Jiaolong Begins Fourth Dive in Mariana Trench

On June 24, the Jiaolong, China’s deep-sea manned submersible, has begun its fourth dive in the Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean, Xinhuanet.com reports.

After it reached a depth of 6,962 meters on Friday during its third dive, the submersible is set to hit its ultimate goal of 7,000 meters below sea level.

When at that depth, the divers will bottom the vessel on the sea bed and conduct field sampling. Also the three divers will say a historic “hello” to China’s 3 astronauts aboard Tiangong-1 in space.

If they reach the 7,000 meters below water, China will have the ability to explore 99.8 percent of the world’s ocean floor. This also gives China 50% of development rights of their findings.

All dives depend on local weather and sea conditions. To ensure the crew’s safety, the dives can only be made during daylight hours under less than four-scale winds and less than three-scale waves.

[mappress]
Subsea World News Staff , June 25, 2012