The Abyssal plain covers over half of the surface area of the earth. They are also one of the least studied types of terrain. Thousands of feet underwater, the sediment beds are home to the slowest geologic process on earth. Polymetallic nodules form out of the trace amounts of metals in solution. Over tens of millions of years, the nodules grow to be as large as a baseball. Rich in manganese, cobalt, and other metals, they are a tempting target for deep sea mining operations, despite the logistical complexities of hauling them up from the depths. Will we have the chance to study these impossibly slow processes before they are stripped bare for the next several million years?
