ScienceAugust 16, 2026
bathyscaphe
BATH-ih-skaf
Definition
A free-diving, self-propelled deep-sea submersible vessel designed to reach extreme ocean depths.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek words 'bathys' meaning deep and 'skaphos' meaning ship or vessel, this term was coined in the mid-20th century to describe specialized deep-sea exploration vehicles.
In the news
The word is used to identify the specific type of vessel, the Trieste, which was the first to successfully carry humans to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in 1960.
We assume the deepest parts of the ocean are dark and empty, but the walls of the Mariana Trench hold snailfish drifting five miles down under pressure equivalent to a car pressing on every square centimetre of skin, their bones half-dissolved into cartilage so
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