Foreword 



Throughout history man has been fascinated by the mysteries that lay hidden below 



he ocean surface Jules Verne, the 19th century novelist, author oi 20,000 Leagues Under 



the Sea captured the imagination and curiosity of the public with his fictional-but 



nonetheless farsighted-accounts of undersea exploration and adventure. Since his classic 



Cv r ^.""""^V^," °'T' ^^^h"°l°gy has enabled us to bridge the gap between 



Jules Verne s fiction and the realities that are found in ocean space. Although the techno- 

 logical triumphs in ocean exploration are phenomenal, the extent of our current knowl- 

 edge about the resources that lie in the seabed is very limited. 



n. .-^"/^^i^'J^^^Ji"^'^ ^^^*^' ^''^'"^^'* ^°''*™' °^" ^he °cean resources within a 200- 

 nautical mile band off its coast, as did a large number of other maritime countries. Within 

 this so-called Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a vast area of seabed that might contain 

 significant amounts of minerals. It is truly the Nation's "New Frontier." 



fJ^lVT"' °" "^Pl°™? '^^ EEZ for its mineral potential is in response to a joint request 

 from the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and the House Committee 

 on Science, Space, and Technology. It examines the current knowledge about the hard 

 mineral resources withm the EEZ, explores the economic and security potential of seabed 

 resources, assesses the technologies available to both explore for and mine those resources 

 Identifies issues that face the Congress and the executive branch, and finaUy presents option^ 

 to the Congress for dealing with these issues. 



Substantial assistance was received from many organizations and individuals in the 

 course of this study. We would like to express special thanks to the OTA advisory panel- 

 the numerous participants in our workshops; the project's contractors and consultants fo^ 

 contnbutmg their special expertise; the staffs of the executive agencies that gave selflessly 

 of their knowledge and counsel; the many reviewers who kept us imellectually honest and 

 iactuaUy accurate; and our sister congressional agency, the Congressional Research Service 

 for making available its expertise in seabed minerals. OTA, however, remains solely re- 

 sponsible for the contents of this Report. 



^^iM^to***^.^ 



JOHN H. GIBBONS 

 Director 



III 



