Seafloor pavements and encrusted rocks are known as ferromanganese crusts (also called cobalt-rich crusts). There are a wide variety of deep-sea mineral categories however, our team focuses on those marine mineral categories that have the greatest resource potential.

This crust sample was collected by dredge from the Marshall Islands at almost 2,000 meters depth on a USGS research expedition in 1989. and helps them determine which regions and deposits may warrant further research.Ĭross section of one of the thickest ferromanganese crusts ever recovered, with the depositional ages labeled and many textural layers shown that reflect changes in oceanographic conditions over its 74 million-year growth. Our findings inform stakeholders, including the public, government, industry, academics and NGOs, about mineral wealth and its environmental setting within the vast offshore territory of the U.S.

Collaboration with biologists to determine associations between minerals and the biological communities which inhabit and surround them.

Investigation of mineral stability and metal mobility with exposure to seawater over time through experimental geochemistry to constrain geochemical effects of mineral disturbance.

Correlation of oceanographic and geographic parameters with mineralogy and metal content to elucidate the controls on mineral formation and element enrichment, and to map prospective mineral regions within the global ocean.Geochemical characterization of mineral samples, including mineralogy and metal concentrations, and their variability regionally and globally.Shipboard operations from various research expeditions.

Coastal dredging data