The deepest spot in the ocean is a very noisy place (Newsela)

​The Deepest Spot in the Ocean

is a Very Noisy Place

​The deepest spot in the ocean is a very noisy place

​SEATTLE, Wash. — The deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep. Scientists lowered a special microphone down into it. The microphone picked up sounds underwater. Scientists found out that the Challenger Deep is a very noisy place. 

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The Challenger Deep is in a cut-out area at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The cut is called a trench. It is very long and wide. It is also very deep. If Earth's highest mountain was dropped into it, the mountain would still be underwater.

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There are many trenches in the world's oceans. They formed when two parts of Earth moved and ran into each other. One slid under the other.

​Robert Dziak works for a group that watches the oceans. He says the Challenger Deep should be one of the quietest places in the world. But when scientists listened to the recordings from the microphone, they heard many noises. They heard whales talking and ships passing by. Scientists even caught the sound of an earthquake, the ground shaking.

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Not many submarines have been down in the Challenger Deep. Only a few machines have been sent down. Dziak says the recordings might be the first ever captured that deep.

Scientists dropped the microphone down very slowly. It was stopped a little bit above the bottom. They left it there for five months.

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Scientists are trying to find out if noise bothers sea life. They want to make maps of the ocean noise. 

​Scientists Are Surprised

​Earthquakes, Ships, and Whales

The microphone picked up many sounds. It recorded earthquakes. They sounded like a train getting closer and closer.

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Scientists also heard noise made by ships. It is a higher sound than an earthquake. It also sounds like a tap-tap-tap. The ships made noise all the time.

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It was not just earthquakes and ships that scientists heard. The microphone picked up noise from whales and dolphins, too. Whales do not dive very deep. Still, their voices could be heard all the way to the bottom of the ocean.

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Scientists even heard a typhoon that was far away. A typhoon is a strong storm. It spins across the top of the water. 

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The scientists hope to go back to the Challenger Deep. Next time, they will send a camera down, too.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence from the article BEST supports the main idea?

• A. There are more trenches like the Mariana Trench in the world's oceans.

• B. But when scientists listened to the hydrophone's recordings, they heard a large amount of noise.

• C. Dziak says the hydrophone recordings might be the first ever captured in water that deep.

• D. They are trying to find out if noise bothers animals in the sea.

Multiple Choice

Which of these ideas is MOST important to include in a summary of the article?

• A. Scientists were surprised at the amount of noise they heard.

• B. Underwater, an earthquake sounds like a train getting closer.

• C. A hydrophone is a kind of microphone that works underwater.

• D. The Mariana Trench is in the Pacific Ocean, near the equator.

Multiple Choice

What made it hard to record sounds at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?

• A. The ships that are constantly passing by get in the way.

• B. The great pressure of deep water can break machines.

• C. The cries of the whales and dolphins make it hard to hear other sounds.

• D. The earthquakes and typhoons in the area are dangerous to scientists.

Multiple Choice

Why did scientists want to hear the sounds at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?

• A. They wanted to study what the whales and dolphins hear, and determine if noise bothers sea life.

• B. They wanted to stop ships and earthquakes from making too much noise.

• C. They wanted to test how well their new hydrophone works.

• D. They wanted to make a map of the sounds in the ocean.

Audio Response

At the end of the passage, it stated that next time, they plan to send down a camera.  Do you think that the camera will get pictures of the things that the microphone recorded?  Explain your thinking.  This is worth 10 points, so "Yes" or "No" won't be good enough.  I need you to explain your thinking.  Use information from the passage, as well as what you have learned in class to answer this question.  Don't forget to highlight where you found the information you used to answer this question in the printed passage.

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