Friday, August 07, 2020

Deep-sea misconceptions cause underestimation of seabed-mining impacts


https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/uoha-dmc080720.php


News Release 7-Aug-2020
University of Hawaii at Manoa

A new publication on the impacts of deep-seabed mining by 13 prominent deep-sea biologists, led by University of Hawai'i at Mānoa oceanography professor Craig Smith, seeks to dispel scientific misconceptions that have led to miscalculations of the likely effects of commercial operations to extract minerals from the seabed.

The deep sea, ocean depths below 650 feet (200 metres), constitutes more than 90% of the biosphere, harbors the most remote and extreme ecosystems on the planet, and supports biodiversity and ecosystem services of global importance. Interest in deep-seabed mining for copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese and other valuable metals has grown substantially in the last decade and mining activities are anticipated to begin soon.


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