With approval for deep-sea mining looming, Glover said he believed it was “imperative that we work with the companies looking to mine these resources to ensure any such activity is done in a way that limits its impact upon the natural world”.Īsked about other scientists, including Sir David Attenborough, calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining because of the irreversible damage they say it will do to ecosystems, Glover said he believed his role was to inform. The most common categories of creatures in the CCZ are arthropods, worms, members of the spider family and echinoderms, which include spiny invertebrates such as sea urchins, and sponges. There are also glass sponges, some of which look like vases. One of the deep-sea animals discovered was nicknamed the “gummy squirrel”, because of its huge tail and jelly-like appearance, he said. “One of the characteristics of the abyssal plane is the lack of food, but life has a way of persisting down there,” he said. The seabed, Glover said, is an “amazing place” where, despite the extreme cold and dark, life thrives. The scientists watch operations by video link direct from the boat, as new species are gathered by remote operating vehicles in the darkness below. Shop all LEGO LEGO Creator 3 in 1 Deep Sea Creatures Shark Toy Set 31088 14. “We share this planet with all this amazing biodiversity and we have a responsibility to understand it and protect it,” said Muriel Rabone, the paper’s lead author, a deep-sea ecologist at the Natural History Museum (NHM).Ī seastar. Published in the journal Current Biology, it includes 5,578 different species, of which an estimated 88% to 92% had never before been seen.
To better understand the impact of mining this fragile ecosystem and its newly discovered inhabitants, an international team of scientists has built the first “CCZ checklist” by compiling all the records from expeditions to the region. In July the International Seabed Authority, a quasi-UN body based in Jamaica that regulates deep-sea mining, will begin accepting exploitation applications from these companies.
The companies, backed by countries including the UK, US and China, want to exploit minerals including cobalt, manganese and nickel, in part to sell to the alternative energy sector. Most of the animals identified by researchers exploring the zone are new to science, and almost all are unique to the region: only six, including a carnivorous sponge and a sea cucumber, have been seen elsewhere.Ĭontracts for mining exploration in the CCZ have been granted to 17 deep-sea mining contractors in an area covering 745,000 sq miles. Bolosominae stet is a type of sponge, believed to be new to science.
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