Zhuangcai Tian
Shengjie Rui
Jinran Wu
Ning Fan
Lei Guo- 1 State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Construction and Healthy Operation and Maintenance of Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China
- 2 Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway
- 3 School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- 4 College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China
- 5 Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
1 Introduction
Mineral resources serve as a fundamental component of industrial production and exert a significant influence on global economic development, strategic security, and international trade patterns (Ma et al., 2023; Tian J. et al., 2024). The global distribution of major mineral resources is markedly uneven. As terrestrial metal resources become increasingly depleted, attention has shifted toward marine sources. Marine mineral resources encompass a variety of minerals found in coastal and deep-sea environments (Fan et al., 2022). Based on their formation processes, these resources are categorised into three main types: sand minerals, seabed authigenic minerals, and seabed consolidated rock minerals, which include oil and gas, polymetallic nodules, and gas hydrates, among others.
The deep sea, which covers over 60% of the Earth’s surface, remains largely unexplored and is characterised by a diverse array of geological features shaped by distinct sedimentary processes (Tian et al., 2019; Tian Z. et al., 2024). Deep-sea sediment transport, defined as the movement of sediment particles across the ocean floor, is influenced by multiple factors, including bottom currents, turbidity currents, and biological activity (Fan et al., 2023; Fan et al., 2025). The emergence of deep-sea mining has added complexity to sediment transport dynamics, involving the extraction of valuable minerals such as polymetallic nodules, seafloor massive sulfides, and crusts from the ocean floor. The potential environmental consequences of deep-sea mining are a growing concern, as these activities can cause sediment resuspension, disrupt benthic habitats, and release toxic elements into the marine environment (Tian et al., 2023; Li et al., 2023). Therefore, the investigation of deep-sea sediment transport and the environmental implications of mining activities represents a multidisciplinary field that integrates geology, oceanography, and related disciplines.
The increasing focus on deep-sea resource extraction raises significant concerns regarding the environmental impact of sediment disturbances resulting from mining operations (Dong et al., 2025). These activities have the potential to disrupt the fragile equilibrium of deep-sea ecosystems, alter sediment transport dynamics, and cause irreversible damage to marine environments (Liu et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2024). Consequently, the objective of this Research Topic is to establish a comprehensive framework for the sustainable management of deep-sea sediment transport and mining activities. This framework seeks to minimise environmental impacts while facilitating the responsible extraction of deep-sea resources.
2 Summary of papers
This Research Topic brings together a diverse Research Topic of studies that address sustainability and environmental considerations in mining from multiple perspectives. The contributions span advanced computational methods, innovative geological modelling techniques, experimental investigations of rock behaviour under extreme conditions, and novel geophysical detection approaches. Collectively, these papers demonstrate how interdisciplinary research—from machine learning to material science and seismic imaging—can provide new insights and tools for managing the environmental challenges of both deep-sea and solid Earth mining activities.
Lee et al. proposed a machine learning framework for classifying seabed sediments using both multibeam and sampling data. Five machine learning models—Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, Deep Neural Network, Extreme Gradient Boosting, and Light Gradient Boosting Machine—were trained to predict sediment compositions (gravel, sand, clay, and silt). Validation against field data from the East Sea of South Korea demonstrated significant improvements in prediction accuracy, particularly with the Extreme Gradient Boosting model. Overall, comparing the study’s results, we found that the prediction accuracy improved from 60.81% before using the proposed method to 72.73% after using it.
Gao et al. designed a novel technical workflow and a set of three-dimensional structure modelling methods for geological bodies containing complex faults. A model stitching strategy based on the ear clipping algorithm was proposed to incorporate fine fault models into the modified original model. A multi-layer triangulated irregular network-3DT model was constructed through continuous stratum modelling, fine fault modelling, overlap detection based on the two-dimensional projection topological relationship, extraction of ordered contour line segments of model boundaries, and model reconstruction based on the ear clipping. An underground modelling experiment revealed that these modelling methods and technical systems can accurately depict the geometric form around complex geological faults.
Zhang et al. comprehensively characterised the temperature-dependent structural alterations and fluid transport properties by integrating experimental approaches. The results indicate that as the temperature increases, the mass loss rate and porosity of gneiss significantly increase. Seepage simulation reveals that the absolute permeability increases by approximately 135% at 800 °C. Microscopic analysis reveals that the evaporation of intercrystalline bound water and differential thermal expansion of minerals are the main causes of crack propagation. This study innovatively combines X-CT scanning technology with digital core analysis to establish a three-dimensional quantitative evaluation system for gneiss fractures, offering theoretical and technical support for deep mining engineering.
Huang et al. investigated wide-azimuth detection utilising a CO2-concentrated source through theoretical analysis, three-dimensional numerical simulation, and physical analysis. The studies establish that the dominant excitation direction for channel wave advanced detection using concentrated force sources is horizontal and perpendicular to the tunnel axis. Based on the Y-direction concentrated force source, a study was conducted on the characteristics of a wide-azimuth three-dimensional three-component seismic wavefield. The migration process is carried out using fault characteristic waves. Compared with the narrow-azimuth observation systems, the wide-azimuth observation systems can effectively eliminate symmetry artifacts, further verifying the effectiveness of the method.
Together, these contributions highlight the interdisciplinary progress in applying machine learning, geological modelling, material characterisation, and geophysical detection toward more sustainable and environmentally conscious mining practices.
3 Concluding remarks
The contributions in this Research Topic show how different strands of research can be brought together to address the environmental and sustainability challenges facing mining today. Approaches based on machine learning, three-dimensional geological modelling, experimental studies of rock behaviour, and advanced seismic detection each tackle specific problems, but they also point to a common direction: improving safety, reducing uncertainty, and limiting the environmental footprint of mining activities.
Sustainable mining will depend not only on technical solutions but also on how these methods are integrated into practice, from operational planning to long-term environmental management. As attention shifts increasingly toward deep-sea resources and more complex solid Earth environments, there is a clear need for closer collaboration across geology, engineering, oceanography, and environmental science. By linking practical innovation with a stronger awareness of ecological risk, the field can move toward resource development that is both responsible and resilient.
Author contributions
ZT: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal Analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing. SR: Writing – review and editing. JW: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal Analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – review and editing. NF: Writing – review and editing. LG: Writing – review and editing.
Funding
The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by Field Chief Editor Prof. Valerio Acocella for this Research Topic. The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Associate Editors for efficiently handling the editorial process and offering insightful comments that significantly enhanced the quality of this Research Topic editorial. All authors who contributed valuable papers, as well as the referees who provided insightful reviews, are also sincerely acknowledged.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The author(s) hereby declare that they served as an editorial board member of Frontiers at the time of submission. This had no influence on the peer review process or the final decision.
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References
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Keywords: sediment, mining, deepsea, turbidity plume, sustainability
Citation: Tian Z, Rui S, Wu J, Fan N and Guo L (2025) Editorial: Sustainability and environmental considerations in mining: from deep-sea to solid earth. Front. Earth Sci. 13:1712087. doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1712087
Received: 24 September 2025; Accepted: 31 October 2025;
Published: 11 November 2025.
Edited and reviewed by:
Sabine Schmidt, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), FranceCopyright © 2025 Tian, Rui, Wu, Fan and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Zhuangcai Tian, emh1YW5nY2FpdGlhbkAxNjMuY29t
Editorial on the Research Topic Sustainability and environmental considerations in mining: from deep-sea to solid earth