Giant fleets the oceans trawl,
Gasping fish they skywards haul.
Not just critters do they move,
But sediments they push and groove …
Ten times greater their extent
Than the land that farmers dent!
What will come of shelf slopes now,
Underneath the deep-sea plough?
___________________________
Further reading:
Ploughing the deep sea floor, Puig et al., Nature 2012
Katherine Allen is a researcher in geochemistry and paleoclimate at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
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