• Energy

Deep-Sea Mining Becomes Battleground Between Conservation and Clean Energy

• deep sea
• electric vehicles
• mining
• Rare Earth Minerals

by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer The Biden administration and automakers are hatching plans to make electric vehicles (EVs) represent 40% of all car sales by the end of this decade. But as the government and the public begin to embrace the idea of an electric future, engineers and environmentalists struggle to balance new demand for […]

• Ocean

Explore the Ocean’s Depths with NOAA

• deep sea
• NOAA
• Northeast Canyons and Seamounts

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s latest undersea exploration is underway in New England. The Okeanos Explorer ship is the only federal vessel dedicated to journeying to the ocean’s depths for the sake of science. Right now, the ship is exploring the New England Seamount chain off the coast of Massachusetts, including part of […]

• Ocean

Deep-Sea Corals Gain Protection in the Gulf of Mexico

• #DeepwaterHorizon
• coral
• deep sea
• dispersants
• fishing gear
• Gulf of Mexico
• oil spill

Last week the federal government approved protections for 500 square miles of deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico, NOLA.com reported. The rules, approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), prohibit fishing with bottom tending nets and other fishing tools that rip apart fragile corals.

Why This Matters: Deep-sea corals live at depths up to 10,000 feet and protect a diverse array of marine life including shrimp, crab, and other fish caught and sold for consumption around the world.

• Ocean

One Working Remotely Thing: The Wonders of The Coral Sea Discovered

• #30x30
• conservation
• Coral Sea
• deep sea
• exploration
• Schmidt Ocean Institute
• science

Recently, a deep-sea expedition to the Coral Sea northwest of Australia conducted by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, founded by Eric Schmidt, the former chairman of Google, and his wife, Wendy returned with stunning images to share.  Bill Broad of The New York Times wrote an in-depth story that featured the images and described some of the most important findings.

Why This Matters:  Aside from the many discoveries, such as 10 new species of fish, snails and sponges, the entire expedition was conducted remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic — which apparently is a global first, but is unlikely the last time that will happen.