deep-sea trench
Submarine geological depression
A deep-sea trench is a long, narrow depression in the ocean floor, typically the deepest parts of the ocean.
Trenches form where tectonic plates converge and one slides beneath another.
The Mariana Trench in the Pacific contains the deepest known point on Earth.
Scientists sent a submersible into the deep-sea trench to study organisms living under extreme pressure.
- bathyscapheSelf-propelled deep-diving craft
- scientific expeditionOrganized journey for discovery
- accretionary wedgeSediment pile at subduction zones
- hydrothermal ventOcean floor hot spring
- amphipodsSmall laterally-flattened crustaceans
subduction zone · tectonic plate · sea cucumbers · chemosynthesis · crushing pressure · pitch black · snailfish · giant isopod · extremophiles · tube worms · lithosphere · bathymetry · scavengers · food chain · seafloor · fathom · tectonic · bioluminescence
- ocean trenches
- seafloorseabed, seafloor, ocean floor, mid-ocean ridge, sea bed
deep-sea trenchmid-ocean ridge
Submarine volcanic mountain range
oceanic ridge · seamount · volcanic island · atoll · continental shelf
deep-sea trenchsea surface
Water-air interface
ocean surface · shallow water · coastal waters · continental shelf · tidal zone
deep-sea trenchmountain peak
Topmost point of elevation
summit · Mount Everest · high plateau · volcanic peak · mountaintop