Deep-Sea ‘Metal Potatoes’ Reveal a Hidden Ecosystem as Mining Pressure Mounts
Scientists have found that polymetallic nodules on the deep seafloor are not inert mineral lumps but living habitats hosting microbial communities and tiny animals found nowhere else in the surrounding abyss. The discovery sharpens the environmental stakes as governments and companies weigh whether to open the Clarion-Clipperton Zone to commercial deep-sea mining for critical minerals.
