Australian Geographic - 09.2019 - 10.2019

September. October 99

Amphipods swarm over bait at the bottom

of the South Sandwich Trench.

DSSV Pressure Drop, a dedicated scientifi c

research vessel that carries Limiting Factor,

skirts an iceberg in the Southern Ocean.

A

LTHOUGH THE major adventure

aspect of the Five Deeps

Expedition is expected to

be completed as we go to press,

scientists have only just begun to

sift through and analyse the huge

amount of physical and biological data

collected by the project. It has provided

an unprecedented opportunity to

investigate life and conditions in Earth’s

most remote habitats. Outcomes from

the Five Deeps multidisciplinary science

program, led by Dr Alan Jamieson, one

of the world’s leading deep sea marine

ecologists, are expected to continue for

years to come.

Atlantic Southern Indian Pacific Arctic

THE FIVE DEEPS EXPEDITION

This 3D sonar image

of the Diamantina Trench,

in the eastern section of the

DFZ, shows the amazing

mapping capabilities of the

DSSV Pressure Drop.

fivedeeps.com

RMS Titanic

Reykjanes Ridge

Meteor Deep

Agulhas

Fracture

Zone Diamantina Fracture Zone

(DFZ)

Tonga Trench/Horizon Deep

Volcano Trench

Palau/Yap Trench

ARCTIC OCEAN

Molloy Deep

Depth: 5670m/18,602ft

SOUTHERN OCEAN

South Sandwich Trench/Deep

Depth: 7434m/24,389ft

VERIFIED FEB ’19

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Puerto Rico Trench

Depth: 8376m/27,480ft

VERIFIED DEC ’18

INDIAN OCEAN

Java Trench/Deep

Depth: 7192m/23,596ft

VERIFIED APR ’19

PACIFIC OCEAN

Challenger & Sirena deeps

Depth: 10,928m/35,853ft

VERIFIED MAY ’19

Primary “Deep” dives

Sonar Operations