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Live Earth. Oceanographers have already gained new insights into the creation of valuable mineral deposits, including copper, manganese and chromite. One theory, says Geologist Wilfred Bryan of Woods Hole, is that sea water circulating through fractures in the ridge's rock formations may carry off some of these minerals and concentrate them elsewhere. By learning more about such elusive processes, scientists may some day be able to predict the location of minerals in more accessible regions of the ocean. Says Geologist-Diver Robert Ballard of Woods Hole: "The earth is alive. If we can understand how it works, if we can understand its psyche, we can then go about looking for its resources in a more efficient and sensible manner."
* Best known for locating a lost H-bomb off Spain in 1966.