Deployment and recovery of a full-ocean depth mooring at Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench

摘要

We present the details of a unique deep-ocean instrument package and mooring that was deployed at Challenger Deep (10,984 m) in the Marianas Trench. The mooring is 45 m in length and consists of a hydrophone, RBR??? pressure and temperature loggers, nine Vitrovex?? glass spheres and a mast with a satellite beacon for recovery. The mooring was deployed in January and recovered in March 2015 using the USCG Cutter Sequoia. The pressure logger recorded a maximum pressure of 10,956.8 decibars, for a depth of 10,646.1 m. To our knowledge, this is only the fourth in situ measurement of depth ever made at Challenger Deep. The hydrophone recorded for ???1 hour and stopped shortly after descending to a depth of 1,785 m (temperature of 2.4??C). The record at this depth is dominated by the sound of the Sequoia's engines and propellers.