Ours is a water planet, with over 70 percent of its surface covered by oceans. Mapping them with maximum precision has always been a challenge, such that, even today, we have better maps of Mars than of our own oceans. Part of the problem is that even the most detailed two-dimensional map only gives us a tiny sliver of the picture. The ocean is three-dimensional. Without a close picture of its varying depths and the contours of the seafloor, we’re not getting anything close to a complete image. But creating such a map is still a challenge, one that the United Nations Seabed 2030 aims to meet by creating a complete bathymetric ocean map by the end of the decade. In this animated map, we highlight the deepest spots in the briny deep that surrounds us.

For a deeper look at The Five Deeps in an interactive map, visit: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/b0d24697de5e4036aedc517c02a04454/ To learn more about where the data came from and how to create animated maps like this one, visit: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3354301f2fce49198a3732bc91c9bce3

 This animated map was made using Esri’s ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe After Effects, Maxon Cinema 4D, and Redshift. Please visit http://ow.ly/fm2950xgu0B for more information about ArcGIS Pro and http://ow.ly/ARNt50le6GN to learn more about ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud.

Music: Synesthesia by Michael FK