We know very little about our ocean, despite the fact that it plays a role in our existence, from the air that we breath to daily weather and climate patterns. It covers 71 percent of our planet and holds 97 percent of the Earth’s water, but more than 95 percent of it remains unexplored. The deeper waters remain a mystery even though we are increasingly relying more on these areas for resources. Ocean exploration is a fundamental step to reducing the unknowns about our waters. Findings made through it can reveal new sources for medical drugs, food, energy resources, and other products. It can also help us predict natural disasters and understand how we are affecting the Earth’s climate and atmosphere.
One of the biggest challenge to deep ocean exploration is to figure out what is living in the deep waters. Many different species of organisms remain unknown and unreachable to us. In a decade-long international study by Census of Marine Life, …show more content…
This shows how much we still have to learn about our earth. In addition to figuring out what lives in the deep waters, scientists are also trying to figure out how things live down there and how nutrients from the surface reach the bottom, a place where the sunlight can’t reach and the pressure is bone-crushing. As Bruce Robinson, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, states, "We don't know what the food web is like. We don't know how that organic material transfers through the immense food web down to the deep sea floor we know it goes from the beginning to the end, but as to how it gets there we're still in the dark, literally and figuratively." Lastly, many scientist are also trying to solve the questions about the role the deep ocean plays in the Earth’s climate. Gregory Johnson, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's