Welcome   Sponsored By
Subscribe | Register | Advertise | Newsletter | About us | Contact us
   


Preparing to deploy a sea glider in the Arctic. Scientists use gliders to collect oceanographic data and study the underwater world. (Image: David Wa

Interactive: Mapping the wonders of the underwater world

WORLDWIDE
Wednesday, September 07, 2022, 07:00 (GMT + 9)

The following is an excerpt from an article published by China Dialogue Ocean:

The ocean floor is home to myriad landforms, but with only 20% of it yet mapped in detail, many more await discovery

To properly map the ocean floor is a long and costly undertaking. Satellites may have already mapped 100% of it, but they have done so in low resolution, missing every feature smaller than 1.5km. So far, only one-fifth has been closely mapped using modern sonar technology, according to UNESCO.

A Brisingid seastar on the side of the Mona Canyon off the coast of Puerto Rico (Image: NOAA/ Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

If we consider that the ocean covers more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, that’s a great deal of underwater terrain yet to be well explored. A growing movement is trying to change this. In the last five years, the amount of seafloor mapped in great detail has risen from 6% to 20%. Earlier this year, UNESCO announced it will partner with countries and companies to try and take that up to 80% by 2030. Various technological innovations, such as sonar attached to autonomous vessels, are opening up new avenues for progress towards that goal.

In their expeditions, ocean explorers have found very complex landscapes: thousands of impressive underwater features including lofty mountain ridges and incredibly deep trenches. It’s possible to split these features into seven main kinds:

Graphic by China Dialogue Ocean. Based on a figure in The Law of Seabed (2020).

Abyssal plains

The huge flat bottoms of the deep ocean. Covered by fine-grained sediment like clay and silt, abyssal plains are also peppered with “abyssal hills” and underwater mountains known as seamounts.

Continental shelves

The underwater extension of a continent – usually wide along low-lying land and narrow along mountainous coasts.

Continental slopes

The sloped bottom of the ocean that extends from the continental shelf down to the abyssal plain.

Mid-ocean ridges

Mountain ranges on the ocean floor that mark the boundaries between tectonic plates, where magma wells up and new ocean floor is formed.

Seamounts

A mountain, usually formed of volcanoes, rising from the seafloor but not reaching above the surface of the water.

Trenches

The deepest parts of the ocean, trenches are formed by subduction – when a tectonic plate slides beneath another and forms a steep V-shaped depression. The world’s deepest point lies in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Known as Challenger Deep, it is more than 2,000 metres further from sea level than the Earth’s highest point, Mount Everest.

Submarine canyons

Narrow, steep-sided valleys that cut into continental slopes. They have steep rocky sides that can be thousands of metres tall. Those of the Grand Bahama Canyon, which are thought to be the highest, rise nearly 5km from the canyon floor. The walls of the Grand Canyon in Colorado, by comparison, measure about 1.6km at their tallest. Submarine canyons are found along continental slopes, unlike trenches, which tend to be deeper down where tectonic plates meet.

State-of-the art equipment for deep-sea research. A: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Hugin from Kongsberg Maritime (Norway). B: human occupied vehicle Alvin from USA. C: Remote Operated Vehicle Triton (Norway). D: Remoted Operated Vehicle Isis from the UK. Photo courtesy from Deep-Sea Ecosystems: Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Impacts

The features were chosen using different criteria: the trenches are some of the deepest in the world; the ridges are some of the longest and highest known in each of the world’s major oceans; while the seamounts and canyons are the largest or best known. (continues...)

Author / Source: Marta Portocarrero, Regina Lam / China Dialogue Ocean /  Read the full article by clicking the link here

[email protected]
www.seafood.media


 Print


Click to know how to advertise in FIS
MORE NEWS
Norway
Jul 8, 06:10 (GMT + 9):
Norwegian Cod Exports Navigate Quota Cuts with Record-High Prices and Strategic Market Shifts
Spain
Jul 8, 06:00 (GMT + 9):
Galician Fleet Sets Sail for Falklands with Cautious Optimism Amid Loligo Squid Uncertainty
Norway
Jul 8, 05:00 (GMT + 9):
Norway Pelagic Fishing Update Week 27
Chile
Jul 8, 00:10 (GMT + 9):
Chilean Aquaculture Rocked: FNE Seeks Record Fines for Millionaire Salmon Feed Collusion
Brazil
Jul 8, 00:10 (GMT + 9):
Sergipe's Shrimp Industry Thrives, Bolstered by Small Producers and Innovative School Lunch Program
Norway
Jul 8, 00:10 (GMT + 9):
Norwegian Shellfish Exports Shatter Records: King Crab, Snow Crab, and Prawns Drive Unprecedented Growth in First Half of 2025
New Zealand
Jul 8, 00:10 (GMT + 9):
Under Secretary Jenny Marcroft Urges Resilience: New Zealand's Seafood Sector 'Valued and Understood' Amidst Challenges
Chile
Jul 8, 00:00 (GMT + 9):
Other media | MundoAcuicola: King crab exports reach new record in 2025
Chile
Jul 8, 00:00 (GMT + 9):
Other Media | fishfarmingexpert: Two former salmon farming executives handed 800-day sentences
Chile
Jul 8, 00:00 (GMT + 9):
Other Media | SeafoodSource: Multi X defines the 'ABCs' of responsible farming in new sustainability strategy
Denmark
Jul 8, 00:00 (GMT + 9):
Other Media | SalmonBusiness: Why BioMar is quietly adding this ingredient to every salmon feed
Norway
Jul 7, 00:10 (GMT + 9):
Norwegian Seafood Exports Soar: Herring and Mackerel See Record Prices and Strong Demand in First Half of 2025
United States
Jul 7, 00:10 (GMT + 9):
End of an Era: Beloved US Lobster Purveyor Files for Bankruptcy After Decades of Service
Mexico
Jul 7, 00:10 (GMT + 9):
Mexico Bets Big on Tilapia Self-Sufficiency: Boosting Aquaculture as a Pillar of Food Sovereignty
Spain
Jul 7, 00:10 (GMT + 9):
Spanish Fishing Seeks Revival: II Seafood Forum Drives Innovation and Sustainability Amid Falling Consumption



Lenguaje
FEATURED EVENTS
  
TOP STORIES
Global Squid Prices See Significant Rise in June Driven by Supply Shocks
China The overall price index for China's ocean-going squid surged in June 2025, reaching 281.07 points. While the Southwest Atlantic saw a supply glut, sudden fishing closures in the Southeast Pacific and ...
South Korea's Frozen Mackerel Imports Skyrocket in First Half of 2025
South Korea Imports surge by 51% year-on-year, driven by strong demand and market fluctuations, prompting the government to implement a zero-tariff policy to stabilize soaring domestic prices. SEOUL – Sout...
Sardines Sizzle as Mackerel Stabilizes in French Canned Fish Market
France Consumer demand for affordable, healthy protein fuels sardine's surge, while mackerel stabilizes amidst evolving market and supply pressures Paris – The French market for canned seafood is...
Norwegian Seafood Exports Soar: Herring and Mackerel See Record Prices and Strong Demand in First Half of 2025
Norway Buoyed by strong international demand and strategic shifts, Norway's pelagic sector defies global uncertainties with impressive value growth Oslo – Norway's pelagic seafood sector has repo...
 

Umios Corporation | Maruha Nichiro Corporation
Nichirei Corporation - Headquarters
Pesquera El Golfo S.A.
Ventisqueros - Productos del Mar Ventisqueros S.A
Wärtsilä Corporation - Wartsila Group Headquarters
ITOCHU Corporation - Headquarters
BAADER - Nordischer Maschinenbau Rud. Baader GmbH+Co.KG (Head Office)
Inmarsat plc - Global Headquarters
Marks & Spencer
Tesco PLC (Supermarket) - Headquarters
Sea Harvest Corporation (PTY) Ltd. - Group Headquarters
I&J - Irvin & Johnson Holding Company (Pty) Ltd.
AquaChile S.A. - Group Headquarters
Pesquera San Jose S.A.
Nutreco N.V. - Head Office
CNFC China National Fisheries Corporation - Group Headquarters
W. van der Zwan & Zn. B.V.
SMMI - Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Co., Ltd. - Headquarters
Icicle Seafoods, Inc
Starkist Seafood Co. - Headquearters
Trident Seafoods Corp.
American Seafoods Group LLC - Head Office
Marel - Group Headquarters
SalMar ASA - Group Headquarters
Sajo Industries Co., Ltd
Hansung Enterprise Co.,Ltd.
BIM - Irish Sea Fisheries Board (An Bord Iascaigh Mhara)
CEFAS - Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science
COPEINCA ASA - Corporacion Pesquera Inca S.A.C.
Chun Cheng Fishery Enterprise Pte Ltd.
VASEP - Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters & Producers
Gomes da Costa
Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. (Headquarters)
NISSUI - Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. - Group Headquarters
FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization - Fisheries and Aquaculture Department (Headquarter)
Hagoromo Foods Co., Ltd.
Koden Electronics Co., Ltd. (Headquarters)
A.P. Møller - Maersk A/S - Headquarters
BVQI - Bureau Veritas Quality International (Head Office)
UPS - United Parcel Service, Inc. - Headquarters
Brim ehf (formerly HB Grandi Ltd) - Headquarters
Hamburg Süd Group - (Headquearters)
Armadora Pereira S.A. - Grupo Pereira Headquarters
Costa Meeresspezialitäten GmbH & Co. KG
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Headquarters)
Mowi ASA (formerly Marine Harvest ASA) - Headquarters
Marubeni Europe Plc -UK-
Findus Ltd
Icom Inc. (Headquarter)
WWF Centroamerica
Oceana Group Limited
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. - Headquarters
Friosur S.A. - Headquarters
Cargill, Incorporated - Global Headquarters
Benihana Inc.
Leardini Pescados Ltda
CJ Corporation  - Group Headquarters
Greenpeace International - The Netherlands | Headquarters
David Suzuki Foundation
Fisheries and Oceans Canada -Communications Branch-
Mitsui & Co.,Ltd - Headquarters
NOREBO Group (former Ocean Trawlers Group)
Natori Co., Ltd.
Carrefour Supermarket - Headquarters
FedEx Corporation - Headquarters
Cooke Aquaculture Inc. - Group Headquarters
AKBM - Aker BioMarine ASA
Seafood Choices Alliance -Headquarter-
Austevoll Seafood ASA
Walmart | Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Supermarket) - Headquarters
New Japan Radio Co.Ltd (JRC) -Head Office-
Gulfstream JSC
Marine Stewardship Council - MSC Worldwide Headquarters
Royal Dutch Shell plc (Headquarter)
Genki Sushi Co.,Ltd -Headquarter-
Iceland Pelagic ehf
AXA Assistance Argentina S.A.
Caterpillar Inc. - Headquarters
Tiger Brands Limited
SeaChoice
National Geographic Society
AmazonFresh, LLC - AmazonFresh

Copyright 1995 - 2025 Seafood Media Group Ltd.| All Rights Reserved.   DISCLAIMER