IT BEGINS!

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461038]

http://news.discovery.com/earth/japan-to-test-removal-of-methane-hydrates-110725.html

>Japan will seek to extract natural gas from seabed deposits of methane hydrate, also known as "burning ice," in the world's first such offshore experiment, a news report said Monday.

>The test is scheduled for a stretch of ocean southwest of Tokyo, between Shizuoka and Wakayama prefectures, over several weeks in the fiscal year to March 2013, the Nikkei financial daily said.

>The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is preparing to request more than 10 billion yen ($127.5 million) for the project, the report said.

>The government will support further research and aims for commercial drilling to start early in the next decade, the newspaper said.

>Methane hydrates are found in environments with high pressure and low temperatures such as the ocean floors, often near continental fault lines, where the gas crystallizes on contact with cold sea water.

>The offshore experiment, if successful, would be the world's first, the Nikkei said. Methane was previously extracted from methane hydrate on land in Canada in 2008 using technology developed in Japan.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461054]

http://news.discovery.com/earth/rare-earth-elements-found-in-seafloor-sediments-110705.html

>July 5, 2011 -- China's monopoly over rare-earth metals could be challenged by the discovery of massive deposits of these hi-tech minerals in mud on the Pacific floor, a study on Sunday suggests.

>China accounts for 97 percent of the world's production of 17 rare-earth elements, which are essential for electric cars, flat-screen TVs, iPods, superconducting magnets, lasers, missiles, night-vision goggles, wind turbines and many other advanced products.

>These elements carry exotic names such as neodymium, promethium and yttrium but in spite of their "rare-earth" tag are in fact abundant in the planet's crust.

>The problem, though, is that land deposits of them are thin and scattered around, so sites which are commercially exploitable or not subject to tough environment restrictions are few.

>As a result, the 17 elements have sometimes been dubbed "21st-century gold" for their rarity and value.

>Production of them is almost entirely based in China, which also has a third of the world's reserves. Another third is held together by former Soviet republics, the United States and Australia.

>But a new study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, points to an extraordinary concentration of rare-earth elements in thick mud at great depths on the Pacific floor.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461093]

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/07/racing-to-the-bottom-exploring-the-deepest-poi
nt-on-earth/242486/1/

>Now, more than 50 years later, humans are nearly ready to return to Challenger Deep. This time, though, they're planning to stay a while, collecting samples, videotaping whatever might be down there, sending out small remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and then bringing home $10 million. Earlier this year, the X Prize Foundation made that prize money available to the first privately funded submersible to make two visits to Challenger Deep. This money, though, is little more than proof that humans are fascinated with the extreme: climbing Mount Everest, walking on the Moon, searching the floor of the ocean. Ten million dollars will only cover a fraction of the race to the bottom. And it is indeed a race; one with at least three competitors, each close to claiming the prize.

[Anonymous No.3461099]

Looks like they were inspired by your aquanaut experiments

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461135]

>Branson's team, led by legendary submersible designer Graham Hawkes and chief pilot Chris Welsh, has been planning to take the Virgin Oceanic out for water tests as early as this summer, but, due to setbacks, no date has been confirmed. In early rounds of laboratory testing, the borosilicate viewing bubble through which the Oceanic's crew would peer out at the ocean floor cracked under just 2,200 pounds per square inch of pressure, about one-eighth of the 16,000 psi expected at Challenger Deep.

Looks like trouble for Virgin Oceanic.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461146]

>Unlike Branson's Virgin Oceanic, Cameron's Challenger Deep project has passed pressure tests; at a Penn State University lab, the team turned the dials to 16,000 psi and waited. Nothing. But at what cost? Nobody knows how much time or money Cameron has put into this submersible, about which he has been pretty tight-lipped since kicking off the design stage with a couple of sketches in 2003. Now, more two dozen people are working around the clock to prepare the sub for sea trials next April.

Meanwhile, James Cameron's sub seems to be performing flawlessly. Same basic design, I wonder what the difference is.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461156]

>Bruce Jones is the odd man out in this triumvirate. And that's because you have no idea who Bruce Jones is -- and you're not alone. Building a vessel that can safely sink to the bottom of the ocean is no easy feat; it's one that requires big backers with deep pockets, something that Jones doesn't have. While the 55-year-old entrepreneur has drawn up plans and marketing materials -- they call this project the "race to inner space!" -- he has not yet secured the funds to construct a prototype. He's currently shopping around the idea. "We're talking to a number of first clients because, quite frankly, we don't have the money to build one of these on spec," Jones told Outside.

As usual, Jones is mostly talk. They're wrong about one thing though, he does have a prototype. Pic related.

[Anonymous No.3461186]

I hate James Cameron, but I wish him well on his journey to the deep

[Anonymous No.3461208]

>>3461146

>Same basic design, I wonder what the difference is.

Unobtanium from Pandora.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461498]

>>3461186

>>I hate James Cameron, but I wish him well on his journey to the deep

It's popular to hate Cameron because of how hyped Avatar was, but consider the rest of his work. Terminator? Alien? The Abyss? He makes excellent films for the most part. And he's had a lifelong passion for human occupation of the ocean.

[Anonymous No.3461514]

>>3461498
>It's popular to hate Cameron because of how hyped Avatar was, but consider the rest of his work. Terminator? Alien? The Abyss? He makes excellent films for the most part.
So? Gus Van Sant makes a lot of good movies too, but he's a prick in person.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461635]

>>3461514

>>So? Gus Van Sant makes a lot of good movies too, but he's a prick in person.

My point was more that Cameron has the right worldview concerning expansion to new frontiers and he's actually done useful things for science. He's a NASA consultant and has been in talks to put his camera technology on the new Mars rover, although that's unlikely to pan out. His documentary 'Aliens of the Deep' did an excellent job of explaining the sea/space parallels, why astronauts train underwater, and how a probe mission to Europa combines both technological disciplines.

Word has it he's a demanding, perfectionist jerk on set. Many actors can't stand him, but a few deeply admire him for it which is why the same few actors have appeared in so many of his films. They're the ones who can keep up with his expectations and who appreciate his vision.

[Colonel Coffee Mug !phJ7yIcs.Q No.3461652]

Soon.

[Anonymous No.3461668]

>fucking with methane hydrate deposits

inb4 the accidental release of tonnes of methane hydrates which are up to four times more effective at trapping heat than CO2, thus beginning a positive feedback loop wherein shitloads of methane hydrates are released as solids turn to gas when the temperature increases

[SpeakMouthWords !we2mr5ZRzM No.3461673]

What, specifically, is beginning? Oceanfloor mining?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461678]

>>3461652

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461697]

>>3461673

>>What, specifically, is beginning? Oceanfloor mining?

Mankind's oceanic era. Ever read "The Millennial Project"?

We've reached the point where we can extract precious metals and new types of fuel from the deep sea. It couldn't come at a better time. A new influx of wealth, new jobs, possibly a whole new economy in the ocean. And at the same time there's a new race to the Challenger Deep and every other deep trench on Earth using cutting edge next gen submersibles using exotic materials and the latest in battery tech.

This new wealth of resources and energy, coupled with the experience in sustaining human life in an environment hostile to life by using in-situ resources, will make for a natural stepping stone to the stars.

[Colonel Coffee Mug !phJ7yIcs.Q No.3461706]

>>3461697

>Ever read "The Millennial Project"?

Yeah, about that one. Is there *any* version online? Last time I searched was about six months ago. I don't want to buy a hardcopy ;_;

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461723]

We can now get fuel, food and valuable minerals from the sea. The technology exists. And the tech necessary for man to live and work in the sea has existed since the 1960s. Everything is in place. We can not only live self sufficiently in the ocean, as we now know it contains everything necessary to do so, but we can produce a surplus of those resources and export them to the surface.

It could do for our economy what asteroid mining would, on a smaller scale, with a quicker return on investment, a greater diversity of products (food and energy rather than just metals) and for less initial investment. A separate economy, feeding into ours, fueling expansion to space.

[Anonymous No.3461738]

>portugal owns a sea area of almost 3 times the mainland
>it is going to expando to more them 5 times

this makes me happy

[Anonymous No.3461765]

>>3461738

>Implying by the time portugese can build an underwater mining town there won't be Chinese ones down there already

[Anonymous No.3461777]

Makes sense. There's actually profit to be made there, so we'll go there long before we go to space. And it's simple technology wise.

Water: babby's first space

[Anonymous No.3461786]

>>3461765
if we can't, we'll sell it for a gazillion dollars

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3461793]

>>3461786

Does Portugal have many seafloor resources? It is unlikely to have any methane hydrate. Does it have hydrothermal vents or rare earth mud deposits? They should probably start surveying to figure out what all they have in the way of subsea resources.

[Anonymous No.3462532]

Pretty sure I have heard of this before. Pic related.

[Anonymous No.3462616]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OosYFs3cyZ8