China and Chile set sail for manned deep-sea exploration, jointly explore the Atacama Trench.

On the 19th local time, the China-Chile Atacama Trench manned deep-sea joint scientific expedition voyage officially set sail from Valparaiso, Chile. The two countries' scientific research personnel will cooperate to explore the Atacama Trench, with a maximum depth exceeding 8000 meters. The sailing ceremony was held on the Chinese research vessel "Exploration One" docked in the port of Valparaiso in central Chile. This expedition is jointly organized by the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Concepcion in Chile, with the main objectives including exploring the biodiversity, chemosynthetic ecosystems, deep-sea fluid activity, and plate subduction mechanisms of the Atacama Trench. Also known as the Peru-Chile Trench, it is located in the western waters of Peru and Chile, spanning approximately 5900 kilometers. It is the longest trench in the world, known for its high surface water productivity, active bottom structure, and large density of benthic organisms. However, exploration of the trench by the scientific community remains very limited.