Effects of a deep-sea mining experiment on seafloor microbial communities and functions after 26 years

Vonnahme, Tobias R.; Molari, Massimiliano; Janßen, Felix; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Haeckel, Matthias; Titschack, Jürgen; Boetius, Antje

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz5922

Cited by 80 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The full range of seafloor impacts from nodule mining may include removal of sediment and nodule habitats, sediment compaction, seafloor and nodule burial, dilution of food for deposit and suspension feeders, smothering of respiratory structures, interference with photoecology, and noise pollution (Smith et al, 2008c;Washburn et al, 2019;Drazen et al, 2020). Many ecosystem impacts will be long lasting since sediment habitats will require at least many decades to recover, and natural nodule habitats will not regenerate for millions of years (Hein et al, 2013;Vanreusel et al, 2016;Jones et al, 2017;Stratmann et al, 2018a,b;Vonnahme et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Macrofaunal Biodiversity Across the Clarion-Clipperton Zone: An Area Targeted for Seabed Mining

et al. 2021

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Macrofauna are an abundant and diverse component of abyssal benthic communities and are likely to be heavily impacted by polymetallic nodule mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). In 2012, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) used available benthic biodiversity data and environmental proxies to establish nine no-mining areas, called Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEIs) in the CCZ. The APEIs were intended as a representative system of protected areas to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function across the region from mining impacts. Since 2012, a number of research programs have collected additional ecological baseline data from the CCZ. We assemble and analyze macrofaunal biodiversity data sets from eight studies, focusing on three dominant taxa (Polychaeta, Tanaidacea, and Isopoda), and encompassing 477 box-core samples to address the following questions: (1) How do macrofaunal abundance, biodiversity, and community structure vary across the CCZ, and what are the potential ecological drivers? (2) How representative are APEIs of the nearest contractor areas? (3) How broadly do macrofaunal species range across the CCZ region? and (4) What scientific gaps hinder our understanding of macrofaunal biodiversity and biogeography in the CCZ? Our analyses led us to hypothesize that sampling efficiencies vary across macrofaunal data sets from the CCZ, making quantitative comparisons between studies challenging. Nonetheless, we found that macrofaunal abundance and diversity varied substantially across the CCZ, likely due in part to variations in particulate organic carbon (POC) flux and nodule abundance. Most macrofaunal species were collected only as singletons or doubletons, with additional species still accumulating rapidly at all sites, and with most collected species appearing to be new to science. Thus, macrofaunal diversity remains poorly sampled and described across the CCZ, especially within APEIs, where a total of nine box cores have been taken across three APEIs. Some common macrofaunal species ranged over 600–3000 km, while other locally abundant species were collected across ≤ 200 km. The vast majority of macrofaunal species are rare, have been collected only at single sites, and may have restricted ranges. Major impediments to understanding baseline conditions of macrofaunal biodiversity across the CCZ include: (1) limited taxonomic description and/or barcoding of the diverse macrofauna, (2) inadequate sampling in most of the CCZ, especially within APEIs, and (3) lack of consistent sampling protocols and efficiencies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Macrofaunal Biodiversity Across the Clarion-Clipperton Zone: An Area Targeted for Seabed Mining

et al. 2021

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“…The deep sea below 1,000 m holds more than 80% of global marine carbon stocks (Atwood et al, 2020) and recovery of abyssal microbes and habitats could require decades to centuries following disturbance (Stratmann et al, 2018;Vonnahme et al, 2020).…”

Section: Climate Change Impacts On Recovery From Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The deep sea below 1,000 m holds more than 80% of global marine carbon stocks (Atwood et al., 2020) and recovery of abyssal microbes and habitats could require decades to centuries following disturbance (Stratmann et al., 2018; Vonnahme et al, 2020). Nevertheless, abyssal disturbance‐induced remineralization is unlikely to influence atmospheric CO 2 concentrations in the near future given the low concentration and refractory nature of carbon in sediments (Orcutt et al., 2020) and millennial time scales of carbon cycling at those depths (Atwood et al, 2020).…”

Section: Consequences Of Climate Impacts On Deep‐sea Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change considerations are fundamental to management of deep‐sea resource extraction

Levin

Wei

Dunn

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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“…In comparison to other abyssal areas, the Peru Basin receives high organic-matter input, which is fuelled by the equatorial high-productivity zone (Weber et al, 2000). The degradation of deposited organic matter plays a crucial role in defining the benthic biogeochemical system (Froelich et al, 1979).…”

Section: Biogeochemical Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the temporal scale of deep-sea mining impacts on sediment biogeochemistry

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Deep-sea mining for polymetallic nodules is expected to have severe environmental impacts because not only nodules but also benthic fauna and the upper reactive sediment layer are removed through the mining operation and blanketed by resettling material from the suspended sediment plume. This study aims to provide a holistic assessment of the biogeochemical recovery after a disturbance event by applying prognostic simulations based on an updated diagenetic background model and validated against novel data on microbiological processes. It was found that the recovery strongly depends on the impact type; complete removal of the reactive surface sediment reduces benthic release of nutrients over centuries, while geochemical processes after resuspension and mixing of the surface sediment are near the pre-impact state 1 year after the disturbance. Furthermore, the geochemical impact in the DISturbance and reCOLonization (DISCOL) experiment area would be mitigated to some degree by a clay-bound Fe(II)-reaction layer, impeding the downward diffusion of oxygen, thus stabilizing the redox zonation of the sediment during transient post-impact recovery. The interdisciplinary (geochemical, numerical and biological) approach highlights the closely linked nature of benthic ecosystem functions, e.g. through bioturbation, microbial biomass and nutrient fluxes, which is also of great importance for the system recovery. It is, however, important to note that the nodule ecosystem may never recover to the pre-impact state without the essential hard substrate and will instead be dominated by different faunal communities, functions and services.

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Effects of a deep-sea mining experiment on seafloor microbial communities and functions after 26 years

Cited by 80 publications

References 45 publications

Patterns of Macrofaunal Biodiversity Across the Clarion-Clipperton Zone: An Area Targeted for Seabed Mining

Patterns of Macrofaunal Biodiversity Across the Clarion-Clipperton Zone: An Area Targeted for Seabed Mining

Climate change considerations are fundamental to management of deep‐sea resource extraction

Assessing the temporal scale of deep-sea mining impacts on sediment biogeochemistry

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