Hadal Zone

node · earth · Global ocean - subduction trench systems

Conventionally everything deeper than about 6,000 m - in practice the trenches and trough systems, which are geographically fragmented rather than a continuous global layer. Named for Hades. The hadal is not a band of open ocean like the zones above it: it exists only where the seafloor is dragged down at subduction zones, so it is a set of disconnected deep pockets. Pressure at its deepest point exceeds 1,000 atmospheres, and that pressure - not darkness, not cold - is what has limited human and robotic access.