James Cameron is taking a break from filming blockbuster movies like Titanic and Avatar, to travel to the deepest depth of the ocean – The Challenger Deep. He plans to travel to the bottom of the ocean in his custom built submarine while documenting his journey on film and gathering samples for scientific research. The dive is supposed to happen in the next couple of weeks.
A map showing the location of The Challenger Deep and Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Photo from Flickr user Mudkipz_KGM
The Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, is the deepest point recorded in all the oceans. At 11 kilometers below the surface, it is more than two kilometers higher than Mount Everest – the highest point on Earth.
Mr. Cameron will make the dive alone, in his state of the art, custom built submarine. His vast imagination that we see come to life in his movies has now come to life for real. The sub is reminiscent of a bullet. The 7.3 meter long, one-person vessel, will travel vertically and reach the bottom of the ocean in less than two hours. It uses very heavy steel plates to help the sub descend to the bottom. When the vessel is ready to go back up, the plates are dropped and it will rise to the surface. However, the submarine can still be controlled to hover in one spot, or glide through the water.
The effects of pressure in deep ocean water on styrofoam. Picture from Flickr user NOAA's National Ocean Service
The pressure in the submarine will remain constant for the entire trip. Although the pressure at this depth is usually crushing, a newly designed foam that maintains buoyancy without being crushed and warped by the immense pressure, is the main frame of the vessel. The pressure will cause the foam to shrink about two and a half inches, but the foam will remain intact. It is this foam that helps the vessel rise to the surface as well, as the foam is lighter than water.
Mr. Cameron will be able to stay at the bottom for around six hours. The submarine is equipped with spotlights and cameras to document the journey in high-resolution 3D video. The sub also has tools for collecting samples including a robotic arm, and a suction sampler that acts like a vacuum to suck up things like small organisms.
The Challenger Deep has been reached once before in 1960, but only for 20 minutes. The pilots were not able to capture any images or samples because of the dust that was disturbed by the landing of their vessel. This area of our world is not very well known. Needless to say, discoveries that Mr. Cameron could make, like previously unknown organisms, would have a profound impact on scientific research. His journey to the Challenger Deep sounds amazing and exciting. I cannot wait to see what he finds in the unknown depths of the ocean.
Video from National Geographic:
Follow James Cameron’s Journey on YouTube
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