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Long-term impact and biological recovery in a deep-sea mining track. 2025
Daniel O B Jones, and
Maria Belen Arias, and
Loïc Van Audenhaege, and
Sabena Blackbird, and
Corie Boolukos, and
Guadalupe Bribiesca-Contreras, and
Jonathan T Copley, and
Andrew Dale, and
Susan Evans, and
Bethany F M Fleming, and
Andrew R Gates, and
Hannah Grant, and
Mark G J Hartl, and
Veerle A I Huvenne, and
Rachel M Jeffreys, and
Pierre Josso, and
Lucas D King, and
Erik Simon-Lledó, and
Tim Le Bas, and
Louisa Norman, and
Bryan O'Malley, and
Thomas Peacock, and
Tracy Shimmield, and
Eva C D Stewart, and
Andrew K Sweetman, and
Catherine Wardell, and
Dmitry Aleynik, and
Adrian G Glover
National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, UK. dj1@noc.ac.uk.
Deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining is in the exploration phase at present with some groups proposing a move towards extraction within years1. Management of this industry requires evidence of the long-term effects on deep-sea ecosystems2, but the ability of seafloor ecosystems to recover from impacts over decadal scales is poorly understood3. Here we show that, four decades after a test mining experiment that removed nodules, the biological impacts in many groups of organisms are persistent, although populations of several organisms, including sediment macrofauna, mobile deposit feeders and even large-sized sessile fauna, have begun to re-establish despite persistent physical changes at the seafloor. We also reveal that areas affected by plumes from this small-scale test have limited detectable residual sedimentation impacts with some biological assemblages similar in abundance compared to control areas after 44 years. Although some aspects of the modern collector design may cause reduced physical impact compared to this test mining experiment, our results show that mining impacts in the abyssal ocean will be persistent over at least decadal timeframes and communities will remain altered in directly disturbed areas, despite some recolonization. The long-term effects seen in our study provide critical data for effective management of mining activities, if they occur, including minimizing direct impacts and setting aside an effective network of protected areas4,5.
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