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Deep sea mining is the extraction of minerals from the seabed of the deep sea. The main ores of commercial interest are polymetallic nodules , which are found at depths of 4–6 km (2.5–3.7 mi) primarily on the abyssal plain .
Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, are mineral concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core. As nodules can be found in vast quantities, and contain valuable metals, deposits have been identified as a potential economic interest. [1]
The International Seabed Authority is a body of the United Nations which was established in 1982 to regulate human activities on the deep-sea floor beyond the continental shelf. It continues to develop rules for commercial mining, and as of 2016, has issued 27 contracts for mineral exploration, covering a total area of more than 1.4 million km ...
The chemical reaction causes sulfur and minerals to precipitate and from chimneys, towers, and mineral-rich deposits on the sea floor. [49] Polymetallic nodules , also known as manganese nodules , are rounded ores formed over millions of years from precipitating metals from seawater and sediment pore water. [ 50 ]
Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, are mineral concretions on the sea floor formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core. [44] They are formed by a combination of diagenetic and sedimentary precipitation at the estimated rate of about a centimeter over several million years. [45]
Lead and zinc deposits are formed by discharge of deep sedimentary brine onto the sea floor (termed sedimentary exhalative or SEDEX), or by replacement of limestone, in skarn deposits, some associated with submarine volcanoes (called volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits or VMS), or in the aureole of subvolcanic intrusions of granite.
Scientists believe they’ve discovered an ancient ocean floor comprising a new layer between Earth’s mantle and core.
The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of the ocean is very deep, where the seabed is known as the abyssal plain. Seafloor spreading creates ...