1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey, 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:11,120 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Volga bomb here. To know the ocean 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: is to know some mind boggling numbers. About of Earth's 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: surface is covered by water. All that liquid takes up 5 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: a lot of space, more than three D thirty two million, 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: five hundred nineteen thousand cubic miles. That's about one billion, 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: three D eight six million cubic kilometers. The official website 8 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 1: of the U s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says 9 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: that there's enough water in the oceans to fill over 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty two quintillion gallon sized milk containers. Now, 11 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: let's go out on a limb and assume that you 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: don't have that many spare milk jugs just lying around. 13 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: Here's another visual. In theory, you could use the ocean 14 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: to cover the entirety of the United States, including Alaska 15 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: and Hawaii, in a column of water measuring over eighty 16 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,680 Speaker 1: two miles tall or about a hundred thirty two kilometers. 17 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: Pardners for using a four letter word, But dang, it's 18 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: no surprise that some of the most frequently asked questions 19 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: about our ocean involve its depths, how deep is the ocean, 20 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: where's the very deepest part of it, and what's the 21 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: ocean's average depth. You'll learn the answers in this episode, 22 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: and you won't even need to pack your scuba gear. 23 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: Strictly speaking, Earth only has one ocean. They're all connected, 24 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: after all, but the five major regions within this giant 25 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: body of water are all called oceans in their own right. 26 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: There's the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, 27 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: the Arctic Ocean, and the Southern Ocean. Together they make 28 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: up what's known as the global ocean. That's what people 29 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: usually mean when they start talking about the ocean as 30 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: a whole. It's also what we were referring to in 31 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: both of the hypothetical visualizations described Abbed earlier. Of course, 32 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: the depth of the ocean isn't uniform. It varies a 33 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: great deal based on geography. At any random spot on 34 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: the map, the distance between the ocean floor and the 35 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 1: water surface of above may be influenced by canyons, undersea, 36 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 1: mountain ranges, or a host of other features. Using tools 37 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: such as sonar, radar, and satellite technology, the scientists have 38 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: calculated that the global ocean has an average or mean 39 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: depth of approximately twelve thousand, seven hundred and eighty five ft. 40 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: That's three thousand, eight hundred and ninety seven. That works 41 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: out to around two point four miles or three point 42 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: nine kilometers. But we can also compare the five separate 43 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,519 Speaker 1: oceans different depths. Twenty nineteen study published in the journal 44 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: Earth Science Reviews did just that, and they found that 45 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: the deepest point in the Arctic Ocean is in a 46 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: trench called the Malloy Hole. It's located some eighteen thousand, 47 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: six hund feet or five thousand, six hundred seventy below 48 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: the surface. The deepest part of the Indian Ocean is 49 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: probably an unnamed part of the Java Trench, situated twenty 50 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: three thousand, nine hundred feet or seven thousand, two hundred 51 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: nine under water. As for the Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica, 52 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,519 Speaker 1: its deepest locality can be found within the South Sandwich Trench, 53 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: at a depth of twenty four thousand, two hundred feet 54 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: or seven thousand, three hundred and eighty meters. The deepest 55 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: part of the Atlantic Ocean seems to be a Puerto 56 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: Rico trench site known as the Milwaukee Deep. It has 57 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: a depth of seven thousand, six hundred feet or eight thousand, 58 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: four hundred meters. And what about the Pacific Ocean. We've 59 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: saved the best for last. In the western part of 60 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: the Pacific, there's an archipelago called the Mariana Islands. Just 61 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: to the east of that, there's a yawning underwater chasm 62 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: that adventurers and science fiction writers can't get enough of. 63 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: It's name is the Mariana Trench, and it contains the 64 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: very deepest place in not only the Pacific, but in 65 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: the entire global ocean as well, a site that's called 66 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: Challenger Deep. Measuring its exact depth has proven tricky, but 67 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: by a rather conservative estimate, which the twenty nineteen study endorses, 68 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: the sea floor here may rest at an incredible thirty 69 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: five thousand, eight hundred and forty feet. That's ten thousand 70 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: below the water's surface. That means that Challenger Deep is 71 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: even deeper than Mount Everest is tall. The peak of 72 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: that Himalayan landmark is only around twenty nine thousand feet 73 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: above sea level, or eight thousand, eight hundreds But both 74 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: Earth's tallest mountains and such extreme trenches are formed by 75 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: the same actions. The movements and interactions of Earth's tectonic plates. 76 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,280 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article how Deep is 77 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: the Ocean on how stuff works dot Com written by 78 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: Mark Mancini. A brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio 79 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: and partnership with how stuff works dot com, and it's 80 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:10,679 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, 81 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 82 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.