Interest in deep-sea mining for metals has grown substantially in the last decade. A new study argues that it poses significant risks not only to the immediate surroundings, but also to the water hundreds to thousands of feet above the seafloor.

Are we willing to compromise deep sea ecosystems and biodiversity for prodigious amounts of mineral materials? Will deep sea mining have the largest footprint of any single human activity on the planet? The race is on to create more progressive, environmental regulations concerning deep sea mining, but much more scientific research is still necessary to understand how to best regulate these ecosystems.