Decades After 1979 Deep-Sea Mining, Pacific Ocean Remains Severely Damaged

A 1979 deep-sea mining experiment in the Pacific's Clarion-Clipperton Zone left lasting scars on the seafloor, with visible damage still evident 44 years later. While some small organisms are beginning to recolonize the area, the recovery of larger, stationary species is slow, raising concerns about the ecological impacts of future large-scale mining operations in this fragile ecosystem.