The absolute depths of the ocean are one of the only unexplored parts of the Earth. It’s deep, it’s dark, it’s heavy, and it’s spooky. It’d be next to impossible to send regular manned missions all the way down there. Good thing we’re living in the age of automation and can have robots do our exploring for us.
Scientists from the University of Bergen in Norway have been deploying remote-controlled robots into the deep trenches of the oceans between Norway and Greenland. Besides general research, the team is searching for deposits of zinc, gold, and copper, all valuable components of modern electronics. No actual mining is occurring right now. Rather, this operation is a survey to try and determine why certain regions are richer in minerals than others, and where and how much it’d be safe to exhume them.
The team began their search in 2017, and plan to continue until 2022.
