Deep-Sea Mining Sediment Plumes

Mining for manganese nodules can release plumes that extend over 50 kilometers from the extraction site, burying fragile organisms like sponges and corals in sediment up to 10 centimeters thick. These plumes persist for decades, with recovery taking centuries, while typical pollution sources like chemical spills degrade faster. The impact is 40% more concentrated in sediment volume than the average industrial runoff, directly eliminating biodiversity in a zone covering over 1 million square kilometers of pending mining claims—an irreversible loss before ecosystems are even mapped.