REDEEM: Resilience of anthozoan corals to deep-sea mining, an holobiont approach

Commercial-scale mining for polymetallic nodules could have a major impact on the deep-sea environment, but the effects of these mining activities on organisms are very poorly known. In addition to the removal of nodules, that are essential for many species, nodule mining will also cause sediment plumes that may bury or smother seafloor organisms and habitats, and prevent larval settlement and colonisation. REDEEM aims to study, for the first time, the impact of such plume on anthozoan corals, one of the most important megafaunal components on the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), the main region targeted for nodule mining, with 15 exploration contracts approved.