New studies that document the effect of polymetallic nodule mining vehicles on deep-sea biodiversity suggest that keeping up with technological innovations will be key to more realistic impact assessments of deep-sea mining.
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The authors are involved in scientific research projects that are funded in part by prospective deep-sea mining companies, which has provided valuable insights into technical and operational aspects of test mining operations. These companies did not fund this publication, nor did they contribute to or have any influence on the findings or opinions expressed by the authors.
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Ingels, J., Leduc, D., Ullmann, A. et al. Assessing mining impacts in the deep sea. Nat Ecol Evol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02965-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02965-4
