Ned Pennant-Rea for chinadialogue ocean | 28 February 2019
The UN has described the deep sea as “the largest source of species and ecosystem diversity on Earth.” Life thrives particularly on the vast expanses of sea floor known as abyssal plains, amid the submarine mountains that rise from them and around superheated springs. Extremes of temperature and pressure have proved no obstacle to the creatures here. But plans to commercially mine the seabed pose a grave threat to their survival.
Abyssal plains, the flattest places on the planet, are home to fish, eels, crustaceans, molluscs, sponges, sea cucumbers, starfish and brittle stars to name a few.
Read the full article here: Species threatened by deep-sea mining.
Tags: biodiversity
