Humans Have Only Explored 0.001% of the Deep Seafloor in 70 Years, Rest Is Still a Mystery: Claim Researchers

Earth's waters are expansive and have been an objective of exploration for decades. A new analysis suggests that experts worldwide have barely scratched the surface when it comes to the deep-sea floor, according to Science Alert. The examination was explained in detail in a study published in Science Advances.

Researchers associated with the study utilized publicly available data to calculate how much deep-sea floor has been observed to date. According to their calculations, only 0.001% of the deep sea floor has been visually recorded by divers. The data may stun people, as deep-sea exploration has been a huge goal for around six decades. However, in-depth examinations revealed several factors that could be in play for such little progress.

For experts deep ocean refers to waters that are deeper than 200 meters, according to Phys.org. The area serves as a habitat for a variety of creatures, and is also involved in processes like oxygen production, pharmaceutical discoveries, as well as climate regulation. They have long been considered to be crucial in maintaining the planet's overall health. Therefore, monitoring and exploration of these areas are essential. Understanding their state could help officials implement the required steps to protect them. The insights have become even important now, as the deep ocean is facing threats like resource exploitation, garnering interest for mining, and climate change.

The study's findings come after the U.S. administration's decision to fast-track deep-sea mining, according to Gizmodo. The action will impact several ecosystems containing understudied creatures and processes, which could further impact the planet.

The study makes use of information from 44,000 deep-sea dives recorded since 1958, stated Phys.org. The dives were conducted in the waters of around 120 different countries. To date, it is the most comprehensive global estimate of deep-sea benthic observations. 

Researchers were well aware that the public records possibly did not include many explorations done by private entities, according to Science Alert. Therefore, they accounted for that missing data by an order of full magnitude, and still concluded that only less than one-hundredth of 1% of the seafloor was present in visual records. The study further added that in the available records, 30% were taken before 1980. Therefore, the records were in still image form, taken in low resolution and featured in black and white color. 

The sample size analyzed in the study all took place within the coastlines of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) or the high seas. The study indicates that several biases hinder humanity from exploring the deep-sea ocean. Most modern dives take place only in EEZs, and of the 35,000 dives conducted near coastal states, more than 70% were in the waters of three high-income countries: the US, Japan, and New Zealand.

The monopoly of only a few countries in deep-sea exploration is not a new development, stated Gizmodo. Data suggests that most of the dives to date have been facilitated by the US, Japan, New Zealand, France, and Germany. "Imagine trying to tell the story of critical environments like the African savanna or the Amazon rainforest using only satellite imagery and DNA samples without ever seeing what lived there," Susan Poulton, a researcher at the Ocean Discovery League and co-author of the paper, said. "It wouldn’t paint a very complete picture."

The team noted that, though from the 1960s to the 2010s, the quantity of deep sea dives increased by four times from the 1950s to the 2000s, over time they became concentrated near coastlines and shallower depths, according to Science Alert. Another insight was that in the 1960s, around 60 percent of all dives were deeper than 2,000 meters, but after four decades, only a quarter of the dives exhibit that much depth. All of these indicate that the quality of dives has also taken a fall.

The study showcases that a fundamental change is needed in the way deep-sea exploration is carried out by authorities worldwide. At present, the condition is so dire that even if exploration effort is accelerated by including a thousand platforms worldwide, it will still take 100,000 years to visualize the planet's entire seafloor.