"This was a completely unexplored region of the deep sea. Though we hoped to find manganese nodules and deep-sea fauna in at least in some of the box cores we collected here, we actually didn't find any nodules. We also found a lot of heterogeneity in the sediment types, and not as much biological density as we expected, as well," said USGS Research Oceanographer Kira Mizell, Chief Scientist of the expedition.

"We know from studying nodules in regions like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, where they're really well understood, that faunal density is very high, and there are some assumptions about how that expands out into other regions," said Mizell. "So, this was a unique opportunity to work in a region where we have some models that tell us what might occur here, but we actually had the chance to explore somewhere completely new. While our scientists were really excited for and prepared to study nodules from a new region of the global ocean, and to find lots of deep-sea fauna, it’s also really rewarding to gather new information—especially in inclusive and responsible ways, like we were able to on this expedition—that is important not only to improving scientific understanding, but that also supports responsible resource management."