A new study by researchers from the University of Exeter and Greenpeace warns of the dangers of mining projects for marine wildlife. According to the report, noise pollution could cause “long-lasting and irreversible impacts” on cetaceans such as whales, dolphins and porpoises.
For several months now, NGOs and environmental associations that campaign for the protection of the oceans have been up in arms against projects of deep sea mining, which would create mines on the ocean floor. While such projects do not yet have authorization to go ahead, the companies have been lobbying authorities in the hopes of getting the go-ahead by July 2023. These projects aim to explore the seabed to extract minerals used in the manufacture of electronic devices (such as zinc, copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt, etc). However, Greenpeace points out that seabed mining has many consequences, both on the species that live there and on the climate and overall environment: “such widespread disruption to marine life would impact the whole ocean food chain” while “machines cutting the seafloor will create sediment plumes, which could smother deep sea habitats for kilometers,” the NGO outlines.
The impact of ocean mining has the capacity to be even more damaging as very little research has been done to accurately determine the consequences on marine ecosystems. A new study led by the Greenpeace research laboratory and scientists from the University of Exeter (UK) published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, however, provides a little more information about the potential harm that the creation of mining sites could have on cetaceans (dolphins, whales, sperm whales, porpoises). The research was based on the Clarion-Clipperton zone located between Mexico and Hawaii, where 17 deep-sea mining exploration contracts have been granted.
According to the study, a particular threat to this region of the Pacific (which is home to 25 species of cetaceans) would be the noise pollution linked to the machines that would be used for carrying out the mining operations. The sounds produced by the remotely operated vehicles may overlap with the frequencies at which cetaceans communicate, which can cause auditory masking and behavior change in marine mammals, the study publication states. “Imagine if your neighborhood were suddenly disrupted by construction work that goes on 24/7, your life would change dramatically. Your mental health would be compromised, you might change your behavior to escape it. It’s no different for whales or dolphins,” Dr. Kirsten Thompson, a researcher at the University of Exeter and co-author of the study, said in a statement.
“We argue the need for urgent research to assess more fully the potential impact of deep seabed mining on cetaceans,” the researchers conclude. In November 2022, several governments (including France, Chile and New Zealand) opposed commercial pressures to allow deep seabed mining from 2023 and called for a precautionary moratorium on the practice.
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