Deepsea Challenge at the bottom of Mariana Trench

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freitasm

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#99733 26-Mar-2012 13:24

As I post this James Cameron (yes, the director) is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep, 35,756 feet (10,898 meters) below the water level, the deepest any human being has ever been in the water.

Unbelievable feat. Where no man has gone before.

sleemanj

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#600266 26-Mar-2012 13:53

freitasm: Where no man has gone before.

Except for Jacques Picard, and Don Walsh, 52 years ago.

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James Sleeman
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freitasm

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#600278 26-Mar-2012 14:21

Yes, right... OTOH he is likely to collect more data than ever.

xpd

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#600287 26-Mar-2012 14:33

Jacques Picard, and Don Walsh only spent 20mins last time, and couldnt see much due to the silt etc they kicked up - wonder what, if anything, JC and co are seeing down there...

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#600320 26-Mar-2012 15:28

xpd: Jacques Picard, and Don Walsh only spent 20mins last time, and couldnt see much due to the silt etc they kicked up - wonder what, if anything, JC and co are seeing down there...

I read the NatGeo article about their dive. It mentioned that the silt that was stirred up was after the dropped their ballast to return to the surface. The article actually explains that they did see quite a bit including fish.

Yet with all the releases/news etc I have read of the James Cameron dive they seem to dumb down everything Walsh and Picard achieved. Seems strange and unnecessary to me.

edit: link to article http://deepseachallenge.com/the-expedition/1960-dive/

mattRSK

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#600324 26-Mar-2012 15:33

James Cameron is back on the surface now.

stevenz

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#600335 26-Mar-2012 15:51

Wow, that was quick.

It does seem rather strange that they're poo-pooing the results of the previous team.

Quote from Piccard: "The bottom appeared light and clear, a waste of firm diatomaceous ooze".

Quote from Washington Post article: "The sub kicked up so much silt that the pair saw virtually nothing outside their porthole. "

Poor research/journalism, or something more sinister?

@KnightNZ