James Cameron goes by himself where only two men have gone before

http://twitter.com/#!/DeepChallenge/status/184036711410573313 Tonight, filmmaker James Cameron set a record for the deepest solo dive ever. Were not kidding.

He reached a depth of 35,756 feet (10,898 meters) Sunday afternoon aboard a submersible called the Deepsea Challenger. Cameron and his crew built the craft nearly from scratch to achieve a feat accomplished by only two others to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, an area 120 times the size of the Grand Canyon and a mile deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Right now, we only have very educated guesses about what Cameron may find there, but he built the craft to get there quickly and as safely as possible and to collect a good amount of data when it reached the destination, so theres a very good chance that hes advanced our knowledge about what lies at the bottom of the ocean greatly.

'RELEASE, RELEASE, RELEASE!'@JimCameron's last words before starting the descent to the Mariana Trench#deepseachallenge - DEEPSEA CHALLENGE 3D (@DeepChallenge)March 25, 2012 .@JimCameron has started his descent to the ocean's deepest point. Stay tuned for updates from the deep.#deepseachallenge - DEEPSEA CHALLENGE 3D (@DeepChallenge)March 25, 2012 .@JimCameron just passed the#Titanic depth at around 4,305 meters#deepseachallenge - DEEPSEA CHALLENGE 3D (@DeepChallenge)March 25, 2012 I am a bundle of emotions! Jim just passed Titanic Depth! he is at 4561 meters!

- Suzy Amis Cameron (@suzymusing)March 25, 2012 #deepseachallenge sub now passing 18230 speed 3.1 knots life support normal - Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen)March 25, 2012 Depth now 23860 ft as Jim calls it out as he goes down...about to break his own record of 24K off New Britain.

- Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen)March 25, 2012 James Cameron now the deepest solo diver in history, 3rd deepest ocean diver ever...25550 ft.

- Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen)March 25, 2012 And finally, the historic tweet from Cameron himself.

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Just arrived at the ocean's deepest pt. Hitting bottom never felt so good. Can't wait to share what I'm seeing w/ you@DeepChallenge - James Cameron (@JimCameron)March 25, 2012 Youll notice the presence of SpaceX co-founder Paul Allen in those tweets. Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft and the investor behind Burt Rutans SpaceShipOne that won the Ansari X Prize, was following the dive with special underwater radio equipment from onboard his yacht and providing play by play to the world through Twitter. After a short time, during which Cameron planned to survey the area and locate any undersea life that might have been drawn to an unmanned lander dropped at the location earlier, Cameron headed back to the surface. #deepseachallenge sub started return to the surface after a successfull dive welcome back to sea level soon!

- Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen)March 26, 2012 #deepseachallenge sub now at 700M rising.

- Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen)March 26, 2012 And, a bit over 5 hours after he gave the command to begin, Cameron reached the surface. .@JimCameron has surfaced! Congrats to him on his historic solo dive to the ocean's deepest point#deepseachallenge - DEEPSEA CHALLENGE 3D (@DeepChallenge)March 26, 2012 #Deepseachallenge surfacingpic.twitter.com/3m6AU8Y3 - Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen)March 26, 2012 So what is it Cameron might have found there? National Geographic has a few ideas.

Cameron may be detecting subtle signs of life-burrows or tracks or fecal piles-said DEEPSEA CHALLENGE biological oceanographer Lisa Levin, also of Scripps, whos monitoring the expedition from afar.

If the waters clear, she added, Cameron may be seeing jellyfish or xenophyophores-giant, single-celled, honeycomb-shaped creatures already filmed in other areas of the Mariana Trench. (SeeGiant Amoebas Found in Deepest Place on Earth.)

If we get lucky, Cameron said before the dive, we should find something like a cold seep, where we might find tube worms. Cold seeps are regions of the ocean floor somewhat likehydrothermal vents (video) that ooze fluid chemicals at the same temperature as the surrounding water.

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Earlier this month, during a test dive nearPapua New Guinea, Cameron brought back enormous shrimplike creatures from five miles (eight kilometers) down. At 7 inches (17 centimeters) long, the animals are the largest amphipods ever seen at that kind of depth, chief scientist Bartlett said. And we saw one on camera that was perhaps twice that size.

At Challenger Deep depths, though, the calcium animals need to form shells dissolves quickly.

Its unlikely-though not impossible-that Cameron is finding shelled creatures, but if he does, the discovery would be a scientific jaw-dropper.

Even if he uncovers a rock with a shell limpet or some kind of bivalve in the mud-such as a clam, perhaps-that would be exciting, Scrippss Levin said.

Well have to wait a bit to learn what information Cameron has brought back, but based on how much information we were given today as the dive progressed, it shouldnt take long for the good stuff to get out into public view.

Read more:http://twitchy.com/2012/03/25/james-cameron-goes-by-himself-where-only-two-men-havegone-before/ James Cameron goes by himself where only two men have gone before

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