Overview
- A University of Hawaii-led paper in Nature Communications reports the first quantitative evidence that mining waste can disrupt midwater ecosystems in the Clarion–Clipperton Zone.
- Analysis of water and particles from a 2022 trial found plume material with amino-acid concentrations far below natural detritus, measuring 10–100 times less nutritious.
- The study estimates that 53% of zooplankton and 60% of micronekton could be affected, with potential knock-on effects to predators such as tuna.
- Regulatory decisions are approaching as the International Seabed Authority maintains exploration contracts and, in the U.S., President Trump has ordered NOAA to expedite permitting with a draft rule now under White House review.
- The Metals Company funded the research and says it plans to discharge at about 2,000 meters—below the study’s focal depths—while the authors urge regulators to set discharge-depth standards and expand research.