{"id":72154,"date":"2021-05-11T07:39:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T07:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/?p=72154"},"modified":"2024-02-27T14:13:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T14:13:12","slug":"deepest-points-of-the-indian-ocean-and-southern-ocean-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/news\/deepest-points-of-the-indian-ocean-and-southern-ocean-revealed\/","title":{"rendered":"Deepest points of the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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New seabed surveys show, for the first time, the deepest points of the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. As part of the Five Deeps Expedition<\/a> team, scientists from Caladan Oceanic LLC and BGS have surveyed in detail the deepest reaches of the \u00a0Java and South Sandwich trenches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data published in Geoscience Data Journal<\/em><\/a> shows the deepest point of the Indian Ocean at 7187 m, within the Java Trench, and the deepest point of the Southern Ocean at 7432 m, within the South Sandwich Trench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the Five Deeps Expedition<\/a> (FDE) the deepest parts of some oceans were relatively well known, such as Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, but others had multiple \u2018deeps\u2019 where several contenders challenged for the deepest point in that particular ocean<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Five Deeps Expedition (2018\u20132019) mapped about 550 000\u00a0km2<\/sup> of sea floor, of which 61 per cent comprised new coverage over areas never before surveyed and about 30 per cent was acquired from some of the ocean\u2019s deepest trenches and fracture zones. BGS \u00a9 UKRI<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

\"Expand<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Until now, there had been a lack of high-resolution data available for the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean and there was considerable doubt as to the exact location of the deepest point<\/a>, let alone accurate depth measurements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Located just north of the Antarctic continent, the South Sandwich Trench spans both the Southern and Atlantic oceans. It had not been thoroughly explored prior to the FDE mission and is the only subzero hadal zone (deeper than 6000 m) in the world. The FDE survey produced the most accurate mapping of the South Sandwich Trench to date, using a modern multibeam sonar system. The new survey has shown that the deepest point of the trench is Meteor Deep at 8265 m and is located within the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The recently named Factorian Deep, located at the southern end of the trench, is 7432 m deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t

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Marine geologist Heather Stewart talks about her experience as part Five Deeps Expedition, which visited all five of the deepest parts of the world’s oceans. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

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