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Economic-grade deposits of copper are hard to find. The aluminium content of magmatic rocks at the surface may provide an indicator of ore deposits buried deep below.
Natural seafloor hydrocarbon seeps are responsible for roughly half of the oil released into the ocean. As these oils and gases rise to the surface, they transport nutrients upwards, benefiting phytoplankton in the upper sunlit layer.
Humanity's nitrogen pollution footprint has increased by a factor of six since the 1930s. A global analysis reveals that a quarter of this nitrogen pollution is associated with the production of internationally traded products.
Mercury is a toxic element with no known biological function. Laboratory studies demonstrate that mercury can be beneficial to microbial growth by acting as an electron acceptor during photosynthesis.
Volcanic eruptions at ocean ridges produce large volumes of glass that is rapidly leached by seawater. Geochemical calculations suggest that this process helps to explain the deposition of carbonates at the end of extreme ice ages.
The volcanic eruption that created the Ontong Java Plateau released large quantities of carbon dioxide. A reconstruction of CO2 concentrations suggests that the eruption promoted climate change and the expansion of ocean anoxia.
