The Trump administration announced this past week that it has entered talks with the Cook Islands to research and develop seabed mineral resources. The Polynesian archipelago is one of only a handful ...

Meet the “ghost fish,” a phantom of the abyss. Here’s how we found the first ever proof of its existence just a few years ago. The deep sea is a part of the world that very few humans get the chance ...

Quick Take Achieving the first live photographs of a ginkgo-toothed beaked whale ended a 66-year mystery since the species was first described in 1958. The 43-kilohertz signal led to a 60-year ...

Gathering minerals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium from the seabed could affect everything from sponges to whales. The long-term effects of these extractions remain uncertain Amber X.

Deep-sea mining targets mineral deposits on the ocean floor, typically at depths of 3,000–6,000 meters. Most attention focuses on polymetallic nodules—potato-sized rocks lying on abyssal plains—and on ...

The rush to mine the deep ocean is no longer a distant possibility. It’s here, thanks to global demand for minerals like cobalt and nickel rising, meaning governments and corporations are eyeing the ...

Thousands of meters below the ocean's surface lurk some gigantic creatures, much larger than their shallow-water brethren. Scientists have a few hunches for why this happens, but the debate continues.

The deep sea, a realm of perpetual darkness, crushing pressure, and cold temperatures, is home to some of the most unusual and mysterious creatures on Earth. Recent discoveries have unveiled a host of ...

Global negotiations over the future of the deep sea are underway this week in Kingston, Jamaica where member states of the International Seabed Authority have gathered to continue shaping a regulatory ...

Scientists have discovered that deep-sea mining plumes can strip vital nutrition from the ocean’s twilight zone, replacing natural food with nutrient-poor sediment. The resulting “junk food” effect ...

A new study indicates that deep-sea mining could threaten at least 30 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras, many of which are already at risk of extinction. The authors found that seabed sediment ...

The deep sea, the planet’s most expansive and least understood ecosystem, remains largely unexplored. Yet while the deep sea may seem a dark and distant space, events underwater directly impact our ...