"The snails and other mollusks around hydrothermal vents have evolved to thrive in extreme conditions, but mineral extraction could drive more than half to extinction."
"Deep-sea mining threatens to drive to extinction more than half of the snails and other mollusks that rely on hydrothermal vents, according to the latest update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, the global scientific authority on the status of species.
The finding comes as nations are expanding plans for deep-sea mining, eager to access valuable minerals needed for electronics and other uses.
Some of these minerals are found in and near chimney-like structures around hydrothermal vents, areas where cold seawater seeps through fissures in the earth’s crust and hits magma. As the water heats, it picks up elements like copper, zinc, gold and silver before shooting back into the ocean at temperatures that can reach over 750 degrees Fahrenheit. The rapid cooling causes the metals to precipitate out. Companies are interested in harvesting these and other deep-sea metals, arguing that growing demand combined with the serious environmental impact of mining on land make oceans an attractive source.
But the vents and their surrounding areas are rich in life as well as metals. Around the world, they are home to creatures like giant tube worms that can reach more than six feet long, swarms of ghostly white shrimp and furry-looking crabs. The chimney structures are also coated in snails and other mollusks, which are the focus of the Red List update."
