Deep Sea Mysteries

More than eighty percent of the ocean floor remains unmapped and unexplored — vast stretches of the deep have never been directly observed. The deep sea holds ecosystems that survive without sunlight, powered by chemical energy from hydrothermal vents.

These extreme environments host organisms with unusual biochemistry and real-world uses: enzymes from deep-sea bacteria appear in PCR testing, laundry detergents, and drug research. Yet deep-sea mining for manganese nodules and rare minerals threatens habitats that took millions of years to form — before science even understands them.