The deep seafloor hydrothermal deposit exploration and development surveyed by Korea

Abstract

Korea kicked off researches for the deep-seabed mineral resources in late 1980s and has spun its program off into various types of seabed resources in different geological environments through uninterrupted government support as well as best endeavor of KIOST scientists. As a symbol of Korea deep-seabed exploitation, the deep-seabed mineral deposit exploration program expanded the horizon of ocean study and technique. Our interests are now expanded to seafloor hydrothermal deposits with the accumulated experiences from the manganese nodule program. The KIOST is upgrading exploration techniques to have high-resolution bottom survey to narrow down priority mining areas as well as studying on environmental impacts during excavation.