BAN DEEP SEA MINING

Only 0.001% of the deep seafloor visually observed in seventy years, revealing gaps and bias in ocean exploration and global biodiversity understanding

66% of planet earth remains unseen

WHY GO TO MARS 

Ocean Discovery League

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This heatmap shows the concentration of known deep-sea dives with visual observations in U.S. exclusive economic zones. 

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Credit: Ocean Discovery League

(Saunderstown, RI — May 7, 2025) In a groundbreaking study published today in Science Advances, researchers from Ocean Discovery League reveal that only a minuscule fraction of the deep seafloor has been imaged. Despite covering 66% of Earth's surface, the deep ocean remains largely unexplored. The study, "How Little We've Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor," is the first to document that, in decades of deep-sea exploration, humans have observed less than 0.001% of the deep seafloor. This total area is roughly the size of Rhode Island or one-tenth the size of Belgium.

The deep ocean, defined as being deeper than 200 meters, sustains diverse ecosystems and provides essential services, including oxygen production, climate regulation, and crucial pharmaceutical discoveries, and plays a critical role in maintaining the health of our planet. Yet, despite its importance, research into this immense ecosystem is severely limited, with visual surveys primarily focused on just a few regions and countries. Visual imaging is one of the most critical methods to study the deep seafloor and is one of the three key pillars of ocean exploration, alongside mapping and sampling.

"As we face accelerated threats to the deep ocean—from climate change to potential mining and resource exploitation—this limited exploration of such a vast region becomes a critical problem for both science and policy," said Dr. Katy Croff Bell, President of Ocean Discovery League, National Geographic Explorer, and lead author of the study. "We need a much better understanding of the deep ocean's ecosystems and processes to make informed decisions about resource management and conservation.”

Using data from approximately 44,000 deep-sea dives with observations conducted since 1958, across the waters of 120 different countries, the study is the most comprehensive global estimate of deep-sea benthic observations to date and highlights the disparity in global exploration efforts. Given that not all dive records are public, the researchers assert that even if these estimates are off by a full order of magnitude, less than one-hundredth of 1% of the seafloor would have any visual records. In addition, almost 30% of documented visual observations were conducted before 1980 and often resulted in only black and white, low-resolution, still imagery. 

Remarkably, over 65% of visual observations have occurred within 200 nautical miles of just three countries: the United States, Japan, and New Zealand. Due to the high cost of ocean exploration, a mere handful of nations dominate deep-sea exploration, with five countries— the United States, Japan, New Zealand, France, and Germany—responsible for 97% of all deep-sea submergence observations. This bias in geographic coverage and operator representation has led the oceanographic community to base much of its characterization of the deep ocean ecosystem on this incredibly small and unrepresentative sample.

The study also highlights the knowledge gap regarding seafloor habitats. Certain geomorphological features, such as canyons and ridges, have been the focus of significant research, while vast areas, including abyssal plains and seamounts, remain underexplored.

These findings underscore the urgent need for a more comprehensive and global effort to explore the deep ocean, ensuring that scientific research and conservation efforts accurately reflect the true extent of the seafloor. As noted in the study, if the scientific community were to make all assumptions about terrestrial ecosystems from observations of only 0.001% of that total area, they would be basing their assessments of all land-based life on Earth on an area roughly the size of Houston, Texas.

To address these challenges, the researchers call for expanding exploration efforts and utilizing emerging technologies to increase access to the deep ocean. With advancements in smaller, more affordable deep-sea tools, there is an opportunity to broaden the scientific community’s reach, including low- and middle-income nations in ocean exploration and research.

“There is so much of our ocean that remains a mystery,” says Dr. Ian Miller, Chief Science and Innovation Officer at the National Geographic Society, which contributed funding for this work. “Deep-sea exploration led by scientists and local communities is crucial to better understanding the planet’s largest ecosystem. Dr. Bell’s goals to equip global coastal communities with cutting-edge research and technology will ensure a more representative analysis of the deep sea. If we have a better understanding of our ocean, we are better able to conserve and protect it.”

This study represents a crucial step in understanding the gaps in ocean exploration and the need for comprehensive global strategies to ensure the protection and sustainable management of the deep ocean. The authors hope these findings will encourage more scientific collaboration, leading to a deeper understanding of our planet's most vital ecosystem.

Funding for this study was provided in part by the National Geographic Society and Rolex Perpetual Planet Expeditions program and the Cabot Family Charitable Trust. 

About Ocean Discovery League
Founded by deep-sea explorer Dr. Katy Croff Bell, Ocean Discovery League's mission is to accelerate deep-ocean exploration by developing accessible systems to broaden the community of those who explore and understand the deep sea. ODL is developing a strategic approach to expand the area of the seafloor that is explored, mapped, and characterized while reducing expenses by creating lower-cost, easier-to-use tools, technology, and training. These actions, combined with a more targeted approach to selecting exploration locations, will expand deep-sea exploration to a broader community of researchers and explorers.
 

URL: http://www.oceandiscoveryleague.org
 

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adp8602 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

How Little We’ve Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor

Article Publication Date

7-May-2025

This heatmap shows the concentration of known deep-sea dives with visual observations in the Pacific Ocean.


This heatmap shows the concentration of known deep-sea dives with visual observations in the North Atlantic.


Deep-sea dive activity has been concentrated in a small number of locations, particularly Monterey Bay, USA, Hawai’i, USA, Suruga and Sagami Bays, Japan, and New Zealand. The heatmap represents the number of dive activities per 250 km2; the actual area observed on the seabed is too small to represent on a map at this scale.

This map displays the 2,130 km2 of total observed deep seafloor overlaid on the country of Belgium.

 


Since the 1980s, there has been a shift from global, exploratory deep submergence activity in the 1960s and 1970s to a focus on modern-day EEZs or areas that are now within national jurisdiction. In the 1960s, 51.2% of all dive activities took place in what is now the high seas; In the 2010s, that fraction dropped to 14.9% of all dive activities and dives were mostly concentrated within the EEZs of the United States, Japan, and New Zealand.

Heat Map Animation of Dive Concentration in North Atlantic [VIDEO] | 


Credit

Ocean Discovery League

Sunlight unlocks secrets to how Earth works

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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A Sun halo —one of countless ways sunlight interacts with our planet

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Credit: Si Gao

When our planet and the incoming sunlight align just right, stunning phenomena such as rainbows and halos can occur. More often, sunlight - or shortwave radiation - interacts with Earth in subtle but curious ways.

 

A new perspective study, published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, lays out how shortwave radiation research has led to improved fundamental understanding of Earth. The study also shares exciting prospects for how such advances can continue into the future.

Scientific insights derived from shortwave radiation have an extensive history. “There has traditionally been a lot of interest in understanding shortwave radiation variability” said author Jake Gristey with the University of Colorado's CIRES, also affiliated with LASP and NOAA's Chemical Sciences Laboratory. “Real world applications that directly benefit society are numerous, from agriculture to renewable energy to air quality”. 

In the new study, Gristey highlights three examples of shortwave radiation research that have received notable recent attention. 

 

First, a key challenge for current computer models of the atmosphere is pointed out: shortwave radiation is almost always represented in a series of separate columns. "Shortwave radiation transport in the horizontal direction - or between columns - is therefore unaccounted for" said Gristey. It is shown that horizontal shortwave radiation transport will be increasingly important for accurate simulations as atmospheric models continue to move toward finer spatial grids, demanding new research.

 

Second, satellite measurement gaps at different times of the day are discussed. "Shortwave radiation reflected by Earth can change drastically throughout the day, but many satellites only measure limited parts of the day" Gristey added. He argues that recent developments in small satellite technology and sensor miniaturization could be used to address this important measurement gap with a cost-effective constellation of small satellites in the near future.

 

Third, the spectral structure of shortwave radiation is addressed. “Shortwave radiation is actually composed of a spectrum of different colors – or wavelengths – that hold vast information” claimed Gristey. It is demonstrated that changes in the Earth’s surface and atmosphere could be inferred from satellite measurements of spectral reflected shortwave radiation. Gristey expects an upcoming fleet of satellites to fuel further advances in utilizing spectral shortwave radiation to understand Earth.

 

The new study is part of a special issue for the International Radiation Symposium 2024, where Gristey delivered a lecture on these perspectives as recipient of the 2024 International Radiation Commission Young Scientist Award.

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Journal

Advances in Atmospheric Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s00376-025-5061-x 

Article Title

A Perspective on Shortwave Radiative Energy Flows in the Earth System

 

More social parrots have a better vocabulary

How social networks shape the vocal diversity of monk parakeets

WHY PEOPLE SHOULD NOT HAVE PARROTS AS PETS

Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

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Two monk parakeets preening in Barcelona, Spain

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Credit: Simeon Q. Smeele

In the urban parks of Barcelona, Spain, the calls of a tropical parrot fill the air. The bright green monk parakeet, native to South America, has found a new home in European cities. Monk parakeets thrive in huge colonies where they communicate with each other using many distinct sounds—offering scientists a unique window into understanding the interplay of individual social relationships with vocal variety.

For social animals, communication is a key that unlocks the benefits of group living. It’s well known that animals with more complex social lives tend to have more intricate ways of communicating, from the clicks and whistles of dolphins to the calls of primates. While this pattern is found broadly in many species, a new study on wild parrots drills deep into the social and vocal lives of individual birds. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) analyzing the social networks of monk parakeets in Spain have uncovered how an individual’s social ties shapes the calls these birds make.

The MPI-AB scientists spent several months over the course of two years closely observing 337 monk parakeets, documenting their social lives as well as recording all their screeches, squawks, and whistles, which totaled 5,599 vocalizations. The team examined these calls in terms of repertoire diversity (how many different sounds a bird can make) and contact-call diversity (how much this specific type of call differs). They also mapped out the birds' social networks, analyzing everything from how often they interacted with others to the strength of their relationships.

Based on this data, the team could conclude that individual parakeets living in larger groups did indeed produce a more variable repertoire of sounds. They also found that female parakeets had a more diverse repertoire than males, which is unusual for birds, they say.

“This research is a really important first step,” says Simeon Smeele, the first author of the study. “It really looks like there are some call types that are used uniquely in social situations. And it’s really interesting to see that females appear to produce more of these, suggesting they are the more social sex.”

Social network analysis showed that parakeets with more central positions in the social structure—those that were potentially more influential in the group—tended to have more diverse vocal repertoires. In other words, the most social individuals seemed to have a better vocabulary than less social individuals.

“What I find really exciting is that we were able to link what individuals say to very specific levels of sociality,” says Smeele, who conducted the study as a doctoral student at MPI-AB. “For example, close friends that allowed each other to approach within pecking distance sounded less like each other, as if they were trying to sound unique in their little gang.”

The results offer clues about the evolution of complex communication including human language. Previous research has demonstrated that sociality is linked to a more diverse repertoire in species ranging from Carolina chickadees to marmosets. This study goes further by showing how vocal communication is shaped by the web of an individual’s social network.

Says Smeele: “The next big step is to better understand what each of the sounds mean, a real mammoth task, since most of the social squawking happens in large groups with many individuals talking at the same time!”

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Journal

Royal Society Open Science

DOI

10.1098/rsos.241717 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

The effect of social structure on vocal flexibility in monk parakeets

Article Publication Date

6-May-2025

 

T. rex’s direct ancestor crossed from Asia to North America

University College London

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The piece illustrates the disparity of the Northern and Southern hemisphere’s evolution of terrestrial Cretaceous faunas after the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum. On the left, End Cretaceous Southern Hemisphere (Western Gondwana) became dominated by Megaraptorids theropods and titanosaur sauropods. The centre of the piece summarises the extinction event of terrestrial fauna at the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum, where the apex predators the carcharodontosaurids allosaurs went extinct and tyrannosauroids (including megaraptoran and the ancestors of Tyrannosaurus rex) were small. On the right, the end Cretaceous Northern Hemisphere fauna dominated by Tyrannosaurids (such as Tyrannosaurus rex), hadrosaurs and ceratopsian ornithischian dinosaurs. The environment also became more mesic represented by the landscape compared to the more semi-arid seasonal environment earlier in the Cretaceous. 

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Credit: Pedro Salas and Sergey Krasovskiy

Tyrannosaurus rex evolved in North America, but its direct ancestor came from Asia, crossing a land bridge connecting the continents more than 70 million years ago, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.

The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, also found that the rapid growth in size of tyrannosaurids (the group that included the T. rex) as well as a closely related group called megaraptors coincided with a cooling of the global climate following a peak in temperatures 92 million years ago.

This suggests T. rex and its cousins might have been better suited to cooler climates than other dinosaur groups at the time, perhaps due to having feathers or a more warm-blooded physiology.

The international team involved researchers from the universities of Oxford, Pittsburgh, Aberdeen, Arizona, Anglia Ruskin, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

Lead author Cassius Morrison, a PhD student at UCL Earth Sciences, said: “The geographic origin of T. rex is the subject of fierce debate. Palaeontologists have been divided over whether its ancestor came from Asia or North America.

“Our modelling suggests the ‘grandparents’ of T. rex likely came to North America from Asia, crossing the Bering Strait between what is now Siberia and Alaska.

“This is in line with past research finding that the T. rex was more closely related to Asian cousins such as the Tarbosaurus than to North American relatives such as Daspletosaurus.

“Dozens of T. rex fossils have been unearthed in North America but our findings indicate that the fossils of T. rex’s direct ancestor may lie undiscovered still in Asia.”

The research team concluded that T rex. itself evolved in North America, specifically in Laramidia, the western half of the continent, where it was widely distributed.

They disagreed with conclusions published last year that a T. rex relative, Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, found in New Mexico, predated T. rex by three to five million years – a finding that pointed to T. rex having North American ancestry. The team argued that this T. mcraeensis fossil was not reliably dated.

For the new study, the researchers explored how tyrannosaurids and their cousins the megaraptors moved around the globe. They used mathematical models drawing on fossils, dinosaurs’ evolutionary trees and the geography and climate of the time. Importantly, the models account for gaps in the fossil record, incorporating uncertainty into the calculations.

Megaraptors are regarded as the most mysterious of the large, meat-eating dinosaurs, as few megaraptor fossils have been found. In contrast to the T. rex, they evolved slender heads and arms as long as a person is tall, with claws up to 35cm (14in) long.

The researchers concluded that megaraptors were more widely distributed across the globe than previously thought, likely originating in Asia about 120 million years ago and spreading to Europe and then throughout the large southern landmass of Gondwana (including present-day Africa, South America and Antarctica).

This would mean megaraptors lived in parts of the world (Europe and Africa) where no megaraptor fossils have been found so far.

It may be that they evolved differently from their tyrannosaurid cousins, with killing claws rather than a powerful bite, because they hunted different prey. In southern Gondwana, they may have preyed on (juvenile) sauropods, whereas T. rex hunted Laramidian species such as Triceratops, Edmontosaurus and Ankylosaurus.

Both tyrannosaurids and megaraptors grew to gigantic sizes at broadly the same time, as the climate cooled following a peak in global temperatures known as the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum 92 million years ago. This rapid growth followed the extinction of other giant meat-eaters, carcharodontosaurids, which left a vacuum at the top of the food chain.

The researchers suggested that tyrannosaurs – both tyrannosaurids and megaraptors – may have been able to better exploit cooler temperatures than rival dinosaur groups.

At the end of the age of the dinosaurs, T. rex weighed up to nine tonnes (about the same as a very large African elephant or a light tank), while megaraptors reached lengths of 10 metres.

Co-author Charlie Scherer, an MSci Earth Sciences graduate and soon to be PhD student at UCL, and founder of UCL’s Palaeontology Society, said: “Our findings have shined a light on how the largest tyrannosaurs appeared in North and South America during the Cretaceous and how and why they grew so large by the end of the age of dinosaurs.

“They likely grew to such gigantic sizes to replace the equally giant carcharodontosaurid theropods that went extinct about 90 million years ago. This extinction likely removed the ecological barrier that prevented tyrannosaurs from growing to such sizes.”

Co-author Dr Mauro Aranciaga Rolando, from the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Argentine Museum, Buenos Aires, Argentina, said: “At the beginning of their evolutionary history, around 120 million years ago, megaraptors were part of a widespread and diverse dinosaur fauna.

“As the Cretaceous period progressed and the continents that once formed Gondwana began to drift apart, these predators became increasingly specialised. This evolutionary shift led them to inhabit more specific environments.

“While in regions like Asia megaraptors were eventually replaced by tyrannosaurs, in areas such as Australia and Patagonia they evolved to become apex predators, dominating their ecosystems.”

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Journal

Royal Society Open Science

DOI

10.1098/rsos.242238 

The end Cretaceous Northern Hemisphere fauna was dominated by Tyrannosaurids (such as Tyrannosaurus rex), hadrosaurs and ceratopsian ornithischian dinosaurs. 

Credit

Pedro Salas and Sergey Krasovskiy.

 

Women with serious mental health conditions likely ill-equipped for menopause transition

New scoping review addresses knowledge gaps around the management of menopause symptoms for women living with a mental illness and spotlight the value of psychoeducation

The Menopause Society

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CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 7, 2025)—Many women struggle to find resources to help manage their menopause symptoms. For women living with a serious mental illness, the need for additional support and education during the menopause transition is even greater. A new scoping review confirmed the paucity of research on this topic and suggested a need for more psychoeducation programs. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.

Serious mental illnesses are a group of mental health conditions often characterized by their chronicity and severity of symptoms that lead to significant functional impairment. Although definitions may vary, conditions that are usually assessed include conditions such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, recurrent depression, severe anxiety and eating disorders, personality disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder. These conditions may be associated with a range of poorer physical health outcomes and higher mortality rates, with a lack of proper healthcare being a contributing factor to poorer outcomes.

The menopause transition can be a time of increased risk of depression and anxiety symptoms in nonpsychiatric people. Despite major advances in education around the menopause transition, this period in a woman’s life can often be filled with frustration over the lack of resources. For women also struggling with a mental health problem, the questions are often more numerous and the frustration more debilitating.

Although there has been considerable interest in understanding the effect of the menopause transition on mental health problems overall, little research has been undertaken to assess the effect of menopause on those living with a diagnosed chronic mental health condition. Earlier research had suggested that women with compromised mental health were more likely to report more significant menopause symptoms as well as more exaggerated mental health problems. For example, a woman diagnosed with schizophrenia may have worse psychotic symptoms during the transition. Eating disorders may also worsen because of disturbances to body image during this transitional phase.

Despite the limited number of applicable studies identified, there seems to be consensus around the idea that women living with a serious mental health condition may be ill-equipped for the menopause transition. That is why the goal of this latest review was to assess the research literature regarding psychoeducation programs in the management of menopause symptoms for women living with a mental illness.

Study results are published in the article “Psychoeducation in the management of menopause symptoms for women living with a serious mental illness: a scoping review.”

“Overall, we have improved our understanding of the menopause transition and its potential effect on women’s well-being and overall functioning. However, this study is confirming what we know from other areas in medicine and public health—that we need to do a better job in providing persons with severe mental illnesses with the information, resources, and care they need to manage their health throughout their lifespans—including their midlife years,” says Dr. Claudio Soares, a psychiatrist and president of The Menopause Society.

For more information about menopause and healthy aging, visit www.menopause.org.

The Menopause Society (formerly The North American Menopause Society) is dedicated to empowering healthcare professionals and providing them with the tools and resources to improve the health of women during the menopause transition and beyond. As the leading authority on menopause since 1989, the nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization serves as the independent, evidence-based resource for healthcare professionals, researchers, the media, and the public and leads the conversation about improving women’s health and healthcare experiences. To learn more, visit menopause.org.

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Journal

Menopause

DOI

10.1097/GME.0000000000000002540 

Method of Research

Literature review

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Psychoeducation in the management of menopause symptoms for women living with a serious mental illness: a scoping review

Article Publication Date

7-May-2025