Deep-sea research is not cheap. Costs rapidly add up to make deep-sea ventures prohibitively expensive for all but the most lucratively endowed of research institutions. Unsurprisingly then, experts in deep-sea research tend to congregate in countries that are wealthy enough to invest in cutting-edge deep-sea technologies. Over the last 50 years, the foresight of these countries and their institutions have accelerated our understanding of the deep to the benefit of all. The problem with this model, however, is that national or institutional wealth is not correlated to ease of access to the deep. This means that deep-sea research is not always done where it is most cost-effective to do so. This means that, as a global community in a race against the threats of climate change, we are likely wasting time and money.

Madeira is a volcanic island in the northeast Atlantic best known for Cristiano Ronaldo’s right foot. Less known about this island is its unique natural advantages for deep-sea research. With easy access to the deep sea, relatively calm waters and mild weather, deep-sea research can be done in Madeira more regularly and more cheaply than many other locations around the world. Swim just 500 metres from Madeira’s coast and you’re already on top of the deep sea. A couple kilometres more and the island’s steep volcanic slopes drop to a 1,000 metres.

A 15-minute boat ride away and the waters reach 4,000 metres. With upfront capital and operating costs more than 100-times less expensive than open-ocean research vessels taking researchers and equipment off the continental shelf in other locations, and with day-trip logistics far simpler than those for month-long cruises, some of the greatest barriers to deep-sea research fall away in Madeira as quickly as the seafloor itself. The other common barrier to deep-sea research is Mother Nature. In many places, research expeditions aren’t feasible in winter months, when the ocean’s swell is too rough or storms too disruptive to risk the equipment. In contrast, Madeira has mild weather and relatively calm seas year-round. As such, researchers in Madeira can go out on the water to do research every month of the year.

We have long believed that Madeira can leave a legacy on deep-sea research. In one way, it already has: Madeira was an important waypoint and regular research spot of the HMS Challenger expedition of 1872, widely regarded as the birth of deep-sea exploration. Since that time, given the economic constraints of the island and financial constraints of its research institutes, however, deep-sea research has not kept pace. But through low-cost innovation, local and international partnerships and dogged creativity, researchers in Madeira have steadily been working toward realising the island’s vast potential over the last decade.

Our vision is for a global deep-sea research hub on Madeira that prioritises regular, year-round and low-cost deep-sea research. Which brings us to yet another advantage of the island: its geographic position in the North Atlantic makes it easy for scientists to come from across the globe to conduct their research. We envision researchers coming to use our facilities and low-cost methods for deep-sea research. We hope this will prove a model for other economies, help democratise the deep, and accelerate deep-sea research.

We see this future of collaborative deep-sea research as important not only for our global understanding of the ocean, but also for the benefit of our island community. Madeira has suffered from a lack of high-skilled employment opportunities. A global deep-sea research hub would enable our own expertise and knowledge base to grow through partnerships, catalysing further development of our island’s research institutes. Over time, more high-skilled job opportunities could emerge.

And so, in the deep waters that surround our island’s coast lies an opportunity for economic development. Not through exploitation, but through the much-needed understanding of deep-sea habitats.