The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest revealed its winners for 2020, and the photos are astounding. Taken all around the world, they highlight fish, other aquatic species and plants found in sanctuaries and the open ocean.

My particular favorite is Johan Sundelin’s “Waiting for the Kiss,” which shows a grumpy-looking toad sitting on a bright pink underwater plant.

The photos are a treat to look through. But like any underwater content, I am always left with the sense that we’re missing something, that there’s more to be seen or discovered. Some of the photos show animals in front of a black background, except it’s not just a background. It is the ocean— the pitch black ocean.

That’s kind of spooky, right?

These animals exist at a depth that we cannot even see through without a flash from the camera or an external light source. Yet, this is what most of the ocean looks like.

Over 80% of it is unexplored. We’ve reached nearly every land-point on Earth and even explored parts of outer space, but the ocean’s depths are largely unknown.

This largely stems from the sheer difficulty of exploring most of the ocean.

The underwater pressure is the biggest challenge. The average depth for the ocean is about 2.3 miles, and that far down, the pressure is about 25,000 pounds per square inch. No human is fit to withstand that amount of pressure, and most submarines are not either. There are, however, certain water crafts that are specifically designed to travel at that depth and pressure.

A visual example is the opening minutes of James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster “Titanic.” The film opens with a submarine expedition, and some of the footage comes from Cameron’s actual visit to the wreck filmed two years prior.

The deepest spot of the ocean, Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench, is about 36,200 feet. The Titanic ruins are a measly 12,500 feet in comparison, and Mount Everest, its height going in the opposite direction, is 29,032 feet.

Beyond the difficult terrain, deep ocean dives are expensive.

Triton submarines, a Florida-based company, was working on a $48.2 million sub that could return to Challenger Deep. Only three have made the journey, two explorers in 1960 and Cameron in 2012.

It’s a dangerous, expensive and time-consuming trip. So is it worth it?

To learn about our planet, yes, it is.

Ocean exploration strikes at two of my main fears: water and small spaces. But I’m not the one doing the dives. Discovering the ocean is just as important and worthwhile as space exploration or any other form of study.

Exploration is also crucial given the effects of climate change and humanity’s negative behavior toward ocean preservation.

The ocean absorbs heat, leading to increased temperatures in the waters, then resulting in melting ice, tropical storms and current changes. The ocean also absorbs excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and an abundance of the gas will change the chemical base of the water. Certain species and plants and, on a larger scale, entire ecosystems will be at risk.

Trash and some recyclables pollute the ocean. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a devastating reality of our disregard for the ocean’s health. From this and other waste, animals and water habitats are in danger and frequently harmed. We’ve seen the detrimental results of oil spills, both on the water’s cleanliness and the animals living in the area. On top of that, industries like whaling and fishing can drastically change ecosystems. Overfishing depletes wildlife populations.

All of these examples are changing the ocean. We already know so little. We don’t know what we’re missing with each day that passes.

Ocean exploration may be expensive and deep dives may occur once every few years, but if they can provide any extra information about the ocean, they are worth it. We can learn how to protect and preserve Earth’s most abundant area.

The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest is proof of the beauty in water environments. The animals depicted are worth protecting, and the ocean is worth studying. We can continue to study our planet, in tandem with land and space exploration. The ocean’s depths have so much to offer. Who knows what we’ll find on the surface or at the pitch-black bottom?

Maddie Peters can be reached at pete9542@stthomas.edu.