DEEP-SEA DIVERS
These machines explore the greatest depths of our planet
WORDS SCOTT DUTFIELD
© Getty / Richard Varcoe on behalf of Caladan Oceanic LLC
DID YOU KNOW?
The deepest a human has ever dove in a submarine is 10,927 metres
This two-manned vessel can sink to depths of 11,000 metres
More than 80 per cent of the world’s oceans remain unexplored, but several submersibles are working to bring that percentage down. The deep ocean is considered to start around 200 metres below the surface, where light begins to dim, also referred to as the euphotic zone. The deep ocean is further divided into descending zones, such as the twilight zone (down to 1,000 metres), midnight zone (down to 4,000 metres) and so on until the last defined zone, the hadal zone. The hadal zone, also known as the hadopelagic, sits between 6,000 and 11,000 metres below the ocean surface. The deepest dive any vehicle has ever made was achieved by the Deepsea Challenger, a 109-centimetre-wide manned submersible that reached the deepest point in the Mariana Trench, called Challenger Deep, in 2019, travelling more than 10,000 metres below the surface.