How do deep-sea ecosystems respond to mining disturbances over time, and how can this knowledge inform environmental management and legislation? These questions brought MiningImpact3 partners together in Łódź to review progress and coordinate the next steps of their research. The three-day meeting combined scientific exchange with a dedicated stakeholder dialogue and a meeting of the project’s International Engagement Hub.
A central focus was bringing together evidence across disciplines and expeditions. Partners discussed preliminary data from the BGR exploration campaign MANGAN2026 aboard RV Sonne, alongside observations from earlier expeditions in 2019, 2021, and 2022. Together, these investigations help researchers examine ecosystem responses around the sites of the 2021 Patania II polymetallic nodule collector trial in the Clarion–Clipperton Zone (eastern-central Pacific).
Repeated observations are also revealing substantial natural variability in deep-sea communities. Understanding these changes is essential to distinguish the effects of mining disturbances from wider environmental fluctuations, and to assess ecosystem recovery over time.
Participants also discussed preparations for the forthcoming expedition SO322 (NoduleMonitor3) aboard RV Sonne. This expedition will revisit impact and reference sites five years after the collector trial, extending the evidence on longer-term ecosystem responses. Planned research includes ecotoxicological experiments examining the combined effects of pollutant mixtures, alongside investigations that will expand the limited knowledge of the region’s mesopelagic, or midwater, environment.
Beyond polymetallic nodules in the Pacific, MiningImpact3 investigates seafloor massive sulphide deposits along the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge and northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Field observations, laboratory experiments, and plume modelling are complemented by research on governance and management tools, including environmental thresholds and approaches to ecosystem-based management.
The final day turned to societal concerns and future research priorities. A stakeholder roundtable opened up discussions on knowledge gaps and how these could inform the project’s research agenda, connecting the scientific programme with questions raised by authorities, industry, NGOs, and civil society actors.
The International Engagement Hub subsequently brought together the consortium, funding partners, and an international advisory group to discuss opportunities for scientific input into policy. The Hub supports exchange on the relevance and use of project findings, while responsibility for research methods and scientific conclusions remains with the consortium.
Contributions included an update on the International Seabed Authority Secretariat’s work towards cumulative impact assessment and an introduction to the current US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine consensus study that seeks to develop a research strategy on seabed mining for critical mineral resources. Both contributions highlighted questions closely linked to MiningImpact3: what environmental baseline information is needed, how holistic impacts can be monitored, and how scientific evidence can support environmental thresholds.
Hub members also deliberated on the future needs and directions of stakeholder discussions as well as considered how to make the project’s expertise available at the right stages of international discussions. Suggestions included targeted and tailored contributions to technical working groups, sharing scientific input with national delegations ahead of consultations, and briefings to help policymakers interpret emerging evidence.
With further expeditions ahead, the meeting strengthened coordination across the consortium and sharpened discussions on how its research can inform deep-sea environmental governance.