Once a veritable sea of gold, the world's oceans now contain only a tenth of the precious metal they once did, researchers say.
A team of geologists from the University of Tasmania has determined that gold deposits have naturally varied over billions of years due to various factors including volcanic activity.
The current levels are greatly reduced from three billion years ago when roughly 2000 times the Fort Knox gold reserves could be found beneath the waves.
"Erosion transported the gold along with other related elements - arsenic, nickel, antimony, tellurium and mercury into the oceans," Professor Ross Large said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The very ancient oceans were therefore enriched in gold but highly toxic."
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