{"id":36625,"date":"2026-09-10T18:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T22:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=36625"},"modified":"2026-09-10T07:41:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T11:41:23","slug":"scientists-say-we-have-seen-less-than-0-001-of-the-deep-seafloor-and-the-unknown-part-is-bigger-than-the-map-suggests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/scientists-say-we-have-seen-less-than-0-001-of-the-deep-seafloor-and-the-unknown-part-is-bigger-than-the-map-suggests\/36625\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists say we have seen less than 0.001% of the deep seafloor, and the unknown part is bigger than the map suggests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Due to the pressure difference to the surface we have seen very little of the deep ocean<\/a> even though it covers more than 70% of the planet’s surface. After nearly 70 years of submersible exploration specialists estimate we have observed less than 0.001% of the deep seafloor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That percentage sliver corresponds to roughly the size of Rhode Island. That does not mean the scientists know nothing about the ocean, but it does expose a major blind spot as deep-sea ecosystems<\/a> draw a growing interest from both science and industry together. How could we study something we can\u2019t even see?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humans have only glimpsed the deep seafloor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have been so focused on studying outer space for so long that we overlooked the ocean, but that is changing. A study published in May 2025<\/a> reviewed 43,681 records of submersible dives dating back to 1958 in order to understand what we really know about the deep sea. The team focused on direct visual observations<\/a> below 200 meters, a depth range that includes a seafloor region covering about 66% of Earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: Where Kale Island vanished in the Solomon Islands, a silent sculpture now rises and disappears with the tide<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The study proved that we are very far from having substantial data. Most of the data gathered is skewed by the fact that it has been done on specific locations, which means the results can\u2019t even be replicated in other areas. The samples we have are too tiny and the ocean too vast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mapping the ocean is not the same as seeing it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To map the broad shape of the seafloor the scientists have used ship-based sonar<\/a>, gravity models and satellites. Those tools reveal all the different landscapes, from trenches and ridges to underwater plains and mountains, but they are not powerful enough to reveal the details of those habitats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see what is really going on down there we have to get closer, and that\u2019s the challenge. A well placed camera near the bottom can capture pictures of coral communities<\/a>, hydrothermal vents<\/a>, animal behavior, sediment texture, fields of mineral-rich nodules and most likely things we still have to discover. Those image fragments could help understand how habitats work, if they are damaged or even if they are different from what images from afar have shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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