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

Why deep sea maps are SO BAD (and how to fix it)...
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Our maps of the ocean are surprisingly bad! On Google Maps it looks like we know so much… 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. 71% of the surface of the Earth is water! And yet we have a surprisingly limited view of what’s below it.

But that’s also understandable. Because cartographically speaking, water sucks. For Mars or Earth’s surface, we can take pictures. But light doesn’t get 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 you 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

You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers: https://www.tiktok.com/@cleoabram
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories: https://www.instagram.com/cleoabram
You can find me on Twitter here 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, Cleo 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, Cleo 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:
- 24-hour a day live streaming from the deep sea: www.NautilusLive.org
- Livestream of ocean research (my favorite): https://www.youtube.com/@EVNautilus
- To see recent seafloor visualizations (NOAA): https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/ocean-exploration-data-atlas/
- To learn more about the high-stakes race to map the Earth's oceans: The Deepest Map, by Laura Trethewey https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-deepest-map-laura-trethewey
- To see how amazing our Mars maps are (Murray Lab): https://murray-lab.caltech.edu/CTX/V01/SceneView/MurrayLabCTXmosaic.html
- The Ocean is Way Deeper Than You Think, RealLifeLore: https://youtu.be/GE-lAftuQgc?si=yjGHgbaDZYILXpT0
- What’s Hiding at the Most Solitary Place on Earth? The Deep Sea, Kurzgesagt: https://youtu.be/PaErPyEnDvk?si=AcXwb3F-ERJXGFRI
- The Unspeakable Horrors of the Deep Sea, Casual Geographic: https://youtu.be/MCf4zwOfRas?si=08gYwFdm3OwWoP4D
- Why no aquarium has a great white shark, Vox: https://youtu.be/QMbHLF_zwjs?si=gGrgYBNQqK9L-Twd
- This Incredible Animation Shows How Deep The Ocean Really Is, Insider: https://youtu.be/UwVNkfCov1k?si=L1Rj4V4HIFUP8gjy
- How Much of

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