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MARINFORSK-Marine ressurser og miljø

JPI Oceans -Deep Sea Mining- JPIO-cruise participation on cruise leg SO242-1 on the "Ecological Aspects of deep sea mining" cruise for NTNU

Alternative title: JPIO-cruise participation on cruise leg SO242-1 on the "Ecological Aspects of deep sea mining" cruise for NTNU

Awarded: NOK 0.51 mill.

The scientific work during SO242/2 (28. August - 01. October 2015) was part of the JPIO Pilot Action ?Ecological Aspects of Deep-Sea Mining?. The main goal was to study the potential long-term ecological impact of anthropogenic disturbances on the deep-sea floor from mining polymetallic Mn-nodules. The expedition SO242 was using the research vessel RV Sonne and built on studies of the former German TUSCH projects (1989-1996) with four RV SONNE cruises to the DISCOL Experimental Area in the Peru Basin, South Pacific (7°S, 88.5° W; 4150 m water depth) between 1989 and 1996 (DISCOL and ATESEPP projects). The main research questions targeted were the effect of disturbances on different ecosystem compartments and processes including: ? Physicochemical habitat characteristics ? Geochemical and biogeochemical processes at the seafloor and in the bottom ? waters ? Composition of benthic assemblages (mainly mega-, meio-, and microfauna) ? Metabolic activity and transfer of energy and matter in benthic communities ? Release, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological effects of contaminants The project presents the first hyperspectral image data from the deep seafloor. The Scientific Underwater Hyperspectral Imager (model UHI_SCI_6000) produced by Ecotone A/S was integrated into the ROV system and successfully tested and operated by NTNU. The data were acquired in about 4200 m water depth using the UHI. Data were recorded for spatial resolution (1 mm per image pixel). Combined with supervised classification methods the project shows that UHI represents a promising tool for high- resolution seafloor exploration and characterization for to resource exploration. Identification of benthic megafauna is another promising deep sea application of the UHI. Currently this identification is based on physical samples, video or photo imagery. But, sampling may be difficult and time-consuming, especially in the deep sea, and interpretation of seabed images often only allows characterization into taxonomic classes. The UHI provides a much higher spectral resolution than standard RGB imagery, enabling classification of marine organisms based on spectral signatures. The UHI data provide an increased detection rate for small megafauna difficult to resolve in standard RGB imagery.

The JPIO pilot action, proposed here, intends to return to the DISCOL experimental area about 26 years after the initial disturbance was carried out in order to assess the scale of recovery as described in the JPIO Oceans Pilot "Ecological aspects of deep-Sea Mining". The ecosystem status, and the bio-geochemical situation comparing disturbed with adjacent undisturbed sites are the targets of the operation. Furthermore, the pilot action aims at testing a range of modern rapid assessment methods and monitoring techniques for defining the ecosystem status and for improving our understanding of dynamics of abyssal environments before and after anthropogenic disturbances. NTNU will participate on the RV Sonne SO242-2 leg defined JPI Oceans. Together with scientists on RV Sonne, we will mount our UHI instrument on the ROV and collect data from a Nodule site in the Pacific Ocean. The UHI is a useful complement to the instrumentation of the operation, and if successful will provide an important tool for future monitoring and management of this type of site.

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MARINFORSK-Marine ressurser og miljø