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In 2013, a deep-sea mining firm named UK Seabed Sources contracted marine biologist Diva Amon and different scientists from the College of Hawaii at Manoa to survey a bit of the seafloor within the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an enormous swath of worldwide waters positioned within the Pacific Ocean that spans round 2 million sq. miles between Hawaii and Mexico.
The realm is thought to have an plentiful provide of rocky deposits the scale of potatoes known as polymetallic nodules. They’re wealthy in metals like nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese, which have traditionally been used to make batteries and electrical automobiles.
Sometime, the corporate envisioned it’d revenue from mining them. However first it wished to know extra in regards to the largely unexplored abyssal surroundings the place they have been discovered, Amon stated.
Utilizing a remotely operated automobile outfitted with cameras and lights, she started documenting life 2.5 miles deep.
On one of many robotic’s first dives, an anemone-like creature with 8-foot-long billowing tentacles appeared about two ft above the seabed. It was hooked up to the stem of a sea sponge anchored on one of many helpful nodules.
Amon was overwhelmed with pleasure. It was doubtless a brand new species, she stated. She additionally felt a way of grief. “Right here was this extremely lovely animal,” she stated, “that nobody has doubtless ever seen earlier than.” And they may not ever once more. “I really feel this immense disappointment on the potential that this place that we have now come to survey could also be mined and basically destroyed sooner or later,” she remembers considering at that second.
Now, greater than a decade later, Amon worries her fears could also be coming to fruition.
“The subsequent gold rush”
On April 24, President Trump signed an government order selling deep-sea mining within the US and worldwide waters, touting the trade’s potential to spice up the nation’s financial development and nationwide safety.
“These assets are key to strengthening our financial system, securing our power future, and lowering dependence on overseas suppliers for essential minerals,” the order states.
In an internet publish final month, the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) described the political transfer as a step towards paving the best way for “The Subsequent Gold Rush,” stating: “Crucial minerals are utilized in every thing from protection programs and batteries to smartphones and medical gadgets. Entry to those minerals is a key issue within the well being and resilience of US provide chains.”
