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Scientists: Humans Seen Only 0.001% of Deep Ocean

6/10/2026

Summary

Croff Bell Reveals

Scientists led by marine researcher Katy Croff Bell reported humans have visually observed just 0.001 percent of the deep ocean.
The deep ocean, below 200 metres to over 11,000 metres, covers about 335 million square kilometres—more than twice all continents and the largest ecosystem.
A May 2025 Science Advances paper links deep sea to carbon cycling, oxygen production and climate regulation, citing 43,681 dives by 14 countries that imaged 3,823 square kilometres (size of Rhode Island).

Summary

Trump Fast-Tracks Mining

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an April 2025 executive order that fast-tracked deep-sea mining licenses in U.S. waters.
In April 2026 Bell’s team released a paper listing 10,000 algorithm-selected priority sites for systematic deep-sea observation.
Advances in autonomous underwater vehicles and machine-learning pipelines now enable days-long deep-sea operations and faster footage analysis, cutting observation costs.

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Croff Bell Reveals

Scientists led by marine researcher Katy Croff Bell reported humans have visually observed just 0.001 percent of the deep ocean.
The deep ocean, below 200 metres to over 11,000 metres, covers about 335 million square kilometres—more than twice all continents and the largest ecosystem.
A May 2025 Science Advances paper links deep sea to carbon cycling, oxygen production and climate regulation, citing 43,681 dives by 14 countries that imaged 3,823 square kilometres (size of Rhode Island).

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