Researchers were hit with major shock after reaching 'most remote place on Earth'
An explorer and his team ended up being in for a shock after they visited one of the most remote places on Earth.
You'd think there's not much more left to explore of this planet now that we've swarmed all over it and generally made a mess of much of it, but there are some bits which have seldom known human presence.
One of these is called Point Nemo, a little blip in the Pacific Ocean that's not at all close to anything else, which is why when the explorer Chris Brown showed up there and took a swim in these remote waters, he and his crew found something surprising.
Discovering much in the way of anything there is a surprise as they explained that due to the way currents work around Point Nemo there's very little in the way of life, and since there's no dry land for a very long way that means a lack of marine life.
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"Such a big area, we're just going to be alone," was Chris's verdict as he headed out there to make it to Point Nemo where he was ultimately proven wrong about how lonely it would be.
What is Point Nemo?
It's the part of our planet which is furthest away from any other piece of dry land.
There are certain spots in the world known as 'poles of inaccessibility' because they are the furthest, hardest to reach places of a certain geographical feature and when it comes to the oceans Point Nemo is it.
The nearest piece of dry land is called Ducie Island and it's over 1,600 miles away.
If you fell overboard at Point Nemo you'd have the longest swim of anywhere in the world to make it to dry land somewhere, and you'd not make it.
The fact that it is so inaccessible is part of the reason why the explorer Chris Brown wanted to go there, as he said he's 'aiming to be the first person to visit all of the Poles of Inaccessibility'.
It's named for Captain Nemo, the character from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Why is reaching Point Nemo so difficult?
The fact that it is the oceanic pole of accessibility means that there are no sea routes which go near it.
To reach Point Nemo you would need the means to sail out in to the middle of the Pacific Ocean (and presumably back) specifically to reach a point which is nowhere near anything.
In fact, Point Nemo is so far out that at times the closest human beings to it are the astronauts on board the International Space Station.
As such it has developed a use as a 'spacecraft cemetery' where between 1971 and 2016 over 260 spacecraft were disposed off, as when they come down they're not going to hit a landmass.
In fact, this is where the International Space Station will one day end up once it's time for it to be decommissioned and junked.
What did they find?
When they reached Point Nemo and hopped into the sea for a swim, they found that 'all these birds had appeared'.
"Scientists have always thought that this was an area of low biodiversity, there's not supposed to be any fish or anything in this area," the explorer explained.
"But all these sea birds suddenly appeared from nowhere, there were about 20 to 30. One noticeable one was an albatross."
Another member of the team said that about six or seven albatross showed up as part of the flock.
However, it turned out that the birds weren't particularly friendly as Chris explained that one of them got close and tried an 'attack'.
The belligerent bird only scarpered for the skies once one of the team's dinghies got very close and the albatross finally decided enough was enough.
Since Point Nemo is thought to be relatively lifeless the appearance of a flock of sea birds came as quite a surprise.
Topics: World News, Animals, Weird
Joe Harker