Mining of Underwater Minerals and Gases
Seawater contains copious amounts of minerals, organic molecules, rare/precious earth metals, and dissolved gases. These materials are vital to many on shore fields such as technology, medicine, and commerce.
Of all of these materials, the most vital are lithium and uranium. To capture these minerals, a method known as passive absorption (electrolysis) and electrochemical processes. Passive absorption requires large volumes of water to transfer through filters which collect the dissolved minerals. The benefit to passive systems is that large pumps are not needed to move water; the ocean current naturally passes water through the filters.
On the other hand, the electrochemical processes require more power to operate and must always be under surveillance. This surveillance can take the form of a research vessel or a floating buoy, both of which can provide power to the system. Seawater mining does come in many forms, but its main goal is to skim the water to extract vital materials for our everyday use.