The Earth's Oceans Just Got Much Deeper

Cleo Abram, Huge If True, Oct. 2, 2023; Sheldon S., CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Ocean Is Deeper Than You Think. We Need Better Maps

(Cleo Abram) Why deep-sea maps are BAD (and how to fix that)... Our maps of the ocean are surprisingly bad! Google Maps makes it look like we know a lot, but we know less about the ocean floor than we do the surface of Mars.

And that’s a big problem, because we are using the ocean all the time: We’re laying internet cables across it, we fight wars in it, we search it during a crisis -- like the imploded OceanGate Titan submersible or the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370...

[Or that time US forces sabotaged the NordStream Oil Pipeline and tried to blame it on the Russians, creating one of the very worst environmental disasters in the ocean, not to mention a shortage of heating oil for Europe and skyrocketing prices and a war of revenge on the Russians].

After all, 71% of the surface of the Earth is water. Yet, we have a surprisingly limited view of what’s below the water. But that’s also understandable. Because cartographically speaking, water sucks. For Mars or Earth’s surface, we can take pictures. But light doesn’t penetrate to the ocean floor, so we need other ways to see it. The good news is we’re developing that tech right now, and an international group called Seabed 2030 is working to piece together a better map.

There is a terrifying, incredible, alien world on our own planet, and we’re FINALLY using technology to see it more clearly. In this episode of Huge If True, I dive deep -- with help from my friend and fellow video journalist @johnnyharris -- to show how we’re mapping the ocean, the surprising things we’ve discovered in the depths, and why this new technology could be huge if true.

Chapters

• 00:00 How bad are our ocean maps?
• 01:40 How deep is the ocean?
• 03:05 What is the deepest part of the ocean?
• 04:04 The craziest method to map the ocean
• 06:20 How does sonar work?
• 07:31 What did the first ocean maps look like?
• 09:30 How do we map the ocean now?
• 10:30 What is Seabed 2030?
• 11:40 How do we use underwater robots?
• 12:27 Concerns with mapping the deep ocean
• 13:11 Why deep ocean mapping is huge if true

Find Cleo Abram on TikTok for short, fun tech explainers: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram, on Instagram for more personal stories: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram, on Twitter for thoughts, threads, and curated news: https://twitter.com/cleoabram

BIO: Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, she explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, she was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

Additional reading and watching: To see recent seafloor visualizations (NOAA): https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/ocean-... - To learn more about the high-stakes race to map the Earth's oceans: The Deepest Map, by Laura Trethewey https://www.harpercollins.com/product... - To see how amazing our Mars maps are (Murray Lab): https://murray-lab.caltech.edu/CTX/V0... - Livestream of ocean research (my favorite): / @evnautilus - Deep Ocean: 10 Hours of Relaxing Oceanscapes, BBC Earth: • Deep Ocean: 10 Hours of Relaxing Ocea... - The Ocean is Way Deeper Than You Think, RealLifeLore: • The Ocean is Way Deeper Than You Think - What’s Hiding at the Most Solitary Place on Earth? The Deep Sea, Kurzgesagt: • What’s Hiding at the Most Solitary Pl... - The Unspeakable Horrors of the Deep Sea, Casual Geographic: • The Unspeakable Horrors of the Deep S... - Why no aquarium has a great white shark, Vox: • Why no aquarium has a great white shark - This Incredible Animation Shows How Deep The Ocean Really Is, Insider: • This Incredible Animation Shows How D... - How Much of the Seafloor Is Left to Explore? NOAA: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/world-... - How Deep is the Ocean? NOAA: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/o... - About Seabed 2030: https://seabed2030.org/our-mission/ Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/ Gear I use: Camera: Sony A7SIII Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM and 35mm prime Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX Music: Musicbed Follow along for more episodes of Huge If True: https://www.youtube.com/cleoabram?sub... — Welcome to the joke down low: Why did the fish blush? Because it saw the ocean’s bottom. Use the word “blush” in a comment so I know you’re a real one :)

Get an exclusive Surfshark deal! Enter promo code CLEO for an extra 3 months free at https://surfshark.deals/CLEO Subscribe to support optimistic tech content on Huge If True: / cleoabram Check out @johnnyharris for independent journalism that will help you better understand the world: / johnnyharris