As most of us know, our planet is more than 70 percent water, the vast majority of it in the oceans. Human beings have always looked to the ocean’s horizon, wondering what lies beyond. We’ve managed, in this modern era, to explore much of the ocean’s surface and its shallower realms, but the deepest portions of the ocean remain nearly as mysterious as they were eons ago. Although we do have a map of the ocean floor to a resolution of around 3 miles (5 km), it’s less detailed than ones we have of the surface of the Moon and Mars.
How deep can we dive?
Exploring the ocean’s depths poses numerous obstacles, including the crushing pressure that increases rapidly the deeper you go. Nevertheless, we’ve pushed on, trying to break records by diving deeper and longer with each passing year. Current records for most of the diving categories are awe-inspiring and leave us wondering how in the world these freedivers manage to pull feats such as these.
In this spirit of discovery and always pushing the limits, check out this cool infographic about just how far we’ve explored — and how much more we’ve yet to explore.
By guest author David Babinec
