Researchers in Costa Rica spotted a gulper eel, also known as pelican eel, with an expanded stomach after it ate a good meal.A little-known group meeting in Jamaica is causing big waves this month as it considers new rules that could open the sea floor to industrial-scale mining for precious metals used in electric car batteries and other green technology.“We don’t know what’s down there. We don’t know the ecosystems.
"Life down there operates like it's on a different planet," said McCauley. Because the environment is so cold and dark"the clock of life ticks more slowly." Some of the organisms that have been documented are among the oldest on the planet, includingSome environmental groups say ocean floor mining could have catastrophic consequences for a vast number of critical ecosystems we know very little about – including marine food chains that feed hundreds of millions of people.
“The reality is you have to explore the site very thoroughly before you even send the first robot. The chance of running into the Titanic when you’re mining is next to zero," he said."The key issue at this point is to understand the ecosystem and the environment so you don’t accidentally do something stupid and destroy it.”
Some companies have suggested vacuuming material off the seabed with massive pumps. One, Impossible Metals, says it will use artificial intelligence to have remote robots selectively pluck metal-rich nodules off the sea floor while minimizing habitat destruction.The International Seabed Authority — the United Nations body that regulates the bottom of all the world's oceans— has been discussing deep sea mining-related rules for years.
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