The Deepest Place on Earth Isn't a Hole. It's a Scar

The deepest place on Earth isn't a hole. The Mariana Trench is a scar where an entire ocean floor is dragged down into the planet. Sink 10,935 meters into Challenger Deep, where the pressure is over 1,000 atmospheres, yet life still finds a way to thrive. We follow the story from the first rope sounding in 1875 to the Trieste dive in 1960 and James Cameron's solo descent in 2012. Then we ask why the mud at the bottom burns oxygen faster than the seafloor far above it. From there, we follow a single cup of seawater as it rides the sinking plate for millions of years. Along the way it helps melt rock, fuels volcanoes, and may even trigger deep earthquakes. Every figure here is a scientific estimate, and some of it is still debated. #MarianaTrench