Biodiversity in deep-sea mining exploration areas

We are studying biodiversity in the deep abyssal Pacific Ocean, which is being explored for potential deep-sea minerals.

In the central Pacific Ocean lies a vast region called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), where the deep seafloor is covered in polymetallic nodules, potato-sized lumps of rock. These contain a huge quantity of metals, many of which have been described as critical to future green technology industries such as electric vehicles (Hein et al 2020; Herrington et al 2021). 

The CCZ is vast, almost as big as Australia. Thanks to Museum research, we know the area has high levels of biodiversity and is home to many small invertebrate animals living on the seafloor and in the water column above. 

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), no mining is yet allowed in the CCZ. A body called the International Seabed Authority (ISA) ensures that if mining does take place, it is legal, economic and environmentally sustainable. 

Our research makes available this vital biodiversity data to everyone who has a stake in decisions on the sustainability of deep-sea mining, from the regulator to environmental pressure groups.

Our research is funded by the UK government, NGOs and industry who are mandated to commission biodiversity research. It is also categorically impartial: no funder has any influence over the data produced. All details of sources of funding and affiliations are publicly available on our website. 

This research is important to help understand the ocean biodiversity and how it could be impacted by mining. In 2018, the Museum's' Prof Adrian Glover led a review of the current state of biodiversity data in these regions, highlighting the need for better information before important societal decisions on seabed mining are taken. 

Providing essential scientific information in an open way enables regulatory bodies and all stakeholders to be fully informed. The Museum's research is contributing to an international, open and transparent process for making critical decisions on our planet's resources and environmental future.  

Projects in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

There are 17 different contractors working in the CCZ, comprised of government research institutes and private companies sponsored by a nation state. None of these entities is allowed to start mining - they can only undertake exploration and scientific research.

Since 2013, the Museum has been working as a contractor to produce baseline biodiversity data in the CCZ for the company UK Seabed Resources Ltd (UKSRL), which operates the UK's exploration contract area. Museum scientists, led by Dr Adrian Glover, have taken part in three, 45-day-long UKSRL research expeditions to the CCZ and published the data in 18 openly accessible papers in the scientific literature.

In 2018, we started a project funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a charitable conservation body, to establish the suitability of regions in the CCZ as potential marine protected areas. For this project, we took part in an expedition to the western CCZ and used a remotely operated vehicle to gather data. This project produced the first comprehensive study of the larger megafauna of the western region of the CCZ, with two open-access papers currently in preparation.

In 2020, we began work as a contractor on a new environmental science project led by the private company Deep Green, now The Metals Company, under regulatory authority by the ISA and the sponsoring state, Nauru. As part of this work, Museum scientists took part in two 45-day scientific expeditions to the CCZ. As with our work with UKSR, all data and scientific results will be made open-access in peer-reviewed literature. 

In 2021, the Museum commenced a new project funded by the UK Government through the Natural Environment Research Council called SMARTEX - Seabed Mining and Resilience to Experimental Impact. This £6M, four-year project will involve two science expeditions to the CCZ with the Royal Research Ship, James Cook, in 2022 and 2023. All the data we collect, as well as our studies, will be made available to guide future policy decisions by the ISA and the nation states involved.

Also in 2021, Museum scientists started a project funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts to survey the existing data available on the biodiversity of the CCZ and how data availability might be improved in the future.

Underpinning our work in this field is a commitment to using integrative DNA-based taxonomic methods (Glover et al 2016; Glover et al 2018). There are no field guides to the region and the majority of our work involves describing the many new species we encounter, making genetic libraries of data available for others to compare and collecting specimens for the Museum's collections. This helps all the stakeholders improve the quality of the data they produce and provides policy makers with better information on which to make future decisions.