Assessing the impact of the global subsea telecommunications network on sedimentary organic carbon stocks

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 2080
• Main Authors: Clare, M. A., Lichtschlag, A., Paradis, S., Barlow, N. L. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12.04.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 704/172/4081; 704/47/4113; Blue economy; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Communication cables; Communications networks; Fishing; Global climate; Human influences; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Ocean floor; Organic carbon; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sediments; Telecommunications; Water depth
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37854-6

The sequestration of organic carbon in seafloor sediments plays a key role in regulating global climate; however, human activities can disturb previously-sequestered carbon stocks, potentially reducing the capacity of the ocean to store CO 2 . Recent studies revealed profound seafloor impacts and sedimentary carbon loss due to fishing and shipping, yet most other human activities in the ocean have been overlooked. Here, we present an assessment of organic carbon disturbance related to the globally-extensive subsea telecommunications cable network. Up to 2.82–11.26 Mt of organic carbon worldwide has been disturbed as a result of cable burial, in water depths of up to 2000 m. While orders of magnitude lower than that disturbed by bottom fishing, it is a non-trivial amount that is absent from global budgets. Future offshore developments that disturb the seafloor should consider the safeguarding of carbon stocks, across the full spectrum of Blue Economy industries. The sequestration of organic carbon in seafloor sediments plays a key role in regulating global climate. Here, the authors present an assessment of organic carbon disturbance related to the globally-extensive subsea telecommunications cable network.