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Underneath the ocean's surface lies a vast and ancient world. As demand for sustainable technologies , attention is shifting deep beneath the waves.

Deep-sea mining is capturing the attention of governments and industry. But what is the true cost of this 'clean energy' transition?

It may be than we could imagine.

Getting to the bottom of it

The production of critical minerals needs to increase sixfold in order to reach the global goal of net zero by 2050, .

Some of these minerals are sitting on the bottom of the ocean.

While deep-sea mining happens on the seafloor, it starts on the surface. Large support ships deploy colossal machines called 'collectors' to extract mineral deposits from the seabed.

These collectors dig up —each about the size of a potato—as well as crusts.

The nodules, sediment and anything else in their path are sucked up through large pipes towards the ship.

They pump what they don't want back into the ocean, forming a sediment plume that can drift across the seafloor or into the water column.

Efforts to of deep-sea mining on the ocean are ongoing, but some early studies have raised red flags.

In the late 1980s, scientists simulated deep-sea mining in the Peru Basin, removing nodules from an 11km² area and observing how the ecosystem responded .

Seven years later, signs of recovery were minimal. After 26 years, found visible mining scars—the ecosystem had still not recovered.

Other studies show for survival. Remove the nodules and the ecosystem collapses.

Further consequences could include long-lasting damage to , and to one of the planet's least understood environments.

As industry interest intensifies, so does scientific exploration.

The ocean floor is being mapped and studied in more depth than before, revealing , a and an ancient .

However, underwater discoveries may not be enough to stave off commercial deep-sea mining.

Located in the northwest Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico lies an area of seafloor known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

Despite scientists discovering there in 2023, it's being considered for commercial deep-sea mining.

As calls for clean energy amplify, the debate continues.

While deep-sea mining could provide the resources needed for a cleaner, more sustainable future, it could also destroy fragile ecosystems that have taken millennia to form and have flow-on effects for our planet.

This article first appeared on , a science news website based at Scitech, Perth, Australia. Read the .