Deep Ocean Mapping Reveals Surprising Discoveries

Despite centuries of seafaring, large parts of the ocean floor remain a mystery. A Swedish-led contribution to the global Seabed 2030 initiative has now mapped 25% of the deep oceans, revealing stunning features like underwater volcanic peaks the size of Kebnekaise and entire fjords never before seen by ship. Researcher Martin Jakobsson, working aboard the icebreaker Oden, emphasizes the importance of this data—not only for scientific discovery, but for laying undersea cables, predicting tsunamis, and understanding climate impacts on coasts. While the project avoids ultra-high resolution for security reasons, the global grid it’s building is already proving vital for infrastructure planning and ocean stewardship.