clarion clipperton zone

Also known as The Area.

The Clarion Clipperton Zone is a large deposit of polymetallic nodules located in the subtropical north Pacific between Hawaii and Mexico. It was discovered in the late 1960s and explored extensively starting in the 1970s. The area can only be reached by long endurance expedition ships using equipment that can be lowered or dropped the four to five kilometers down to the seabed.

The CCZ lies within the Area beyond national jurisdiction, so is managed by the ISA. Government Agencies and companies can be sponsored to explore and maybe one day exploit the minerals there.

Nodules are concretionary sedimentary rocks, often found on the seabed in different parts of the world. They are typically 2 -10 cm in diameter. Depending on where they form, their chemistry varies. In the CCZ transitional chemical conditions (immediately below the calcite lysocline) means that the nodules are unusually rich in transition metals such as nickel, manganese, copper and cobalt.

The amount of nodules present is likely to be an important economic factor if they are ever developed into a mine. This is called abundance, is measured in wet kg/m2 and its measurement is an important part of exploration programs.

Even more importantly is environmental baseline and impact assessment work needed by the contractors to progress their projects. For the seabed and overlying water column, this work includes biological census, study of ecosystem function and measurement of baseline physical conditions.

Testing of nodule collectors and their environmental impacts is also usually an important step in the research and development programmes.