Expedition Deep Ocean

The riveting story of the history-making mission to reach the bottom of all five of the world’s oceans – the ultimate frontier of our planet.

A feat that is new addition to the Guinness Book of World Records

Humankind has explored every continent on earth, climbed its tallest mountains, and gone into space. But the largest areas of our planet remain a mystery: the deep oceans. At over 36,000 feet deep, these areas closest to earth’s core have remained nearly impossible to reach—until now.

Technological innovations, engineering breakthroughs and the derring-do of a unique team of engineers and scientists, led by explorer Victor Vescovo, brought together an audacious global quest to dive to the deepest points of all five oceans for the first time in history.

Expedition Deep Ocean tells the inside story of this exploration of one of the most unforgiving and mysterious places on our planet, including the site of the Titanic wreck and the little-understood Hadal Zone. The expedition pushed technology to the limits, mapped hidden landscapes, discovered previously unknown life forms and began to piece together how life in the deep oceans affects our planet—but it was far from easy.

Vescovo and his team would design the most advanced deep-diving submersible ever built, able to withstand the deep ocean’s pressure on the sub of 8 tons per square inch—the equivalent of having 292 fueled and fully loaded 747s stacked on top of it. The hurricane-laden ocean waters and the byzantine web of global oceanographic politics only heightened the challenges.

Expedition Deep Ocean reveals the marvelous and other-worldly life found in the ocean’s five deepest trenches, including several new species that have posed as of yet unanswered questions about survival and migration between oceans. Then there are the newly discovered sea mounts that cause tsunamis when they are broken by shifting tectonic plates and jammed back into the earth’s crust, something that can now be studied to predict future disasters. 

Filled with high drama, adventure and the thrill of discovery, Expedition Deep Ocean celebrates courage and ingenuity and reveals the majesty and importance of the deep ocean.

“Exciting and suspenseful.  Make no bones about it—this is an old-fashioned adventure story.  Wonderfully readable, Young weaves in scientific, geographic and engineering details effortlessly.  There’s humor and drama and headaches galore. Fundamentally, Expedition Deep Ocean is a book about tackling — and solving — really difficult problems. You need talented people with different skills, a level-headed leader and patience for initial failures. It will take a lot of money, and you may never get much credit for your accomplishment. More than just a fun read, these are lessons that we all could use right now. Can we send a copy to Washington?”