'Titanic' and 'Avatar' director James Cameron reaches ocean's deepest point

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Former Member

'Titanic' and 'Avatar' director James Cameron reaches ocean's deepest point

Rebecca Keegan

twitter.com/@thatrebecca

March 25, 2012 | 6:06 pm

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Photo: James Cameron in front of the Deepsea Challenger. Credit: Mark Thiessen/National Geographic

After seven years of preparation and several days of waiting out bad weather, "Titanic" and "Avatar" director James Cameron became the first person to reach the deepest point in the world's oceans in a solo dive on Sunday.

At 2:52 p.m. Pacific time (7:52 a.m. local time), Cameron arrived at the Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep, a depth of 35,756 feet in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Guam, according to National Geographic.

The director shared the news via Twitter, tweeting at about 3 p.m., "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."

Cameron helped design a torpedo-shaped submersible called the Deepsea Challenger, which he rode in nearly seven miles to the earth's floor, becoming only the third person to reach the depth and the first to do it alone. His first words to his crew upon reaching the bottom were, "All systems OK," according to National Geographic, which has partnered with Cameron on the endeavor.

The director plans to spend up to six hours in the trench collecting samples of sediment and small sea creatures and shooting still images and 3D footage of life on the deep sea floor. Then Cameron will drop 1,000 pounds of ballast weight and the sub will ascend to his research vessels on the ocean surface.

If all goes according to plan, the director will make a hasty return to his day job--film studios Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox are expecting him at the London premiere of "Titanic 3D" on Tuesday.

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Former Member

James Cameron returns to surface after dive to deepest spot on Earth

HONOLULU

The Associated Press

PublishedSunday, Mar. 25, 2012 6:18PM EDT

Last updatedSunday, Mar. 25, 2012 11:39PM EDT

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This February 2012 photo, provided by National Geographic, shows explorer and filmmaker James Cameron emerging from the hatch of DEEPSEA CHALLENGER during testing of the submersible in Jervis Bay, south of Sydney, Australia.

Mark Thiessen, National Geographic/AP

Hollywood icon James Cameron has completed his journey to Earth's deepest point.

The director of “Titanic,” “Avatar” and other films used a specially designed submarine to dive nearly 11 kilometres. He spent time exploring and filming the Mariana Trench, southwest of the Pacific island of Guam, according to members of the National Geographic expedition.

Mr. Cameron returned to the surface of the Pacific Ocean Monday morning local time, Sunday evening on the U.S. East Coast, according to Stephanie Montgomery of the National Geographic Society.

His return was a “faster-than-expected 70-minute ascent,” according to National Geographic.

There were no immediate reports regarding Mr. Cameron's well-being. A medical team was present when Mr. Cameron, 57, emerged from the sub, according to the expedition.

Expedition physician Joe MacInnis told National Geographic News before the journey that recent test dives, including one that went more than five miles deep, had gone well and that he expected Mr. Cameron would be fine.

“Jim is going to be a little bit stiff and sore from the cramped position, but he's in really good shape for his age, so I don't expect any problems at all,” said Dr. MacInnis, a long-time Cameron friend, according to National Geographic.

The scale of the trench is hard to grasp — it's 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon and more than a mile deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

Mr. Cameron made the dive aboard his 12-ton, lime-green sub called “Deepsea Challenger.”

“It's really the first time that human eyes have had an opportunity to gaze upon what is a very alien landscape,” said Terry Garcia, the National Geographic Society's executive vice-president for mission programs, via phone from Scotland.

Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, a U.S. Navy captain, are the only others to reach the spot. They spent about 20 minutes there during their 1960 dive but couldn't see much after their sub kicked up sand from the sea floor.

One of the risks of a dive so deep was extreme water pressure. At 6.8 miles below the surface, the pressure is the equivalent of three SUVs sitting on your toe.

Mr. Cameron told The Associated Press in an interview after a deep practice run near Papua New Guinea earlier this month that the pressure “is in the back of your mind.” The submarine would implode in an instant if it leaked, he said.

But while he was a little apprehensive beforehand, he wasn't scared or nervous while underwater.

“When you are actually on the dive you have to trust the engineering was done right,” he said.

The film director has been an oceanography enthusiast since childhood and has made 72 deep-sea submersible dives. Thirty-three of those dives have been to the wreckage of the Titanic, the subject of his 1997 hit film.

3/25/1211:55 PM