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Ashley Marranzino

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Gas bubbling up from the ocean floor (Getty Images)

The oceans contain vast mineral resources. Can the deep sea be mined without catastrophic results?

Ashley Marranzino
In this April 30, 2009 file photo, coral reefs grow in the waters of Tatawa Besar, Komodo islands, Indonesia. Rising demand for copper, cobalt, gold and the rare-earth elements vital in manufacturing smartphones and other high-tech products is causing a prospecting rush to the dark seafloor thousands of meters (yards) beneath the waves. The Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority has issued 27 separate 15-year contracts that allow for mineral prospecting on over 1 million square kilometers (over 390,000 sq. miles) of seabed in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File) (AP)

Deep-sea creatures are weirder than we ever suspected

Ashley Marranzino