Exploring the Deep Ocean: A Collaborative Approach to Advancing Multidisciplinary Seamount Knowledge

Seamounts are massive geological structures and hotspots of productivity and biodiversity in the deep ocean, playing a crucial ecological role similar to that of coral reefs in shallow waters. They are crucial to ocean currents, biogeochemical cycles, and marine ecosystems, supporting diverse marine life and providing essential ecosystem services. Among others, the unique endemism and biodiversity of seamounts offers significant potential for discovering bioactive agents that could benefit humanity. Understanding seamount systems is vital, especially as the impacts of climate change remain uncertain. Accessing seamount locations for scientific research remains challenging despite technological advancements. Expensive equipment limits research to a small group of well-funded entities. As a result, most deep-sea research, especially on seamounts, is conducted by a select of few and mostly concentrating around few geographic locations leading to a biased knowledge base. OceanQuest is a recently established foundation dedicated to advancing deep-ocean exploration, aiming to provide improved access to the deep ocean, fostering innovation and international cooperation related the deep ocean. Our focus will be on scientific discovery related to seamount systems. We will commit to building a global community of seamount experts with the goals of advancing our understanding of seamount systems, promoting data sharing, and developing digital twins. At the same time, we aim to drive innovation in deep-ocean observation technologies, foster collaboration among experts across academia, non-profits, philanthropic organizations, and government agencies, support early-career professionals, and explore sustainable funding mechanisms for seamount research, conservation, and sustainable use initiatives.