Overview

• A study found around 5,000 new species in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a region in the Pacific Ocean targeted for deep-sea mining.
• The zone is rich in minerals for renewable energy technologies but also biodiverse, with 90% of species unknown to science.
• The International Seabed Authority will soon accept mining applications that could damage the ecosystem before we understand it.
• Environmentalists urge protecting biodiversity through more research, setting aside conservation areas, and mitigating harm from any mining.
• NOAA has warned that mining the zone for polymetallic nodules would likely damage the environment.