Vast Deep Ocean Remains Unexplored, Holding Clues to Earth’s Mysteries

Quick Summary

• Less than 0.001% of the deep-sea floor has been visually explored despite it covering 66% of Earth’s surface, leaving 99.999% largely unknown.
• The deep ocean plays a vital role in global ecosystems, including acting as carbon sinks where organisms absorb and bury carbon dioxide into sediments.
• Recent expeditions conducted by NOAA Ocean exploration (e.g., Seascape Alaska ventures) combined ROV dives and mapping to expand understanding of marine habitats.
• The deep sea serves as both a climate regulator through processes like deep-sea carbon storage and a recorder of past climatic conditions via sediment layers.
• “Marine snow,” consisting primarily of detritus from phytoplankton, forms the base of the complex oceanic food web that sustains diverse marine life even at extreme depths.

Indian Opinion Analysis

Understanding Earth’s deep oceans is increasingly critical for India given its reliance on coastal economies, maritime activities, and fisheries that link to broader ocean ecosystems. The revelation that much less than 1% of this vast underwater realm has been visually explored highlights an immense gap in scientific knowledge globally-especially concerning climate regulation functions like carbon sequestration which can significantly influence policy-making around emissions control.

With India’s burgeoning focus on blue economy initiatives-including lasting use and conservation-it may align with national interests to contribute resources or collaborate internationally on such explorations. This could enable India to strengthen its scientific capabilities while securing valuable environmental insights for managing its coastlines effectively against threats such as rising seas due to climate change.India’s stewardship within regional sea zones could also benefit from enhanced data about subsea ecosystems derived from global efforts like those led by NOAA discussed here.

Read More: 99.999 percent Of the Deep Ocean Is Unexplored