Research Focus Area
Beneath miles of water, it acts as a powerful climate stabilizer, absorbing excess heat and storing carbon that would otherwise accelerate global warming. It’s home to extraordinary systems such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, and deep-sea coral forests, gardens, and reefs that fuel nutrient cycles, support marine life from the depths to the surface, and help regulate the planet’s chemistry.
Though hidden from view, these ecosystems are essential to the health of our oceans and they may hold solutions to some of humanity’s greatest challenges, from new medicines and materials to breakthroughs in climate resilience and sustainable food systems.
The deep ocean remains one of Earth’s least explored regions, with over 80% of it still unmapped and unstudied. Extreme pressure, freezing temperatures, and complete darkness make exploration of the deep ocean technically demanding and heavily restricted in accessibility. As a result, much of this vast frontier’s ecosystems and climate processes are still largely unknown.
Beyond its physical challenges, much of the deep sea exists in international waters with little to no governance, leaving it vulnerable to exploitation by industries such as deep-sea mining and bottom trawling. With limited scientific data, public awareness, and global regulation, we risk damaging these vital systems before we even understand their role in life on Earth.
At OceanX, we deploy state-of-the-art submersibles, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and advanced sampling technologies that can reach depths up to 6,000 meters. These specialized tools enable us to safely navigate and study the deep ocean’s extreme conditions, overcoming the physical and technical barriers that have long limited human understanding of this vast, hidden world. Through direct observation, precise sample collection, and detailed data capture, we bridge critical gaps in scientific knowledge of the deep ocean. This approach not only expands our understanding of Earth’s largest and most mysterious ecosystem but also helps unlock its enormous potential for groundbreaking discoveries that support innovation, conservation, and sustainable ocean stewardship.
Explore and characterize bathyal and abyssal habitats to document biodiversity and ecosystem function
Identify novel species and communities, especially around seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and brine pools
Contribute data to support the designation of deep-water MPAs and international ocean governance frameworks
Submersible and ROV Operations: Deploying the Triton submersibles Nadir and Neptune (rated to 1,000m) and the Argus Mariner XL ROV (rated to 6,000m) for visual surveys, video transects, and sample collection.
CTD Rosette Sampling: Profiling temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and fluorescence throughout the water column; collecting water for eDNA and nutrient analysis.
Sediment Core Collection: Using gravity corers to study benthic substrate composition and paleoenvironmental history.
Biological Sampling: Capturing fauna using robotic arms, suction samplers, and Niskin bottles; preserving samples onboard for morphological and genetic analysis.
Ocean Mapping: Using a full suite of acoustic sonar tools including multibeam (MBES) mapping to generate high-resolution maps of the seafloor, look under the seafloor, examine life in the water column, and measure ocean currents, providing a full picture of the ecosystem.