马里亚纳海沟，又名玛利亚娜海沟，位于菲律宾东北和马里亚纳群岛附近的太平洋底，是已知地球上最深的海沟。马里亚纳海沟是全长2550千米的弧形海沟，平均宽70千米，最大深度为海平面下11034米[1]，可装下整个珠穆朗玛峰。根据科学家的推测，这条海沟已经存在了6千万年。

The Mariana Trench is located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean where is in the northeast of the Philippines and near the Mariana Islands, and it is the deepest known trench on Earth. The Mariana Trench is arc-shaped and is 2,550 km in length, with an average width of 70 km and a maximum depth of 11,034 m below sea level. It is so deep that it can contain the whole Mount Everest. According to scientists’ estimate, this Trench has existed for 60 million years.

马里亚纳海沟是怎样形成的？

How is the Marianas Trench Formed?

众所周知，地球板块是在不断运动的，而驱使板块不断运动的是地球内部的冷热不均。我们知道，地球表面下面是一层厚厚的岩石层，被称为地壳。而地壳下面是地幔，当较热的地幔层遇到冰冷的岩石圈时，会发生热对流现象。在热对流作用下，地球板块会形成挤压，以及拉张，由此形成山脉，湖泊等自然景观，而马里亚纳大海沟,就是太平洋板块俯冲到亚欧板块之下形成的。

It is well known that the Earth’s plates are in constant motion, and what drives the motion is the uneven heat and cold inside the Earth. As we know, below the Earth’s surface is a thick layer of rock called the crust, and below the crust is the mantle. When the hotter mantle layer meets the colder lithosphere, thermal convection will occur. Under the effect of thermal convection, the Earth’s plates will have extrusion and tension, thus forming mountains, lakes and other natural landscapes, and the Marianas Trench is the result of the Pacific plate’s subduction to the Asia-Europe plate.

图1   地幔热对流示意图和板块碰撞示意图 (图片来源百度)

马里亚纳海沟究竟有多深？

How deep is the Marianas Trench?

在1875年，英国皇家海军第一次发现了马里亚纳海沟的存在。从1957年到1995年，英国、俄罗斯、日本都陆续对马里亚纳海沟进行了深度的测量。日本的探测艇“海沟号”测出马里亚纳海沟的最深深度是10911米。这个深度最大的底部被称为“挑战者深渊”。

The existence of the Marianas Trench was first discovered by the British Royal Navy in 1875. From 1957 to 1995, Britain, Russia, and Japan have measured the depth of the Marianas Trench one after another, and the Japanese exploration vessel “Trench” measured the deepest depth of the Marianas Trench at 10,911 meters whose bottom was called “Challenger Abyss”.之后，很多国家的研究者们都试图潜入这神秘的海底一探究竟。在1960年1月23日，美国海军中尉唐纳德·沃尔什和雅克·皮卡德驾驶着里雅斯特号首次抵达挑战者深渊，发现此时的深度是10916米。2012年3月，加拿大电影导演詹姆斯·卡梅隆独自通过潜水器下潜到马里亚纳海沟，下潜的深度达到了10898米。2019年5月，美国探险家维克托·韦斯科沃在马里亚纳海沟打破人类最深潜水纪录，下潜深度10928米。

Since then, researchers from many countries had tried to dive into this mysterious bottom. On January 23, 1960, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Donald Walsh and Jacques Piccard piloted the Trieste to the “Challenger Abyss” for the first time and found that the depth was 10,916 m. In March 2012, Canadian film director James Cameron dived alone in a submersible to the Marianas Trench, reaching a depth of 10,898 m. In May 2019, American explorer Victor Vescovo broke the record of the human dive depth in the Mariana Trench, descending to a depth of 10,928 meters.

2012年，中国载人潜水器“蛟龙”号在马里亚纳海沟创造了作业类潜水器世界最大下潜深度7062米。2020年11月10日，中国的载人潜水器“奋斗者号”在马里亚纳海沟进行下潜，下潜深度达到了10909米，打破了中国载人深潜的记录[2,3]。

In 2012, the Chinese manned operational submersible Jiaolong set the world’s maximum dive depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench. On November 10, 2020, the Fendouzhe Striver deep-sea manned submersible made a dive to a depth of 10,909 meters, breaking the Chinese record for manned deep dives.

但是关于马里亚纳海沟的到底有多深，目前还在探究当中。

However, the depth of the Marianas Trench is still being explored.

图2  奋斗者号 (图片来源参考文献[3])

马里亚纳海沟里有哪些生物？

What kind of creatures are in the Mariana Trench?

马里亚纳海沟由于深度太大，越往下时水压就会越大，没有阳光，温度低，是地球上环境最恶劣的区域之一。但是在如此极端的环境下，人们仍发现了一些生物的存在。

The Mariana Trench is one of the harshest environments on Earth due to its great water pressure, the absence of sunlight and the low temperature. But in such an extreme environment, some creatures have still been found.

在马里亚纳海沟2896米，发现了一种水生蠕虫食骨蠕虫，它能分泌酸，身上也有一种特殊的细菌，可以将骨头中的蛋白质和脂肪转化为营养物质。在马里亚纳海沟3962.4米以上，人们发现了一类生物烟灰蛸，它们平均长20.3-30.5厘米，因苍白的钟形身体上突出的两个巨大的鳍，就像巨大的大象耳朵，因此它们被称为“小飞象章鱼”。在2014年，Falkor考察船通过深海捕集器在深度为8000米或更低处，发现了马里亚纳狮子鱼，它是半透明的，也没有鳞片，也没有尖利的牙齿，肌肉非常薄[4]。2016年，科学家在马里亚纳海沟10.9km处，捕获了第一次录音。发现其中一段3.5秒的录音中，混合了呻吟声、金属声、鼻音和其它奇怪的声音，科学家们无法将这些声音与任何人类或地质来源联系起来。在排除了船只、地震气枪、地震、冰和其它原因之后。他们最终确定这种噪音由一种未知的生物发出的。

At the depth of 2,896 m, the osedax which secreted acid and also had a special bacterium on its body that converted protein and fat from bones into nutrients was found. At the depth of more than 3,962.4 m, a group of creatures called grimpoteuthis were found, averaging 20.3-30.5 cm in length and called “dumbo octopuses” because of the two huge fins that protruded from their pale bell-shaped bodies, resembling giant elephant ears. In 2014, the Falkor research vessel discovered the Mariana lionfish through a deep-sea trap, which was translucent, had no scales, no sharp teeth and very thin muscles, at a depth of 8,000 m or more. A 3.5-second recording was found to contain a mixture of moans, metallic sounds, nasal sounds, and other strange sounds that scientists were unable to link it with any human or geological things. After ruling out ships, seismic air guns, earthquakes, ice and other causes, they finally determined that the noise was made by an unknown creature.

图3   a)食骨蠕虫; b)“小飞象章鱼”; c)马里亚纳狮子鱼; d)马里亚纳海沟 （图片来源百度）

 不论是马里亚纳海沟本身，还是生活在这里的生物，它们仍然充满了神秘与未知。但随着科技技术的发展，相信更多的未知都会找到答案。

Whether the Marianas Trench itself or the creatures living there, they are still full of mystery. But with the development of science and technology, I believe that we will find all the answers.

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参考文献：

[1] 地球最深处——马里亚纳海沟.新华网 张旭东 吴飞座 中国科学院. 2019-05-27

[2] 金秋.“奋斗者号”：探秘万米海底[J].科学启蒙,2021(Z1):2-5.

[3] 许晨,臧思佳.深海“奋斗者”——中国“奋斗者”号潜水器挺进万米深渊[J].北京文学(精彩阅读),2021(07):5-45+4

[4] 丁佑.探秘马里亚纳深海生物[J].大自然探索,2018(06):32-39.

投稿人：李林倩 博士研究生

审核导师：罗强 教授