An unmanned remote-controlled research sub which is estimated about $8 million from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, went missing Sunday afternoon exploring some of the deepest depths of the Pacific Ocean.
It is to believed submarine Nereus have imploded under extreme pressure as 16,000 pounds per square inch while exploring the Kermadec Trench northwest of New Zealand, which is to believed to be one of the deepest ocean in the world, about 80 miles of New Zealand coast.
“It’s clearly a significant loss, and it’s a great disappointment to the scientists working on the ship, but it just shows how dangerous working at that kind of depth is,” WHOI Director of Research Laurence Madin
“Nereus helped us explore places we’ve never seen before and ask questions we never thought to ask,” Timothy Shank, Chief Scientist of the project
WHOI editor Ken Kostel express the loss of Nereus a “body blow” but the team will continue to learn more about “a place that does not give up its secrets easily.”
