Frontiers of Extraction in the Deep Sea

By Jennifer Telesca

Research Open House 2022

Jennifer E. Telesca, PhD
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Social Science and Cultural Studies

At a time of mass extinction, when one million species face their ultimate and final decease, evidence is mounting: deep-sea hydrothermal vents, scientists believe, are the birthplace of life on Earth.

Yet industry says that minerals at vents hold the promise to scale the transition to renewable energy. Must the more-than-humans from the deep transform into “resources” extracted by global elites?

Footage is courtesy of EVNautlius, original video and sound is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-iM2e8zdg

screen capture of footage of the Godzilla hydrothermal vent
“Godzilla,” is one of the most famous hydrothermal vents, discovered in 1991.