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Planetary Health Check 2026: Why a healthy seafloor matters for the Earth system

Bottom trawling is one of the major factors contributing to the destruction of the seabed, as it indiscriminately kills bottom-dwelling organisms and stirs up large quantities of sediment.
Bottom trawling is one of the major factors contributing to the destruction of the seabed, as it indiscriminately kills bottom-dwelling organisms and stirs up large quantities of sediment. (Photo: Open Planet Studios, Silverback Films, Open Planet Library

The seafloor is habitat, carbon sink and a hub for global matter cycles, yet human influence nowadays reaches from the coast all the way to the deep sea. Fishing, mining, shipping and infrastructure threaten ecosystems, stir up sediments and mobilise stored carbon. With a new chapter on seafloor integrity – compiled by researchers from the IOW, Kiel University (CAU) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) – the Planetary Health Check 2026 for the first time focuses comprehensively on the threats to the seafloor and its significance for the Earth system.

 

Download full joint PDF press release by
Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW)
Kiel University (CAU)

(for larger photo view click on image)

application/pdf 20260923_press_Seafloor_Integrity_en.pdf (311.0 KiB)

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