Realistically, how bad could it be if we pluck some rocks out of the deep sea? How could an ecosystem so far away have any real impact on us? Plus, it’s to power the clean energy transition, so it’s for the greater good, right? Wrong. The ocean moves in three dimensions. What happens thousands of meters down can ripple outward and affect ecosystems around the globe. Less than a year ago, scientists discovered the very rocks mining companies are targeting may be linked to oxygen production in the deep sea. Before that, we thought only plants produced oxygen. We might be removing a key part of what makes life at depth possible. Deep-sea microbes recycle nutrients through oxygen-dependent processes. Currents then carry those nutrients upward, fueling some of the most biologically rich ecosystems on the planet and major fisheries already at risk of collapse. It’s all connected. Disrupt the deep, and we risk collapsing systems the entire planet depends on. Photos by mitty #OceanSchoo...