Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

摘要

In 2011 marine microbiologist Doug Bartlett and his colleagues got a high-profile visitor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography: director and part-time underwater explorer James Cameron, who outlined his plan to dive the Mariana Trench in his high-tech sub, Deepsea Challenger. Bartlett signed on as chief scientist, agog at the chance to collect microbes from the secluded depths. On its first expedition this past year, the sub made 11 dives, including the record-breaking trip that made Cameron the first solo traveler to visit Challenger Deep, the bottom of the trench at 35,000 feet. DISCOVER senior associate editor Jennifer Barone spoke with Bartlett about the science behind the plunge.