MH370: what lies beneath the southern Indian Ocean? – Channel 4 News Science , Technology , World MH370: what lies beneath the southern Indian Ocean? As the search for missing Malaysia flight MH370 narrows, questions are being asked about what lies under the vast southern Indian Ocean. Share on Twitter The average depth of the Indian Ocean is 12,762ft. It is the third largest of the world’s oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20 per cent of the water on the earth’s surface. Its deepest point is Diamantina Deep in the Diamantina Trench . Diamantina Trench is the south-eastern basin of the India Ocean. Its maximum depth is more than 26,401 ft deep. Diamantia Deep is located 621 miles west-south west of the city of Perth in Australia. ‘Islands and volcanos’ The southern Indian Ocean, between Indonesia and Australia, is broken up only by the Australian territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. These remote islands, with a population of fewer than 1,000 people, have a small airport.

Further south, the only habitation is a handful of research stations and a group of volcanic outcrops between Africa, Australia and Antarctica. One of these is Big Ben, an active volcano that makes up most of Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Much of it is covered by ice, including 14 major glaciers. ‘Underwater mountains’ The south west Indian Ocean ridge (an underwater mountain system that consists of various mountain ranges and a valley) is a major geological feature which extends from the central Indian Ocean to join the mid-Atlantic ridge in the southern ocean. It is rich in seamounts (mountains rising from the ocean seafloor that do not reach to the water’s surface) and supports a productive deep-water fishery. Yet in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, it is one of the least sampled regions of the global ocean. The south east India Ridge, which separates the Indo-Australian tectonic plate and the Antarctic plate, extends from the far southern area of the central Indian Ocean to the far western edge of the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Australia. The ridge is a divergent tectonic boundary as the two plates are moving away from each other.

The greater part of the water area of the Indian Ocean lies within the tropical and temperate zones. The shallow waters of the tropical zone are characterised by numerous corals and other organisms capable of building, together with calcareous red algae, reefs and coral islands. These coralline structures shelter a thriving marine fauna consisting of sponges, worms, crabs, molluscs, sea urchins, brittle stars, starfish, and small but exceedingly brightly coloured reef fish. Fishing is confined to subsistence levels, because its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. ‘Lungs of the ocean’ Joellen Russell, an associate professor in biogeochemical dynamics at the University of Arizona, writes: “This is where you see the lungs of the ocean working, where you get oxygen in, and you bring up carbon-rich and nutrient rich waters to the surface. It’s what makes it so productive.” He added: “The southern ocean takes up something like 70 per cent – plus or minus 30 per cent – of all the anthropogenic heat that goes under the ocean.

This is where you see the lungs of the ocean working, where you get oxygen in, and you bring up carbon-rich and nutrient rich waters to the surface – Joellen Russell “This is one of the few areas of the global ocean that is immediately and definitely playing a role in the temperature on land, because it’s taking up all this anthropogenic heat and carbon. The whole ocean is doing that, but here it’s doing it more than it ought to.” The westerly winds here have increased by about 20 per cent over the last 20 years , according to Mr Russell’s 2006 investigation into the trends . ‘An ocean in motion’ Erik van Sebille, lecturer in oceanography at University of New South Wales, Australia, blogs that the southern Indian Ocean is extremely volatile , with currents changing speed and direction from day to day. One of its unique features is that it is the only place in the world where water can keep on moving eastward without ever hitting land. Because of this, and the strong winds, the water is swept along at very high speeds, sometimes almost two metres a second – much faster than any other place in the world.

Deepest Ocean Trenches | Dimensions Info Deepest Ocean Trenches Ocean trenches are the long yet narrow v-shaped geological depressions on the ocean floor, and as such are the ocean’s deepest part as well as the Earth’s lowest points. There are 16 major oceanic trenches; the top 10 of these are located in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, those found in the latter being the deepest ocean trenches in the world. In the Arctic Ocean, the Eurasian Basin is the 16th deepest ocean trench in the world; reaching depths of 5,450 meters, 17,881 feet and 3.39 miles. The Indian Ocean’s Java Trench is 15th at 7,455 meters, 24,460 feet and 4.63 miles. The Aleutian Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the 14th deepest at 7,679 meters, 25,194 feet and 4.77 miles.

13th is the Caribbean Sea’s Cayman Trough at 7,686 meters, 25,238 feet and 4.78 miles. The Romanche Trench in the Atlantic Ocean is 12th deepest at 7,760 meters, 25,460 feet and 4.82 miles. And the 11th deepest ocean trench is the Indian Ocean’s Diamantina Trench at 8,047 meters, 26,401 feet and 5.00 miles. The 10th to 6th places in the world’s deepest ocean trenches alternate between those in the Pacific Ocean and those in the Atlantic. The Peru-Chile Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the 10th deepest ocean trench at 8,065 meters, 26,456 feet and 5.01 miles. 9th deepest is the Atlantic Ocean’s South Sandwich Trench at 8,428 meters, 27,651 feet and 5.24 miles.

Back in the Pacific, the Yap Trench is 8th at 8,527 meters, 27,976 feet and 5.30 miles. 7th is the Atlantic’s Puerto Rico Trench at 8,605 meters, 28,232 feet and 5.35 miles. And at 6th place is the Japan Trench in the Pacific at 9,000 meters, 29,527 feet and 5.59 miles. The top five deepest ocean trenches are all located in the Pacific Ocean. The 5th deepest is the Kermadec Trench at 10,047 meters, 32,963 feet and 6.24 miles. In 4th place is the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench at 10,500 meters, 34,449 feet and 6.52 miles. The Philippine Trench is 3rd at 10,540 meters, 34,580 feet and 6.54 miles.

The 2nd deepest is the Tonga Trench at 10,882 meters, 35,702 feet and 6.76 miles. Finally, the deepest ocean trench in the world is the Mariana Trench at 10,911 meters, 35,797 feet and 6.78 miles. Formed deep in the Earth’s crust, ocean trenches are typically situated in areas of volcanic activity. Practically valleys under the sea, their considerable depth makes them ideal habitation for deep water fish and other exotic oceanic life forms. As a result, the waters above these trenches make for excellent fishing. As far as deep-sea exploration goes, human beings are incapable of bearing the high pressure and the cold dark depths of the ocean trench. This necessitates the use of specially-designed equipment and submarines, but even these would allow man to explore the trenches for limited periods only. As much information about them as has been gathered, the deepest part of the ocean floor remains inviting yet elusive. Follow Us!

deep-sea trench | geology | Britannica.com Deep-sea trench ocean basin Deep-sea trench, also called oceanic trench , any long, narrow, steep-sided depression in the ocean bottom in which occur the maximum oceanic depths, approximately 7,300 to more than 11,000 metres (24,000 to 36,000 feet). They typically form in locations where one tectonic plate subducts under another. The deepest known depression of this kind is the Mariana Trench , which lies east of the Mariana Islands in the western North Pacific Ocean ; it reaches 11,034 metres (36,200 feet) at its deepest point. Three-dimensional diagram showing crustal generation and destruction according to the theory of … Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Types Deep-sea trenches generally lie seaward of and parallel to adjacent island arcs or mountain ranges of the continental margins . They are closely associated with and found in subduction zones —that is, locations where a lithospheric plate bearing oceanic crust slides down into the upper mantle under the force of gravity .

The result is a topographic depression where the oceanic plate comes in contact with the overriding plate, which may be either oceanic or continental. If the overriding plate is oceanic, an island arc develops. The trench forms an arc in plan view, and islands with explosive volcanoes develop on the overriding plate. If the overriding plate is continental, a marginal trench forms where the topographic depression appears to follow the outline of the continental margin. Explosive volcanoes are found there too. Features of a typical island arc. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Both types of subduction zones are associated with large earthquakes that originate at a depth of as much as 700 km (435 miles). The deep earthquakes below subduction zones occur in a plane that dips 30° or more under the overriding plate. Typical trench depths are 8 to 10 km (5 to 6 miles). The longest trench is the Peru-Chile Trench , which extends some 5,900 km (about 3,700 miles) along the west coast of South America . Trenches are relatively narrow, usually less than 100 km (about 60 miles) wide.

Similar Topics continental rise Of the Earth’s 20 major trenches, 17 are found in the Pacific basin , a vast area rimmed by trenches of both marginal and island arc varieties. Marginal trenches bound the west coast of Central and South America from the Gulf of California to southern Chile . Although they are deeply buried in sediment, trenches are found along the western North American continental margin from Cape Mendocino (in northern California) to the Canadian border. The Aleutian Trench extends from the northernmost point in the Gulf of Alaska west to the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia. It can be classified as a marginal trench in the east but is more properly termed an island arc west of Alaska . In the western Pacific the trenches are associated with island arcs. These include the Kuril, Japan , Bonin, Mariana, Ryukyu, and Philippine trenches that extend from Kamchatka to near the Equator. A complex pattern of island arcs is found in Indonesia. The major island arc here is the Java Trench extending from northern Australia to the northwestern end of Sumatra in the northeast Indian Ocean .

The region of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands includes the New Britain and Solomon trenches, the latter of which joins the New Hebrides Trench directly to the south. East of this area the Tonga and Kermadec trenches extend south from the Fiji Islands to New Zealand . Two island arcs occur in the Atlantic Ocean . The South Sandwich Trench is located west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between South America and Antarctica. The Puerto Rico Trench joins the Lesser Antilles Island arc in the eastern Caribbean. A few trenches are partially filled with sediments derived from the bordering continents. The Aleutian Trench is effectively buried east of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. There the ocean floor is smooth and flat . To the west, farther from the sediment supply of Alaska, the trench reaches depths of more than 7 km (about 4 miles). The Lesser Antilles trench in the eastern Caribbean is buried by sediments originating from South America. Structure Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent Deep-sea trenches and their approaches are striking features on the ocean floor. In general, the cross sections of deep-sea trenches are V-shaped with steeper landward sides.

Typical slopes range between 4° and 16°, although slopes as steep as 45° have been measured in the Tonga Trench of the equatorial South Pacific. Narrow, flat abyssal plains of ponded sediment generally occupy trench axes; however, in most deep-sea trenches the accumulated material is relatively shallow since the bottom of the trench subducts into Earth’s interior. Oceanic Mass: Fact or Fiction? Oceanward of trenches the seafloor is usually bulged upward in an outer ridge or rise of up to 1,000 metres (about 3,300 feet) in relief. This condition is thought to be the elastic response of the oceanic plate bending down into a subduction zone . The landward or island-arc slope of the trench is often interrupted by a submarine ridge, which sometimes breaks the ocean surface, as in the case of the Java Trench . Such a ridge is constructed from deformed sediments scraped off the top of the descending oceanic plate and is termed an accretionary prism.

A line of explosive volcanoes , extruding (erupting) a lava that forms the volcanic rock andesite , is found on the overriding plate usually 100 km (about 60 miles) or so from the trench. In marginal trenches these volcanoes form mountain chains, such as the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest or the great volcanoes of the Andes. In island arcs they form active volcanic island chains, such as the Mariana Islands. Behind the volcanic line of island arcs are sometimes found young, narrow ocean basins . These basins are bounded on the opposite side by submarine ridges. Such interarc, or backarc, basins are sites of seafloor spreading directly caused by the dynamics of subduction. They originate at the volcanic line, so that the outer bounding submarine ridge, or third arc, represents an older portion of the volcanic line that has spread away. These backarc basins bear many of the features characteristic of oceanic spreading centres. Well-studied examples of these features are found in the Lau Basin of the Tonga arc and also west of the Mariana Islands. The Sea of Japan originated from backarc spreading behind the Japanese arc that began some 30 million years ago.

At least two backarc basins have opened behind the Mariana arc, creating seafloor in two phases from about 30 to 17 million years ago in the western Parece Vela Basin and from 5 million years ago in the Mariana Trough next to the islands. The Mariana Trough is a back-arc basin occurring due east of the Mariana arc. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest It is important to note that some seafloor features bear the name trench and are deep linear troughs; however, they do not occur in subduction zones. The Vema Trench on the Mid-Indian Ridge is a fracture zone . The Vityaz Trench northwest of Fiji is an aseismic (inactive) feature of unknown origin. The Diamantina trench ( Diamantina Fracture Zone) extends westward from the southwest coast of Australia. It is a rift valley that was formed when Australia separated from Antarctica between 60 and 50 million years ago. Origin of deep-sea trenches Geophysical data provide important clues concerning the origin of trenches. No abnormalities in the flow of internal Earth heat or variations in the Earth’s magnetic field occur at trenches.

Precision measurements reveal that the force of gravity generally is lower than normal, however. These negative gravity anomalies are interpreted to mean that the segments of the lithosphere (that is, the crust and upper mantle comprising the rigid, outermost shell of the Earth) that underlie trenches are being forced down against buoyant isostatic forces. This interpretation of gravity data is substantiated by seismological studies. All trenches are associated with zones of earthquake foci. Along the periphery of the Pacific Ocean, earthquakes occur close to and landward of the trenches, at depths within the Earth of 55 km (34 miles) or less. With increased landward distance away from the trenches, earthquakes occur at greater and greater depths—500 km (310 miles) or more. Seismic foci thus define tabular zones approximately 20 km (12 miles) thick that dip landward at about 45° beneath the continents. Analyses of these seismic zones and of individual earthquakes suggest that the seismicity results from the descent of a lithospheric plate with its associated crust into the asthenosphere (that is, the partially molten layer beneath the lithosphere); oceanic trenches are topographic expressions of this movement.

Britannica Lists & Quizzes How do ocean recoveries work? No clue too small after crashes - CNN.com How do ocean recoveries work? No clue too small after crashes By Suzanne Malveaux, Dana Ford and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN Updated 6:17 PM ET, Thu March 20, 2014 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. JUST WATCHED Satellites spot possible Flight 370 debris 02:02 Story highlights If debris is verified, recovery teams could use 'pinger locators' to find device Ships, aircraft and helicopters are searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Let's say they find it. Would the mystery be solved? TWA Flight 800 and Air France Flight 447 provide clues about what could happen next There are dozens of ships, aircraft and helicopters searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in an area nearly as big as the continental United States. Now, 4-day-old satellite images have provided a much-needed lead: two objects spotted bobbing in the southern Indian Ocean, about 14 miles apart.

The race is on to find those objects -- which experts caution could just as well be lost shipping containers as a chunk of fuselage or wing -- and by analyzing currents and other data perhaps locate the site where the plane might have gone down. Let's say they find it. Would the mystery be solved? Hardly. Finding the aircraft is just the beginning. JUST WATCHED What do satelitte images really show? 03:34 JUST WATCHED Will wind, currents impact debris search? 01:53 JUST WATCHED 'This is not a popular place to be' 04:33 Australia search Malaysia map Diamantina Trench search area Assuming that the plane crashed and that it's on the bottom of the ocean, search crews would face myriad obstacles in recovering parts of the plane and in piecing together what happened. And the treacherous waters of the southern Indian Ocean would only add to the challenge, said John Blaxland, a senior fellow at the Australian National University and expert on Australia's radar systems. "The problem is that that piece of flotsam and jetsam is not where it was when the photograph was taken four days ago. The currents have taken it a long way eastwards," he said.

"So the aircraft are looking, in poor visibility, and this is the area that we used to call the 'Roaring Forties'; this is in the 19th century the kind of waters that ships got wrecked in. So this is really treacherous stretches of water, not easy to work in, very hard to detect things in." The cases of TWA Flight 800 and Air France Flight 447 hint at the difficulties that might lie ahead. The first demonstrates how tedious reconstruction work is and how important that work is to explaining exactly what went wrong, while the second shows just how long an ocean recovery can take. "First thing to do is get back those recorders because ... there's a huge amount of data in the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. Get those back, and then we can see what we need to do next. But, you know, time is of the essence," said Tom Haueter, former director of the National Transportation Safety Board's Office of Aviation Safety. He knows what he's talking about. How do passenger jets change flight paths?

Debunking conspiracy theories Haueter investigated the July 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800, which exploded in midair shortly after takeoff from New York, killing all 230 people on board. His job began at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. U.S. Navy and other divers spent more than 1,600 hours scouring for clues. "We found pieces from just forward of the center section of the wing. Then we found the nose of the aircraft. And then we found the wings and the tail, the engines and everything else further down the flight path," Haueter said. The NTSB ruled that the explosion was caused by an electrical short circuit, which detonated the fuel tank and caused the Boeing 747 to break into pieces in the waters off Long Island. The evidence was pieced together from a debris field of 75 square miles. Thousands of fragments were pulled from a tangled web of wires and airplane skin.

Photos: The search for MH370 Photos: The search for MH370 Two years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing, a relative of one of the passengers burns incense in Beijing on March 8, 2016. Flight 370 vanished on March 8, 2014, as it flew from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. There were 239 people on board. Hide Caption 1 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On July 29, police carry a piece of debris on Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean. A week later, authorities confirmed that the debris was from the missing flight. Hide Caption 2 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Staff members with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau examine a piece of aircraft debris at their laboratory in Canberra, Australia, on July 20. The flap was found in June by residents on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania, and officials had said it was highly likely to have come from Flight 370.

Experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane, confirmed that the part was indeed from the missing aircraft. Hide Caption 3 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 In late February, American tourist Blaine Gibson found a piece of plane debris off Mozambique, a discovery that renewed hope of solving the mystery of the missing flight. The piece measured 35 inches by 22 inches. A U.S. official said it was likely the wreckage came from a Boeing 777, which MH370 was. Hide Caption 4 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Relatives of the flight's passengers console each other outside the Malaysia Airlines office in Subang, Malaysia, on February 12, 2015. Protesters had demanded that the airline withdraw the statement that all 239 people aboard the plane were dead. Hide Caption 5 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A police officer watches a couple cry outside the airline's office building in Beijing after officials refused to meet with them on June 11, 2014. The couple's son was on the plane.

Hide Caption 6 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of the media scramble to speak with Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Department, at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 27, 2014. Data from communications between satellites and the missing flight was released the day before, more than two months after relatives of passengers said they requested it be made public. Hide Caption 7 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Operators aboard the Australian ship Ocean Shield move Bluefin-21, the U.S. Navy's autonomous underwater vehicle, into position to search for the jet on April 14, 2014. Hide Caption 8 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks out of a window while searching for debris off the coast of western Australia on April 13, 2014.

Hide Caption 9 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The HMS Echo, a vessel with the British Roya; Navy, moves through the waters of the southern Indian Ocean on April 12, 2014. Hide Caption 10 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, on a mission to drop sonar buoys to assist in the search, flies past the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on April 9, 2014. Hide Caption 11 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A relative of a missing passenger cries at a vigil in Beijing on April 8, 2014. Hide Caption 12 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Australian Defense Force divers scan the water for debris in the southern Indian Ocean on April 7, 2014. Hide Caption 13 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A towed pinger locator is readied to be deployed off the deck of the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on April 7, 2014.

Hide Caption 14 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks at a flare in the Indian Ocean during search operations on April 4, 2014. Hide Caption 15 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On March 30, 2014, a woman in Kuala Lumpur prepares for an event in honor of those aboard Flight 370. Hide Caption 16 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The sole representative for the families of Flight 370 passengers leaves a conference at a Beijing hotel on March 28, 2014, after other relatives left en masse to protest the Malaysian government's response to their questions. Hide Caption 17 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal Australian Air Force is silhouetted against the southern Indian Ocean during the search for the missing jet on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 18 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Flight Lt.

Jayson Nichols looks at a map aboard a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft during a search on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 19 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 People in Kuala Lumpur light candles during a ceremony held for the missing flight's passengers on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 20 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, delivers a statement about the flight on March 24, 2014. Razak's announcement came after the airline sent a text message to relatives saying it "deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH 370 has been lost and that none of those onboard survived." Hide Caption Photos: The search for MH370 Grieving relatives of missing passengers leave a hotel in Beijing on March 24, 2014. Hide Caption 22 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A passenger views a weather map in the departures terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 22, 2014.

Hide Caption 23 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Chinese satellite captured this image, released on March 22, 2014, of a floating object in the Indian Ocean, according to China's State Administration of Science. It was a possible lead in the search for the missing plane. Surveillance planes were looking for two objects spotted by satellite imagery in remote, treacherous waters more than 1,400 miles from the west coast of Australia. Hide Caption 24 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Satellite imagery provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority on March 20, 2014, showed debris in the southern Indian Ocean that could have been from Flight 370. The announcement by Australian officials raised hopes of a breakthrough in the frustrating search. Hide Caption 25 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Another satellite shot provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority shows possible debris from the flight.

Hide Caption 26 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A distraught relative of a missing passenger breaks down while talking to reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 19, 2014. Hide Caption 27 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On March 18, 2014, a relative of a missing passenger tells reporters in Beijing about a hunger strike to protest authorities' handling of information about the missing jet. Hide Caption 28 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 U.S. Navy crew members assist in search-and-rescue operations in the Indian Ocean on March 16, 2014. Hide Caption 29 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of the Chinese navy continue search operations on March 13, 2014. After starting in the sea between Malaysia and Vietnam, the plane's last confirmed location, search efforts expanded west into the Indian Ocean. Hide Caption Photos: The search for MH370 A Vietnamese military official looks out an aircraft window during search operations March 13, 2014.

Hide Caption Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian air force members look for debris near Kuala Lumpur on March 13, 2014. Hide Caption 32 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Relatives of missing passengers wait for the latest news at a hotel in Beijing on March 12, 2014. Hide Caption 33 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Vietnamese air force checks a map while searching for the missing plane on March 11, 2014. Hide Caption 34 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Vietnamese air force plane found traces of oil that authorities had suspected to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the Vietnamese government online newspaper reported on March 8, 2014. However, a sample from the slick showed it was bunker oil, typically used to power large cargo ships, Malaysia's state news agency, Bernama, reported on March 10, 2014. Hide Caption 35 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A U.S.

Navy Seahawk helicopter lands aboard the USS Pinckney to change crews on March 9, 2014, before returning to search for the missing plane in the Gulf of Thailand. Hide Caption 36 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Buddhist monks at Kuala Lumpur International Airport offer a special prayer for the missing passengers on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 37 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of a Chinese emergency response team board a rescue vessel at the port of Sanya in China's Hainan province on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 38 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The rescue vessel sets out from Sanya in the South China Sea on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 39 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, arrives to meet family members of missing passengers at the reception center at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, 2014.

Hide Caption 40 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A relative of two missing passengers reacts at their home in Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 41 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Chinese police at the Beijing airport stand beside the arrival board showing delayed Flight 370 in red on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 42 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Juahari Yahya, front, speaks during a news conference at a hotel in Sepang on March 8, 2014. "We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts" with the jet, he said. Hide Caption Pacific Ocean - Atlantic Ocean - Indian Ocean | PMF IAS In this post: Major Ocean relief: Pacific Ocean – Atlantic Ocean – Indian ocean. The Pacific Ocean Covers about one-third of the earth’s surface. Average depth is generally around 7,300 metres. Its shape is roughly triangular with its apex in the north at the Bering Strait. Many marginal seas, bays and gulfs occur along its boundaries.

Nearly 20,000 islands dot this vast ocean. North and Central Pacific Characterized by maximum depth and a large number of deeps, trenches and islands. Some well-known trenches are Aleutian and Kuril. There are also a large number of seamounts and guyots. [Hawaiian Hotspot] West and South-West Pacific Average depth is about 4,000 m. It is marked by a variety of islands, marginal seas, continental shelves and submarine trenches. Mariana Trench and Mindanao Trench are very deep with a depth of more than 10,000 metres. South-East Pacific This part is conspicuous for the absence of marginal seas, and has submarine ridges and plateaus. The Tonga and Atacama trenches are prominent. The Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic is the second largest ocean after the Pacific. It is roughly half the size of the Pacific Ocean. It’s shape resembles the letter ‘S’. In terms of trade, it is the most significant of all oceans. Continental Shelf It has prominent continental shelf with varying widths. The length of the continental shelf is maximum in Northern Atlantic coasts. The largest width occurring off north-east America and north-west Europe.

Grand banks continental shelf is the most productive continental shelf in the world. [Recall fishing industry in Laurentian Climate] The Atlantic Ocean has numerous marginal seas occurring on the shelves, like the Hudson Bay, the Baltic Sea, and the North Sea, and beyond the shelves like the Gulf of Florida (Mexican Gulf). Mid-Atlantic Ridge The most remarkable feature of the Atlantic Ocean is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which runs from north to the south paralleling the ‘S’ shape of the ocean. The ridge has an average height of 4 km and is about 14,000 km long. Seamounts and guyots They are present in significant numbers but not as significant as in pacific ocean. Several seamounts form islands of the mid-Atlantic. Examples include Pico Island of Azores, Gape Verde Islands, Canary Islands etc.. Also, there are coral islands like Bermuda and volcanic islands like, St Helena etc.. Trenches Atlantic Ocean lacks significant troughs and trenches, which are most characteristic to the Pacific Ocean. North Cayman and Puerto Rico are the two troughs and Romanche and South Sandwich are the two trenches in the Atlantic Ocean. The Indian Ocean Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world’s oceanic divisions.

Smaller and less deep than the Atlantic Ocean. Submarine ridges Submarine ridges in this ocean include the Lakshadweep-Chagos Ridge [Reunion Hotspot], the Socotra-Chagos Ridge, the Seychelles Ridge, the South Madagascar Ridge, Carlsberg Ridge etc.. These ridges divide the ocean bottom into many basins. Chief among these are the Central Basin, Arabian Basin, South Indian Basin, Mascarene Basin, West Australian and South Australian Basins. Islands Most of the islands in the Indian Ocean are continental islands and are present in the north and west. These include the Andaman and Nicobar, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Zanzibar. The Lakshadweep and Maldives are coral islands and Mauritius and the Reunion Islands are of volcanic origin. The eastern section of the Indian Ocean is almost free from islands Continental Shelf The ocean’s continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 kilometres (120 mi) in width. An exception is found off Australia’s northern coast, where the shelf width exceeds 1,000 kilometres (620 mi). The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 m (12,762 ft).

Trenches Linear deeps are almost absent. Few exceptions are Sunda Trench, which lies to the south of the island of Java and Diamantina Trench, west of Australia. Its deepest point is Diamantina Deep in Diamantina Trench, at 8,047 m. Sunda Trench off the coast of Java is also considerably deep. Straits Most of the straits in Indian Ocean are important trade roots. The major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, the Lombok Strait, the Strait of Malacca and the Palk Strait. Marginal seas Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb connecting Arabian Sea Gulf of Kutch Palk Strait connecting Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal Bay of Bengal Gulf of Mannar Laccadive Sea Diamantina Deep - iSnare Free Encyclopedia Diamantina Deep The Diamantina Deep is located in the Diamantina Trench southwest of Perth, Western Australia . The Diamantina Trench is in the eastern part of the larger Diamantina Fracture Zone, which stretches from the Ninety East Ridge to the Naturaliste Plateau , which lies off the lower part of Southwest Australia .

[1] It is the deepest point in the Indian Ocean at 8,047 m (26,401 ft). It is located about 1,125 km west-southwest of Perth at 35°S and 104°E. A survey in 1961 by the Australian oceanographic survey ship HMAS Diamantina (K377) confirmed the bathymetry as well as conducting a scientific survey. The trench was named after her. See also Oceanic trench References ^ Stow, D. A. V. (2006) Oceans: an illustrated reference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-77664-6 - page 127 for map of Indian Ocean and pp. 34-37 regarding trenches - but due to the recent discovery, some texts and maps are yet to include the feature. External links

Question: The Diamantina Trench lies in which ocean?
Answer: Indian ocean