convergent boundary

Trenches are long, narrow depressions on the seafloor that form at the boundary of tectonic plates where one plate is pushed, or subducts, beneath another.

The Mariana Trench is part of the Izu–Bonin–Mariana subduction system that forms the boundary between two tectonic plates. In this system, the western edge of one plate, the Pacific Plate, is subducted (i.e., thrust) beneath the smaller Mariana Plate that lies to the west.

the United States

Originally Answered: What would happen to the human body if someone exited a submarine at the bottom of the mariana’s trench (-36000 feet)? The person’s lungs would be crushed unless they were equipped with a SCUBA tank and mask charged up to that enormous pressure.

We present the geological characteristics of the region, including seismic evidence for a tear in the subducting plate that has influenced the deformation of the overriding plate. The rollback caused by this tear creates greater depths along the southern part of the trench than elsewhere along its length.

This particular area of the sea, then, is more than a little inhospitable. But these expanses are not lifeless. A few manned and unmanned vehicles have parted the waters of the trench in recent years, proving that there are indeed organisms living and even thriving in this nearly alien environment.

A recent study revealed that a plastic bag, like the kind given away at grocery stores, is now the deepest known piece of plastic trash, found at a depth of 10,975 meters (36,000 feet) inside the Mariana Trench.

Megalodon is NOT alive today, it went extinct around 3.5 million years ago.

It Looks Different Underwater Remember that gelatinous-type appearance we mentioned? The blobfish only looks that way above water. In its normal habitat, which is 2,000 to 4,000 feet underwater, the pressure there makes it look like any ordinary fish.

It’s sad expression and saggy gelatinous appearance is partly down to the fact that it is indeed dead. In fact the blobfish has hardly ever been pictured alive since it cannot survive in shallower water and certainly not out of the water.

Because blobfish are found only in a few areas of the world and at depths between 2,000 and 4,000 feet below the surface of the water, they are rarely encountered live. Blobfish, however, die at the air pressure levels at sea level, and, therefore, remain elusively underphotographed.

Either the female or male blobfish will sit on the eggs to protect them from predators. The blobfish lacks the swim bladder found in most species of fish, an air sac that allows the fish to adjust and control buoyancy. At their native depth, it is believed the blobfish has a more “normal” appearance.

blobfish

Because of its gelatinous and extremely acidic flesh, the blobfish is not edible, so it does not interest fishermen. Yet, paradoxically, it is a victim of overfishing. Fishermen use special nets called trawls to scrape the bottom of the sea and to capture crustaceans such as lobsters.

Blobfish don’t bite, they have no teeth and very few humans will ever come into contact with them.

What’s inside a blobfish, the ‘world’s ugliest animal’

• The blobfish was crowned the world’s ugliest animal in 2013 — a title it still defends today.
• But drop this fellow 9,200 feet below sea level, and the water holds up all that flab like a push-up bra, making the fish a little more handsome.

As you can see from the accompanying photograph, the cunning blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is the most terrifying fish in the world. A blobfish looks like some fat, drunken judge and may be highly intelligent. And therefore quite dangerous.

Blobfish live a pretty stress-free life. The fish acts like a water balloon, floating in the deep sea, waiting for food to come to its mouth. With little muscle, the fish can not actively swim to capture food or escape harm.

420 blobfish

There are only 420 blobfish left in the world, so great efforts are underway to conserve them.