At the front line of climate change, our oceans, coastlines and coastal communities are being
disproportionately impacted by increasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from
human activities.
The ocean is key to regulating our earth’s climate. The fifth assessment report published by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2013 revealed that our ocean absorbs 93% of the
extra energy from the enhanced greenhouse effect, with warming now being observed at depths of
1,000 m. Its effects include warming seas, sea level rise and ocean acidification. These are all in addition
to all the other human stresses we have put on the oceans from pollution, to nuclear waste dump and
overfishing.
The proposal of Deep-Sea Mining now poses a greater threat to the health of our ocean. As the deep sea
remains understudied and poorly understood, there are many gaps in our understanding of its carbon
storing functions, its biodiversity and ecosystems. This makes it difficult to thoroughly assess the
potential impacts of deep-sea mining and to put in place adequate safeguards to protect the marine
environment.
DEEP SEA COP brings voices from creatures of the deep sea this COP26.To remind world leaders of the
human species that their decision will also affect millions of creatures that have no voice, no one to
represent them at this human gathering. Through a series of illustrations, each piece highlights the
significance of a number of deep-sea creatures, and the potential threats of deep-sea mining on the
deep sea.
disproportionately impacted by increasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from
human activities.
The ocean is key to regulating our earth’s climate. The fifth assessment report published by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2013 revealed that our ocean absorbs 93% of the
extra energy from the enhanced greenhouse effect, with warming now being observed at depths of
1,000 m. Its effects include warming seas, sea level rise and ocean acidification. These are all in addition
to all the other human stresses we have put on the oceans from pollution, to nuclear waste dump and
overfishing.
The proposal of Deep-Sea Mining now poses a greater threat to the health of our ocean. As the deep sea
remains understudied and poorly understood, there are many gaps in our understanding of its carbon
storing functions, its biodiversity and ecosystems. This makes it difficult to thoroughly assess the
potential impacts of deep-sea mining and to put in place adequate safeguards to protect the marine
environment.
DEEP SEA COP brings voices from creatures of the deep sea this COP26.To remind world leaders of the
human species that their decision will also affect millions of creatures that have no voice, no one to
represent them at this human gathering. Through a series of illustrations, each piece highlights the
significance of a number of deep-sea creatures, and the potential threats of deep-sea mining on the
deep sea.
I’m the angry-looking deep sea anglerfish, and some may possibly see me as the ugliest animal on the planet. I live in what is easily earth's most inhospitable habitat, the lonely, lightless bottom of the sea. Be the light this #COP26 and stop ocean crimes such as deep sea mining.
I’m called a Vampire squid but neither am I a squid nor an octopus. I have eight arms, two tentacles, dark color and have skin that connects my arms, resembling a cape. I live in the nearly completely dark waters of the mesopelagic zone.
If and when I’m disturbed, I invert my cape to display my large spines that line the underside of my arms. I know it looks intimidating, but I’m quite harmless. I mind the deep and you should too.
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I'm the largest living mammal on our planet. Perhaps the largest and most gentle singer of the ocean. I'm a blue whale but you can call me MATU.
Did you know blue whales weigh as much as 200 tons (approximately 33 elephants)? Being large in size, we must eat a lot. A Blue Whale's stomach can hold one ton of krill and eat about four tons of krill each day.
I have a big heart. Yes! I literally have a large heart, the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. But this #COP26, I want to remind you that my home is the blue heart of our planet. Protecting my home from destruction and exploitation means protecting me.
I’m a Hydrothermal vent, a naturally formed structure found in the depths of the ocean. Vents like me expel fluid that is heated to extreme temperatures reaching over 700° Fahrenheit.
Hot seawater around and in me don’t boil because of the extreme pressure at the depths where I am formed.
Life has traditionally been seen as driven by energy from the sun, but deep-sea organisms have no access to sunlight, so biological communities around me must depend on nutrients found in the dusty chemical deposits and fluids I produce.
As #COP26 wraps up, I want to remind you all that I am the origin of life. I serve a greater system in the deep sea…not your car batteries.
Take action against deep sea crimes such as #DeepSeaMining.
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