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Introduction
The DeepSound Mk III is a platform that primarily captures sounds, or more specifically ambient noise, underwater. This device can be sent up to 12 kilometers below the surface of the water, making it especially useful for capturing information in deep ocean trenches, which contain some of the largest known depths within the ocean.

History
In a survey of the Mariana Trench in 1951, the British Royal Navy ship HMS Challenger identified the deepest known point in the ocean to date, known as the Challenger Deep. Here, the surveyors recorded a depth of 10,911 meters, or 35,797 feet, at a position near 11° 22'N 142° 36'E. The sea bed at the bottom is as far beneath the surface as a commercial jet aircraft would fly above it. Since this discovery, very few descents to the bottom were even attempted, with the only manned submersible being taken down to the bottom in 1960. Now, several decades later, still very little is known about the species that live in these deep parts of the ocean and how they manage to survive in such extreme conditions. Deep ocean trenches in particular though are explored very infrequently due to the technical difficulties that researchers face in trying to send a machine down such a treacherous pass. Many problems arose in the past with having long cables that have a potential to get caught in the narrow passages. Other problems included not being able to retrieve the device, not being able to control it should anything go awry with currents or deep sea life, and designing the instruments to be able to withstand enormous amounts of pressure at these depths. With the introduction of the Deep Sound platform, however, much of this started to change.

Predecessors
The original version of the Deep Sound platform was dubbed the Deep Sound 10, a machine that did not make the final cut for later testing. It was only when the Deep Sound Mk I was created and successfully tested twice in the Challenger Deep in November of 2009 that the research finally picked up steam, spreading to many universities across the United States and elsewhere, but namely being led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego. The introduction of the Deep Sound Mk I marked a turning point in how machines like this would be deployed in the future. No longer would researchers have to deal with miles of cables, because the Mk I featured a navigation system that would allow researchers to program where they wanted the machine to go. At the end of a trip, once the information is gathered, the weights hooked on to the bottom could be detached remotely and the machine would float back to the top. This leap forward in technology made it possible to gather many kinds of data in just around half an hour. The Deep Sound Mk II marked a more evolutionary upgrade to the Mk I, improving upon subtle things like microphone arrangement and the overall processing and sensory capabilities of the machine. It, too, has a 9 km depth limit - still not quite deep enough to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep.

The Deep Sound Mk III Compared to its Predecessors
This all changed, however, with the introduction of the Deep Sound Mk III. The Mk III was built to withstand the pressure of up to 12 kilometers of depth. This, then, was the first machine that would theoretically be able to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep.

Attempts to Gather Information
After the successful deployments of the Mk I in 2009 which produced recordings at a depth of 8,413 meters, researchers at the University of California, San Diego went back for more recordings almost two years later. In July 2011, they deployed the Mk II alongside the more technologically advanced and newly developed Mk III in an attempt to record sounds in the Mariana Trench. However, this project failed due to severe weather conditions. The next attempt was in early September in 2012, where the Mk II and II were deployed in the Tonga Trench. Both systems were using an a newly implemented flow shield to reduce the effects of turbulence as the machines descended through the water column. Both systems descended to a depth of 8.5 km and then returned to the surface successfully, leaving all of the data intact. To date, these are the deepest known measurements of ambient noise both underwater and in general that have ever been made. During December 2014, the two Deep Sound machines were once again deployed in the Mariana trench. The DS II was programmed to descend to 9 km and the DS III to the bottom at a depth of 11 km. For unknown reasons, the DS III never resurfaced, but the DS II returned successfully.

Future Potential
The Deep Sound machines can be changed or altered in numerous ways that researchers see fit. Many types of sensor can be equipped, from carbon dioxide sensors to dissolved oxygen, pH, and hydrocarbon sensors. These machines are useful in both oceanographic and acoustic fields, but for now they have mainly been used for sediment acoustics research. Researchers in this field are primarily aiming to develop a unified theory of wave propagation in marine sediments. Additionally, useful information can be gathered about the nature of the sediment as well. By listening to how the waves interact with the sediment, the porosity, density, grain size, and overburden pressure of the sediment can all be determined. The degree to which the sediment alters and controls the wave speed and attenuation can also be found through this.

The Mk III was designed with a less is more approach. Used to supplement the Mk II in its expedition, this duo would be effective at getting to lower depths without sacrificing too much detail before a depth of 9 km. In using fewer components in the Mk III's build, however, the machine becomes much more modular and open to receiving more attachments if the technology catches up with it. The USB port allows for easy file transfers and software installations, making the possibilities almost endless. This system has also given way to other machines that are capable of using flash cameras at similar depths. The Mk III would then be capable of capturing images from the deepest known part of the oceans.