05/29/2023
In this fascinating account, journalist Trethewey (Imperiled Ocean) details the quest to “finish a complete map of the world’s seafloor by the end of the next decade.” She profiles scientists, businessmen, and hobbyists working on the Seabed 2030 Project, an initiative spearheaded by a Japanese philanthropic organization that in 2017 set out to plot the bottom of the world’s oceans. The cast of characters includes Cassie Bongiovanni, a shy oceanographer recruited by private equity investor Victor Vescovo to locate some of the “deepest points on the entire planet” so that he might one day set the record for the deepest dive (he agreed to share the expedition’s findings with the 2030 Project), and Richard Jenkins, founder of the Saildrone company, which manufactures unmanned submersibles capable of scanning the ocean floor. The mapping process, Trethewey explains, is conducted with sonar that measures depth by recording how long it takes for a “ping” to travel from the device to the bottom of the ocean and back. Attempts to squish together the history of ocean mapping, the intricacies of oceanographic methods, and the possible consequences of the 2030 Project’s success (a boom in deep sea mining, for one) can make this feel overstuffed, but Trethewey’s sharp eye for character brings out the humanity in the marine moonshot. It’s worth exploring. (July)
"Picture a 3D jigsaw puzzle being assembled by a thousand fingers over almost as many years; slowly at first, then with terrible speed, a portrait of buried treasures and conflicting ambitions comes into sparkling view. That's what Trethewey has surfaced: the deepest map on earth, being drawn before our eyes."
"I came away from The Deepest Map with a whole new perspective on Earth's oceans. Laura Trethewey's adventurous new book introduces us to the deeply dedicated people (across industries, and all with varied motives) that are working to map the seabed floor. As Trethewey notes early on, "a map is not a neutral tool," and her deep reporting makes clear the very human process of mapping the world's last untouched ecosystem. Filled with fascinating science reporting, The Deepest Map is also an immersive investigation into a place where no human has been, but which could find itself imperilled in the future."
"Wow, what a great adventure story. Shipwrecks, octopus gardens, coral reefs as tall as the Empire State Building, 11,000 year-old sponges, deep sea robots — it's a trip to another world, right here on Earth. This is not just a book about the epic quest to map the ocean floor, but an exploration of the mysteries and life of a planet we hardly know. The Deepest Map is one of those rare books that will change the way you see our world."
"Essential reading for environmentalists, armchair adventure divers, and those who care about the world's oceans."
"The shape of the book, and Trethewey's character-focused approach, results in a powerful, almost thrilling reading experience despite the complexity of its scientific material."
"A gripping and all-too-timely account of what in more ways than one is turning out to be a very costly and questionably necessary race to the bottom."
"Packed full of interesting information, Trethewey's The Deepest Map sheds light on the debate over the future of our deep ocean landscape."
"Laura Trethewey's thorough accounting of our knowledge of and relationship to this 'last truly mysterious place on Earth' can only help us along the right path."
"Trethewey is a nuanced writer who writes fine-art-level sketches of the dramas and encounters as they unfold. She also has the strong journalist's knack of cajoling her cast of characters to talk about the magical world they're trying to chart, so this is a book not just about mapping the seafloor, but also the everyday lives of those who seek it out — the nuts and bolts of how mapping is made to happen."
"A riveting ocean of a book: packed with gripping adventures, high-stakes exploration, and political intrigue. Trethewey leads us to the bottom of the sea and deftly shows why it all matters so much."
Gabra Zackman brings her convincing style, resonant timbre, and precise timing to this nonfiction audiobook. Whether the author is talking about record-setting deep dives or the detailed work of ocean mapping, Zackman gives contours to the global research and high-seas adventures. The stakes for the planet are far more significant than the goals of billionaire adventurers who are setting undersea records. Some privileged explorers have recently descended to the depths with fatal results. The implications of mapping the ocean floors are extraordinary. As the author points out, we know less about the depths of our oceans than we do about the moon or Mars. There are minerals, buried ships, and undiscovered life forms. Most importantly, the deep seas might reveal secrets about the origin of our species. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Gabra Zackman brings her convincing style, resonant timbre, and precise timing to this nonfiction audiobook. Whether the author is talking about record-setting deep dives or the detailed work of ocean mapping, Zackman gives contours to the global research and high-seas adventures. The stakes for the planet are far more significant than the goals of billionaire adventurers who are setting undersea records. Some privileged explorers have recently descended to the depths with fatal results. The implications of mapping the ocean floors are extraordinary. As the author points out, we know less about the depths of our oceans than we do about the moon or Mars. There are minerals, buried ships, and undiscovered life forms. Most importantly, the deep seas might reveal secrets about the origin of our species. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
2023-05-02
An engrossing look at deep-sea exploration.
Mapping the ocean floor requires complex technology, politics, and patience, but it attracts brilliant scientists, entrepreneurs, and as many adventurous billionaires as space travel. Fortunately, it has also attracted journalist Trethewey, author of Imperiled Ocean. As she writes, the sentence, “We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the bottom of the ocean…appears in almost every article you read about the deep sea nowadays.” Yet life exists at the deepest points throughout the world: “blown-out, flattened volcanoes known as guyots, mud volcanos spewing methane, underwater lakes known as brine pools that are so salty they are lethal to almost every life-form except a few microorganisms that might be analogues to the aliens we seek on distant planets.” One of the author’s main characters is Texas financier Victor Vescovo. Already featured in Susan Casey’s fine recent book, The Underworld, Vescovo has outfitted a research ship, commissioned a cutting-edge submersible, and proceeded to dive to the deepest points in all five oceans. Since no one knew precisely where those points were, a good deal of mapping occurred along with pioneering scientific experiments and hair-raising adventures, all of which Trethewey vividly recounts. Researchers yearn for an alternative to survey ships, which cost upward of $50,000 per day. Unmanned drones work fairly well, but they have not caught on. Crowdsourcing accounts recruit fishing vessels, luxury yachts, cruise ships, and commercial shippers that routinely use sonar depth finders to contribute to the effort, and experts are digging through industrial archives for soundings filed and forgotten. Mapping the seafloor will bring benefits, but Trethewey reminds readers that intrepid explorers who mapped the continents were followed by colonists who proceeded to “consume, exhaust, and extinguish” the resources and human cultures they found. The deep sea is a treasure of pure metals. Commercial deep-sea mining is about to begin, and the process is horrendously destructive.
Essential reading for environmentalists, armchair adventure divers, and those who care about the world’s oceans.
