Ocean Trenches Explained with Professor Alan Jamieson - Oceanography Podcast

Join Professor Alan Jamieson, one of our venerated hosts, for a special cross over episode with our friends at Oceanography. This hadal trenches primer episode is a great overview for a first time deep-diver, taking you to the deepest parts of our favorite habitat. 

Ocean trenches are Earth’s deepest habitats—and they’re full of life. This episode is a guided dive into the hadal zone (6,000–11,000 meters), where tectonic plates create steep trenches that plunge toward the mantle. Learn what trenches are geologically, what conditions are like at full ocean depth (cold, pressure, darkness), and why the deep sea isn’t a single ecosystem—each trench is its own world. You’ll also get myth-busting on how “the abyss” shows up in pop culture, plus an inside look at the technology that makes trench science possible: multibeam mapping, baited landers, and human-occupied submersibles. Finally, we explore the big research questions scientists are asking about biodiversity, evolution, and connectivity across the deepest ocean.

Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guest: Professor Alan Jamieson

Browse Professor Jamieson’s publications on Google Scholar

Visit the Hadal Zone Deep Sea Research Center and follow their work on Instagram

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz