As demand soars for critical minerals for electronics and renewable energies, experts have debated the risks and benefits of extracting these materials from the ocean floor. But an extensive new study reveals how harmful deep-sea mining can be for seabed creatures.
The work, funded by Canadian ocean mining firm the Metals Company, examined tiny critters living on or in the seafloor, and found that the number of animals—and their diversity—dwindled in the wake of a mining vehicle’s test run. The findings were published December 5 in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
