7 years, 10 months ago

Jiaolong plumbs deepest region of the ocean

The Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, dived in the Mariana Trench on Tuesday, making the first of a series dives for the third stage of the country's 38th oceanic expedition. The first of its three stages took place in the Indian Ocean for 59 days, and the second in the South China Sea for 34 days, according to China's National Deep Sea Center. In the morning, China's manned submersible descended 4.8 kilometers along the northern slope of Challenger Deep, the deepest spot of the trench measuring at 11 kilometers. Chen Xinhua, chief scientist for this third stage of China's oceanic expedition, said studying the basalt samples can help us understand the formation of the trench.

China Daily

Discover Related