Key points
- Buoyancy modules cut the collector vehicle’s effective weight from about 90 tons in air to roughly 15 tons on the seabed, letting it maneuver with a low footprint.
- Post-pilot surveys showed the collector disturbed only the top sediment layer, leaving ripples just a few centimeters deep after it passed.
- TMC’s new collection system disturbs sediment to a depth of about 3 cm, compared to roughly 80 cm churned by older Archimedes-screw technology.
- Chief Offshore Innovation and Technology Officer Rutger Bosland and Environmental Manager Dr. Michael Clarke say minimizing disturbance to surface sediments is key to protecting microbes and organisms living there and speeding their recovery.
