Scientists around the world are racing to map the ocean floor by 2030 to help countries prepare for tsunamis, protect marine habitats, and monitor deep-sea mining.
As of 2017, only 6% of the ocean was mapped in accurate detail.
The lack of ocean maps plays a role in nearly every critical ocean issue, including sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and biodiversity.
Mapping the ocean presents many difficult challenges and expeditions can be costly.
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The goal of completing the ocean map by 2030 seems possible, but there will still be much more to discover after it is done.
