"Bizarre creatures like vampire squid and blobfish make their home in the dark, cold, depths of the deep sea, but most of this watery realm remains a complete mystery.
That's because humans have seen less than 0.001% of the globe's deep seafloor, according to a new study.
In fact, the area of the deep seafloor that's been directly visualized is roughly equivalent to the state of Rhode Island, researchers report in the journal Science Advances.
Maps created with tools like sonar can show the shape of the seafloor, but it's much harder to send cameras down beyond 200 meters, or more than 656 feet, where sunlight begins to fade rapidly and the waters turn cold and dark. This is the region of the ocean that's considered "deep.""
Source: NPR, 05/12/2025
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