‘Like Sir David Attenborough, he has the rare ability to be an excellent communicator and has written an engaging book sprinkled with mind-blowing facts about the deep oceans’ – Daily Express

‘A new informed perspective on the wide, watery world we inhabit’ – Coast magazine ‘Book of the month’

‘The gripping story of how ocean science has advanced in recent years is captivatingly told by Jon Copley in this introduction to the deep ocean’ – China Dialogue

‘Deftly conjures the wonders of a bathynaut’s world’ – Nature


It is often said that we know more about space than we do our own oceans, but is that really the case? Or do we in fact know a great deal more about the oceans than many people realise.

The wellbeing of our oceans and the life contained within and around them has never been more important. But to truly understand the vital role they play, we need to first understand how the oceans work, how we explore them and learn about the mysteries they hold, and what our effect is on them.

Between these pages is everything you need to know about our oceans, explained in 25 questions.

Combining untold history of ocean exploration and personal account of what it’s like to be a ‘bathynaut’ diving in a mini-submarine, Ask an Ocean Explorer brings to light weird and wonderful deep-sea creatures and how the oceans and their future is connected to our everyday lives.