‘Antithetical to science’: When deep-sea research meets mining interests

By Elham Shabahat for MongaBay The high cost of studying deep-sea ecosystems means that many scientists have to rely on funding and access provided by companies seeking to exploit resources on the ocean floor. More than half of the scientists in the small, highly specialized deep-sea biology community have worked with governments and mining companies […]

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Deep-sea fish use hydrothermal vents to incubate eggs deep sea ecosystems

New Studies Highlight Complexity of Deep Sea Ecosystems

Three new journal papers published since the beginning of the year highlight the complexity of deep sea ecosystems and reveal new information on some of the same seabed features targeted for seabed mining exploitation. Deep Sea Fish Use Hydrothermal Vents to Incubate Eggs A new study in the journal Scientific Reports reveals that species of […]

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New Sponsor for Marine Science

New Sponsor for Marine Science

AISWARYA LAKSHMI on MARINELINK | 2 March 2018 “The International Seabed Authority (ISA), the agency responsible for regulating mining and related activities in the international seabed, beyond national jurisdiction, an area that includes most of the world’s oceans, is becoming the tenth sponsoring organization of GESAMP.” Read the full story on MarineLink

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International Seabed Authority internship associate legal officer environmental management plans Women and girls in science ISA Releases Stakeholder Submissions to Draft Exploitation Regulations

Message from Secretary-General Michael Lodge On the Occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science

INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY | 11 February 2018 JAMAICA, Kingston – – Science, technology and innovation are powerful and dynamic drivers of progress in our world, and are essential for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The role of Women and girls is central to this effort. Ensuring their ready and meaningful access […]

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New Papers Explore Environmental Impacts of Deep Sea Mining

New Papers Explore Environmental Impacts of Deep Sea Mining

Two new papers in major scientific journals opened the new year with a focus on the potential environmental impacts of deep sea mining.  The papers, published in Science and Frontiers in Marine Science, took big-picture looks at current scientific evidence on the impacts of seabed mining in the context of increased demand for  key minerals […]

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How Scientists Use Bioluminescent Deep-Sea Creatures to Fight Cancer

How Scientists Use Bioluminescent Deep-Sea Creatures to Fight Cancer

MATTHEW O. BERGER on OCEANS DEEPLY | 22 January 2018 Determining whether new immunotherapies are successfully fighting cancer cells can be difficult and expensive. Creatures from the depths of the ocean might be able to change that. Those were the findings of a recent research project, and they underscore what a number of scientists and […]

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Seabed Mining could destroy Ecosystems

Seabed mining could destroy ecosystems

UNIVERSITY of EXETER | 22 January 2018 Mining on the ocean floor could do irreversible damage to deep-sea ecosystems, says a new study of seabed mining proposals around the world. The deep sea (depths below 200m) covers about half of the Earth’s surface and is home to a vast range of species. Little is known […]

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Tear Down That Paywall: The Movement to Make Ocean Research Free for All

Tear Down That Paywall: The Movement to Make Ocean Research Free for All

JESSICA LEBER on OCEANS DEEPLY | 18 January 2018 While working for the Australian Department of the Environment, Christopher Cvitanovic, a marine protected area science manager, would encounter subscription paywalls that blocked his access to scientific studies. Article by article, he’d email the department’s library to request the full-text copy. Maybe he’d get it a […]

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New depth limit for deep-sea marine burrows

New depth limit for deep-sea marine burrows

UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS | 10 January 2018 Scientists have found fossil evidence of deep-sea marine life burrowing up to eight metres below the seabed — four times the previously observed depth for modern deep-sea life. A team of scientists from the University of Leeds and the National Oceanography Centre examined remains of deep-sea burrows in […]

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deep sea miners

Can Science Keep Deep Sea Miners From Ruining the Seafloor?

ERIC NILLER on WIRED | 20 December 2017 “Ocean explorers and entrepreneurs have been thinking about how to scoop up mineral-laden deposits on the seafloor since the HMS Challenger dragged a few up in a bucket during its globe-trotting scientific voyage in the 1870s. A century later, the CIA used deep sea mining as a […]

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