Photos: Hidden Creatures of the Ocean Deep

Images from the seabed shed light on underwater landscapes in need of protection

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Projects: Seabed Mining
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Hidden Creatures of the Ocean Deep

New species are still being discovered in the deep sea, including “Casper,” a ghostlike octopod discovered by the Okeanos Explorer in 2016. It was found more than 4,000 meters below the surface.
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Hohonu Moana 2016
These blind shrimp (Rimicaris hybisae) navigate through light-sensing organs on their backs. They live in the Beebe Vent Field in the Caribbean Sea, 5,000 meters deep and home to hydrothermal vents—underwater volcanic zones that many scientists say could harbor the “cradle of life” in their boiling-hot eruptions.
C.L. Van Dover
These mussels are found in the Lau Basin hydrothermal vent, at a depth of 2,000 meters. They are “bioengineers” creating habitat for other invertebrates and microorganisms and depending on symbiotic bacteria in their gill tissues for nutrition.
C.L. Van Dover
Cobalt-rich Ferro-Manganese crust with batraoidal (bubbly) appearance characteristic of older, thicker deposits.
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Cobalt crusts can be found on seamounts 2,500 meters below the surface. The metal-rich deposits are only 10 to 25 centimeters thick. Mining in these areas would involve removal of the seamount skin and would likely have an enormous biological impact. It is unknown how the many invertebrates that thrive here would adapt.
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Thousands of meters below the ocean’s surface live the creatures of the deep seabed. The ocean floor is one of the least explored areas in the world. While it once was thought to be lifeless, new discoveries reveal many species thriving in waters so deep that in some cases self-generating bioluminescence provides the only light.

But the deep sea is also home to valuable mineral deposits, which many see as the next frontier in mining and resource extraction.

More than half of the world’s seabed lies in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) was established in 1982 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to manage these ocean bottoms. As part of its mandate, the ISA is in the process of writing the rules that will ultimately dictate how seabed mining can move forward, how to lower its impact, and how to protect areas of particular ecological importance from mining.

The ISA will meet Aug. 7-18 in Kingston, Jamaica, for its 23rd annual session. Member states and official observers will discuss drafts of a mining code and ways to reduce environmental impacts. Now is the time for governments to ensure that when seabed mining begins, it is undertaken in a way that protects and conserves special areas of the deep for future generations.