Background
Global interest in the exploration and exploitation of deep-sea minerals is on the rise. Enabled by technological advances and driven by geopolitical, economic and scientific motivations, public and private alike are increasingly venturing to the edges of the continental shelves and into areas beyond national jurisdiction in search of new resources. However, deep-sea ecosystems and the potential effects of mining activities on them are poorly understood.
Therefore, 11 member countries of JPI Oceans decided to launch a joint research activity in the field in order to jointly analyse the long-term ecological consequences of deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining to inform the international regulation of deep sea mining activities by:
- Predicting the ecological, biogeochemical and hydrodynamic consequences of a mining impact.
- Testing a range of modern rapid assessment methods and monitoring techniques for defining the ecosystem status.
- Communicating the results to stakeholders and policymakers.
- Conducting a comparative baseline study across different deep-sea environments (eg. trophic states and seamounts)