Through ocean exploration, we can establish the baseline information needed to better understand environmental change, filling gaps in the unknown to deliver reliable and authoritative science that is foundational to providing foresight about future conditions and informing the decisions we confront every day on this dynamic planet. This same knowledge is often the only source for basic information needed to respond appropriately in the face of deep-sea disasters.
Ocean exploration can improve ocean literacy and inspire young people to seek careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The challenges of exploring the deep ocean can provide the basis for technology and engineering innovations that can be applied in other situations.
Yet even as the importance of deep areas of the ocean in our everyday lives continues to increase, our knowledge of these areas remains limited – in many instances, we are “flying blind” when it comes to management, regulation, and resource use in deepwater areas.