ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Seabed mining

Imagine going to the beach and collecting lots of sand in a bucket to play with. Now imagine if people wanted to gather lots and lots of sand from the bottom of the ocean for special rocks and metals called minerals. This is called seabed mining.

Seabed mining is when people use big machines to dig up the ocean floor and collect minerals like copper, gold, and silver. These machines work a lot like big vacuum cleaners. They suck up all the sand and rocks, filter out the minerals, and then spit out the leftover sand and rocks.

But there are some problems with seabed mining. It can be really harmful to the animals and plants that live on the ocean floor. It can also stir up a lot of dirt and sediment, making the water cloudy and hard for animals to see and breathe. Plus, once the minerals are all collected, the ocean floor can be left damaged and barren.

So even though seabed mining might seem like a good way to get important minerals, it's important to think about the impact it could have on the ocean and the creatures that live in it.