Mariana Trench - Life

Life

The expedition conducted in 1960 observed (with great surprise because of the high pressure) at the bottom large living creatures such as a sole or flounder about 30 cm (1 ft) long, and a shrimp. According to Piccard, "The bottom appeared light and clear, a waste of firm diatomaceous ooze". Many marine biologists are now sceptical of the supposed sighting of the flatfish, and it is suggested that the creature may instead have been a sea cucumber.

During the second expedition, the unmanned vehicle Kaikō collected mud samples from the seabed. Tiny organisms were found to be living in those samples.

In July 2011 a research expedition deployed untethered landers, called dropcams, equipped with digital video and lights to explore this region of the deep sea. Amongst many other living organisms, some gigantic single-celled amoebas with a size of more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), belonging to the class of xenophyophores were observed. Xenophyophores are noteworthy for their size, their extreme abundance on the seafloor and their role as hosts for a variety of organisms.

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