How much of the ocean has been explored? Surprisingly little

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BY SADE AGARD

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The oceans collectively contain an estimated 97 percent of the world's water and are collectively the planet's largest ecosystem.

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Despite historical oceanic quests and modern exploration technologies, only 5 percent of the oceans have been explored.

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When considering the scale of the oceans, the amount of knowledge yet to be revealed in the subject of oceanography is equally vast.

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Dr. Jenna Crowe-Riddell

Better yet, we have even successfully located some of their mysterious underwater structures, such as the 7-mile-deep Mariana Trench.

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Regarding marine species, scientists have yet to discover how many exist in the oceans.

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Currently, around 226,000 ocean species are known.

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Over the last decades, oceans have been an incredible source of information about the evolution of the animal kingdom.

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