US EditionDeep-sea mining risks disrupting the marine food web, study warns
- Thursday, the peer‑reviewed study published in Nature Communications found mining waste could affect organisms from tiny shrimp smaller than.08 inches to small fish in the twilight zone, disrupting the marine food web.
- Mining companies drill the seafloor for polymetallic nodules, and after recovery, they return excess seawater, sediment and ocean floor material to the ocean, as shown in a 2022 deep-sea mining trial.
- Sediment plumes can act as 'junk food' for zooplankton, affecting 60% of micronekton that feed on them, and undernourishment risks reducing catches of mahi mahi and tuna.
- Dr. Rashid Sumaila warned that DSM raises hazards for marine ecosystems and insurers, noting an estimated 11 per cent rise in threats as insurance companies withdraw from high-risk coastal areas and Pacific SIDS face $140 million annual losses by 2050.
- Regulatory activity persists, with NOAA sending a draft rule last month and the ISA granting exploration contracts, while Dr. Sumaila highlighted `Recently, researchers claim to have developed a process to recover nearly all of the lithium from used electric vehicle batteries for recycling.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Study warns deep-sea mining risks disrupting the marine food web
Drilling for minerals deep in the ocean could have immense consequences for the tiny animals at the core of the vast marine food web — and ultimately affect fisheries and the food we find on our plates, according to a new study.
Associated Press News
Deep-sea mining risks disrupting the marine food web, study warns
Drilling for minerals deep in the ocean could have immense consequences on the tiny animals at the core of the vast ocean food web — and ultimately affect fisheries and the food we find on our plates.
Deep-sea mining risks leads study to urge shift to circular solutions
Deep sea mining operations are expected to increase the negative impact on environmental indicators by up to 13 per cent, a change categorized as having 'great' significance, relative to the 'without' DSM scenario, notably through increased coastal vulnerability, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
First study of its kind finds deep-sea mining waste threatens life and foodwebs in the ocean's dim 'twilight zone'
A new study led by researchers at the University of Hawaii (UH) at Mānoa published in Nature Communications is the first of its kind to show that waste discharged from deep-sea mining operations in the Pacific's biodiverse Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) could disrupt marine life in the midwater "twilight zone"—a vital region 200–1,500 meters below sea level that supports vast communities of zooplankton, tiny animals that serve as the ocean's basi…
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