Over a third of animals lost in test deep sea mining

Deep ocean mining machinery has been found to be causing significant damage to life on the sea floor, say scientists who conducted the largest study of its kind.

According to scientists, the number of animals found in vehicle tracks decreased by 37% compared to areas untouched by human hands.

Researchers discovered more than 4,000 animals, 90% of which were new species, living on the sea floor in a remote area of ​​the Pacific Ocean.

Vast amounts of vital minerals needed for green technologies could be locked deep in the oceans, but deep-sea mining in international waters is highly controversial and currently not permitted until more is known about the environmental impacts.

The research, carried out by scientists at the Natural History Museum in London, the UK’s National Oceanography Center and the University of Gothenburg, was carried out at the request of deep-sea mining company The Metals Company.

The scientists said their work was independent and that the company was able to see the results before publication but was not allowed to modify them.

The team compared biodiversity two years ago and two months after a mining test that drove machines 80 kilometers down the seafloor.

They looked specifically at animals between 0.3 mm and 2 cm in size, such as worms, sea spiders, snails and clams.

On the vehicle’s routes, the number of animals decreased by 37% and the diversity of species by 32%.

Lead author Eva Stewart, a PhD student at the Natural History Museum and the University of Southampton, told the BBC: “The machine removes about five centimeters of sediment. This is where most of the animals live. So, if you’re removing sediment, you’re removing the animals in it as well.”

“Even if they are not killed by machinery, pollution from mining operations could slowly kill off some of the less resilient species,” said Dr. Guadalupe Bribiesca Contreras of the National Oceanographic Center.

She added that it was possible that a few animals had moved away, but “whether they returned or not after the disturbance is a different matter.”

But in areas near vehicle tracks, where sediment clouds have fallen, animal abundance has not decreased.

“We were expecting maybe a little more impact, however [we didn’t] “We’re seeing a lot, just a shift in the dominance of one species over other species,” Dr Adrian Glover, a research scientist at the Natural History Museum, told BBC News.

A spokesman for the metals company told BBC News: “We are encouraged by this data.”

They added: “After years of activists worrying that our impacts would spread thousands of kilometers beyond the mine site, the data shows that any biodiversity impacts are limited to the immediate mined area.”

But some experts don’t think this is good news for mining companies.

Dr Patrick Schroeder, senior researcher at the Center for Environment and Society at think-tank Chatham House, told the BBC: “I think the study shows that current harvesting techniques are too harmful to allow for large-scale commercial exploration.”

He added: “These were just tests and their impact was significant. If they did this on a large scale, it would be more harmful.”

Deep sea mining is controversial. At the heart of the debate is a difficult problem.

The latest research was conducted in the Clarion-Clipperton area, a 6 million square kilometer area of ​​the Pacific Ocean that is estimated to contain more than 21 billion tons of polymetallic nodules rich in nickel, cobalt and copper.

The world needs these important minerals for renewable energy technologies to address climate change. They are essential components in solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles, for example.

The International Energy Agency expects this Demand for minerals could at least double by 2040.

Minerals have to come from somewhere, but some scientists and environmental groups are seriously concerned that deep-sea mining could cause untold damage.

Some fear that before we have the opportunity to explore the full nature of life in the unexplored depths of the oceans, it may be at risk.

The oceans play a crucial role in regulating our planet, and are already at serious risk from rising temperatures.

The International Seabed Authority, which governs activity in international waters, has not yet approved commercial mining, although it has issued 31 exploration licences.

A total of 37 countries, including the UK and France, support a temporary ban on mining.

This week, Norway postponed mining plans in its waters, including the Arctic region.

But in April, US President Donald Trump called for an acceleration of the pace of domestic and international projects, as the US wants to secure supplies of metals for use in weapons.

If the IEA concludes that current mining techniques are too destructive, companies may try to develop less invasive methods of extracting nodules from the seafloor.

The research was published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.