Blake Plateau – Southern Fried Science

How close did the world’s first deep-sea mining come to the dredging the world’s largest cold-water coral reef?

March 17, 2026March 18, 2026 Andrew Thaler

The Blake Plateau, off the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, is one of the most remarkable ecosystems in the United States. It is home to the world’s largest cold water coral reef, a coral complex larger than the state of Vermont, which may be the single largest contiguous ecosystem in the continental US. … Read More “How close did the world’s first deep-sea mining come to the dredging the world’s largest cold-water coral reef?” »

Nodules, Lost Mines, and Dark Oxygen: A new documentary on deep-sea mining asks important questions about the future of the industry.

July 24, 2025July 24, 2025 Andrew Thaler

Conservation, Exploration, Featured, Policy, Science

Nodules, a new documentary by Clare Fieseler and Jason Jaacks takes a deep dive into polymetallic nodule mining and two recent discoveries that help reshape our understanding of the seafloor. Fieseler explores the discovery of dark oxygen production in nodule fields and the rediscovery of the world’s first deep-sea mining test site on the Blake … Read More “Nodules, Lost Mines, and Dark Oxygen: A new documentary on deep-sea mining asks important questions about the future of the industry.” »

Deep-sea Mining: What went down in 2024?

January 13, 2025January 16, 2025 Andrew Thaler

Featured, Policy

The march towards deep-sea mining is a slow and stately trudge through a complex international negotiation. The real progress isn’t made in flashy headlines or overhyped announcements, but in painstaking deliberations and incremental progress in the mining code and the environmental and financial regimes. In as much as 2024 was a fairly standard year in … Read More “Deep-sea Mining: What went down in 2024?” »

The world’s largest cold water coral reef lies beside the first experimental deep-sea mining test site

January 22, 2024January 22, 2024 Andrew Thaler 1 Comment

Exploration, Featured, Science

In a region once thought to be so ecologically uninteresting that it was viewed as a useful testbed for deep-sea mining equipment, NOAA researchers have detected what could be the world’s largest cold water coral reef. “For years we thought much of the Blake Plateau was sparsely inhabited, soft sediment, but after more than 10 … Read More “The world’s largest cold water coral reef lies beside the first experimental deep-sea mining test site” »