Scientists think that noise pollution from deep-sea mining could cause a cylinder of sound to go through the ocean.
An analysis by scientists from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan, the University of Hawaii, the University of Australia and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan have found that noise from a single mine can travel 500 km.
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone is a 4.5 million sq km area between Mexico and Hawaii with abundant mineral-rich lump known as polymetallic nodules.
The scientists estimated the noise impact if each mining company launched a mine in the CCZ. There are risks of behavioural impacts on marine mammals if noise levels exceed thresholds set by the US National Marine fisheries service.
The CCZ contains a number of marine mammal species that are sensitive to noise. Many deep-sea species are thought to use sound and vibrations to navigate and communicate in the dark. The authors of the paper said that underwater noise is likely to affect the environment.
According to a deep-sea ecologist at AIST, the deep sea houses millions of species that have yet to be identified. He said there was still time to understand and mitigate noise before it happened.
According to the report, the impact of noise pollution from deep-sea mining is under studied and overlooked.
Two years ago, the UN made a rule that could force the ISA to complete deep-sea mining regulations by July of next year. The science and governance of deep-sea mining isn't good enough for prospecting to go ahead.
The report said that moving ahead without standards would represent the start of a large-scale experiment. In the event of exploitation of the deep ocean, only one or two mines should operate at a time until the impact of noise pollution is fully understood, according to the authors.
They used noise levels from existing industrial processes as a proxy for deep-sea mining. If all 17 contractors were to operate one mine each, it would cause elevated noise levels over an area larger than the EU.
Craig Smith, co-author and professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaii, said: "If our modelling is correct, it could require rethinking of environmental regulations."
Companies have to study the areas where mining is proposed and compare them to control areas where no mining will take place. Thepreservation reference areas are where these are located. Each contractor has a large area.
The entire 75,000 km sq is free from noise impact according to Smith. The control areas may need to be further away from the regulations.
If mining operations went on at the same time, it could have a big impact on a lot of organisms.
The data on the noise levels of the few deep-sea machines that have been tested was not peer-reviewed. They wrote in the report that they want contractors to give them timely information on sound source characteristics.
The scientists think that their findings are likely to underestimate noise levels. They were likely to have missed the acoustic energy generated by heavier deep-sea machines.
The marine environment needs to be protected from serious harm from sea bed mining. According to the report, it hasn't defined what constitutes serious harm, including unacceptable noise levels.
The effective protection of the marine environment is guaranteed through requirements for environmental baseline studies and environmental impact assessments and monitoring according to the statement.
Testing will provide a better understanding of the potential impact of noise on the deep sea bed and deep sea biodiversity.
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