Miles of Ocean Hide a World We’ve Never Truly Seen

On land, we have explored highs and lows, but the ocean remains a gigantic mystery of unexplored territories. It is estimated that we have only discovered a search radius equal to the size of Rhode Island. In comparison to the rest of the ocean, we’ve only explored 0.001% of the seafloor. 

The planet’s surface is covered by over 60% of the ocean, and we are learning more about it all the time. President Trump recently signed an executive order on April 24, 2025, for seabed mining outside national waters. 

While we don’t know much about the deep sea, it also means we don’t know a lot about the consequences of our actions. It’s unclear how much the impacts of mining of Trump’s executive order could affect life underwater, especially when we know very little. 

What We’re Mining For—and Why Now

There are two sides to the executive order. On one side, climate activists are furious at this because of the stress it puts on species underwater. On the other hand, the heart of the deep sea contains valuable minerals such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, and other rare earth minerals. All are used in new advancements in green energy like EV batteries, wind turbines, and electronics.