The ocean does not stop at the seafloor. Beneath the water lies a vast, largely unseen biosphere and a rich archive of Earth’s dynamic, interconnected ocean system that spans hundreds of millions of years. Understanding this hidden frontier is essential to protecting the high seas.
Over six decades, the international scientific ocean drilling programs have surmounted geopolitical challenges to provide rare access to some of Earth’s most extreme and least explored environments. By recovering sediment, rock, fluids, gases and even living organisms from beneath the seafloor, these programs reveal how the ocean system functions globally and through time. Global expeditions spanning every major ocean basin have built a powerful, evidence-based understanding of the ocean’s history and sub-seafloor biosphere. These records provide critical insights into geohazards and climate-driven change, including sea-level rise, ocean warming, deoxygenation and shifts in biodiversity.
This presentation highlights scientific ocean drilling contributions to the UN Ocean Decade and explores how sub-seafloor and ocean science together support stronger, science-based decision making for the high seas. By linking deep sea discovery with global cooperation and policy development, scientific drilling is helping to build a more complete understanding of the ocean system and supporting long term stewardship of the world’s ocean.