Today, I‘m presenting about #deepseamining and #polymetallicnodules at the Faculty of Engineering at @unipaderborn.bsky.social.

"I’m Ailish, a PhD candidate at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) and Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA), working in partnership with Ifremer in France. I'm researching how habitat heterogeneity and the disturbance of habitat heterogeneity influence the diversity, abundance, and community composition of animals living on and in (yes, in!) polymetallic nodules. Polymetallic nodules are small deep-sea rocks that are full of minerals and metals that can be used in technologies ranging from electric vehicles to smartphones." 📸 Photo1: Ailish smiling looking off the side of a ship down at some dolphins. 📸 The photos include me with a nodule box core in the #CCZ, a view from the box core at the seafloor (~4000 m deep), a view from the ship, and some of the animals found inside of nodules (nematodes, tardigrades, and nauplii).

"Because of increasing demand for these minerals and metals, polymetallic nodules are being targeted for deep-sea mining both on the high seas and in countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Polymetallic nodule environments remain understudied, so researching the communities they support––and how resilient those communities may be to disturbance––will be critical in managing and conserving these environments." 📸 Photo1: Ailish grinning behind an opened nodule box core collected from the CCZ. Photo2: view from the ship of the sun gleaming through clouds over the horizon.

"So far, my thesis has focused on the smallest metazoan animals associated with polymetallic nodules (meiofauna, which includes animals like nematodes, copepods, and tardigrades). I'm studying how these meiofauna communities vary across habitat types, space, time, and environmental conditions, and how disturbance from impacts like mining and climate change may influence their resilience." 📸 Photo1: Ailish grinning outside along other researchers outside the ship the L'Atlante. Photo2: view of multiple polymetallic nodules on the seafloor. Photo3: Microscope view of meiofauna (larva, tardigrades and nematodes) collected from nodules.

Hey all, meet one of #DSBSoc 2025 conference awardees!

Meet Ailish Ullman (@ailishullmann.bsky.social) , PhD candidate at @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social & Earth Sci. NZ with @ifremer.bsky.social, researching habitat heterogeneity of life living on & in (yes, in!) #PolymetallicNodules.

More in alt-text!

Slide from seminar on seabed mining.

Researchers Francisco Nascimento and Markus Olsson from Stockholm University speaking at seminar.

Polymetallic nodules.

🌊 Exciting and highly important research!
#UMF seminar with Francisco Nascimento and Markus Olsson (SU) on the ecological consequences of seabed mineral extraction.
Many thanks for the great insights! 💡🦑🧪

#PolymetallicNodules #DeepSeaMining
@stockholm-uni.bsky.social @umeauniversitet.bsky.social

It seems wildly irresponsible to me to proceed with #mining #polymetallicnodules despite a growing body of evidence showing their involvement in deep #sea food chains, #climate, and global oxygen supply.

We've already been finding out, but profit drivers can't stop fucking around.

#deepseamining #polymetallicnodules #conservation #marineconservation #marinebiodiversity #mantaray #whaleshark #ghostshark #whiteshark #cookiecuttershark #chocolateskate #baskingshark #megamouthshark #sharkconservation #marinebiology #mining #ocean #deepsea #chimaera #marinelife #sharkscience

Polymetallic Nodules, a Source of Rare Metals, May Hold the Secrets of 'Dark Oxygen' When researchers discovered

Polymetallic Nodules, a Source of Rare Metals, May Hold the Secrets of 'Dark Oxygen' #Science #EarthSciences #Geochemistry #PolymetallicNodules #DarkOxygen #RareMetals

#Deepsea #mining

The farmingdale observer ran an article discussing why the USA wants #polymetallicnodules off the seabed

farmingdale-observer.com/2025/05/07/t...

In the oeuvre of #deepsea #mining #polymetallicnodules infographics (that I'm curating) this one from the BBC is notable for the the lack of depiction of *anything* else besides "seafloor mining vehicles" in the sea. Most others include a whale (or two).

I'm finalizing a manuscript about #PolymetallicNodules from the CCZ (Pacific) for which I did A LOT of measurements at @unipaderborn.bsky.social 2 yr ago. To confirm a couple of parameters that I report in the method section, I contacted one of the students I worked with (and who is co-author). 1/n

Long-term impact and biological recovery in a deep-sea mining track - Nature Nature - Long-term impact and biological recovery in a deep-sea mining track

Impact of mining 44 years later the collection of PM nodules

#DeepSea #PolymetallicNodules #DeepSeaMinerals

Solar 🌞 activity and Beryllium help date #PolymetallicNodules on the ocean floor 🌊. These "stones" 🪨, untouched for millions of years 🦕, haven't moved or rolled ↩️. They lie 4km down—not far on foot, but in the depths 🤿, it's an incredibly calm ecosystem 💤. youtu.be/rsI-By2lQsw?...

#PolymetallicNodules are mainly formed by the outward growth of sediment around the core substance (diagenesis), and their structure is complex. Nodules are granular in size: large (>6cm), medium (3cm<6cm) & small (<3cm). Color is black or brownish, related to it’s environment conditions
#DeepSea 🪨🌊

This afternoon, I had a visitor from @vuamsterdam.bsky.social and we discussed a joint M.Sc. thesis project about #PolymetallicNodules. The talks were so intense, that before it, I knew which day of the week we had, but after the meeting, I thought we had Thursday instead of Friday 🫠.

Scientists say they found oxygen where it shouldn't be. Now hunt is on for answers The discovery that metallic rocks are apparently producing oxygen on the Pacific Ocean's seabed challenges the idea that oxygen can only be made from sunlight via photosynthesis.

So is #darkoxygen just #polymetallicnodules doing electrolysis? Well, some folks think microbes are be involved

"...the new project would also seek to understand whether any microbial reactions played a role in dark oxygen production on the seafloor."

www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

#Volcano #deepseamining #polymetallicnodules #electricvehicles #batteries

Further coverage, this time from @forbes.com , of a new paper in Nature saying that #polymetallicnodules in the deep sea are electrical, may produce oxygen through hydrolysis of water. These are the same nodules that #deepseamining advocates want to harvest for use in EV batteries

A new paper in Nature says that the #polymetallicnodules coveted by #deepseamining may be the source of #Deepoceanoxygen supporting abyssal ecosystems.

"...nodules sitting on the seabed could generate electric currents large enough to split, or electrolyse, molecules of seawater."

#Deepoceanoxygen
#deepseamining #polymetallicnodules

"The researchers put this theory to the test in the lab, collecting and studying the potato-sized metal nodules. Their experiments measured the voltages on the surface of each metallic lump - essentially the strength of the electric current."

Evidence of dark oxygen production at the abyssal seafloor - Nature Geoscience Oxygen is generated abiotically at the abyssal seafloor in the presence of polymetallic nodules, potentially by seawater electrolysis, according to in situ chamber and ex situ incubation experiments.

You know those #polymetallicnodules the #deepseamining advocates want to harvest & use in batteries? A new paper in Nature says these nodules may *already* be functioning as batteries, w/ their electrical activity strong enough to make #deepoceanoxygen by hydolysis

www.nature.com/articles/s41...