Deep-sea mining discharge can disrupt midwater food webs

Michael H. Dowd (), Victoria E. Assad, Alexus E. Cazares-Nuesser, Jeffrey C. Drazen, Erica Goetze, Angelicque E. White and Brian N. Popp
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Michael H. Dowd: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Victoria E. Assad: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Alexus E. Cazares-Nuesser: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Jeffrey C. Drazen: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Erica Goetze: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Angelicque E. White: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Brian N. Popp: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The Clarion-Clipperton Zone contains extensive beds of polymetallic nodules on the abyssal seafloor, with vast areas (~1.5 million km2) under license for deep-sea mining. Mining companies have proposed discharging excess waste generated during nodule extraction in the lower mesopelagic and upper bathypelagic zones, which are home to a unique faunal community including zooplankton and micronekton. Here, using compound-specific isotope analysis of amino acids, we find that natural background particles larger than 6 µm form the base of the food web, but will be diluted by the same sized, nutritionally deficient mining-associated particles. Given that 53% of zooplankton taxa are particle feeders and 60% of micronekton taxa are zooplanktivores at proposed discharge depths, there is significant potential for food-web disruption. Therefore, we show that a midwater mining plume could trigger bottom-up ecosystem impacts with potentially severe consequences for the faunal community, extending beyond zooplankton and micronekton to nekton, including large marine predators.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65411-w

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