The maximum, minimum and average depth of the Pacific Ocean

Mankind has always attracted secrets, hidden from his gaze. From the boundless expanse of the Universe to the deepest points of the World Ocean ... Modern technologies partially allow us to learn some secrets of the Earth, Water and Cosmos. The more the veil of secrecy is opened, the more the person wants to know, because new knowledge gives rise to questions. The largest, ancient and least studied Pacific Ocean is no exception. His influence on the processes that take place on the planet is obvious: it is precisely this that makes it possible for a deeper and more thorough study. The average depth of the Pacific Ocean, the bottom relief, the direction of the currents, the communication with the seas and other water bodies - all matters for the optimal use by man of his unlimited resources.

World Ocean

All biological species on the Earth depend on water, it is the basis of life, therefore the importance of studying the hydrosphere in all its manifestations becomes a priority for mankind. In the process of forming this knowledge, much attention is paid to both fresh sources and huge amounts of saline resources. The world ocean is the main part of the hydrosphere, which occupies 94% of the earth's surface. The continents, islands and archipelagos divide the water spaces, which makes it possible to identify them territorially in the face of the planet. On the modern map of the world since 1953, the international hydrogeographic society has marked four oceans: the Atlantic, Indian, Northern Arctic and Pacific. Each of them has the appropriate coordinates and boundaries, which are rather conditional for moving water streams. More recently, the fifth was identified - the Southern Ocean. All of them differ significantly in occupancy, water volume, depth and composition. More than 96% of the entire hydrosphere is salty oceanic water, which moves vertically and horizontally and has its own global mechanism for metabolism, creation and use of energy flows. In the life of a modern man, the World Ocean plays an important role: it forms climatic conditions on the continents, provides an indispensable transport structure, gives people a lot of resources, including biological resources, and at the same time remains an ecosystem whose possibilities have not yet been fully explored.

Pacific Ocean

49.5% of the World Ocean and 53% of its water resources occupy the most ancient and mysterious part of it. The Pacific Ocean with the incoming seas has the largest length of the water area: from the north to the south - 16 thousand km, from the west to the east - 19 thousand km. Most of it is located in the southern latitudes. The most significant are also the numerical expressions of quantitative characteristics: the volume of the water mass is 710 million km ³ , the occupied area is almost 180 million km ³ . The average depth of the Pacific Ocean, according to various estimates, varies from 3900 to 4200 meters. The only continent that is not washed by its waters is Africa. More than 50 states are located on its coast and islands, with all parts of the hydrosphere it has conditional boundaries and a constant exchange of flows. The number of skeletons located in the Pacific Ocean exceeds 10 thousand, they have different sizes and structure of formation. More than 30 seas enter its water area (taking into account internal), their area occupies 18% of the total surface, the largest part is located on the west coast and is washed by Eurasia. The deepest depth of the Pacific Ocean, like the whole of the World, is in the Mariana Trench. Her research has been going on for over 100 years, and the more information about the deep-sea career comes, the more interest she has in scientists around the world. The shallowest depth of the Pacific Ocean is observed in its coastal zones. They are studied quite well, but, taking into account their constant use in human economic activities, the need for further scientific research is increasing.

History of development

The peoples who inhabited the Pacific coast on different continents knew a lot about its separate parts, but did not represent the entire might and size of this water area. The first European to see a small coastal bay was the Spanish conquistador Vasco de Balboa, who overcame the high mountain ranges of the Panama Isthmus for this purpose. He saw what he saw as the sea and called it Southern. That is why the discovery of the Pacific Ocean and the appropriation of the present name to it is a merit of Magellan, who was very fortunate with the conditions in which he swam his southern part. This name completely does not correspond to the true nature of this water giant, but it has taken root more than all the others that were offered as it was studied. Many expeditions followed the footsteps of Magellan, the Pacific Ocean attracted new researchers with a large number of questions. The Dutch, the English, the Spaniards were looking for ways to communicate with the known lands and simultaneously opened new ones. Interest in the researchers was everything: what is the deepest depth of the Pacific Ocean, the speed and direction of the movement of water masses, salinity, flora and fauna of waters, etc. More accurate information was collected by scientists in the XIX-XX centuries, this is the period of the formation of oceanology as a science. But the first attempt to determine what the depth of the Pacific Ocean, Magellan undertook with the help of hemp. He failed - he could not get the bottom. Since then, a lot of time has passed, and today the results of ocean depth measurements can be seen on any map. Modern scientists use advanced technology and can with great probability determine where the depth of the Pacific Ocean is maximum, where the places with a lower level are located, and where the shallows lie.

Bottom relief

More than 58% of the surface of the globe occupies an oceanic bed. It has a diverse relief - it's large plains, high ridges and deep depressions. As a percentage, the oceanic bed can be divided as follows:

1. The continental shelf (depth from 0 to 200 meters) - 8%.
2. Mainland slopes (from 200 to 2500 meters) - 12%.
3. The oceanic bed (from 2500 to 6000 meters) - 77%.
4. The maximum depth (from 6000 to 11000 meters) is 3%.

The ratio is rather approximate, 2/3 of the ocean floor has been measured, and the data of various research expeditions may vary due to the constant movement of tectonic plates. The accuracy of measuring instruments increases every year, the information obtained earlier is corrected. In any case, the greatest depth of the Pacific Ocean, its minimum value and the average index depend on the relief of the ocean bed. The lowest depths, as a rule, are observed on the territory adjacent to the continents - this is the coastal part of the World Ocean. It can have a length from 0 to 500 meters, the average figure varies within 68 meters.

The continental shelf is characterized by a slight bias, that is, it is flat, except for the coasts on which the mountain ranges are located. In this case, the relief is quite diverse, the depressions and cracks in the bottom can reach a depth of 400-500 meters. The minimum depth of the Pacific Ocean is less than 100 meters. A large reef and its lagoons with warm clear water provide a unique opportunity to see everything that happens on the bottom. The continental slopes also vary in slope and extent - this depends on the location of the coastal region. Their typical structure has a smooth, gradually decreasing relief or the presence of a deep canyon. To explain this fact, two versions were tried: tectonic and flooding of river valleys. In favor of the latter assumption, soil samples from their bottom, which contain river pebbles and silt, say. These canyons are quite deep, due to their average depth of the Pacific Ocean has quite impressive values. The bed is a more flat part of the relief with constant depth. Cracks, crevices and depressions on the bottom of the World Ocean - a frequent phenomenon, and the maximum value of their depths, as already mentioned, is observed in the Mariana Trench. The relief of the bottom of each terrain is individual, it is fashionable to compare it with the landscapes of the land.

Features of the relief of the Pacific Ocean

Depth depths in the Northern Hemisphere and a significant part of the Southern (and this is more than 50% of the entire ocean floor area) varies within 5000 meters. In the northwestern part of the ocean a large number of depressions and cracks, which are located along the edge of the coastal zone, in the area of the continental slope. Almost all of them coincide with mountain chains on land and have an oblong form. This is typical for the coast of Chile, Mexico and Peru, and this group includes the Aleutian Northern Basin, the Kurile and the Kamchatka. In the southern hemisphere, a depression 300 meters long is located along the islands of Tonga, Kermadec. To find out how much the depth of the Pacific Ocean is on average, people used various measuring instruments, the development history of which is closely related to research work on the water expanses of the planet.

Deep Meters

Lot is the most primitive means of measuring the depth. This is a cable with a load at the end. To measure sea and ocean depths, this tool is not suitable, since the weight of the deflated cable will exceed the weight of the cargo. The results of the measurement with the lot gave a distorted picture or did not bring any results at all. Interesting fact: Lot Brook actually invented Peter 1. His idea was that a cable was fastened to a load that, when struck against the bottom, floated up. This stopped the process of lowering the lot and made it possible to determine the depth. A more complete depth worked on the same principle. Its feature was the possibility of capturing a part of the soil for further investigation. All these measuring devices have a significant drawback - the time of measurement. To fix the value of great depth, the rope must be lowered gradually in a few hours, while the research vessel should stand in one place. During the last 25 years, the measurements are carried out with the help of a sonar, which operates according to the principle of signal reflection. The operating time was reduced to a few seconds, while on the echogram you can see the types of bottom bottoms and find sunken objects. To determine what is the average depth of the Pacific Ocean, you need to make a large number of measurements, which are then summed, resulting in a delta calculated.

History of measurements

The XIX century is "golden" for oceanography in general and the Pacific Ocean in particular. The first expeditions of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky set not only the measurement of depths, but also the determination of temperatures, pressure, density and salinity of water. 1823-1826 gg .: Taking part in the research work of OE Kotzebue, the physicist E. Lenz applied the bathometer he had created. The year 1820 was marked by the discovery of Antarctica, the expedition of seafarers FF Bellingshausen and MP Lazarev studied the northern seas of the Pacific Ocean. At the end of the 20th century (1972-1976), the English vessel Challenger carried out a comprehensive oceanographic study, which provided much of the information used up to today. Since 1873, the US with the help of the navy measured the depths and fixed the relief of the bottom of the Pacific Ocean for laying telephone cables. The 20th century was marked by a technological breakthrough of all mankind, which largely affected the work of the researchers of the Pacific Ocean, who were asked a lot of questions. The Swedish, British and Danish expeditions set off on a round-the-world trip to explore the largest water area of our planet. How much depth of the Pacific Ocean is at the maximum and minimum? Where do these points lie? What underwater or surface currents influence them? Because of what they were formed? The study of the bottom was conducted for a long time. From 1949 to 1957, the crew of the Vityaz research ship mapped many of the relief elements on the map of the Pacific bottom, and tracked its currents. The watch was continued by other vessels, which constantly cruised in the water area to obtain the most accurate and timely information. In 1957, the scientific staff of the Vityaz vessel determined the point at which the deepest Pacific Ocean was observed - the Mariana Trench. Until today, its subsoil is thoroughly studied not only by oceanographers, but also by biologists, for which there were also many interesting things.

Mariana Trench

The gully stretches for 1500 meters along the islands of the same name in the western part of the Pacific coast. It looks like a wedge and has a different depth throughout the area. The history of the occurrence is related to the tectonic activity of this part of the Pacific Ocean. In this segment, the Pacific plate gradually goes under the Philippine, moving 2-3 cm per year. At this point, the depth of the Pacific Ocean is the maximum, and the World too. Measurements are carried out for hundreds of years, and each time their values are corrected. The 2011 study gives the most surprising result, which may not be final. The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is the "Challenger's Abyss": the bottom is 10 994 m below sea level. To study it, a bathyscaphe was used, equipped with chambers and soil sampling devices.

What is the depth of the Pacific Ocean?

There is no unequivocal answer to this question: the bottom relief is so complex and not fully studied that each named figure can be corrected in the near future. The average depth of the Pacific Ocean is 4000 meters, the smallest - less than 100 meters, the famous "Challenger's Abyss" is characterized by impressive figures - almost 11,000 meters! Along the mainland there are a number of hollows, which also amaze with their depths, for example: the Vityaz 3 hollow (Tong gutter, 10 882 meters); "Argo" (9165, Northern Novogebrida Trench); Cape Johnson (Philippine Trench, 10 497), etc. In the Pacific Ocean is the largest number of the deepest points of the World Ocean. Modern oceanologists expect a lot of interesting work and amazing discoveries.

Flora and fauna

Noteworthy for the researchers is the fact that even at a maximum depth of 11,000 meters biological activity was found: tiny microorganisms survive without light, while undergoing monstrous pressure of many tons of water. The very expanses of the Pacific Ocean are an ideal habitat for many species of animals and plants. As evidenced by facts and specific figures. More than 50% of the biomass of the World Ocean lives in the Pacific, the diversity of species is explained by the fact that huge water areas are in all the belts of the planet. The tropical and subtropical latitudes are more densely populated, but the northern borders are not empty either. A characteristic feature of the fauna of the Pacific Ocean is endemism. Here are the habitats of the most ancient animals of the planet, endangered species (sea lion, sea otter). Coral reefs are one of the wonders of nature, and the richness of flora and fauna attracts not only the mass of tourists, but also a large number of researchers. The Pacific Ocean is the greatest and mightiest. The task of people is to study and understand all the processes taking place in it, which will help reduce the harm caused by this unique ecosystem.