No one has ever been there — Experts enter Earth’s final frontier and warn of “completely unknown DNA”

While scientists have searched far and wide across the Earth to uncover its various mysteries, there are still many undiscovered areas that hold great secrets. Uncharted depths deep beneath the surface of the ocean are home to incredible things, which are only just becoming known to us. A team of researchers aims to find completely unknown DNA in Earth’s final frontier.

Our ocean remains one of our greatest mysteries

While many scientists around the world are looking up to the stars for the next greatest discoveries, when really they should be focusing closer to home, under our seas, where we know almost nothing.  We actually have only explored around 5% of our oceans, and the rest remains unchartered territory. While we have mapped the ocean surface quite well, the deeper regions are a dark and scary place. 

Only now are scientists delving much further to find new species, whereas before, the lowest points in the ocean were thought to be uninhabitable. The deep sea is an incredible place, with gigantic mountain ranges and sunken trenches that seem to have no bottom. How can anything possibly survive down there? Well, a new team of researchers is setting out to solve some of these questions and reach places that have never been reached before. 

Some may call the ocean floor Earth’s final frontier, holding so many mysteries we have barely begun to discover. But this team of researchers has some important questions to solve, and wants to be at the forefront of discoveries from under the sea. 

An expert team sets sail to Earth’s final frontier

An interesting collaboration has come about between Chile and China, to form a group of experts from the Insti­tute of Deep-sea Sci­ence and Engin­eer­ing of the Chinese Academy of Sci­ences (CAS) and IDO (the Mil­len­nium Insti­tute of Ocean­o­graphy from the Uni­versity of Con­cep­cion. This team is aiming to make history by finding new life forms in the mysterious Pacific Ocean.

Their destination? The Atacama Trench running along the west coast of South America, close to Peru and Chile. For this reason, it is also called the Peru–Chile Trench and runs for around 3,670 miles. That’s not even the most impressive part. This trench goes so deep, it passes the 26,000 feet mark, and is undoubtedly one of the deepest points within the ocean. This interesting creature has been found here before, and more await. 

The Chinese are reaching new frontiers as they search for a special molecule

A Chinese vessel named Tan Suo Yi Hao will house these experts as they set off on their three-month journey, where they hope to find species that we’ve never seen before within this 64km wide trench. The mission aims to find hadal chemo­syn­thetic molecules, which can provide a source of energy and car­bon, but are also hoping to gain insight into new kinds of DNA.

What else will the researchers look for so deep below the surface?

Along this trench, the South American and Nazca tectonic plates converge, which generates a very seismically active area that is a great place to study earthquakes and their causes. The mission is also interested in gaining new knowledge about the causes of earthquakes and tsunamis from this deep region.

A lot of collaboration will be done to ensure the success of this mission, including help from 33 research stations and almost 20 submersible dives. Amongst these is the Striver, also known as the Fendouzhe, which is an extremely advanced manned submersible that can reach over 10,000 meters (32,000 feet).

With two goals in mind, to find new molecules and to study the seismic activity of the region, this mission will certainly keep its researchers busy. Any discoveries down there will be of worldwide interest, and the team will certainly be known for their hard work. Other interesting deep-sea discoveries are also being made, showing the amount of unknown territory that is still to be explored.