Marine Mineral Resources are metal deposits in the oceans that may become of economic relevance in the near future. The goal of research in the MMR group at GEOMAR is to understand the formation of these potential deposits and to advance the exploration of the seafloor in order to estimate the potential of these deposits and predict their occurrence. Research focuses on polymetallic massive sulfides, as well as porphyritic and epithermal copper-gold deposits. In our research, we follow a "source to sink" approach to understand all aspects that contribute to the formation of mineral resources on the seafloor.
Metals in seafloor deposits are not only valuable resources for high-tech and "green energy" products, but some are unfortunately harmful to many marine organisms at certain concentrations. Therefore, as part of the research focus on "Metals in the Ocean", the MMR group is addressing all aspects of trace metals related to mineral deposits in the marine environment, including their concentration, physical and chemical speciation, and bioavailability and toxicity.