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If you held your nose and jumped into the water for a look around, you wouldn’t have time to see much before you had to come up for air.
If you wore scuba gear, you could carry an oxygen supply and stay underwater much longer. You might go as deep as 300 feet. If you wore an atmospheric diving suit, or ADS, to protect you from water pressure, you could descend about 2,000 feet.
To explore deeper, you would have to get into an undersea craft, such as a submarine. To go even deeper, you could use a manned submersible called Alvin that can descend nearly three miles. Undersea craft have pressure-proof cabins. They can travel much deeper than any diver can.
Ocean explorers discovered rich natural resources and foods in the ocean, such as plants and animals that could be used to make medicines. They also found remains of shipwrecks and new animal species.
Ocean exploration brings us fascinating information. It may bring us clues to lost civilizations, and even help us understand the origin of life on Earth.
