The creatures of the deep sea, specially adapted to live in the extreme alien environment of the ocean depths, almost look like something from another planet. © Greenpeace / Gavin Newman Reason 2: Extinction of creatures found nowhere else on the planet The spiral tube worm, or Sabella Spallanzanii, lives in membranous tubes, often reinforced by the inclusion of mud particles and has a feathery, filter-feeding crown that can be quickly withdrawn into the tube when danger threatens. Noise generated by churning machinery risks harming and disturbing marine mammals like whales, while floodlighting areas of the dark deep ocean could cause permanent disruption to sea creatures adapted to very low levels of natural light. The ships on the surface for the mining operation could also release toxic vapours into the water, harming many ocean species for hundreds or even thousands of kilometres.Īnd it’s not just pollution wildlife have to worry about. Researchers estimate that harm to wildlife from mining “is likely to last forever on human timescales”.Īs if the total destruction of their homes wasn’t bad enough, machines cutting the seafloor will create sediment plumes, which could smother deep sea habitats for kilometres. These are among the longest living creatures on Earth, which makes them particularly vulnerable to physical disturbance because of their slow growth rates. In the deep sea, we find underwater mountains that are oases for sea creatures, ancient coral reefs and sharks that can live for hundreds of years. You only have to look at some of the names of recent research papers: ‘ Deep-Sea Mining with No Net Loss of Biodiversity – An Impossible Aim’. Scientists are warning that plundering the seafloor with monster machines risks inevitable, severe and irreversible environmental damage to our oceans and marine life. Want to know how bad? Here’s five reasons why deep sea mining will only get our planet into deep trouble.Ī shoal of Almoco Jacks on the Dom João de Castro seamount, Azores. ![]() ![]() Sending gigantic mining machines designed to bulldoze and churn up the seabed is clearly a very bad idea. While licences have been granted to explore for deep sea mining in over a million square kilometres of our global oceans, no deep sea mining is happening – yet. ![]() © Alexander SemenovĪ handful of companies and governments are planning to send monster machines deep beneath the waves, disrupting sensitive and unique habitats to extract metals and minerals. Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, a deep sea creatures found in the Arctic. ![]() This is a channel from BBC Worldwide, trading as BBC Studios, who help fund new BBC programmes.The depths of our oceans hide a unique living world that we barely understand – but these mysteries are already under threat from a controversial new industry: deep sea mining. Want to share your views with the team behind BBC Earth and win prizes? Join our fan panel here: Welcome to Earth Unplugged! We make films about the incredible natural world and investigate the science of our amazing planet. Post Production Supervisor: Brian Golding Re-Recording Mixer (honeymix): Eric Thompson This film was produced by OceanX Media, a team of scientists, explorers and filmmakers driven to discover what lies beneath the waves and to document untold ocean stories. Stunning Animal Slow Motion Time-lapses: Profile of scientist Mandy Joye, who has dedicated her life to explore the ocean ecosystems and uncover its secrets.
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