A review by marine biologists from The University of Western Australia has identified a need to prioritise future research of the Indian Ocean’s diverse deep-sea ecosystems.

Dr Elin Thomas and Dr Todd Bond, from the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre, were co-authors of the paper published in Science of the Total Environment.

“Until the late 1950s the deeper parts of the Indian Ocean were largely neglected by the science community, so these waters remain relatively unknown, despite accounting for over 90 per cent of its total area,” Dr Thomas said.

“The Indian Ocean has a variety of complex and interesting deep-sea ecosystems across basins, trenches, seamounts and ridges.”

The review looked at major seafloor features, alongside broader historical, socioeconomic, geological, and oceanographic conditions.

“We found that some regions and ecosystems are far better characterised than others,” Dr Bond said.

“Targeted deep-sea research initiatives are needed to close these data gaps, especially in areas like the southern Indian Ocean and in mid-water environments between the ocean’s surface and the seafloor.”

The study identified four problems that needed addressing for the advancement of deep-sea research in the Indian Ocean: inconsistencies in research extent and effort over spatial scales; severe lack of data over time; unexplored deep pelagic environments; and a need to place the Indian Ocean’s deep-sea ecosystems in a global context.

“We found a clear bias towards shallower sampling, which limits the ability to gain a holistic understanding of the Indian Ocean’s deep sea,” Dr Thomas said.

“While researchers have made progress exploring the shallower parts of this ocean, as well as some deep-sea areas with special industrial interest, the majority of its depths remain unknown.

“The under-exploration of the deep sea and lack of a biodiversity baseline for this environment leaves a substantial gap in our knowledge of the deep Indian Ocean.

“This highlights the need for more research, especially for ecosystems deeper than 3,000 metres and beyond.”