Challenger Deep EM124 Sonar Map and Diving History 101119

The

Challenger Deep The Challenger Deep is the deepest-known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathym ...

(CD) is the deepest known point in the Earth's seabed hydrosphere, a slot-shaped valley in the floor of

Mariana Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum know ...

, with depths exceeding 10,900 meters. It is located in the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...

. In 2019, sonar mapping of Challenger Deep by the DSSV Pressure Drop, which employed a Kongsberg SIMRAD EM124 multi beam echosounder system, showed three 'pools' – Western, Central and Eastern – that comprised the bottom of Challenger Deep. In 1960,

Don Walsh Don Walsh (born November 2, 1931) is an American oceanographer, explorer and marine policy specialist. He and Jacques Piccard were aboard the bathyscaphe ''Trieste'' when it made a record maximum descent into the Challenger Deep on January 2 ...

and

Jacques Piccard Jacques Piccard (28 July 19221 November 2008) was a Swiss oceanographer and engineer, known for having developed underwater submarines for studying ocean currents. In the Challenger Deep, he and Lt. Don Walsh of the United States Navy were the ...

were the first two humans to reach Challenger Deep, completing that dive as a team. 52 years later,

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...

became the first person to solo dive that point. Piccard, Walsh and Cameron remained the only people to reach the world's deepest seafloor until 2019, when regular dives in ''Limiting Factor'' began. By November 2022, a total of twenty-two dives had reached Challenger Deep, of which nineteen had been in ''Limiting Factor''. Astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan and mountaineer

Vanessa O'Brien Vanessa Audi Rhys O'Brien (born 2 December 1964) is a British and American mountaineer, sub-orbital spaceflight participant, explorer, author and former business executive. On 4 August 2022, O'Brien became the first woman to complete the Explore ...

were the first two women to visit Challenger Deep in 2020.

Victor Vescovo Victor Lance Vescovo (born 1966) is an American private equity investor, retired naval officer, space tourist and undersea explorer. He is a co-founder and managing partner of private equity company Insight Equity Holdings. Vescovo achieved the ...

has made the most dives to Challenger Deep; by March 2021 he had made nine dives to the Eastern pool, two to the Western pool and one to the Central pool for a total of 12 dives. The following is a list of individuals who have descended to Challenger Deep in the

. These individuals will have descended at least into one of the three pools (western, central or eastern) that constitute Challenger Deep.

References

{{Reflist Extreme points of Earth Underwater diving explorers