Non-Invasive, Biodegradable Sea Drone (SDR) Design Utilizing E × B Plasma Force for Maneuvering and Communication

The extraction of metalliferous sediments from the Red Sea’s hydrothermal basins, such as the Atlantis II Deep, has historically been hindered by the extreme hydrostatic pressures (20 MPa), corrosive hypersalinity (25%), and the lack of transparent, bankable reserve validation. This research presents the design and numerical validation of the Sea Drone (SDR), a biodegradable, pressure-neutral autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) designed to transition from a laboratory mockup to an operational deep-sea auditor. Unlike traditional, invasive mining explorers, the SDR utilizes an electrodeless E × B plasma thruster that doubles as a tunable communication antenna. A 54 Full Factorial Design of Experiments (DoE) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) study were conducted to map the stability manifold of the plasma discharge in conductive brine. Results identify a “Stability Island” where stabilizing protocols manage the non-linear interaction between RF power and salinity to maintain a protective vapor sheath. By discretizing chaotic trajectory data, the SDR converts raw sub-surface scientific observations into verified, “bankable” reserve estimates for zinc, copper, and silver. This architecture ensures that regional mineral commerce is derisked while preserving the delicate ecological “Graveyard of the Deep” through a non-invasive, sacrificial technology framework.