mapping the deep 14 She christens one particularly impressive outcropping “Flintstones’ Quarry.” To explain its formation, Dawn later described how the seafloor is being “munched up” in this spot, right where “the Pacific plate is crunching into the Philippine plate and grinding up all these fantastically cool rocks.” +6 HOURS, 52 MINUTES → +9 HOURS, 53 MINUTES −10727 METERS → −554 METERS After nearly two and a half hours exploring Challenger Deep’s Western Pool, the time has come to begin the ascent back to the surface. For all the Limiting Factor’s technological wizardry, this process simply involves discarding several metal weights. (“They’ll decompose at this depth and become part of the seafloor,” Dawn points out, though, sadly, that glass bottle never will.) With the sub now appreciably less heavy, the return journey is about an hour shorter than the descent. Now is the time to decompress, both literally and figuratively. Victor’s smartphone comes in handy here, as he’s downloaded a couple of preselected movies to watch on the way up. Dawn’s pick is Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. It might seem a curious choice, at least until she cites the memorable scene that takes place in an underwater vehicle. Then there’s still enough time left for Victor to run through some handpicked scenes from his favorite film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Before Dawn knows it, the water outside the viewports starts to take on a lighter hue. At last, after exactly 10 hours beneath the waves, the Limiting Factor bobs serenely to the surface. A field of boulders left in the wake of tectonic plates colliding over millions of years.
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