We have high resolution mathematical function of the control surface of Mars than we do of the bottom of the oceans . Despite the fact that our planet ’s watery veil has prevented us from seeing into the depths , there are now programme to plunk down late and start mining for worthful metals . A raw expeditionhas set off from the UK to look into the feasibility of such a task and the injury it might bring to the thin deep - ocean ecosystems .
It is thought that the hydrothermal vent that produce geothermally heated water thousands of m under the control surface also form huge deposits of valuable metal – from gold to atomic number 52 . In an years driven by technologies that bank on these metal for everything from smartphones to airplanes , these immense bank deposit could be deserving billions of dollar . Yet the technological difficulty of acquire to mine them are monumental .
“ The challenges pose by deep sea geographic expedition are similar in scale to space exploration , ” explicate Dr Bramley Murton , who is leave the expedition by the National Oceanography Centre , in astatement . “ The technology that allows us to reach these hidden human race is lively to our understanding of them . The deep - seafloor we will be exploring during our pleasure trip is an extreme environment of acute - force per unit area and perpetual dark hiding a rugged landscape painting akin to a compounding of the grand - canon and monument valley 3.5 kilometers ( 2.2 miles ) beneath the undulation . ”
The expedition aims toassess the viability of mining at bass - sea vents in the mid - Atlantic break . They will use remotely operated vehicle to research between volcanoes , along 20 - meter ( 65 infantry ) drop-off , and around chimney peck , as well as drill up to 55 time ( 180 metrical foot ) below the sea bottom to test vent deposits . One of the primal questions they will try out to reply is how the alloy thought to exist there has been pretend by the salt water . But what exactly they will find remains a mystery .
It is exactly this lack of noesis of the deepness of the ocean that has many researchers care . Is mining in these environment move to destroy them before science has even had a opportunity to explore and document the living that calls the dark depth home ? The current expedition hopes to forfend this tricky question by explore vent that have been extinct for grand of years , and thus is not home to any life , but that is unlikely to stop many private company from doing otherwise .
It is go for that by ameliorate our understanding of these deposits , it could help improve minelaying techniques , and thus help preserve these ecosystem .
Main image : NOAA Photo Library / Flickr CC BY 2.0
