These drones could cover up to 98 percent of the world's oceans by 2028

Today, the vast majority of ocean data is generated by members of the Argo Program — an international collaboration launched in 1999 that deploys 4,000 data-collection floats worldwide. The majority of Argo drones (like the one pictured above) descend between 2,000 and 4,000 meters into the ocean, but 10 percent of ocean warming occurs below these depths, marking a major gap in data collection.

This year, Ifremer — the French state ocean agency — reported its two Deep-6000 prototypes had completed five dives of 6,000 meters (nearly 20,000 feet) between January 11 and February 2 of this year, collecting crucial data on the abyssal zone. These successful missions make France the third country in the world, following China and the United States, to develop Argo floats capable of reaching these depths.

Ifremer said that by 2028, 30 more deep-sea floats will join the existing Argo-led international fleet of 4,000 devices, allowing researchers to explore more than 98 percent of the ocean.

The US currently operates more than 100 deep-sea floats and China operates more than thirty.