The new map covers an area 50 degrees south of the Southern Ocean (Image: IBCSO)

Scientists finally managed to map the entire floor of the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica.

The plan covers 48 million square kilometers and includes features such as mountains, canyons and lowlands that form the seabed.

For the first time, there are details about a new depression called the Factorian Deep, which lies at a depth of 7,432 meters in the ocean.

This map was a project developed over a period of five years to update the first complete map published by the International Oceania Bimetric Charts (IBCSO) in 2013.

The new map covers an area 50 degrees south of the Antarctic seafloor. If you divide the 48 million square kilometers of seabed into a 500 square meter grid, 23% of these cells have at least one modern depth measurement to understand how detailed this map is.

This is a vast improvement nine years ago, when IBCSO was only 60 degrees south latitude. That is, less than 17% of network boxes had the latest measurements.

Antarctica: The Antarctic seafloor is rendered in more detail

Scientists finally managed to map the entire floor of the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica. (Photo: IBCSO)

You need to understand what a change from 60 degrees to 50 degrees means. Dr Boris Doshel of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany told the BBC: “We have doubled the area of ​​the figure.”

Much of the information in the figure comes from ships supporting scientific efforts in Antarctica, including the former British polar ship RRS James Clark Ross.

In future this British contribution will be followed by his successor, RRS Sir David Attenborough (nicknamed Boaty McBoatface).

Ships and boats are advised to turn on sonar regularly to measure depth (water depth). We also encourage governments, companies and institutions to keep their data open and open to the public as much as possible.

As these ships ply between the white continent and places like Chile, South Africa, and Tasmania, their echoes make it a habit to see submerged terrain.

This activity is increasingly collaborating with research institutes in different countries, as knowledge of the ocean floor is essential for safe travel, marine conservation, and understanding of the Earth’s climate and geological history.