International Seabed Authority

News: The International Seabed Authority has made the decision to begin accepting applications for permits from businesses seeking to mine the ocean floor.

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) established the independent international organisation known as the International Seabed Authority.

Its responsibility is to make sure that the marine environment is effectively protected from any negative repercussions that may result from deep-seabed-related activities.

Kingston, Jamaica serves as its administrative centre.

Its main job is to control the discovery of polymetallic nodules.

Large portions of the seafloor are covered in spherical accretions of iron and manganese hydroxides known as polymetallic nodules.

Large portions of the seafloor are covered in spherical accretions of iron and manganese hydroxides known as polymetallic nodules.

These are especially prevalent in abyssal plains when the water is between 4000 and 6500 metres deep.

They can be found primarily in the northern Indian Ocean, the southeast Pacific Ocean, and the north-central Pacific Ocean.