90% of Species in an Area Slated for Deep-Sea Mining Might Be Unknown to Science
gizmodo.com.au
Deep beneath the sparkling surface of the Pacific Ocean, in the vast expanse between Mexico and Hawaii, lies an area known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). At the floor of this marine region, between 12,000 and 5,486.40 m below sea level, is a wide and mucky abyssal plain dotted by seamounts, that covers about 1.7 […]

“If mining goes ahead, we won’t know what we may be losing because we don’t know what there is to start with,” Rabone said. “These are incredible species. There’s these sponges that are literally made of glass,” she offered as one example, “absolutely beautiful animals.”

  • SturgiesYrFase
    2·
    10 months ago

    I read an article about this awhile ago, and according to their own study, the life in the test patch hadn’t come back after 30+ years. If they go through with this it will do unspeakable damage to a very poorly understood ecosystem with potentially monumental ramifications.

    Total environmental collapse speedrun: 100% no mods

    • livus@kbin.socialOP
      2·
      10 months ago

      Thanks for the additional info. That’s really worrying. Ecosystems are related to one another in complex ways we can’t even guess, and the ocean is already under massive stress.