By Nathalie Rodríguez Lara (GEOMAR), Federico Scarscelli (GEOMAR), Ajit Subramanian (LDEO), Qi-fan Wu (University of Copenhagen), Eduardo Lima (UFPE), Herbert Barbosa (UFPE), Joelle Habib (LOV) and Zengchao Xu (GEOMAR)
So, you have been invited to participate in an oceanographic research vessel? Congrats! Oh, it’s German… well. Here are some tips that will be especially useful in the following days.
We shall start with food. Everyone needs it after all.
As with all ships, the Meteor has some hard rules on mealtimes, so be aware of the hour and get ready to enjoy some German delicacies. Keeping the mealtimes is important because the staff must clean up and prepare for the next meal. However, if you are working, you can ask for your food to be put aside for you to eat later.
First of all, breakfast. For the first bite after getting up (or before going to bed, in case you had the night shift), you can always expect a large variety of eggs, cheese, ham, and bread. Moreover, in the Meteor breakfast menu, you even get a little surprise dish each day, featuring a specialty Hausmannskost, or traditional homemade recipe, usually chosen among north Germany’s delicacies. These recipes are made for people that work hard all day, so of course the hearty meals are there to sustain hours on hours of manual labour, with strong flavour as well. Some of our favourites are the Schlemmerschnitte, Bremen Knipp, Wurstschnitzel and, of course, one of Germany’s greatest, the Zwiebelmettbrötchen. Yes, they are quite heavy compared to a nice yogurt, but they will provide you with enough energy for any scientific endeavour or challenge you will face.
As you walk towards the Messe be ready to say Moin, hello, Morgen, morning or any variety of greeting for the day to anyone who passes you by. Even when this is not customary on German land, it is most imperative that you do it on a German ship. Otherwise, be prepared to be greeted by a very loud “Morgen” at 7 am and a disapproving look.
“Mahlzeit” you say as you enter lunch time, a greeting for mealtimes meaning quite literally “mealtime”. A selection of food is served buffet style, so you may choose your desired quantity and meal type. Vegetarian options are included at every meal for those who prefer it, and you can never forget bit of potato on the side. On Sunday, the cooks usually prepare some traditional “family lunch” menu, as a way to enjoy a small moment of home feeling, even when it is far away on land. Even in the hottest day in the Tropical Atlantic, you will immediately feel like celebrating Christmas at your German friend’s home.
For dinner, a similar situation can be expected: a selection of food awaits you at the Messe including everything you need for a good Abendbrot, or evening bread, to those initiating on the German lifestyle.
A lot of attention shall be put on shoes and clothes for all mealtimes. The Messe is to be enjoyed by everyone, so no dirty safety shoes or dirty work clothes shall cross the door (leave the shoes outside, if you must). Sit down with your fellow scientist, eat with people, talk to them, ponder about all the life choices that led you to this point in time and the contributions your days at sea will do to science. Let yourself enjoy the company of other humans and DO NOT use your phone!
Oh, look at the clock, its 15:00! Well, dear reader, I shall introduce you to the great German culture of “Kaffee und Kuchen” or coffee and cake. Every afternoon, the kitchen lays out a variety of sweet little treats for you to enjoy, only a piece though, as everyone should enjoy this lovely tradition. Those in not so friendly terms with caffeine, may also find various selections of teas or even a glass of milk. Perhaps some chocolate or snacks (at your own cost), if you prefer. What’s more, as you see your fellow men work tirelessly under the sun, bring some cake to them, offer a little break from science, and enjoy the long-lived tradition of pastries.
Regarding the work on board, although there is a predefined shift schedule, some activities require most people to be available to help, such as mooring recovery and deployment. Offer a hand with those who need it, using the ancient spells “Do you need some help?” and “Do you want to switch?”. It is very much appreciated by those on deck, who have been bearing the load of the sun and hours of manual labour, and who probably haven’t had a nice meal yet.
For the ones not so familiar with the German language, we offer two very useful work-related words: “stop” and “weiter”, meaning stop and continue. If you want to become a real professional and show off some advanced German skills, you can also add “schneller” and “langsamer”: faster and slower. Keep them in your heart and in your mind, and when the moment comes, you will find them more useful than not.
And, of course, after a tiring day of work, there are smiles, conversations, and music, along with the good feeling that comes from a job well done. Walk into the common areas for the evening: talk with people, maybe play a good round (or two) of Kniffel; perhaps join the kicker or pingpong tournament, a movie night sounds good, or just looking at the stars and the vastness of the night sky would suffice for today.
Another thing to keep in mind is house-keeping rules.
Follow your steward rules. Your cabin is your personal space, keeping it tidy and clean helps you and the housekeeping crew. Remember to leave your door open if you are not sleeping and take care of your shower curtain so it dries properly, we do not want mold on a ship!
Since we are already here, some general advice for life at sea.
An important aspect of life at sea is, sadly, sea sickness. It’s as common as it’s normal, everyone has tips and tricks. Here is ours: bring your pills, also known as Reisetabletten, take them every day and see how it works for you, maybe you are lucky and don’t need them after a few days. But never be too careless, the sea is as vast as it is treacherous, and big waves can change your internal balance easily. So, keep your pills close and keep them safe.
Be aware of the time changes, crossing the Atlantic may feel like a timeless void but time zones still exist to the rest of the world. The captain will announce the changes in time zone, moving an hour forward or backwards as needed, so be aware of this, keep an eye on the clocks and be prepared for a bit of a longer, or shorter, day ahead.
We thought of giving advice on science, but that’s what you are here for. Do not fret. Do your work and do it well. Trust that the knowledge that has brought you to this vessel can contribute, and be contributed, by those around you. Both the scientists and the crew are welcoming (but you have to follow the rules both for safety reasons and to work well in a limited shared space) and make a good effort to communicate in English, even if it is not so comfortable for all of them to so. So, dear reader, may your equipment be efficient, your samples uncontaminated and your results significant. Have a good trip, enjoy the camaraderie of new friends, and remember to enjoy these crazy days ahead.
Gute Reise und viel Spaß!
Ocean Acidification
Dr Heidarzadeh’s TV interview with SkyNews on the massive M7.7 Panama earthquake on 9 October 2026
Dr Heidarzadeh’s TV interview with SkyNews on the massive M7.7 Panama earthquake on 9 October 2026. Click here for the full story.
Dr Heidarzadeh’s TV interview with SkyNews on the massive M7.7 Panama earthquake on 9 October 2026
Our ocean is an incredibly vast and mysterious place. And there is no place where that is more evident than the deepest ocean area in the world: the legendary Mariana Trench. Located east of the Philippines, the Mariana Trench lies in the Mariana Archipelago in the western portion of the North Pacific. The greater area of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument is made up of more than 95,000 square miles of ocean. Beneath these waters lie incredibly complex aggregations of submerged islands and volcanoes … and of course, an astoundingly massive trench.
Dive in with us to have your biggest questions answered about the famed Mariana Trench.
How deep is the Mariana Trench?
The deepest part of the Mariana Trench, known as Challenger Deep, is almost 36,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. For context, Mount Everest is about 29,000 feet above sea level, so the Mariana Trench is about 7,000 feet deeper than Mount Everest is tall. For one more comparison, the RMS Titanic lies at a depth of about 12,500 feet below sea level. The Challenger Deep is in waters nearly three times deeper than this ship’s final resting place.
Due to its enormous size, the Mariana Trench has at times been affectionately nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the ocean. This is certainly a picturesque image, but don’t let the mammoth size of this U.S. national terrestrial park fool you into thinking the Mariana Trench matches its size. The trench’s footprint is estimated to be 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon’s, and to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, you’d need to descend through almost six Grand Canyons stacked on top of each other before you’d reach the seafloor.
Oh … and did we mention it’s five times wider than it is deep? It’s about 43 miles wide!
What is Challenger Deep, and how long would it take to reach it?
Challenger Deep is the deepest point of the Mariana Trench. Fewer than 30 people have ever journeyed to this area. The trek below the surface is long, dark and time-consuming, and it’s not an expedition considered lightly by scientists and explorers.
The first people to descend into the depths of this area in 1960 were oceanographers Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, and it took them close to five hours to reach Challenger Deep. Since then, more advanced submersibles have been created, but it still takes two to four hours for modern vessels to reach such depths. For example, explorer and filmmaker James Cameron reached the seafloor in a little more than 2.5 hours in the first documented solo submarine dive to the area, and it took oceanographer Dr. Dawn Wright about four hours in 2022. It is crucial that these submersibles descend slowly and steadily beneath the surface, as the immense water pressure compounds with every mile a submersible descends. Speaking of pressure …
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What is the water pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?
If you thought the depth of the Mariana Trench was its only jaw-dropping feature, think again. Water pressure is one of the most important factors affecting deep-sea life. In the ocean, pressure increases by one atmosphere for every 33 feet (10 meters) of depth. One atmosphere (a unit of measurement for pressure equivalent to average air pressure at sea level) is equal to about 14.7 pounds per square inch (PSI), which is the approximate standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. If you were to convert atmospheric pressure into weight, one atmosphere is about the weight of a bowling ball. Stay with me, friends.
If a vessel were to dive 2,000 feet below the surface, the pressure would equal that of 60 bowling balls stacked atop every square inch of that submersible. But 60 bowling balls is simply nothing compared to the pressure in the Mariana Trench. The atmospheric pressure at the depths of Challenger Deep is equal to about 16,000 PSI. That pressure is about the same as the weight of an entire full-grown elephant on every square inch of a submersible!
Need a more extreme comparison? If a human were to be placed at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the pressure would be equal to that of 50 jumbo jets piled on top of a person!
Do any animals live in the Mariana Trench?
The depths of the Mariana Trench come with immense pressure and extreme darkness, but somehow, life finds a way to survive. Organisms that live at an extreme depth, like that of Challenger Deep, have to be highly adapted to low temperatures (typically just above freezing), high pressure and virtually no light at all.
Species found in the depths of the Mariana Trench might look vastly different from animals from other ocean depths because their anatomy has been refined to thrive in harsh conditions. At such great depths, these animals typically depend on chemosynthesis (using nutrient-rich waters being pumped out of hydrothermal vents) or descending detritus (dead matter that has fallen from higher parts of the ocean) for food, such as whale falls. Just a handful of these animals include species of octopuses and squids, sea cucumbers, amphipods, sea jellies, shrimp, sea worms and some wild-looking fish!
In 2025, more than 7,000 new species were discovered in the Mariana Trench, including the hadal snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei). This is the deepest-dwelling fish currently known to science. Now, the fish has been dubbed “the Mariana snailfish.”
How was the Mariana Trench formed?
The process by which the Mariana Trench was created is a geologically fascinating one known as subduction. On the Earth’s surface, there are thin plates that cover the planet’s mantle, which is made of molten rock. If two of these plates collide, one pushes down into the Earth’s mantle while the other is pushed over the bottom plate. When this happens, a trench is formed from the drag of the bottom plate. This process can sometimes create incredibly strong earthquakes. The plates that forged the Mariana Trench’s creation are estimated to be up to approximately 180 million years old.
This trench was unknown to scientists until 1875. It was then that a team of explorers on the HMS Challenger measured the depth of the sea by simply lowering a weighted rope into the water. They were baffled when they measured that first portion of the seafloor to be five miles below the surface. And so was born the origin of some of the most daring deep-sea explorations known to mankind to date.
Is the Mariana Trench protected?
The Mariana Trench is in waters off Guam and the Mariana Islands. The region is protected from some human activities under its status as a marine monument. The creation of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument signified that international, national and local leaders all recognize the importance of protecting this area.
However, just because the region is protected does not mean it’s not vulnerable to modern threats to ocean health. Plastic bags have been spotted in the Mariana Trench during several expeditions, highlighting the far-reaching impact of the marine debris problem. No corner of our ocean is safe from the ever-present threat of plastic pollution. The reality of a changing climate makes the future well-being of wondrous places like the Mariana Trench uncertain. What’s more: More than 70% of the global ocean has yet to be mapped. And what we don’t yet know about, we cannot wisely work to protect.
It’s up to us to work together to defend our ocean, from the sandy shores of our favorite beaches to the deepest, darkest parts of the sea. Together, we can work to protect our ocean as a whole, which ultimately helps protect treasured places like Challenger Deep.
Find out how you can join Ocean Conservancy’s wave of momentum to secure a healthy ocean and a thriving planet, forever and for everyone!
The post The Mysteries of the Mariana Trench appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
Intro
At the western tip of Luzon, which is the biggest island of the Philippines, lies the small coastal town of Bolinao. Tourists seldom find their way here as it takes around seven hours to get here by bus from Manila. Still, you can spot foreigners walking around every now and then, but they really stand out among the Filipinos. A reason for their presence is often that they study or work at the Bolinao Marine Laboratory (BML), which belongs to the University of the Philippines (UP). It is one of the seven research institutions participating in the GAME project 2026. Every year, GAME brings together Master’s students from all over the world to experience different cultures and conduct globally replicated experiments in marine ecology.
