Exploration of Wake Island's Deep Sea

We're currently exploring the mysterious abyssal plain ecosystem! Abyssal plains consist of a network of plains and rolling hills punctured by seamounts and knolls. Due to their vast size, abyssal plains are thought to be major reservoirs of biodiversity. For example, more than 80% of the hundreds of invertebrate species collected at abyssal seafloor stations in various studies are new to science. However, because the vast majority of abyssal plain habitats have never been surveyed, their true biodiversity remains largely unknown. The enormous abyss also provides several other ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and climate regulation.

Located roughly midway between Hawaiʻi and the Mariana Islands, Wake Atoll is one of the most isolated land masses on Earth. While recent scientific expeditions have explored this remote region, the vast majority of the 407,241 square kilometers surrounding Wake remain unmapped and uncharacterized, making it one of the most poorly surveyed areas under US jurisdiction. What we know as Wake Island is not one island but three: Wake, Wilkes, and Peale. Ringing a shallow lagoon on the rim of a submerged volcano, they sit more than 2,000 miles from Hawaiʻi and roughly 450 miles from the nearest land in the Marshall Islands.