Hadal trenches are located at 6-11 km ocean depth and are currently less accessible to humans than the Moon. Representing the most extreme and remote of marine environments, they remain virtually unexplored and continue to challenge - and drive - technological advances towards deep sea exploration and the search for new marine resources.
Our vision at HADAL is to pioneer this development through innovation, collaborations and multidisciplinary research. Using hadal mooring systems, autonomous in situ instrumentation and experimental high-pressure chambers, our research at the greatest ocean depths aims to define the biogeochemical and biological function and diversity of the “mare incognitum” of hadal trenches, adding these unique environments to our understanding of the global ocean.
Our key research goals are:
- To investigate how material is transported to and deposited in hadal trenches
- To uncover new life forms adapted to this extreme environment and quantify the phylogenetic diversity, composition and function of hadal benthic microbial and viral communities
- To unravel how hadal conditions and extreme pressure shape basic biological functions, biological interactions, deep-sea biogeography and elemental cycling
For more about HADAL, dive into these news features
- Det dybeste af det dybe - hadalgravenes hemmeligheder -interveiw i Radio4 med RN Glud
- Carbon, soot and particles from combustion end up in deep -sea trenches
- Ready to explore the hadal zones - inauguration of basic research center for deep-sea research
- In search of the deepest secrets of the sea