How deep is the Mariana trench?

12 March 2021

The Brilliant Abyss review: A fascinating tour of the ocean’s depths

10 March 2021

There is an abundance of weird and wonderful life in the depths of the sea – and The Brilliant Abyss by Helen Scales is an excellent introduction to it

A submersible soft robot survived the pressure in the Mariana trench

3 March 2021

The pressure in the world’s deepest ocean abyss can crush even the strongest enclosures, so researchers are taking another tack – using a silicone robot with wings like a manta ray

Diving Deep review: The amazing life of marine film-maker Mike deGruy

20 January 2021

The late Mike deGruy filmed iconic underwater footage that wowed audiences, drawing the admiration of David Attenborough and James Cameron. A fond documentary by his wife reveals the real man

Microplastic pollution discovered near the top of Mount Everest

20 November 2020

Tiny pieces of plastic called microplastics have have been found on Mount Everest. They have previously been detected in the Mariana trench so are now present at both the highest and deepest points on Earth

The extraordinary deep-sea lifeforms that feast on sunken carcasses

15 April 2020

An alligator carcass dropped in the deep ocean reveals the bizarre ecosystems of the seabed - including zombie worms that fed on prehistoric reptiles

Newly discovered species found deep in the ocean contains microplastic

25 March 2020

A shrimp-like creature found 6 kilometres down in the Pacific Ocean’s deepest trench has been named Eurythenes plasticus after the microplastics found in its gut

Sci-fi podcast Down asks what's really in the deepest holes on Earth

12 February 2020

Down is a sci-fi podcast about a crewed mission into a mysterious Antarctic hole that has opened up as a result of climate change, what will the crew find?

Earth could have more water than we thought while exoplanets have less

4 July 2019

New experiments with ice at very high pressures could force us to rethink our understanding of water on Earth and other planets

Future plastic

15 August 2018

What is the ultimate fate for plastic waste in the sea? Will it form sediment that gets buried beneath the seabed and eventually turns into plastic "oil" or "coal"?