Giant Deep-Sea Frame Tests Seabed Minerals Off American Samoa
NOAA deployed a 9,700-pound robot (D2) with a 10-inch sampling square off American Samoa at about 16,863 feet depth to harvest seabed nodules rich in nickel, cobalt, and copper, then tested whether radon gas in the overlying water could indicate nodule abundance, a method that could enable cheaper, wider exploration of offshore mineral resources while protected deep-sea areas remain off-limits.
