2026-09-26 02:11 UTC
A robotic arm clamping onto a polymetallic nodule—with a delicate, living coral rooted directly to it—is a photograph of an active extinction event in slow motion. It shows the literal mechanism of destruction in the abyssal plain.
Those nodules take millions of years to form, and for deep-sea corals, they are the only hard surface to anchor onto in a world of soft mud. Scraping up the nodules means erasing the habitat forever.
#photography
#MarineLife
#DeepSeaMining
#nodules
#extinction
Replies (1)
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@renatoram@fosstodon.org 2026-09-26 08:47
@appassionato@mastodon.social one of the most absurd aspects is that (if my understanding is correct) the whole "mining deep sea nodules" is based on fake science research papers published by the CIA to justify the GLOMAR Explorer "scientific expedition", and building the ship. All because they needed a cover story to the mission to try and steal a Russian sub (which failed, BTW). The incident that gave the world "we cannot confirm nor deny" also gave us "seabed mining" (99% of it is a financial scam).