (26,850  ft ; 8,184  m ) deep, (the deepest sounding of her three-plus-year eastward circumnavigation of

10266-404: The Challenger Deep. A 6-hour descent into the western basin anchored the array at 10,854.7 ± 8.9 m (35,613 ± 29 ft) of water depth, at 11°20.127′N 142°12.0233′E  /  11.335450°N 142.2003883°E  / 11.335450; 142.2003883 , about 1 km northeast of Sumner 's deepest depth, recorded in 2010. After 16 weeks, the moored array

10443-433: The Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current . The climate patterns of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres generally mirror each other. The trade winds in the southern and eastern Pacific are remarkably steady while conditions in the North Pacific are far more varied with, for example, cold winter temperatures on

10620-461: The Cook Expedition, Leg 6 with chief scientist Patricia Fryer of the University of Hawaii from Guam on 10 February 2001 to the Challenger Deep for a survey titled "Subduction Factory Studies in the Southern Mariana", including HMR-1 sonar mapping, magnetics, gravity measurements, and dredging in the Mariana arc region. They covered all three basins, then tracked 120-nautical-mile-long (222.2 km) lines of bathymetry East-West, stepping northward from

10797-499: The Danish-born Russian navy officer Vitus Bering . Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest , reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and colonized Polynesia , and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii , and the North American Pacific Northwest . In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron , a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established

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10974-456: The Deep from east to west, collecting single beam bathymetry, magnetic and gravity measurements, and employed the air guns along the trench axis, and well into the backarc and forearc , from 13 to 15 March 1976. Thence they proceeded south to the Ontong Java Plateau . All three deep basins of the Challenger Deep were covered, but Kana Keoki recorded a maximum depth of 7,800 m (25,591 ft). Seismic information developed from this survey

11151-504: The Earth's third deepest site (the Sirena Deep only 150 nautical miles east of the Challenger Deep), which would remain undiscovered for another 122 years. Seventy-five years later, the 1,140-ton British survey vessel HMS Challenger II , on her three-year westward circumnavigation of Earth, investigated the extreme depths southwest of Guam reported in 1875 by her predecessor, HMS Challenger . On her southbound track from Japan to New Zealand (May–July 1951), Challenger II conducted

11328-414: The Earth) at 11°24′N 143°16′E  /  11.400°N 143.267°E  / 11.400; 143.267 – and confirmed it with a second sounding at the same location. The serendipitous discovery of Earth's deepest depression by history's first major scientific expedition devoted entirely to the emerging science of oceanography , was incredibly good fortune, and especially notable when compared to

11505-407: The East, Central and West Deep. The deepest depth we obtained during the swath mapping is 10,938 metres (35,886 ft) in the West Deep (11°20.34' N, 142°13.20 E)." The depth was "obtained during swath mapping ... confirmed in both N–S and E-W swaths." Speed of sound corrections were from XBT to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), and CTD below 1,800 metres (5,900 ft). The cross track survey of

11682-411: The Guam-based 1,930-ton US Coast Guard Cutter Sequoia (WLB 215) hosted a team of researchers, under chief scientist Robert P. Dziak, from the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), the University of Washington , and Oregon State University, in deploying PMEL's "Full-Ocean Depth Mooring", a 45-meter-long moored deep-ocean hydrophone and pressure sensor array into the western basin of

11859-400: The HMRG Deep/Sirena Deep at 10,714 ± 20 m (35,151 ± 66 ft) are centered at/near 12°03.94′N 142°34.866′E  /  12.06567°N 142.581100°E  / 12.06567; 142.581100 , approximately 2.65 km from Fisher's 25 March 1975 10,015 metres (32,858 ft) dredge haul. On Scripps Institution of Oceanography's INDOPAC Expedition Leg 3 ,

12036-511: The Hawaii Mapping Research Group (HMRG), a research and operational group within University of Hawaii's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP). The MR1 is full-ocean-depth capable, providing both bathymetry and sidescan data. Leg 7 of the Cook Expedition continued the MR-1 survey of the Mariana Trench backarc from 4 March to 12 April 2001 under chief scientist Sherman Bloomer of Oregon State University . In May/June 2009,

12213-447: The Mariana Trench from 20 January to 5 February 2017 with baited traps for the capture of fish and other macrobiology near the Challenger and Sirena Deeps. On 29 January they recovered photography and samples of a new species of snailfish from the Northern slope of the Challenger Deep at 7,581 metres (24,872 ft), which has been newly designated Pseudoliparis swirei . Water samples were collected at Challenger Deep from 11 layers of

12390-498: The Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions encountered the Caroline Islands , the Aru Islands , and Papua New Guinea . In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan. In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 soldiers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi , and colonized the Philippines and Mariana Islands . For the remainder of the 16th century, Spain maintained military and mercantile control, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across

12567-796: The NOAA accepted maximum of 10,995 ± 10 m (36,073 ± 33 ft) in the western basin. The first definitive verification of both the depth and location of the Challenger Deep (western basin) was determined by Dr. R. L. Fisher from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography , aboard the 325-ton research vessel Stranger . Using explosive soundings, they recorded 10,850 ± 20 m (35,597 ± 66 ft) at/near 11°18′N 142°14′E  /  11.300°N 142.233°E  / 11.300; 142.233 in July 1959. Stranger used celestial and LORAN-C for navigation. LORAN-C navigation provided geographical accuracy of 460 m (1,509 ft) or better. According to another source RV Stranger using bomb-sounding surveyed

12744-637: The Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism . The Ring of Fire is named after the several hundred active volcanoes that sit above the various subduction zones. The Pacific Ocean is the only ocean which is mostly bounded by subduction zones. Only the central part of the North American coast and the Antarctic and Australian coasts have no nearby subduction zones. Challenger Deep The Challenger Deep

12921-798: The Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam , and establishing the Spanish East Indies . The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco , in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also arrived at Tuvalu , the Marquesas , the Cook Islands , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , the Marshalls and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. Later, in

13098-518: The Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea , Coral Sea , East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea , Sea of Japan , South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea , Tasman Sea , and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait ) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to

13275-472: The Pacific in prehistoric times. Modern humans first reached the western Pacific in the Paleolithic , at around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. Originating from a southern coastal human migration out of Africa, they reached East Asia , Mainland Southeast Asia , the Philippines, New Guinea , and then Australia by making the sea crossing of at least 80 kilometres (50 mi) between Sundaland and Sahul . It

13452-512: The Pacific in recorded history. They were part of a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation . Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn , the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until

13629-653: The Philippines already in 7000 BCE. Additional earlier migrations into Insular Southeast Asia, associated with Austroasiatic-speakers from Mainland Southeast Asia, are estimated to have taken place already in 15000 BCE. At around 1300 to 1200 BCE, a branch of the Austronesian migrations known as the Lapita culture reached the Bismarck Archipelago , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , Fiji , and New Caledonia . From there, they settled Tonga and Samoa by 900 to 800 BCE. Some also back-migrated northwards in 200 BCE to settle

13806-606: The ROV Kaikō team. On this survey, the size of each of the three basins was refined to 6–10 km long by about 2 km wide and in excess of 10,850 m (35,597 ft) deep. In marked contrast to the Kairei surveys of 1998 and 1999, the detailed survey in 2002 determined that the deepest point in the Challenger Deep is located in the eastern basin around 11°22.260′N 142°35.589′E  /  11.371000°N 142.593150°E  / 11.371000; 142.593150 , with

13983-580: The ROV working at the bottom of the western basin for 26 hours (vicinity of 11°20.148' N, 142°11.774 E at 10,893 m (35,738 ft)). Five Kaikō dives followed on a daily basis into the same area to service benthic landers and other scientific equipment, with dive #277 recovered on 25 October. Traps brought up large numbers of amphipods (sea fleas), and cameras recorded holothurians ( sea cucumbers ), White polychaetes (bristle worms), tube worms, and other biological species. During its 1998, 1999 surveys, Kairei

14160-562: The US Navy-owned 3,064-ton twin-hulled research vessel Kilo Moana (T-AGOR 26) was sent to the Challenger Deep area to conduct research. Kilo Moana is civilian-crewed and operated by SOEST. It is equipped with two multibeam echosounders with sub-bottom profiler add-ons (the 191-beam 12 kHz Kongsberg Simrad EM120 with SBP-1200, capable of accuracies of 0.2–0.5% of water depth across the entire swath), gravimeter , and magnetometer . The EM-120 uses 1 by 1 degree sonar-emissions at

14337-654: The United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard; HMS Challenger during the 1870s; the USS Tuscarora (1873–76); and the German Gazelle (1874–76). In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853, respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated

14514-481: The andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville , Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands. The coral reefs of the South Pacific are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under

14691-408: The andesite line. Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the andesite line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and

14868-747: The annual American Geophysical Union fall meeting. Using a Kongsberg Maritime EM 122 multi-beam echosounder system coupled to positioning equipment that can determine latitude and longitude up to 50 cm (20 in) accuracy, from thousands of individual soundings around the deepest part the CCOM/JHC team preliminary determined that the Challenger Deep has a maximum depth of 10,994 m (36,070 ft) at 11°19′35″N 142°11′14″E  /  11.326344°N 142.187248°E  / 11.326344; 142.187248 , with an estimated vertical uncertainty of ±40 m (131 ft) at two standard deviations (i.e. ≈ 95.4%) confidence level. A secondary deep with

15045-464: The application of differing sound velocity profiles, which are essential for accurate depth determination. Sonne used CTD casts about 1.6 km west of the deepest sounding to near the bottom of the Challenger Deep that were used for sound velocity profile calibration and optimization. Likewise, the impact of using different projections, datum and ellipsoids during data acquisition can cause positional discrepancies between surveys. In December 2016,

15222-594: The arctic, icing from October to May can present a hazard for shipping while persistent fog occurs from June to December. A climatological low in the Gulf of Alaska keeps the southern coast wet and mild during the winter months. The Westerlies and associated jet stream within the Mid-Latitudes can be particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the temperature difference between

15399-525: The base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea . Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current . The South Equatorial Current , flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea , turns east at about 50°S , and joins the main westerly circulation of the South Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current . As it approaches

15576-406: The basins 200 to 300 m (660 to 980 ft) higher. The three basins feature extends about 48 km (30 mi) west to east if measured at the 10,650 m (34,941 ft) isobath . Both the western and eastern basins have recorded depths (by sonar bathymetry) in excess of 10,920 m (35,827 ft), while the center basin is slightly less deep. The closest land to the Challenger Deep

15753-466: The bottom that are less than that size would be difficult to detect from a sonar-emitting platform seven miles above. For most of 1995 and into 1996, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) employed the 4,439-ton Research Vessel Yokosuka to conduct the testing and workup of the 11,000-meter remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) Kaikō , and the 6,500 meter ROV Shinkai. It

15930-414: The bottom, they recovered some 90 individual Hirondellea gigas . JAMSTEC deployed Kairei to the Challenger Deep again 11–17 January 2014, under the leadership of chief scientist Takuro Nunora. The cruise identifier was KR14-01, titled: "Trench biosphere expedition for the Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench". The expedition sampled at six stations transecting the central basin, with only two deployments of

16107-450: The bottom. In the first successful retrieval of a live animal from the Challenger Deep, on 21 November 1980 in the western basin at 11°18.7′N 142°11.6′E  /  11.3117°N 142.1933°E  / 11.3117; 142.1933 , Yayanos recovered a live amphipod from about 10,900 meters depth with a pressurized trap. Once again, other than a brief look into the eastern basin, all bathymetric and biological investigations were into

16284-459: The central basin at a depth of 10,285 metres (33,743 ft). The benthic lander was not recovered and may remain on the bottom in the vicinity of 11°20.1′N 142°25.2′E  /  11.3350°N 142.4200°E  / 11.3350; 142.4200 . Free traps and pressure-retaining traps were put down at eight locations from 13 to 19 January into the western basin, at depths ranging from 7,353 to 10,715 metres (24,124–35,154 ft). Both

16461-511: The central basin, near where Trieste dived in 1960 (vicinity 11°18.5′N 142°15.5′E  /  11.3083°N 142.2583°E  / 11.3083; 142.2583 , and where Challenger II , in 1950, recorded 10,863 ± 35 m (35,640 ± 115 ft). At the far western end of the western basin (about 142°11'E), the Stranger recorded 10,850 ± 20 m (35,597 ± 66 ft), some 6 km south of

16638-429: The central basin. On 13 April, the final cast recorded 5,297 fathoms (corrected for wire angle) 9,687 metres (31,781 ft) at 11°17.5′N 142°11′E  /  11.2917°N 142.183°E  / 11.2917; 142.183 (the western basin). They were chased off by a hurricane after only two days on-site. Once again, Fisher entirely missed the eastern basin of the Challenger Deep, which later proved to contain

16815-417: The central basin: the baited video-equipped lander Leggo for biologics; the lander ARI to 11°21.5809′N 142°27.2969′E  /  11.3596817°N 142.4549483°E  / 11.3596817; 142.4549483 for water chemistry; and the probes Deep Sound 3 and Deep Sound 2 . Both Deep Sound probes recorded acoustics floating at 9,000 metres (29,528 ft) depth, until Deep Sound 3 imploded at

16992-648: The chief scientist, Dr. Joseph L. Reid, and oceanographer Arnold W. Mantyla made a hydrocast of a free vehicle (a special-purpose benthic lander (or "baited camera") for measurements of water temperature and salinity) on 27 May 1976 into the western basin of the Challenger Deep, "Station 21", at 11°19.9′N 142°10.8′E  /  11.3317°N 142.1800°E  / 11.3317; 142.1800 at about 10,840 metres (35,560 ft) depth. On INDOPAC Expedition Leg 9 , under chief scientist A. Aristides Yayanos, Thomas Washington spent nine days from 13–21 January 1977 conducting an extensive and detailed investigation of

17169-432: The corrected depth was 10,989 metres (36,053 ft), and at 11°22.0′N 142°34.0′E  /  11.3667°N 142.5667°E  / 11.3667; 142.5667 the depth was 10,927 metres (35,850 ft); both in the eastern basin. This may demonstrate that the basins might not be flat sedimentary pools but rather undulate with a difference of 50 metres (160 ft) or more. Taira revealed, "We considered that

17346-549: The cruise, Jiaolong regularly deployed gas-tight samplers to collect water near the sea bottom. In a test of navigational proficiency, Jiaolong used an Ultra-Short Base Line (USBL) positioning system at a depth more than 6,600 metres (21,654 ft) to retrieve sampling bottles. From 22 June to 12 August 2016 (cruises 2016S1 and 2016S2), the Chinese Academy of Sciences' 6,250-ton submersible support ship Tansuo 1 (meaning: to explore) on her maiden voyage deployed to

17523-559: The deepest depths. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography deployed the 1,490-ton Navy-owned, civilian-crewed research vessel Thomas Washington (AGOR-10) to the Mariana Trench on several expeditions from 1975 to 1986. The first of these was the Eurydice Expedition, Leg 8 which brought Fisher back to the Challenger Deep's western basin from 28–31 March 1975. Thomas Washington established geodetic positioning by ( SATNAV ) with Autolog Gyro and EM Log. Bathymetrics were by

17700-486: The depth of 8,620 metres (28,281 ft) (about 2,200 metres (7,218 ft) above the bottom) at 11°21.99′N 142°27.2484′E  /  11.36650°N 142.4541400°E  / 11.36650; 142.4541400 . The Deep Sound 2 recorded the implosion of Deep Sound 3 , providing a unique recording of an implosion within the Challenger Deep depression. In addition to the loss of the Deep Sound 3 by implosion,

17877-459: The diameter of the Moon. Its geographic center is in eastern Kiribati south of Kiritimati , just west from Starbuck Island at 4°58′S 158°45′W  /  4.97°S 158.75°W  / -4.97; -158.75 . The lowest known point on Earth – the Mariana Trench  – lies 10,911 m (35,797  ft ; 5,966 fathoms ) below sea level. Its average depth

18054-402: The difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest; however, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active month. November is the only month in which all the tropical cyclone basins are active. The Pacific hosts the two most active tropical cyclone basins , which are

18231-466: The discovery of the deepest basin of the world's oceans. In August 1957, the Soviet 3,248-ton Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry research vessel Vityaz recorded a maximum depth of 11,034 ± 50 m (36,201 ± 164 ft) at 11°20.9′N 142°11.5′E  /  11.3483°N 142.1917°E  / 11.3483; 142.1917 in the western basin of the Challenger Deep during

18408-493: The east and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast. Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea , the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands. The other main Melanesian groups from north to south are the Bismarck Archipelago , the Solomon Islands , Santa Cruz , Vanuatu , Fiji and New Caledonia . The largest area, Polynesia , stretching from Hawaii in

18585-505: The east coast of Russia contrasting with the milder weather off British Columbia during the winter months due to the preferred flow of ocean currents . In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. To determine the phase of ENSO, the most recent three-month sea surface temperature average for the area approximately 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to

18762-442: The eastern basin again was missed by this expedition. From 20 to 30 November 1980, Thomas Washington was on site at the western basin of the Challenger Deep, as part of Rama Expedition Leg 7 , again with chief-scientist Dr. A. A. Yayanos. Yayanos directed Thomas Washington in arguably the most extensive and wide-ranging of all single-beam bathymetric examinations of the Challenger Deep ever undertaken, with dozens of transits of

18939-438: The eastern basin of the Challenger Deep (for the third time), he did report a deep depression about 150 nautical miles east of the western basin. The 25 March dredge haul at 12°03.72′N 142°33.42′E  /  12.06200°N 142.55700°E  / 12.06200; 142.55700 encountered 10,015 metres (32,858 ft), which pre-shadowed by 22 years the discovery of HMRG Deep/ Sirena Deep in 1997. The deepest waters of

19116-665: The eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula , the Kuril Islands , Japan, the Mariana Islands , the Solomon Islands , and New Zealand's North Island . The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside

19293-512: The eighteenth century. Magellan stopped at one uninhabited Pacific island before stopping at Guam in March 1521. Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope , completing the first world circumnavigation in 1522. Sailing around and east of

19470-587: The entire Challenger Deep: western, central, and eastern basins. Kairei returned in May 1998, cruise KR98-05, with ROV Kaikō , under the direction of chief scientist Jun Hashimoto with both geophysical and biological goals. Their bathymetric survey from 14–26 May was the most intensive and thorough depth and seismic survey of the Challenger Deep performed to date. Each evening, Kaikō deployed for about four hours of bottom time for biological-related sampling, plus about seven hours of vertical transit time. When Kaikō

19647-647: The equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north. The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km (63,800,000 sq mi) – larger than Earth's entire landmass combined, 150,000,000 km (58,000,000 sq mi). Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from

19824-601: The equator, which can have a salinity as low as 34 parts per thousand, is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. The lowest counts of less than 32 parts per thousand are found in the far north as less evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas. The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre ) and counter-clockwise in

20001-542: The evening until twenty to seven, that is an hour and a half, for the iron weight to fall to the sea-bottom. It was almost dark by the time the weight struck, but great excitement greeted the reading... In New Zealand, the Challenger II team gained the assistance of the Royal New Zealand Dockyard, "who managed to boost the echo sounder to record at the greatest depths". They returned to

20178-463: The first cast was to 5,078 fathoms (corrected for wire angle) 9,287 metres (30,469 ft) at 11°23′N 142°19.5′E  /  11.383°N 142.3250°E  / 11.383; 142.3250 in the central basin (Up until 1965, US research vessels recorded soundings in fathoms). The second cast, also on 12 April, was to 5,000 fathoms at 11°20.5′N 142°22.5′E  /  11.3417°N 142.3750°E  / 11.3417; 142.3750 in

20355-606: The first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula , and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and arrived at Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum  – a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from

20532-474: The first humans to reach Remote Oceania , and the first to cross vast distances of open water. They also continued spreading southwards and settling the rest of Maritime Southeast Asia , reaching Indonesia and Malaysia by 1500 BCE, and further west to Madagascar and the Comoros in the Indian Ocean by around 500 CE. More recently, it is suggested that Austronesians expanded already earlier, arriving in

20709-433: The free traps and the pressure-retaining traps brought up good sample amphipods for study. While the ship briefly visited the area of the eastern basin, the expedition did not recognize it as potentially the deepest of the three Challenger Deep basins. Thomas Washington returned briefly to the Challenger Deep on 17–19 October 1978 during Mariana Expedition Leg 5 under chief scientist James W. Hawkins. The ship tracked to

20886-424: The geological, biological, and chemical characteristics of the hadal zone . The diving area for this leg was on the southern slope of the Challenger Deep, at depths from about 6,300 to 8,300 metres (20,669 to 27,231 ft). The submersible completed nine piloted dives on the northern backarc and south area ( Pacific plate ) of the Challenger Deep to depths from 5,500 to 6,700 metres (18,045 to 21,982 ft). During

21063-404: The greatest depth at 11°22′N 142°25′E in the central basin. This was the first indication that all three basins contained depths in excess of 10,900 metres (35,800 ft). The 3,987-ton Japanese research vessel Hakuhō Maru , an Ocean Research Institute – University of Tokyo sponsored ship, on cruise KH-92-5 cast three Sea-Bird SBE-9 ultra-deep CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) profilers in

21240-453: The greatest depth was at 11°20.0′N 142°11.8′E  /  11.3333°N 142.1967°E  / 11.3333; 142.1967 . All of the 10,900-plus m recordings were in the western basin. The 10,455 metres (34,301 ft) depth was furthest east at 142°26.4' E (in the central basin), about 17 km west of the eastern basin. Again, focused efforts on the known areas of extreme depths (the western and central basins) were so tight that

21417-424: The greatest depths in the eastern, central, and western depressions are 10,922 ± 74 m (35,833 ± 243 ft), 10,898 ± 62 m (35,755 ± 203 ft), and 10,908 ± 36 m (35,787 ± 118 ft), respectively, making the eastern depression the deepest of the three. In 1999, Kairei revisited the Challenger Deep during cruise KR99-06. The results of

21594-495: The grid point has an uncertainty of ±50 to 100 m (164 to 328 ft), depending on along-track or across-track direction. This depth (59 m (194 ft)) and position (about 410 m (1,345 ft) to the northeast) measurements differ significantly from the deepest point determined by the Gardner et al. (2014) study. The observed depth discrepancy with the 2010 sonar mapping and Gardner et al 2014 study are related to

21771-439: The incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations. By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile. Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898, Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during

21948-549: The islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia , Melanesia and Polynesia . Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line , includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to

22125-519: The islands of eastern Micronesia (including the Carolines , the Marshall Islands , and Kiribati ), mixing with earlier Austronesian migrations in the region. This remained the furthest extent of the Austronesian expansion into Polynesia until around 700 CE when there was another surge of island exploration. They reached the Cook Islands , Tahiti , and the Marquesas by 700 CE; Hawaiʻi by 900 CE; Rapa Nui by 1000 CE; and finally New Zealand by 1200 CE. Austronesians may have also reached as far as

22302-556: The lander ARI failed to respond upon receiving its instruction to drop weights, and was never recovered. On 16/17 December, Leggo was returned to the central basin baited for amphipods. On the 17th, RV Falkor relocated 17 nms eastward to the eastern basin, where they again deployed both the Leggo (baited and with its full camera load), and the Deep Sound 2 . Deep Sound 2 was programmed to drop to 9,000 metres (29,528 ft) and remain at that depth during its recording of sounds within

22479-683: The lander's mackerel bait and with sample amphipods. Falknor departed the Challenger Deep on 19 December en route the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument to the Sirena Deep. RV Falkor had both a Kongsberg EM302 and EM710 multibeam echosounder for bathymetry, and an Oceaneering C-Nav 3050 global navigation satellite system receiver, capable of calculating geodetic positioning with an accuracy better than 5 cm (2.0 in) horizontally and 15 cm (5.9 in) vertically. From 10 to 13 July 2015,

22656-600: The location where Vityaz recorded 11,034 ± 50 m (36,201 ± 164 ft) in 1957–1958. Fisher stated: "differences in the Vitiaz [sic] and Stranger – Challenger II depths can be attributed to the [sound] velocity correction function used". After investigating the Challenger Deep, Stranger proceeded to the Philippine Trench and transected the trench over twenty times in August 1959, finding

22833-590: The nearby Cristo Redentor Tunnel (in Spanish: Paso Internacional Cristo Redentor ) and a monument, Christ the Redeemer of the Andes ( "Cristo Redentor de los Andes" in Spanish) is located at the pass. [REDACTED] Media related to Paso Libertadores at Wikimedia Commons 32°48′S 70°01′W  /  32.800°S 70.017°W  / -32.800; -70.017 This Valparaíso Region location article

23010-579: The next two decades. The Yokosuka employed a 151-beam SeaBeam 2112 12 kHz multibeam echosounder, allowing search swaths 12–15 km in width at 11,000 metres (36,089 ft) depth. The depth accuracy of Yokosuka 's Seabeam was about 0.1% of water depth (i.e. ± 110 metres (361 ft) for 11,000 metres (36,089 ft) depth). The ship's dual GPS systems attained geodetic positioning within double digit meter (100 metres (328 ft) or better) accuracy. Cruise KR98-01 sent JAMSTEC's two-year-old 4,517-ton Deep Sea Research Vessel RV Kairei south for

23187-601: The north to New Zealand in the south, also encompasses Tuvalu , Tokelau , Samoa , Tonga and the Kermadec Islands to the west, the Cook Islands , Society Islands and Austral Islands in the center, and the Marquesas Islands , Tuamotu , Mangareva Islands , and Easter Island to the east. Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside

23364-619: The northern Philippines , but also earlier groups associated with Austroasiatic-speakers , resulting in the modern peoples of Island Southeast Asia and Oceania. A later seaborne migration is the Neolithic Austronesian expansion of the Austronesian peoples . Austronesians originated from the island of Taiwan c.  3000 –1500 BCE. They are associated with distinctive maritime sailing technologies (notably outrigger boats , catamarans , lashed-lug boats, and

23541-575: The northwestern Pacific and the eastern Pacific. Pacific hurricanes form south of Mexico, sometimes striking the western Mexican coast and occasionally the Southwestern United States between June and October, while typhoons forming in the northwestern Pacific moving into southeast and east Asia from May to December. Tropical cyclones also form in the South Pacific basin , where they occasionally impact island nations. In

23718-399: The ocean was encountered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean. He named it Mar del Sur ("Sea of the South" or "South Sea" ) because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. In 1520, navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first to cross

23895-465: The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico , which in Portuguese means 'peaceful sea'. Top large seas: Across the continents of Asia, Australia and the Americas , more than 25,000 islands, large and small, rise above

24072-562: The ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia with chains of reef patches. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia . The volume of the Pacific Ocean, representing about 50.1 percent of

24249-581: The quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , arrived at the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres . Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in exploration and trade; Willem Janszoon , made

24426-597: The rock layers in and around the Challenger Deep. The newly launched 4,800-ton research vessel (and mothership for the Rainbow Fish series of deep submersibles), the Zhang Jian departed Shanghai on 3 December. Their cruise was to test three new deep-sea landers, one uncrewed search submersible and the new Rainbow Fish 11,000-meter manned deep submersible, all capable of diving to 10,000 meters. From 25 to 27 December, three deep-sea landing devices descended into

24603-500: The sea surface. Each 1 degree beam width sonar ping expands to cover a circular area about 192 metres (630 ft) in diameter at 11,000 metres (36,089 ft) depth. Whilst mapping the Challenger Deep the sonar equipment indicated a maximum depth of 10,971 m (35,994 ft) at an undisclosed position. Navigation equipment includes the Applanix POS MV320 V4, rated at accuracies of 0.5–2 m. RV Kilo Moana

24780-403: The search for, and investigation of, the location of the maximum depth of the world's oceans has involved many different vessels, and continues into the twenty-first century. The accuracy of determining geographical location, and the beamwidth of (multibeam) echosounder systems, limits the horizontal and vertical bathymetric sensor resolution that hydrographers can obtain from onsite data. This

24957-505: The settlement of Buka by 32,000 B.P. and Manus by 25,000 B.P. Journeys of 180 kilometres (110 mi) and 230 kilometres (140 mi) are involved, respectively. The descendants of these migrations today are the Negritos , Melanesians , and Indigenous Australians . Their populations in maritime Southeast Asia , coastal New Guinea , and Island Melanesia later intermarried with the incoming Austronesian settlers from Taiwan and

25134-429: The ships' positions". Stranger 's north-south zig-zag survey passed well to the east of the eastern basin southbound, and well to the west of the eastern basin northbound, thus failed to discover the eastern basin of the Challenger Deep. The maximum depth measured near longitude 142°30'E was 10,760 ± 20 m (35,302 ± 66 ft), about 10 km west of the eastern basin's deepest point. This

25311-439: The sonar survey offered a 100 by 100 metres (328 ft × 328 ft) grid resolution at bottom depth, so small dips in the bottom that are less than that size would be difficult to detect from the 0.5 by 1 degree sonar-emissions at the sea surface. Each 0.5-degree beam width sonar ping expands to cover a circular area about 96 metres (315 ft) in diameter at 11,000 metres (36,089 ft) depth. The horizontal position of

25488-487: The south and west of the eastern basin, and recorded depths between 5,093 and 7,182 metres (16,709–23,563 ft). Another miss. On Mariana Expedition Leg 8 , under chief scientist Yayanos, Thomas Washington was again involved, from 12–21 December 1978, with an intensive biological study of the western and central basins of the Challenger Deep. Fourteen traps and pressure-retaining traps were put down to depths ranging from 10,455 to 10,927 metres (34,301–35,850 ft);

25665-550: The south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), this largest division of the World Ocean and the hydrosphere covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area, larger than its entire land area (148,000,000 km (57,000,000 sq mi)). The centers of both

25842-514: The south. Hakuhō Maru was equipped with a narrow beam SeaBeam 500 multi-beam echosounder for depth determination, and had an Auto-Nav system with inputs from NAVSAT/NNSS , GPS, Doppler Log, EM log and track display, with a geodetic positioning accuracy approaching 100 metres (330 ft). When conducting CTD operations in the Challenger deep, they used the SeaBeam as a single beam depth recorder. At 11°22.6′N 142°35.0′E  /  11.3767°N 142.5833°E  / 11.3767; 142.5833

26019-504: The southeast of Hawaii is computed, and if the region is more than 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) above or below normal for that period, then an El Niño or La Niña is considered in progress. In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet season during the summer months contrast with dry winds in the winter which blow over the ocean from the Asian landmass. Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when

26196-415: The surface of the Pacific Ocean. Multiple islands were the shells of former active volcanoes that have lain dormant for thousands of years. Close to the equator, without vast areas of blue ocean, are a dot of atolls that have over intervals of time been formed by seamounts as a result of tiny coral islands strung in a ring within surroundings of a central lagoon . Important human migrations occurred in

26373-434: The team deployed a benthic lander on 23 November 2013 with eleven baited traps (three bald, five covered by insulating materials, and three automatically sealed after nine hours) into the central basin of the Challenger Deep at 11°21.9082′N 142°25.7606′E  /  11.3651367°N 142.4293433°E  / 11.3651367; 142.4293433 , depth 10,896 metres (35,748 ft). After an eight-hour, 46-minute stay at

26550-414: The trench. On 19 December Leggo landed at 11°22.11216′N 142°35.250996′E  /  11.36853600°N 142.587516600°E  / 11.36853600; 142.587516600 at a uncorrected depth of 11,168 metres (36,640 ft) according to its pressure sensor readings. This reading was corrected to 10,929 metres (35,856 ft) depth. Leggo returned with good photography of amphipods feeding on

26727-424: The trench. The first Rainbow Fish lander took photographs, the second took sediment samples, and the third took biological samples. All three landers reached over 10,000 meters, and the third device brought back 103 amphipods. Cui Weicheng, director of Hadal Life Science Research Center at Shanghai Ocean University , led the team of scientists to carry out research at the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. The ship

26904-804: The tropics and Antarctica, which records the coldest temperature readings on the planet. In the Southern hemisphere, because of the stormy and cloudy conditions associated with extratropical cyclones riding the jet stream, it is usual to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties according to the varying degrees of latitude. The ocean was first mapped by Abraham Ortelius ; he called it Maris Pacifici following Ferdinand Magellan 's description of it as "a pacific sea" during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. To Magellan, it seemed much more calm (pacific) than

27081-488: The water from hydrothermal vents, white smokers, and hot spots. Kyoko OKINO from the Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, was principal investigator for this aspect of the cruise. The second goal of the cruise was to deploy a new "10K free fall camera system" called Ashura , to sample sediments and biologics at the bottom of the Challenger Deep. The principal investigator at the Challenger Deep

27258-586: The west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean . As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian , the West Pacific (or western Pacific , near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere , while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific , near the Americas) is in

27435-430: The western basin, and ranging far into the backarc of the Challenger Deep (northward), with significant excursions into the Pacific Plate (southward) and along the trench axis to the east. They hauled eight dredges in the western basin to depths ranging from 10,015 to 10,900 metres (32,858–35,761 ft), and between hauls, cast thirteen free vertical traps. The dredging and traps were for biological investigation of

27612-549: The western basin. On Leg 3 of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics' (HIG) expedition 76010303, the 156-foot (48 m) research vessel Kana Keoki departed Guam primarily for a seismic investigation of the Challenger Deep area, under chief scientist Donald M. Hussong. The ship was equipped with air guns (for seismic reflection soundings deep into the Earth's mantle ), magnetometer , gravimeter , 3.5 kHz and 12 kHz sonar transducers, and precision depth recorders. They ran

27789-534: The width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history. One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and

27966-434: The world's oceanic water, has been estimated at some 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles). Surface water temperatures in the Pacific can vary from −1.4 °C (29.5 °F), the freezing point of seawater, in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator. Salinity also varies latitudinally, reaching a maximum of 37 parts per thousand in the southeastern area. The water near

28143-493: The world's oceans. Technological advances such as improved multi-beam sonar would be the driving force in uncovering the mysteries of the Challenger Deep into the future. The Scripps research vessel Thomas Washington 's returned to the Challenger Deep in 1986 during the Papatua Expedition, Leg 8 , mounting one of the first commercial multi-beam echosounders capable of reaching into the deepest trenches, i.e.

28320-400: Was 10,920 ± 10 m (35,827 ± 33 ft) at 11°22.4′N 142°35.5′E  /  11.3733°N 142.5917°E  / 11.3733; 142.5917 ; for the first time documenting the eastern basin as the deepest of the three en echelon pools. In 1993, GEBCO recognized the 10,920 ± 10 m (35,827 ± 33 ft) report as the deepest depth of

28497-602: Was Hiroshi Kitazato of the Institute of Biogeosciences, JAMSTEC. The cruise was titled "Biogeosciences at the Challenger Deep: relict organisms and their relations to biogeochemical cycles". The Japanese teams made five deployments of their 11,000-meter camera system (three to 6,000 meters – two into the central basin of the Challenger Deep) which returned with 15 sediment cores, video records and 140 scavenging amphipod specimens. The Danish Ultra Deep Lander System

28674-513: Was Taishi Tsubouchi of JAMSTEC. The lander Ashura made two descents: on the first, 6 July 2009, Ashura bottomed at 11°22.3130′N 142°25.9412′E  /  11.3718833°N 142.4323533°E  / 11.3718833; 142.4323533 at 10,867 metres (35,653 ft). The second descent (on 10 July 2009) was to 11°22.1136′N 142°25.8547′E  /  11.3685600°N 142.4309117°E  / 11.3685600; 142.4309117 at 10,897 metres (35,751 ft). The 270 kg Ashura

28851-509: Was a two-part program: surveying three hydrothermal vent sites in the southern Mariana Trough backarc basin near 12°57'N, 143°37'E about 130 nmi northeast of the central basin of the Challenger Deep, using the autonomous underwater vehicle Urashima . AUV Urashima dives #90–94, were to a maximum depth of 3500 meters, and were successful in surveying all three sites with a Reson SEABAT7125AUV multibeam echosounder for bathymetry, and multiple water testers to detect and map trace elements spewed into

29028-496: Was again put down on the 15th to 10,559 metres (34,642 ft) depth at 11°23.3′N 142°13.8′E  /  11.3883°N 142.2300°E  / 11.3883; 142.2300 . It was recovered on the 17th with excellent photography of amphipods (shrimp) from the Challenger Deep's western basin. The benthic lander was put down for the third and last time on the 17th, at 11°20.1′N 142°25.2′E  /  11.3350°N 142.4200°E  / 11.3350; 142.4200 , in

29205-668: Was also used as the support ship of the hybrid remotely operated underwater vehicle (HROV) Nereus that dived three times to the Challenger Deep bottom during the May/June 2009 cruise and did not confirm the sonar established maximum depth by its support ship. Cruise YK09-08 brought the JAMSTEC 4,429-ton research vessel Yokosuka back to the Mariana Trough and to the Challenger Deep June–July 2009. Their mission

29382-577: Was an important gap in information, as the eastern basin was later reported as deeper than the other two basins. Stranger crossed the center basin twice, measuring a maximum depth of 10,830 ± 20 m (35,531 ± 66 ft) in the vicinity of 142°22'E. At the western end of the central basin (approximately 142°18'E), they recorded a depth of 10,805 ± 20 m (35,449 ± 66 ft). The western basin received four transects by Stranger , recording depths of 10,830 ± 20 m (35,531 ± 66 ft) toward

29559-514: Was attained by celestial navigation and LORAN-A . As Gaskell explained, the measurement was not more than 50 miles from the spot where the nineteenth-century Challenger found her deepest depth [...] and it may be thought fitting that a ship with the name Challenger should put the seal on the work of that great pioneering expedition of oceanography. The term "Challenger Deep" came into use after this 1951–52 Challenger circumnavigation, and commemorates both British ships of that name involved with

29736-534: Was employed by Ronnie Glud et al on four casts, two into the central basin of the Challenger Deep and two to 6,000 m some 34 nmi west of the central basin. The deepest depth recorded was on 28 November 2010 – camera cast CS5 – 11°21.9810′N 142°25.8680′E  /  11.3663500°N 142.4311333°E  / 11.3663500; 142.4311333 }, at a corrected depth of 10,889.6 metres (35,727 ft) (the central basin). With JAMSTEC Cruises YK13-09 and YK13-12, Yokosuka hosted chief scientist Hidetaka Nomaki for

29913-460: Was equipped with a GPS satellite-based radionavigation system. The United States government lifted the GPS selective availability in 2000, so during its 2002 survey, Kairei had access to non-degraded GPS positional services and achieved single-digit meter accuracy in geodetic positioning. The 2.516-ton research vessel Melville , at the time operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, took

30090-470: Was equipped with multiple baited traps, a HTDV video camera, and devices to recover sediment, water, and biological samples (mostly amphipods at the bait, and bacteria and fungus from the sediment and water samples). On 7 October 2010, further sonar mapping of the Challenger Deep area was conducted by the US Center for Coastal & Ocean Mapping /Joint Hydrographic Center (CCOM/JHC) aboard the 4.762-ton Sumner . The results were reported in December 2011 at

30267-422: Was instrumental in gaining an understanding of the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Philippine Sea Plate . In 1977, Kana Keoki returned to the Challenger Deep area for wider coverage of the forearc and backarc. The Hydrographic Department, Maritime Safety Agency, Japan (JHOD) deployed the newly commissioned 2,600-ton survey vessel Takuyo (HL 02) to the Challenger Deep 17–19 February 1984. Takuyo

30444-472: Was not until February 1996, during Yokosuka 's cruise Y96-06, that Kaikō was ready for its first full depth dives. On this cruise, JAMSTEC established an area of the Challenger Deep (11°10'N to 11°30'N, by 141°50'E to 143°00'E – which later was recognized as containing three separate pools/basins en echelon, each with depths in excess of 10,900 m (35,761 ft)) toward which JAMSTEC expeditions would concentrate their investigations for

30621-404: Was onboard for servicing, Kairei conducted bathymetric surveys and observations. Kairei gridded a survey area about 130 km N–S by 110 km E–W. Kaikō made six dives (#71–75) all to the same location, (11°20.8' N, 142°12.35' E), near the 10,900 metres (35,800 ft) bottom contour line in the western basin. The regional bathymetric map made from the data obtained in 1998 shows that

30798-478: Was recovered on 2–4 November 2015. "Observed sound sources included earthquake signals (T phases), baleen and odontocete cetacean vocalizations, ship propeller sounds, airguns, active sonar and the passing of a Category 4 typhoon." The science team described their results as "the first multiday, broadband record of ambient sound at Challenger Deep, as well as only the fifth direct depth measurement". The 3,536-ton research vessel Xiangyanghong 09 deployed on Leg II of

30975-433: Was sent to 7,646 m depth about 20 nmi due north of the central basin (ABISMO dive #21) specifically to identify possible hydrothermal activity on the north slope of the Challenger Deep, as suggested by findings from Kairei cruise KR08-05 in 2008. AMISMO 's dives #20 and #22 were to 7,900 meters about 15 nmi north of the deepest waters of the central basin. Italian researchers under the leadership of Laura Carugati from

31152-427: Was the first Japanese ship to be equipped with the new narrowbeam SeaBeam multi-beam sonar echosounder , and was the first survey ship with multi-beam capability to survey the Challenger Deep. The system was so new that JHOD had to develop their own software for drawing bathymetric charts based on the SeaBeam digital data. In just three days, they tracked 500 miles of sounding lines, and covered about 140 km of

31329-469: Was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size. (Inhabited dependent territories are denoted by the asterisk (*), with names of the corresponding sovereign states in round brackets. Associated states in the Realm of New Zealand are denoted by the hash sign (#).) Territories with no permanent civilian population. The Pacific Ocean has most of

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