About Us
Founded by deep-sea explorer Dr. Katy Croff Bell, the Ocean Discovery League’s mission is to accelerate deep-ocean exploration by developing accessible systems to broaden the community of those who explore and understand the deep sea.
The deep-sea covers two-thirds of our planet, yet over 99% remains unexplored because present-day ocean exploration is exclusive, expensive, and slow. We aim to create equity in deep-ocean exploration by co-designing accessible, low-cost opportunities and systems for ocean explorers worldwide. This will dramatically increase and accelerate our ability to observe, manage, and protect the ocean, resulting in humankind thriving on earth now and in the future.
Our Vision
A discovered, thriving ocean
The Challenge
Sixty-six percent of the planet's surface is ocean deeper than 200 meters, making the deep sea the single largest—and most critical—habitat on Earth. The deep sea is the planet's life-support system. It feeds the upper ocean, providing more than half the oxygen we breathe, supplying 20% of humanity's protein needs, and supporting a $1.5T global ocean economy. Despite its critical role, the deep ocean is virtually unexplored. With human impacts on the deep ocean increasing, closing the gap on our lack of understanding of this vital ecosystem is paramount to human survival.
Current technologies required to access the deep sea are large, expensive, proprietary, and slow. At the current rate and methods of deep ocean exploration, it would take tens of thousands of years and a quadrillion dollars to see the entire seafloor once. We urgently need a strategic approach to generate a globally representative, statistically robust, standardized, and comprehensive visual sample of the deep seafloor before we destroy this ecosystem irreparably.
Our Solution
By lowering the cost-prohibitive and logistical barriers to deep-sea exploration, we aim to broaden access to communities historically excluded from ocean exploration and research and expand the area of the seafloor explored and characterized while reducing the cost. We will use an integrated approach to expand the deep sea community to collect critical baseline data about the ocean. This understanding will inform critical ocean health issues, ranging from deep sea mining to marine protected areas. Ultimately, we aim to diversify the deep-sea exploration field and broaden our knowledge of the ocean to make wise decisions regarding its use.
Our Theory of Change
Ocean Discovery League's theory of change is that IF we make deep ocean exploration tools and training more affordable and accessible and expand the community of global deep ocean explorers, THEN we will dramatically accelerate a strategic and representative characterization of the deep seafloor.
