Daily Fact: Why we've only mapped a small percentage of the ocean floor

Make every day more interesting. Each day a surprising fact opens a world of fascinating information for you to explore. Did you know that….? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

HOME    FACTS    ARTICLES

Illustration by Kiyomi Morrison; Photo by Ishan/ Unsplash Only 19% of the ocean's floor has been mapped in detail. Despite covering most of the Earth, much of the ocean has yet to be explored — or even mapped. A 2014 seafloor map developed by an international team of researchers revealed every oceanic feature larger than about three miles across, which means we have a strong sense of underwater mountains, but smaller objects — like centuries-old shipwrecks — continue to elude us.  The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project hopes to survey the entire ocean floor in detail within the next nine years. As of 2020, they estimated that 19% of the seafloor had been mapped in detail. (Precise resolutions vary with the depth of the ocean, but the project hopes to use a minimum grid of about 800 x 800 meters — or 2,625 x 2,625 feet — for the deepest portions.) They're working quickly: When the project began in 2017, only 6% of the seafloor was mapped in detail. Yet they still have an area roughly twice the size of Mars to cover.   We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the ocean floor. We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the ocean floor.

The world's smallest ocean is the __. The world's smallest ocean is the __. Numbers Don't Lie Depth (in feet) of the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth 36,201 Percentage of the Earth's surface covered by oceans 71 Length (in miles) of the mid-ocean ridge, a huge underwater mountain chain 40,390 Number of known marine species (although an estimated 91% of the ocean's species await scientific description) 240,470 The ocean isn't blue because it reflects the color of the sky. The ocean is blue because it acts as a kind of sunlight filter, absorbing colors from the red part of the light spectrum (long wavelength light) and leaving behind those in the blue spectrum (short wavelength light). What's more, the ocean's surface isn't always blue — depending on what sediments and particles are floating in a given area, the light hitting them may result in a green or even reddish tint. There's also the fact that most of the ocean has no color whatsoever: Very little light penetrates past a depth of 656 feet (the so-called "twilight" zone), and none at all makes it past 3,280 feet (the "midnight" zone).   You might also like 8 Fascinating Facts About Turtles Also known as Testudines, turtles and tortoises are ecologically important. Celebrate these slow-moving dinosaur descendants by learning more about them.

Make Every Day More Interesting. Email Preferences     Unsubscribe     Privacy Policy     Terms of Use Make Every Day More Interesting. Email Preferences     Unsubscribe Privacy Policy     Terms of Use Advertisements: Powered by AdChoices We love to collaborate. To learn more about our sponsorship opportunities, please connect with us here. 1550 Larimer Street, Suite 431, Denver, CO 80202