Workshop on the Establishment of a Geological Model of ...

Figure 3: Schematic representation of the ocean floor
from West to East
As can be seen, generally speaking, the
eastern part of the reserved areas is shallower
than its western counterpart.
Figure 4 presents the topography of the
seafloor, derived from the predictive 2 minutes by
2 minutes bathymetry model from NOAA, in the
area of block 22. The bathymetric values have
been exaggerated 10 times to enhance the
contrasts.
At the scale of the reserved areas, the
topography is rather flat and smooth. However, it is
expected that, at the scale of a potential mining operation,
the ocean floor might be much more rugged, with ridges and
valleys. Detailed topographic surveys will then be required.
Pioneer investors submitted bathymetric maps with
their respective applications. All maps were provided in
hard copy and were based on Mercator projection, at a
1:1,000,000 scale. Later, three pioneer investors from
France, Japan and Russian Federation submitted maps at
1:500,000 scales. Figure 5 presents an example of maps
submitted by the pioneer investors at 1:500,000 scales.
Figure 6 presents the bathymetry of the seafloor as
compiled by NOAA, while Figure 6 presents the topographic
contours for the reserved areas.
Figure 4: Bathymetry of the seafloor in Block 22 (Vertical exaggeration applied to the elevation) (NOAA)
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