UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Delayed Anthropocene in the deep-sea biosphere: a last paradise soon lost?

Identification

Public canonical key

radar:r-c1cb33bba0cffa8cbf2e7522f2056080

Authors

Moriaki Yasuhara · Jingwen Zhang · Roberto Danovaro · Lisa Ann Levin · Paul V. R. Snelgrove

Reported year

2026

Reported language

en

Source type

review

First detected

2026-11-14T02:03:07.771845+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-14T02:03:07.771845+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

City University of Hong Kong · University of Hong Kong · Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution · Marche Polytechnic University · Scripps Institution of Oceanography · University of California San Diego · Memorial University of Newfoundland

Reported affiliation countries

CA · HK · IT · US

Documentary abstract — original language

The deep sea remains a last paradise and the place of minimal human impacts compared with other ecosystems. However, this pristine status is rapidly changing, and deep-sea human impacts have seldom been discussed in a broad context that draws comparisons with those in other ecosystems. Here, we recap the history of human-induced ecological degradation in deep-sea, shallow-marine and terrestrial ecosystems to place the deep-sea situation in a broad context. Anthropogenic terrestrial ecosystem degradation started tens of thousands of years ago. Shallow-marine ecosystem change followed that of terrestrial degradation but also began several millennia ago. More substantial degradation commenced from the time of civilization, European colonization and industrialization. However, deep-sea ecological degradation started much later. In the deep sea, most major human impacts began much later than the industrial revolution, e.g. deep-sea trawling from the 1950s. Major near-future concerns include deep seabed mining and marine carbon dioxide removal. Deep-sea Anthropocene biosphere degradation is delayed in this regard, and the ecological integrity of the deep sea remains much better than in other 'paradises' such as tropical rain forests and coral reefs that are already degraded substantially. The deep sea could soon be similarly degraded if large-scale implementation of mining and/or marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) technologies commences. This article is part of the theme issue 'The biosphere in the Anthropocene'.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

https://openalex.org/W7125402863

DOI

10.1098/rstb.2024.0422

PMID

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41568681

Documentary context

Documentary family

unknown

Source-reported types

review

Publishers

Royal Society

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1

• Document · https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0422

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

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