Explore the deepest parts of the ocean

NASA explores Earth's deepest oceans to prepare for space

By studying extreme environments in Earth's hadal zone—the deepest part of the ocean —NASA tests technologies, probes life under crushing pressure, and gathers clues about potential oceans and possible life on worlds like Europa and Enceladus.

Although an estimated 99.999% of the deep ocean has not been explored, techniques such as sonar have been used to identify the deepest known point in each of Earth's five oceans.

An interactive of the deep sea

Earth's oceans, which have an average depth of 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles), may be divided into zones based on depth or the abundance of light.

The 10 most amazing deep sea creatures

In this video, researchers from the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium discuss the most fascinating deep sea creatures, and how they developed some of their strangest features.

Located in the Pacific Ocean, the Challenger Deep is the deepest point on Earth, extending to depths a mile deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

Take an interactive dive and see the animals that populate the oceans, from coral near the surface to shrimp-like organisms near the seafloor.

View a gallery of animals found on abyssal plains, hydrothermal vents, seamounts, and other deep-sea habitats.

Deep-sea trenches form when one tectonic plate subducts another underwater

Oceanic plates sink when colliding with less dense continental plates, bending the seafloor into steep depressions that can be almost 11 kilometers deep. Many of Earth’s strongest earthquakes occur at these plate boundaries, often featuring volcanic activity.

Take a journey to the Earth's core

This animated video takes you on a journey through the different layers of the Earth's core, with insight into what makes up each shell. Earth's outer core, which is about 1,400 miles thick, is made up of liquid iron and nickel at a blistering...

How water pressure affects the body

The extreme conditions of the deep sea include increasing amounts of pressure as explorers and organisms descend into its depths. The major danger for both fish and humans is the way pressure changes how body tissues absorb chemical molecules...

Take a 3D underwater trip near the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, comprising more than 900 islands and almost 3,000 individual reefs. This video lets you tag along with divers as they explore the reef off the southern coast of Lady Elliot Island in full 3D (use the direction buttons in the upper left of the video, or your keypad).

How we know what's deep inside the Earth, despite never traveling there

We'll likely never see the Earth's core, but we can make educated guesses about what it's like down there. Nearly as hot as the sun's surface and under impossibly high pressure, the inner Earths extreme conditions make it impossible to explore. Yet, seismic waves during earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and light waves from the sun provide fascinating insights about our planet's mantle, crust, and core.

As of 2025, humans have only dug 0.2% the way to Earth's center

The Kola Superdeep Borehole revealed two billion-year-old fossils and underground water, but the immense temperature and pressure prevented further tunneling. Beyond those depths, scientists know of Earth's interior by analyzing how seismic waves move.

Some marine life can survive the extreme pressure of the deep ocean because of specialized molecules that strengthen proteins, enzymes, and cellular membranes.

How deep is the Mariana Trench?

This five-minute video takes viewers to the depths of the Mariana Trench, emphasizing just how far below the bottom of the trench lies beneath our feet through comparisons to better-known objects and monuments, including the Eiffel Tower. The Statue...

How the ocean is the new frontier of innovation

Space has been called the final frontier of innovation and investment for decades. Many innovators say the ocean is the new space, the vast majority of whose hidden depths remain obscure. In this podcast episode, business-minded experts discuss the opportunities founders see in the ocean, including seagrass restoration, underwater cable networks, and more.

Travel through deep time with this interactive Earth

Explore key moments in Earth’s transformative history as continents drift and climate fluctuates over 4.6 billion years. The Smithsonian presents a series of interactive snapshots of the earth. From its toddler years during the Hadean period, when its surface was mostly molten, to the mostly unidentifiable landmasses of the future earth, 100 million years from now.

Can coral live in cold water?

Dive deep beyond the sunlit coral reefs, and you'll discover a world of deep-sea corals. This article from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explores the ecosystems of deep-sea corals found way below the water's surface....

Deep Blue is the largest great white shark ever caught on camera

In 2019, Deep Blue was one of three huge great whites spotted off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, an uncommon place for sightings of white sharks. The unique series of sightings aroused curiosity and amazement from islanders and scientists alike.

The deepest human-made hole on Earth is in Russia’s Arctic North

Driven by Cold War competition, the Kola Superdeep borehole was a project in the 1970s to uncover the composition of the Earth by boring underground. The mission managed to go 7.6 miles into Earth’s crust, the deepest human-made hole on Earth.

A simple pictorial explanation of ocean geography

Visualizing ocean geographical features, such as a coastal zone, continental shelf and abyssal plain. This article from the US Geological Survey also provides several links to diverse ocean facts.

Visualizing the 75 largest underwater animals

With so many fish in the sea, which are the largest? This infographic shows fantastic illustrations of the 75 largest sea animals, ranked by average size. The detailed visual is organized in descending order of size, starting with the blue whale,...

The deep-sea fangtooth has the largest teeth of any marine species relative to body size

From transparent fish to the heaviest worms on the planet, these seven creepy creatures lurk in the deep sea. Learn all about them and the unique traits that help them survive and hunt.

How specialized oxygen mixtures like heliox enable deep diving without feeling drunk

Beyond a depth of about 30 meters (98 feet), if divers are breathing surface air, which is about 78% nitrogen, underwater pressure forces more nitrogen into the bloodstream and induces nitrogen narcosis, whose symptoms resemble alcohol intoxication. Through saturation diving, where nitrogen is replaced with helium—an inert gas—deep divers can maintain cognitive function while working for extended periods.

Take an interactive tour through Australia's Great Barrier Reef, featuring spherical panoramas of marine wildlife, including manta rays, loggerhead turtles, and bottlenose dolphins.

National Geographic presents how to protect the oceans

What can we do to protect and preserve the world's oceans? Be inspired by spectacular wildlife footage from National Geographic while learning key strategies.

Europa's deep ocean may hold the conditions needed to support alien life

Beneath its frozen crust, Europa hides a salty ocean heated by tidal forces from Jupiter. This environment may resemble Earth's deep-sea hydrothermal vents and have allowed for the development of life over billions of years.

Korea's "real-life mermaids"

Explore the incredible world of Haenyeo, Korea's female freedivers who dive to depths of up to 60 feet without oxygen tanks. These amazing women have been practicing this ancient tradition for centuries, and yet, their story remains largely unknown.

Watch the destructive force of bottom trawling on marine ecosystems

Bottom trawling is a fishing method where a net is dragged along the seafloor to catch a species of interest. The process produces as much carbon dioxide yearly as global aviation and leaves trails of destruction large enough to be seen in space.

Explaining deep-sea mining, including its economic benefits and potential biomedical risks

Extraction via machines sweeping the ocean floor would reduce child labor and human rights violations currently occurring in land-based operations that collect the minerals needed for modern-day electronics. However, these sweeps may kill undiscovered organisms that possess biologies from which antibiotics could be derived and destabilize deep-sea ecosystems.

Explore Earth's atmosphere and what its layers contain in this interactive adventure

In this interactive, users can move from Earth's surface up through its atmosphere, exploring the natural phenomena found in each layer, including atmospheric rivers, auroras, and meteor showers. Artificial structures such as weather balloons and the International Space Station can also be found on the adventure.

38 thought-provoking facts about the ocean

Coral produces its own sunscreen, tsunamis move at 500 miles per hour, one of the loudest sounds ever recorded came from an ice quake, and other interesting facts collected from sources such as National Geographic and NASA.

Take a virtual journey through the world's deserts with Google Earth and BBC

Explore some of the world’s deserts in this “Natural Treasures” collaboration between Google Earth and BBC Earth. Visit the Namib Desert in Namibia where the simplest strategy to escape the heat is to emerge only in the cool of the night....

Underwater nighttime photos capture the ocean's diversity

Self-taught photographer Steven Kovacs explores Palm Beach's ocean after sunset, capturing tiny sea creatures in deep waters. Over eight years, he's dived into Florida's eastern coast, drifting from 0 to 100 feet, photographing rarely seen larval fish. Lacking formal marine biology training, Kovacs collaborates globally to identify species like cusk eels and the female blanket octopus, known for its revealing membrane. Check out his photos here.

Scientists investigate Earth's interior by studying seismic waves

Scientists investigate Earth's interior by studying seismic wavesBelow Earth's atmosphere lies the crust, which extends to the Mohorovičić discontinuity between five and 20 miles below Earth's surface. Below the crust lies the mantle, the liquid-metal outer core, and the solid inner core, which surpasses 5,200 degrees Celsius (9,392 degrees Fahrenheit).

The warmest waters in the ocean are found at hydrothermal vents—hot springs on the seafloor that discharge plumes of mineral-rich water.

Fly through the deepest image of space ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

Taken over 11 days between 2003 and 2004, when the space telescope was aimed at a seemingly empty patch of the sky, the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field revealed about 10,000 sources of light, most of which are entire galaxies. This visualization expands the 2D image into a 3D view spanning 12 billion years.

Take a series of virtual tours of Biosphere 2

The videos provide a 360-degree view of the indoor rainforest, ocean ecosystem, Landscape Evolution Observatory, and underground technosphere. A Google Maps Street View option is available to explore additional biomes, with each associated with a different floor level on the bottom right.

Video and still images are combined with sonar data to create seafloor maps

Sonar works by sending thousands of sound pulses per second towards the seafloor, capturing the strength and timing of the returning echo. This data can accurately reveal depth, seafloor texture, and the presence of fish habitats to millimeter resolutions.

Deep water corals—located throughout the world's ocean basins at depths beyond 200 meters (660 feet)—slowly build small coral gardens in the dark with the help of underwater worms.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

A look at hydrothermal vents, where barophiles and hyperthermophiles survive boiling water

Discovered in 1977 during an exploration of the Galapagos Rift, these seafloor openings spew hot magma and chemicals that heat seawater to hundreds of degrees. Without the sunlight found at depths of less than 1,000 meters (3,281 feet), extremophiles in these environments convert released chemicals into energy to survive, alongside surviving extreme pressures.

NASA uses extreme Earth environments to prepare for space exploration

Analog missions in volcanic terrains and craters mimic Martian and lunar environments. Crew members operating in these missions, including at sites in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawai'i, test suits and specialized space instruments under simulated conditions.

Journey through Norway's frozen frontier

This 44-minute video takes viewers through the Arctic landscapes of Norway, as they learn about the area's life and challenges. Viewers can observe the wildlife that thrives in this harsh setting—from reindeer and polar bears to red foxes. They...

Discover trends in Earth's climate system: What are indicators of climate change?

A comprehensive deep dive tracking components of the climate system over time, such as temperature, sea level, sea ice amounts, ocean heat, greenhouse gases, and more (w/charts and graphs).

What can be found underneath the Saharan sands?

Watch this 19-minute video to learn more about what can be found under the Sahara Desert, which spans almost all of northern Africa and is one of the largest deserts in the world. Deep under the Sahara desert sands lies evidence of life that once...

Soar above the Jurassic Coast’s 185 million years of geology

This sweeping drone video reveals the stark beauty of the UK’s Jurassic Coast, a 95-mile stretch where Triassic red rock, Jurassic layers, and Cretaceous limestone are exposed—one of the clearest visible records of the Mesozoic era on Earth.

Zooming out from Earth to the edge of space

For perspective on the universe's absolute massiveness, watch this four-minute video. Beginning at a facility in Germany, the "camera" pulls back revealing the surrounding countryside, Germany itself, Europe, the Earth, and so on. At one point stars form galaxies and galaxies, at a distance, become as seemingly "small" as the individual stars.

Earth's inner structure is a dynamic system of layers in constant, slow motion

From the crust to the core, each of Earth's layers—some solid, some liquid—plays a role in generating its magnetic field, moving tectonic plates, and cycling matter. These details are determined through modeling since humans have only drilled 12 kilometers underground.