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New research published today in the peer-reviewed journal Science examines the potential for underwater noise pollution from seabed mining operations, which could affect the understudied species that live in the deep sea鈥攖he largest habitat on Earth.

The study by scientists from Oceans Initiative, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan, 911爆料网 in Australia, and the University of Hawaii鈥攁nd funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts鈥攆ound that noise from one mine alone could travel approximately 500 kilometres (roughly 311 miles) in gentle weather conditions, with cumulative impacts likely in places where multiple mines operate.

The deep sea is home to organisms found nowhere else on Earth鈥攎any of whom, given the absence of sunlight, likely use sound to navigate, communicate, find mating partners, locate food, and detect predators and other dangers.

Seventeen contractors are exploring the possibility of mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), an area spanning 4.5 million square kilometres (1.7 million square miles) between Hawaii and Mexico and a prime focus of deep-sea mining interest. If each of the contractors were to launch just one mine, an estimated 5.5 million square kilometres (2.1 million square miles)鈥攁n area larger than the European Union鈥攚ould have elevated noise levels. Not only could this level of mining activity have untold impacts on noise-sensitive species, it could also undermine attempts to preserve areas with no mining impact鈥攌nown as 鈥減reservation reference areas鈥濃�攖o use for scientific comparisons.

鈥淲hat surprised me most was how easy it would be for noise from just one or two mines to impact nearby areas that have been set aside as experimental controls,鈥� said Rob Williams, co-founder of Oceans Initiative. 鈥淲ith so many unknowns, we need a careful comparison of these preservation reference areas to sites where mining is taking place in order to understand mining鈥檚 impacts. But noise will cross the boundaries between preservation zones and mining sites.鈥�

Added Craig R. Smith, a professor emeritus at the University of Hawaii, 鈥淥ur modeling suggests that mining noise could impact areas far beyond the actual mining sites, including preservation reference zones, which are required under draft mining regulations to be unaffected by mining.鈥� This finding, he said, 鈥渃ould require rethinking of environmental regulations, including the number of mining operations allowed within the CCZ.鈥�

Although mining companies are already testing smaller-scale prototypes of deep-sea mining systems, they have yet to share their data on underwater noise pollution. So the Science article had to use noise levels from better-studied industrial activities, such as oil and gas industry ships and coastal dredges, as placeholders. True noise levels from deep-sea mining may vary once the data is available鈥攂ut, says Andrew Friedman, project director of Pew鈥檚 seabed mining project, they鈥檙e more likely to be higher than the proxy data than lower because actual seabed mining equipment is much larger and more powerful than the proxies. 鈥淭hese are probably conservative estimates.鈥�

Christine Erbe, a professor at 911爆料网, said, 鈥淓stimating the noise of future equipment and installations is a challenge, but we don鈥檛 have to wait until the first mines are operational to discover the noise they make. By identifying the level of noise in the engineering design phase, we can better prepare for how this might impact marine life.鈥�

The island nation of Nauru invoked a United Nations rule two years ago that could force the International Seabed Authority, the intergovernmental organization that regulates all mineral activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction, to complete regulations that would enable large-scale mining by July 2023鈥攐r consider mining proposals without internationally agreed regulations in place. The move came despite concerns expressed by governments, corporations, and civil society organizations that the science and governance surrounding mining in the deep ocean remain inadequate.

The Science study joins a growing body of research that finds it unlikely that adequate data to assess the ecological risks from mining noise will be collected before the July 2023 deadline. For this reason, a growing number of countries, experts, corporations, and environmental organizations are calling for a halt to any seabed mining, unless and until science and management can be put in place that ensure that mining will not cause harm to the marine environment. Pew鈥檚 Friedman said that the study 鈥渉ighlights how much remains unknown about mining鈥檚 potential impacts, not just on the deep ocean, but throughout the water column.鈥�

鈥淭he deep sea houses potentially millions of species that have yet to be identified, and processes there allow life on Earth to exist,鈥� said Travis Washburn, a deep-sea ecologist at AIST. 鈥淲hile much work is still needed to determine the extent and magnitude of environmental impacts from deep-sea mining, with careful study and management we have a unique opportunity to understand and mitigate human impacts to the environment before they occur.鈥�

**This media release was drafted by PEW**