Why is the Mariana Trench so deep?
It may come as a surprise to you to learn that we don’t know precisely how deep the Mariana Trench is. But it is not so strange, if you think a bit more about it. Have you ever wondered how we would measure this depth? You can’t exactly use a yardstick, the way you measure fabric for a dress or the length of a wall for wallpaper. Instead, scientists send sound waves through the water and study their reflections (their echoes). This may give results, but those results need to be interpreted, translated into meaningful data. All sorts of calculations need to be made for pressure effects and composition of the water (how the molecules interact and transmit sound). This is where opinions come in because not all scientists have to agree on how to do that. This is also where technology comes in. As you can imagine, the development and improvement of new technologies often leads to more precise measurements and the adjustment of older data. Still, we have a pretty good idea of its depth. If y
