Source: New Zealand Herald
Author: Jamie Morton
Deep below the ocean, several hundred kilometres northeast of New Zealand, lies the world’s most hydrothermally active volcano.
Continue reading Scientists set to drill into huge underwater volcano
Source: EOS
Author: Randy Showstack
New regulations could open the door for sustainable mining, says the head of the International Seabed Authority. However, he and others pointed to environmental, financial, and technical challenges.
Continue reading Deep-Seabed Mining May Come Soon, Says Head of Governing Group
Source: Journal de l’environnement
Author: Stéphanie Senet
L’Autorité internationale des fonds marins a conclu sa conférence annuelle, le 18 août à Kingston (Jamaïque), avec de fortes attentes des ONG. Son fonctionnement opaque favorise les projets d’exploration minière au détriment de la protection des écosystèmes.
Continue reading Eau Fonds marins: une exploration en eaux troubles
Source: Scientific America
Author: Shannon Hall
Two years ago, Shana Goffredi raced to the control room of the R/V Western Flyer, a 117-foot-long research ship in the Gulf of California. Television monitors onboard the vessel displayed what looked like an alien world near the ocean bottom, and Goffredi wanted to get a better look.
Continue reading Bizarro Life-Forms Inhabiting Deep-Sea Vents May Be at Risk
Source: Oceans Deeply
Author: Todd Woody
Hydrothermal vent fields on the seabed are rich in copper, gold and other valuable metals, but scientists have found that some are home to unique animals found nowhere else on Earth.
Continue reading The Discovery That Could Throw a Monkey Wrench in Deep-Sea Mining
Source: Science Daily
Author: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Despite being relatively close together, two recently discovered hydrothermal vent fields in the Gulf of California host very different animal communities. This finding contradicts a common scientific assumption that neighboring vents will share similar animal communities, and suggests that local geology and vent-fluid chemistry are important factors affecting vent communities.
Continue reading Challenging prevailing theory about how deep-sea vents are colonized
Source: New Scientist
Author: Karl Gruber
In the depths of the ocean, life can extend far beyond its usual limits. Take the tube worm Escarpia laminata: living in an environment with a year-round abundance of food and no predators, individuals seem to live for over 300 years. And some may be 1000 years old or more – meaning they would have been around when William the Conqueror invaded England.
Continue reading Giant deep-sea worms may live to be 1000 years old or more
Source: ACS Publications
Authors: Shigeshi Fuchida, Akiko Yokoyama, Rina Fukuchi, Jun-ichiro Ishibashi, Shinsuke Kawagucci, Masanobu Kawachi, and Hiroshi Koshikawa
Abstract: Seafloor massive sulfide deposits have attracted much interest as mineral resources. Therefore, the potential environmental impacts of full-scale mining should be considered. In this study, we focused on metal and metalloid contamination that could be triggered by accidental leakage and dispersion of hydrothermal ore particulates from mining vessels into surface seawater.
Source: BBC
Author:
Around the world, countries are claiming obscure and difficult-to-reach tracts of the deep-sea floor, far from the surface and further still from land. Why?
Continue reading Why are countries laying claim to the deep-sea floor?
Source: Independent
Author: Ashley Coates
Diving to depths of 2,000 metres near the Galapagos Islands in the spring of 1979, the crew of the submersible Alvin became the first to witness the phenomenon of “black smokers”.
Continue reading Deep sea: Potential threats to Earth’s ‘final frontier’ are growing
