DeepCCZ: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Mission Overview

The CCZ covers a large area—it is spans 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles). Within this area, there are large environmental differences relating to variations of phytodetritus input from the surface ocean (the food supply); the abundance and geochemistry of nodules; and bathymetric (seafloor) features, including the occurrence of seamounts dotting the abyssal plains. Such factors have been shown to influence the animal communities in the deep sea.

Learn more

Recent Updates

Map of the abyssal Pacific seafloor targeted for seafloor nodule mining showing the areas where mining contactors will work and areas protected from mining (APEIs). This project studied three protected areas in the west of the Clarion Clipperton Zone

Scientists Explore Biodiversity of Poorly Known Deep-sea Areas Targeted for Seafloor Mining

An international team led by scientists from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa recently returned from a 34-day expedition to study deep-sea biodiversity and ecological processes in the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone. The expedition, aboard the UH-operated research vessel Kilo Moana, studied an area in the Pacific Ocean where numerous manganese nodule mining exploration claims are located.

Jen Durden – Postdoctoral Fellow, Kim Krueger – Chief Mate, Astrid Leitner – PhD Student

Women in the Ocean Sciences: A Slow Turning of the Tide

Manganese nodules: at the size of large potatoes, these are tens of millions of years old.

Slicing Through Time

Probing the Sediment to Characterize How the Ecosystem Works

Expedition Summary

See footage from the expedition and learn more about why scientists are exploring the depths of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. This video gives an overview of what we found, including video captured from the seabed.

Learn more