World's sailors asked to help explore oceans

[SYDNEY] Researchers on Wednesday urged sailors to become "citizen oceanographers" and help scientists better understand some of the world's wildest seas where ships and even planes disappear without trace.

An Australian-led study said that despite technology such as GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation and advanced research vessels with modern capabilities, much of the world's oceans remains underexplored, with cost a key impediment to knowing more.

"Notwithstanding satellite constellations, autonomous vehicles and more than 300 research vessels worldwide, we lack fundamental data relating to our oceans," said the study published in the journal PLoS Biology.