Deep-Sea Misconceptions Cause Underestimation of Seabed-Mining Impacts

Craig R Smith; Verena Tunnicliffe; Ana Colaço; Jeffrey C Drazen; Sabine Gollner; Lisa A Levin; Nelia C Mestre; Anna Metaxas; Tina N Molodtsova; Telmo Morato; Andrew K Sweetman; Travis Washburn; Diva J Amon

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2020.07.002

Deep-Sea Misconceptions Cause Underestimation of Seabed-Mining Impacts

Trends Ecol Evol. 2020 Oct;35(10):853-857. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.07.002. Epub 2020 Jul 31.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1000 Pope Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. Electronic address: craigsmi@hawaii.edu.
² Department of Biology and School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada.
³ Instituto do Mar - Okeanos Research Centre, University of the Azores, 9901-842 Horta, Azores, Portugal.
⁴ Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1000 Pope Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
⁵ Department of Ocean Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, Den Burg, The Netherlands.
⁶ Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0218, USA.
⁷ Centre for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
⁸ Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada.
⁹ Shirshov Institute of Oceanology RAS, 36 Nakhimovsky Prospekt, 117997 Moscow, Russia.
¹⁰ The Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science and Technology, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
¹¹ Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK.

PMID: 32741648
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.07.002

Abstract

Scientific misconceptions are likely leading to miscalculations of the environmental impacts of deep-seabed mining. These result from underestimating mining footprints relative to habitats targeted and poor understanding of the sensitivity, biodiversity, and dynamics of deep-sea ecosystems. Addressing these misconceptions and knowledge gaps is needed for effective management of deep-seabed mining.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biodiversity
Ecosystem*
Mining*