the dive 13 +4 HOURS, 43 MINUTES | −10890 METERS Challenger Deep contains three distinct “pools” that drop below that magic 10,900-meter (35,761-feet) mark. The absolute deepest points are in the Eastern Pool, which has been the destination for most of the Limiting Factor’s descents. On this dive, though, Victor and Dawn are targeting the relatively unexplored Western Pool. In fact, their planned sidescan survey route will take them through completely new territory; they will be the first people ever to set eyes on the ground they’re about to cover. Their track takes them along the floor of the Western Pool and then gradually climbs the “wall” of the trench. All the while, the sidescan pings away. Its continued operation in this environment represents a massive technological victory. But Dawn and Victor are making the most interesting observations with their own eyes. Now Dawn can see, firsthand, the results of geologic processes she’s made a career out of studying. Before her lie fields of angular, blocky boulders, left in the wake of tectonic plates that have been colliding over millions of years. The bathymetric chart plotting the course Dawn and Victor took through Challenger Deep.
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