Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental impact

Lead Research Organisation: NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE
Department Name: Science and Technology

Abstract

Over a 6 million square km region of the central Pacific ocean, at abyssal depths of almost five thousand metres, lies a vast mineral resource in the form of small potato-sized deposits called polymetallic nodules. They are highly-enriched in metals of importance for industry, including the development of new sustainable technologies. Although the region lies in international waters, countries have now signed 16 exploration contracts with a UN-organised international regulator and the United Kingdom is sponsor to two of these, covering an area more than the size of England. It is a requirement of both the regulator and the sponsoring state to ensure that serious harm is avoided to the marine ecosystem in this region - a hitherto untouched deep-sea wilderness. Developing a sustainable approach to polymetallic nodule mining is a challenge as the nature and importance of the Pacific abyssal ecosystem is largely unknown, as are the capacity of the ecosystem to cope with and recover from mining impacts. Our project aims to provide the critical scientific understanding and evidence-base to reduce the risks of this industrial development, taking advantage of two new and unique opportunities to solve these problems in a single programme.
Firstly, the UK contractor that holds the UK-sponsored exploration contract (UK Seabed Resources) is planning a mining test in 2023, which will allow us to test the immediate impacts of a seabed mining vehicle for the first time. Secondly, as a partner in the first full-scale mining test done in 1979, they have been able to release new data on the location and results of a 40-year old large-scale mining operation. Our project team have secured access to data and test plans, to allow detailed experimental evaluation of impact and recovery from realistic mining disturbance on a decadal scale of vital relevance to understanding the long-term sustainability of deep-sea mining.
The project aims to better understand the ecosystem in the Pacific abyss and how the different components interact and interconnect. We will start by assessing the water and its dynamic flows over time and space. This complex physical environment will be monitored for a year to capture its variabilities, particularly "storm events" near the seabed. We will use this to make predictions about where the sediment plume generated by mining will be transported and settle back to the seafloor. We then assess the linkages between the water, sediment surface and sub sediments, evaluating the natural cycling of nutrients and metals that is important to maintain ecosystem health. The impacts of mining and recovery of these processes will be assessed. Mining will lead to changes in the structure of the seabed, its shape and the physical nature of the sediments, which will be mapped and linked to biological patterns. The biological processes that lead to these patterns will be assessed by detailing the life histories and reproduction of the organisms present and their connectivity between areas near and far, and then determining their role in maintaining structured communities of life, a high biodiversity and a functioning food web. We will then evaluate the functions in the ecosystem that these organisms provide, which help maintain a healthy ecosystem. The impact of mining and recovery of all these patterns and processes will be determined using our experimental areas to assess the biological and functional consequences of disturbance in the deep sea. These changes are likely complex, so a range of mathematical models will be used to better understand and predict the consequences of mining activities at larger time and space scales. Such predictive power, along with the evidence from the scientific assessment, will provide information that is critical for understanding and reducing the environmental risk of future mining activities.

Planned Impact

The SMARTEX project will deliver wider societal impact in several areas. Most importantly, we will develop improved greatly predictions of the effects of anthropogenic impacts in the deep sea. This will directly impact the policy decisions and the implementation of policy by both the sponsoring state - the UK government - and the international regulator, the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The UK has a responsibility for protection and preservation of the marine environment from mining activities. This will most likely be achieved through due diligence of the mining contractor's environmental impact assessment and approach for environmental monitoring. This requires robust independent scientific evidence of the sort provided by SMARTEX. Several UK government departments will coordinate these environmental responsibilities, but the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and their statutory advisor Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) will be central. In addition, the UK has a key role in the ISA as a longstanding member and a regular member of council (coordinated through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office). This leadership role requires engagement in ISA activities, such as development of effective, evidence-based policy for deep-sea mining, which cannot be done effectively without knowledge on the environments being mined and the likely long term effects of mining operations. SMARTEX will thus contribute to the UK's international standing, and build capacity across the wide range of nations engaged in ISA discussions.
At a broader level, the improved interdisciplinary knowledge of ecosystems in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone collected by SMARTEX will also be important for regional management planning by the ISA. Coordination of multiple mining activities will require an indication of impact and recovery. The SMARTEX information on key factors, such as biodiversity, ecosystem structure, trophic dynamics, life histories and connectivity, will be important for the development and theoretical testing of proposed conservation strategies, particularly the implementation of marine protected areas.
The planned work will have important implications for the developing deep-sea mining industry itself. Deep-sea mining contractors, including the UK-sponsored company UK Seabed Resources Ltd (UKSRL; a partner in this project), need to carefully plan their operations to minimise their environmental impacts. Evidence and experience from this project will directly feed into environmental risk assessment, monitoring planning and mitigation actions carried out by all deep-sea mining contractors. Although UKSRL will have to carry out an independent environmental impact assessment, they will benefit from additional information from their licence area and scientific evaluation of ecosystem impact and recovery collected by SMARTEX. The project will, however, act independently of UKSRL.
Complementary to seabed mining policy, we will also impact the debate on marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) that have been the focus of recent international negotiations. Knowledge of the nature and extent of marine genetic resources in ABNJ, such as that collected by the project, will be important in informing these debates. Genetic data collected by this project will be archived and accessible alongside specimens and metadata, facilitating assessment and development of potentially valuable or useful marine genetic resources.
The development of seabed mining requires greater public awareness of our deep-sea regions, and SMARTEX will includes a programme of public engagement activities, targeting both the general public and the next generation of marine scientists. The public will benefit from having greater awareness and more evidence on the impacts of mining to inform debate.

Publications

10 25 50

 
Description Authorship of UK Government "Deep-Sea Mining Evidence Review"
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description Contribution to International Seabed Authority (UN Body) guidance document "Draft guidelines for the establishment of baseline environmental data"
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or Improved professional practice
 
Description Review of SMARTEX's outputs and applicability to the ISA's Sustainable Seabed Knowledge Initiative (SSKI)
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
 
Title Abyssal NE Pacific Seafloor Megafauna Dataset 
Description Benthic megafauna invertebrate (animals > 10 mm) observations from seabed imagery data collected across the Clarion Clipperton Zone, in the NE Pacific abyss: 53512 specimens classified in 411 morphotypes (13 Phyla) based on the APSMA catalogue (see https://zenodo.org/record/7765164). Dataset used to develop (please cite as): Simon-Lledó, et al. (2023). Carbonate compensation depth drives abyssal biogeography in the northeast Pacific. Nature Ecology & Evolution; doi:10.1038/s41559-023-02122-9 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2023 
Provided To Others? Yes  
URL https://zenodo.org/record/7982461
 
Title Megafauna distribution predicted with random forest classification in the German contract area for polymetallic nodule mining, Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone, Pacific 
Description The dataset contains grid-files of the predicted probability of occurrence, respectively non-occurrence, predicted for the 68 morphotypes across the German contract area allocated to the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) for the exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Clarion Clipperton Facture Zone, Pacific with random forest classification. All grid-files are saved in the standard format of the R-package "raster" (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/raster/index.html) and contain 2 bands, the first being the predicted probability for absence and the second layer for presence of the specific morphotype. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
URL https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.946804
 
Title Megafauna morphotypes annotated on deep see images in the German contract area for polymetallic nodule mining, Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone, Pacific 
Description The dataset contains the counts of megafauna morphotypes annotated on deep sea images from the contract area allocated to the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) for the exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Clarion Clipperton Facture Zone, Pacific. A subset of this dataset was used to compute distribution models for 68 megafauna morphotypes (referred to as study 1 in the table). Another subset was used to investigate the influence of habitat heterogeneity on the megafauna composition (referred to as study 2 in the table). 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
URL https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.946800
 
Title simon-lledo/Ecology_deep sea mass crustacean falls_rawObservations 
Description Initial release following acceptance at Ecology of Simon-Lledó et al. Mass falls of crustacean carcasses link surface waters and the deep seafloor. Data (.csv) contains: Location (Latitude/Longitude), Seascape type, Transect code, and Standard Carapace Length (SCL, mm) of the crustacean carcasses assessed to investigate the (abyssal) mass fall presented in the study. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
URL https://zenodo.org/record/7042089
 
Description Article about research in New Yorker Magazine 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact An article came out that is directly related to the SMARTEX research in the prestigious magazine "New Yorker" June 21, 2021 Issue.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/06/21/the-deep-sea-is-filled-with-treasure-but-it-comes-at-a...
 
Description Article in DiverNet Magazine 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Article in Divernet magazine "Most life in deep-miners' target zone new to science" following publication of paper in Current Biology (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.052) with input from Daniel Jones
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://divernet.com/scuba-news/marine-biology/most-animals-in-miners-target-zone-new-to-science/
 
Description Article in Marine Technology News 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Article in Marine Technology News 'MTR100: Deep-sea Mining May Prove Pivotal in the Climate Change Discussion' with section on SMARTEX and input from Daniel Jones
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.marinetechnologynews.com/news/mtr100-mining-prove-pivotal-623333
 
Description Article in Marine Technology News 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Article on deep sea mining in relation to climate change, mentioning SMARTEX and with input from Daniel Jones
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://www.marinetechnologynews.com/news/mtr100-mining-prove-pivotal-623333
 
Description Briefing to Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Division 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Daniel Jones and Adrian Glover gave a briefing to the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Division on Deep-Sea Mining at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on 7th November 2023.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Contribution to ISA Contractors Meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Environmental collaboration workshop - information sharing on e.g. baseline environmental surveys
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
 
Description Deep-sea ecosystems 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Contribution to a podcast for the Geographical magazine, discussing deep-sea ecosystems and how we study them
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Habitat mapping in the deep ocean: using the latest technologies to chart the Earth's last frontier 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Invited lecture in the 'Marie Tharp' lecture series of the Geomar institute, Kiel, Germany. The lecture series is specifically aimed to provide a stage for leading female researchers, and includes a panel discussion with female Early Career Researchers afterwards.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description ISA-NOC Expert Scoping Meeting on Advancing Technology to Support the Sustainable Mining of Mineral Resources in the Area 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The International Seabed Authority (ISA) Expert Scoping Meeting on Advancing Technology to Support the Sustainable Mining of Mineral Resources in the Area was organized in collaboration with the UK National Oceanography Centre (NOC) including several members of the SMARTEX team. The meeting took place virtually between 2 and 4 November 2021 and involved 120 participants from 41 countries, including representatives from research institutions, contractors, relevant industries and United Nations and other international organizations.
Noting that various initiatives relating to technology innovations are being developed within the context of ISA Action Plan in support of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development endorsed by the ISA Assembly in December 2020, participants emphasized the need for multidisciplinary collaboration. The ISA Secretariat will facilitate such collaboration to continue the dialogue among different groups of stakeholders and experts, including contractors, relevant industries, research institutions and others, about necessary technological advancement to meet environmental sustainability objectives of future exploitation activities. It is anticipated that, building on the ISA Strategic Plan and High-Level Action Plan for 2019-2023 as well as the ISA Action Plan in support of the UN Decade, the ISA approach on capacity development and the outcomes of this Expert Scoping Meeting, consideration will be given to develop a dedicated roadmap to guide the work of the organization and foster collaboration.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://isa.org.jm/news/isa-noc-expert-meeting-defines-pathways-advance-innovation-and-technology-de...
 
Description In panel discussion at Financial Times Mining Summit 8 Oct 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Daniel Jones and Adrian Glover (both SMARTEX) did a panel discussion on deep-sea mining with Gerard Barron, CEO of The Metals Company at the Financial Times Mining Summit. This attracted hundreds of high-level participants from the commodities industries.

Excerpt from letter of thanks from the Financial Times

"I am extremely grateful to you for agreeing to be a speaker at the recent FT Mining Summit.
The Summit attracted a high-level global audience from over 72 countries and was extremely well attended. I have received many very favourable comments on the quality of the contributions, the programme and the participation and attendance of so many senior executives from the industry. In addition, we were very pleased to see that a large percentage of the audience used the community facility on the website to connect with other attendees.The success of our Mining Summit was in no small part due to your excellent contribution"
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://mining.live.ft.com/
 
Description JC237 - A user-case example of the hybrid application of marine autonomy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Presentation at the annual MATS symposium at NOC
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://noc-events.co.uk/mats-2022
 
Description JC237 - A user-case example of the hybrid application of marine autonomy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation for the research group 'Marine technology' of the Bremen University, Germany. Resulted in scientific discussions and plans for further collaboration
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Kick-off workshop of the HWK study group on deep-sea benthic ecosystems offshore West Africa - focus Cabo Verde 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact First actual workshop of the study group developed and supported by the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study in Delmenhorst, Germany. Aim of the workshop was to develop the outline for a journal special issue on the ecosystem of Cabo Verde, and to discuss further research plans and proposals for the development of a Marine Protected Area in Cabo Verde. Participants were colleague scientists from 7 different countries, plus members of in-country NGOs.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Online seminar to GEOMAR 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Seminar to researchers at GEOMAR on 'Benthic Megafaunal Ecology of the Clarion Clipperton Zone'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation at Deep Ocean Observing Strategy annual meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact Daniel Jones gave an oral presentation on "Environmental exploration in the CCZ. Observations for understanding and effective regulation" at the Deep Ocean Observing Strategy (DOOS) annual meeting. DOOS is a UN Ocean Decade Programme.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation at Deep Sea Biology Symposium 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Daniel Jones gave an oral presentation on "Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental impact (SMARTEX)" on 13 September 2021 at the 16th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium in Brest, France. The Deep Sea Biology Symposium aims to bring together experts from around the world who have strong interest in deep-sea biological science, biodiversity conservation, deep-sea environment policy and management for better protection of biodiversity and ecosystems.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Presentation at Deep Sea Mining Summit 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Daniel Jones gave an oral presentation on "Seabed Mining and Environmental Resilience to Impacts" on 27 April 2022 at the Deep-Sea Mining Summit, Canary Wharf, London, UK. The Deep-Sea Mining Summit brings together solution providers, upcoming deep sea miners, members from the scientific community, and allied industries wanting to learn more about the opportunities within this emerging marketplace.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation at International Congress on the Biology of Fish 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Mark Hartl preseneted a poster (in person) on the preparatory work to optimize ecotox assays for Objective 6 at the 14th International Congress on the Biology of Fish, 28 June - 1 July 2022, Montpellier. The biannual International Congress on the Biology of Fish (ICBF) meetings started in 1994 and are as a premier event for the global community of researchers in the field of fish physiology.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation at NORI Collector Test Monitoring Programme meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Knowledge sharing. Daniel Jones gave a presentation on Megafaunal Assessment at NORI-D at the NORI Collector Test Monitoring Programme meeting, held 5-7 April 2022 (London)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation at Trident Meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation 'Monitoring during SMARTEX' given to Horizon Europe project, Trident (Technology based impact assessment tool for sustainable, transparent deep sea mining exploration and exploitation).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Recorded lesson for ISA Deep Dive e-learning platform 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Recorded lesson on 'Deep-sea Megafauna of the Clarion Clipperton Zone' for the International Seabed Authority's Deep Dive e-learning platform. This is the only e-learning training platform exclusively devised to address all elements of the legal regime in Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement, including technical and scientific aspects. There willbe three intakes of cohorts throughout 2024
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023,2024
URL https://www.isa.org.jm/deep-dive/
 
Description Return to Whittard Canyon: monitoring long-term change in a complex deep-sea environment 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation for the research group 'Sedimentology' at the Bremen University, Germany. Resulted in scientific discussions and opportunities for further collaboration
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Return to Whittard Canyon: monitoring long-term change in a complex deep-sea environment 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation for the research group 'Marine Geology' at Bremen University, Germany. Resulted in scientific discussions and opportunities for further collaborations
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Talk at ISA Workshop on Enhancing Image-based Biodiversity Assessments to Advance Deep-Sea Taxonomy 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Daniel Jones presented on Image Surveys of Benthic Communities (including reference to SMARTEX) at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Workshop on Enhancing Image-based Biodiversity Assessments to Advance Deep-Sea Taxonomy. This workshop was well attended by policy makers, scientists and industry and will result in an ISA report and input into regulator-owned guidance on industry monitoring and baseline assessment.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.isa.org.jm/event/workshop-enhancing-image-based-biodiversity-assessments-oct2021#:~:text...
 
Description UKSR/Loke Environmental Assessment Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact Knowledge sharing. Daniel Jones gave a presentation on 'Abyssal Megafauna' as part of involvement in a UKSR/Loke Environmental Assessment Workshop, 21-22 Sept 2023 (London)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description White House Briefing 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Invited by Executive Office of the President to give briefing on deep-sea mining to US government's interagency policy committee on seabed minerals through White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The briefing was done on 26 June 2023. There were 47 people present. The agencies represented were OSTP and fellow White House staff from the National Economic Council, National Security Council, Council on Environmental Quality, and Office of Management and Budget (Regulatory Affairs). Also present were representatives from NOAA, State Department, the National Science Foundation, the Department of the Interior (both the US Geological Survey and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management), the Department of Defense, Dept of Energy, Export-Import Bank, FBI, Navy and Coast Guard. The personnel included members of the US International Seabed Authority Delegation, policy makers, legal advisors, and those in the UK Government financial/economic branches.
There were three talks from the SMARTEX team covering the baseline environment of the Clarion Clipperton Zone, biodiversity data, and the impacts of mining. This included the latest results from high-profile SMARTEX papers and the SMARTEX cruise JC241. This sparked discussion on the optimal approaches for environmental management, policy direction and US funding priorities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023