{"id":1214,"date":"2026-07-10T02:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T02:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imo.udec.cl\/?page_id=1214"},"modified":"2026-07-28T19:59:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:59:18","slug":"atacama-hadal","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/imo.udec.cl\/en\/expediciones-y-observatorio\/expediciones-internacionales\/atacama-hadal\/","title":{"rendered":"Atacama Hadal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n \t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Atacama Hadal <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

General Description and Scientific Significance<\/b><\/p>

The Atacama Hadal expedition, conducted in January 2022, marked the first crewed mission to the Atacama Trench and represented a historic milestone for Chilean and Latin American oceanography. Led by the Millennium Institute of Oceanography (IMO) in collaboration with the University of Concepci\u00f3n, Caladan Oceanic, and several international institutions, the expedition aimed to carry out direct human observations of the hadal ecosystem through crewed dives to the deepest point of the trench.<\/span><\/p>

The expedition was carried out aboard the DSSV Pressure Drop, using the DSV Limiting Factor, one of the few full-ocean-depth submersibles in the world certified to operate at depths approaching 11,000 meters. This technology enabled safe access to environments that had never before been directly explored by humans in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean.<\/span><\/p>

During the expedition, explorer Victor Vescovo, together with IMO researchers Dr. Osvaldo Ulloa and Dr. Rub\u00e9n Escribano, conducted crewed dives to the bottom of the Atacama Trench, becoming the first humans to directly observe this extreme ecosystem. The dives produced high-resolution images and video, documented the seafloor landscape, and generated unprecedented information on the biodiversity, geology, and environmental conditions found at depths exceeding 8,000 meters.<\/span><\/p>

Atacama Hadal complemented the findings of the earlier ATACAMEX expedition by incorporating direct human observations, significantly expanding our understanding of hadal ecosystem functioning and reinforcing Chile's position as an international leader in deep-ocean exploration.<\/span><\/p>

The expedition marked a new chapter in IMO's hadal research program, demonstrating the value of international collaboration and crewed deep-sea exploration technologies for investigating one of the most remote and least understood environments on Earth.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Scientific Objectives<\/b><\/p>