Challenges Submarines Encounter at a Depth of 12,500 Feet

The OceanGate Titan went missing on Monday during an eight-hour journey to the Titanic’s wreck.

The remains of this famous ship lie nearly 12,500 feet underwater, twice the depth of the Grand Canyon, where most submarines cannot reach.

This is due to the growing pressure on the submersible as it gets deeper and deeper, and the Titan is one of the few manned submersibles that can reach that depth. The difficulties in the deep sea are so severe that it is often said that we know more about the surface of the moon than about the bottom of the ocean.

water pressure

First, the biggest challenge from an engineering point of view is undoubtedly water pressure.

At a depth of 12,500 feet, where the Titan was moving, the water pressure was 40 MPa. Almost 200 times the pressure in a car tire.

This is also 390 times greater than the pressure directly below the surface of the water. The need to make room for the crew complicates the fight against this problem, since the surface area of ​​the submarine inevitably increases.

However, the Titan is designed to withstand pressure at a depth of just over 13,000 feet.

darkness

In addition, the depths of the ocean would recede, as the water quickly absorbs the sun’s rays.

The “death zone”, where light does not reach the sea, includes everything from 1,000 meters (about 3,300 feet) and below, with the Titanic crashing within this arc in the “midnight zone”.

This means that even with the lights on, since you entered the doom zone, you can’t see anything until the ocean floor suddenly appears in front of you.

This makes navigation uniquely challenging – submarine commanders may need to calculate their position based on speed and heading in order to calculate a position relative to where they went.

Once at the bottom of the ocean, you may be several hundred meters from your target, but finding what you are looking for can take several hours.

currents

One problem also exists in the upper part of the sea in the deep sea. Currents are familiar to many – this is what we are warned about on the shore when we are told not to swim too far.

They are still found in the deep sea, though not as powerful, and can further complicate navigation for any divers blinded by them.

What else is deep inside Titan?

The deepest point in the entire world is known as the base of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, which is 36,100 feet below the surface of the water.

Due to the differences between the depths of the ocean and what we are used to, the creatures that inhabit this world can seem completely strange.

The absence of light contributes to particularly strange adaptations of beings in the Midnight Zone.

whale

Whale fish use the vibrations in the water to navigate the ocean rather than relying on the minute amount of light reaching those depths.

It lives down to 5,000 feet and feeds on crustaceans and other fish.

Whiptail Sack Eel

As harsh conditions and lack of light make it difficult to find food, the whiptail eel has a new adaptation to make the most of every morsel it comes across.

It can live up to 6600 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean.

angler fish

The anglerfish is one of the most famous species of deep sea creatures, as featured in the 2003 film Finding Nemo.

They take advantage of the lack of food and light around midnight, and the light hanging right by their mouth lures prey.

Source: Daily Mail