Deep Submergence Dive location dataset from Bell et al. Sci Advances: How Little We've Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor

<p><span>How Little We&rsquo;ve Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span>Katherine L.C. Bell,</span>^{<span>1</span>}<em>^{<span>&lowast;</span>}</em><em>^{<span> </span>}</em><span>Kristen N. Johannes,</span>^{<span>1<em>,</em>2</span>}<span>&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span>Brian R.C. Kennedy,</span>^{<span>1<em>,</em>3 </span>}<span>Susan E. Poulton</span>^{<span>1</span>}<span>&nbsp;</span></p> <p>^{<span>1</span>}<span>Ocean Discovery League, Saunderstown, RI 02874, USA,&nbsp;</span></p> <p>^{<span>2</span>}<span>Integrative Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92037, USA&nbsp;</span></p> <p>^{<span>3</span>}<span>Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA&nbsp;</span></p> <p><em>^{<span>&lowast;</span>}</em><span>To whom correspondence should be addressed: croff@alum.mit.edu.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span><br>Despite the importance of visual observation in the ocean, we have imaged a minuscule fraction of the deep seafloor. Sixty-six percent of the entire planet is deep ocean (&ge;200 m), and our data show we have visually observed less than 0.001%, a total area approximately a tenth of the size of Belgium. Data gathered from over 44 thousand deep-sea dives indicate we have also seen an incredibly biased sample. Sixty-five percent of all in situ visual seafloor observations in our dataset were within 200 nm of only three countries: the United States, Japan, and New Zealand. Ninety-seven percent of all dives we compiled have been conducted by just five countries: the United States, Japan, New Zealand, France, and Germany. This small and biased sample is problematic when attempting to characterize, understand, and manage a global ocean.</span></p>