By Katie Hunt, CNN

LOS ANGELES — Ancient glass sponges. A Barbie-pink sea pig sauntering along the seafloor. A transparent unicumber hovering in the depths.

These wonders are just an initial snapshot of fantastic creatures uncovered 1,640 miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean in a pristine area that's earmarked as a site for deep-sea mining of critical and rare metals. The natural resources are in high demand for use in solar panels, electric car batteries and other green technologies, among other uses.

The 45-day expedition to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, which wrapped March 20, documented biodiversity in the abyssal plain. Using a remotely operated vehicle, the team on board the UK research ship James Cook photographed the deep-sea life and took samples for future study.

"We can assume that many of these species will be new to science. Sometimes they have been seen/observed/known before, but not collected or formally described," said Regen Drennan, a postdoctoral marine biologist at London's Natural History Museum.

"These specimens will be brought to the (Natural History Museum) London to be identified and studied for years to come," Drennan said.

The voyage was the second conducted by a U.K. initiative known as the Seabed Mining and Resilience to Experimental Impact involving the Natural History Museum, National Oceanography Centre, British Geological Survey and other institutions.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 21.1 billion dry tons of polymetallic nodules exist in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone — containing more reserves of many critical metals than the world's land-based reserves combined.

If deep-sea mining follows the same trajectory as offshore oil production, more than one-third of these critical metals will come from deep-ocean mines by 2065, the federal agency estimated.

Scientists believe many of the life-forms that call this environment home would be unlikely to recover from the removal of the nodules and are calling for protections, according to the Natural History Museum.

Weighing biodiversity and industry

In international waters, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone is beyond the jurisdiction of any one country. The International Seabed Authority, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, has issued 17 exploration contracts.

https://www.ksl.com/article/50969065/barbie-pig-scientists-capture-stunning-images-of-ocean-life-in-proposed-deep-sea-mining-zone