Little is known about the long-term effects of deep-sea mining on the organic matter that supports life on the seafloor.

Researchers investigated a remote area of seafloor in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean that was used as a test site for deep-sea mining by the Ocean Minerals Company in 1979. (Image credit: SMARTEX (Seabed Mining and Resilience To EXperimental Impact), National Oceanography Centre)

However, as interest in mining the deep sea for rare metals grows, there is concern that disturbing the seabed could affect the ecosystems of the deep ocean.

A new study by the University of Liverpool provides evidence that the effects of deep-sea mining on the organic matter that supports life on the seafloor can be found more than four decades later.

In 2023, a team of researchers from the SMARTEX (Seabed Mining and Resilience To EXperimental Impact) project investigated a remote area of seafloor in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean that was used as a test site for deep-sea…