Ocean Exploration Facts
The ocean exploration facts in this section provide short answers to common or intriguing ocean questions. The questions are organized in a series of categories; click on a category to learn more about these topics.
For many ocean exploration facts, content has been repurposed from essays posted elsewhere on the website; to access the original content, click on links available on individual ocean fact pages.
Maritime heritage is the legacy of human interactions with Earth’s large water bodies and their coasts throughout time.
Mapping watchstanders act as sentries and data keepers while collecting, processing, and documenting high-quality ocean and seafloor data captured by sonar and oceanographic instruments.
Microdebitage refers to small fragments, less than one millimeter in size, produced when stone tools are created. These fragments can help archaeologists identify areas where stone tools were made, which in turn can help to locate archaeological sites in areas that could not be excavated by traditional methods, including underwater sites.
Mapping watchstanders act as sentries and data keepers while collecting, processing, and documenting high-quality ocean and seafloor data captured by sonar and oceanographic instruments.
Oxygen minimum zones are persistent layers in the water column that have low oxygen concentration due to biological, chemical, and physical processes.
A shakedown is an expedition that tests a ship’s mission systems and equipment before a field season.
The deep scattering layer (or DSL) is a region in the water column where there is a high density of marine organisms that reflect sound.
The deep scattering layer (or DSL) is a region in the water column where there is a high density of marine organisms that reflect sound.
The high seas are defined by international law as all parts of the ocean that aren't included in the exclusive economic zone, the territorial sea, or the internal waters of a country, or in the archipelagic waters of an archipelagic country.
Marine meiofauna are a group of animals small enough to live in between the grains of sand and mud on the seafloor.
Sponges are ancient animals that may appear simplistic, but the more we study them, the more we realize how complex they are. They are bizarre and beautiful – nothing like the yellow, plastic rectangle next to your kitchen sink.
A "natural product" is a chemical compound or substance made by a living organism.