Humans Have Never Seen 99.999% of the Seafloor, Study Finds, as Trump Greenlights Deep-Sea Mining

As of June 2024, 26.1% of the global seafloor has been mapped, according to NOAA, though visual observation is a tougher nut to crack. Making matters worse, nearly two-thirds of all visual seafloor observations have taken place within 200 nautical miles of just three nations: the U.S., Japan, and New Zealand. Some thorough deep-sea research was born out of commercial interests, including research into the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a region of deep sea mining interest. The team’s findings come on the heels of the Trump Administration fast-tracking deep-sea mining, which could imperil species that inhabit the seafloor and midwater ecosystems. For now, we’re making global ocean policy, climate decisions, and biodiversity assessments with a shockingly small sample size.