Littoral, bathyal, abyssal, profitable? The ocean floor, though covering more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, remains a great mystery. In fact, despite decades of continuous exploration, our knowledge of this massive carpet is slight next to our grasp on say, the surface of the moon. However, this chunk of human ignorance is perhaps coming to an end, as recent research suggests mineral and metal deposits located on the seabed could become a mining hotspot. Though an admirable scientific feat, as expected, this revelation comes with a wide range of consequences, such as the destruction of habitats and extinction of entire species.  

 Deep-sea mining is a relatively new industry, yet to be applied at a large scale. It is a challenging process in itself, (disregarding the many environmental repercussions), requiring highly specialised machinery simply to overcome the obstacles of the deep seas' extreme environment. The typical conditions of a deep seabed include extreme water pressure, freezing temperatures, and darkness, all of which must be overcome for deep-sea mining to become conventional. 

  To battle and survive these circumstances, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), have become the standard, all equipped with cameras, sensors, and various tools for manipulation and collection of mineral samples. For the actual extraction of minerals, a variety of mining equipment is used, with the purpose of breaking up the seafloor and amass the minerals and/or metals. It is a complex and technically demanding process that requires expertise in a variety of fields, including engineering, geology, and marine biology.  

As noted in an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)  resolution written in 2020, on the topic of progress in deep-sea mining, “scientific knowledge since 2012 regarding deep-sea mining and concerns expressed by scientists that biodiversity loss will be inevitable if deep-sea mining is permitted to occur, that this loss is likely to be permanent on human timescales, and that the consequences for ocean ecosystem function are unknown.” One cannot bring up deep-sea mining without mentioning the environmental disaster that will inevitably follow. While a controlled and highly limited amount of deep-sea mining remains a possibility, anything else could lead to the extermination of already slowly growing species, an immeasurable number of them. To put things into perspective, it is estimated that around 300 million different marine species reside in just the mud of the ocean floor., Iimagine then what were to happen if out of nowhere, previously mentioned ROVs ploughed this mud for minerals and metals, stirring up toxic sediment clouds and effectively wiping the seabed clean of any and all life.  

Overall, the reasoning behind deep-sea mining could be seen as a good one. Some would argue deep-sea mining is merely replacing an equally harmful terrestrial mining, making it therefore excusable. Nevertheless, what deep-sea mining could do to the nirvana that is the bottom of the ocean is morbid to say the least. So, let us try toperhaps we should stray away from the depressing depiction of our future selves, featured in Avatar, and appreciate the Pandora we have.