Monitoring benthic plumes, sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining
Abstract A deep-sea (4500 m) trial of a pre-prototype polymetallic nodule collector with independent scientific monitoring revealed that a gravity current formed behind the collector channeled through steeper seafloor sections and traveled 500 m downslope. The prevailing bottom currents dominated se...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56311-0 |
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| author | Iason-Zois Gazis Henko de Stigter Jochen Mohrmann Karl Heger Melanie Diaz Benjamin Gillard Matthias Baeye Mario E. Veloso-Alarcón Kaveh Purkiani Matthias Haeckel Annemiek Vink Laurenz Thomsen Jens Greinert |
| author_facet | Iason-Zois Gazis Henko de Stigter Jochen Mohrmann Karl Heger Melanie Diaz Benjamin Gillard Matthias Baeye Mario E. Veloso-Alarcón Kaveh Purkiani Matthias Haeckel Annemiek Vink Laurenz Thomsen Jens Greinert |
| author_sort | Iason-Zois Gazis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract A deep-sea (4500 m) trial of a pre-prototype polymetallic nodule collector with independent scientific monitoring revealed that a gravity current formed behind the collector channeled through steeper seafloor sections and traveled 500 m downslope. The prevailing bottom currents dominated sediment dispersion up to the end of the monitoring area at 4.5 km distance. The maximum suspended particle concentration recorded 50 m from mining lanes was up to four orders of magnitude higher than ambient values but decreased rapidly with increasing time, distance, and altitude. Most of the plume remained close to the seafloor, with the highest concentrations at 1 m monitoring altitude and reaching background concentrations at 50 m. Rapid particle flocculation was followed by fast and substantial sediment redeposition. A mm-scale photogrammetric seafloor reconstruction allowed quantitative estimates of the thickness of redeposited sediment next to mining lanes of ≈ 3 cm and a minimum erosional depth of 5 cm. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9aaf388418464bd0b3252c8bcff4be93 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-9aaf388418464bd0b3252c8bcff4be932025-02-02T12:31:20ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111610.1038/s41467-025-56311-0Monitoring benthic plumes, sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep-sea polymetallic nodule miningIason-Zois Gazis0Henko de Stigter1Jochen Mohrmann2Karl Heger3Melanie Diaz4Benjamin Gillard5Matthias Baeye6Mario E. Veloso-Alarcón7Kaveh Purkiani8Matthias Haeckel9Annemiek Vink10Laurenz Thomsen11Jens Greinert12GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea ResearchGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea ResearchConstructor UniversityRoyal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielFederal Institute for Geosciences and Natural ResourcesConstructor UniversityGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research KielAbstract A deep-sea (4500 m) trial of a pre-prototype polymetallic nodule collector with independent scientific monitoring revealed that a gravity current formed behind the collector channeled through steeper seafloor sections and traveled 500 m downslope. The prevailing bottom currents dominated sediment dispersion up to the end of the monitoring area at 4.5 km distance. The maximum suspended particle concentration recorded 50 m from mining lanes was up to four orders of magnitude higher than ambient values but decreased rapidly with increasing time, distance, and altitude. Most of the plume remained close to the seafloor, with the highest concentrations at 1 m monitoring altitude and reaching background concentrations at 50 m. Rapid particle flocculation was followed by fast and substantial sediment redeposition. A mm-scale photogrammetric seafloor reconstruction allowed quantitative estimates of the thickness of redeposited sediment next to mining lanes of ≈ 3 cm and a minimum erosional depth of 5 cm.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56311-0 |
| spellingShingle | Iason-Zois Gazis Henko de Stigter Jochen Mohrmann Karl Heger Melanie Diaz Benjamin Gillard Matthias Baeye Mario E. Veloso-Alarcón Kaveh Purkiani Matthias Haeckel Annemiek Vink Laurenz Thomsen Jens Greinert Monitoring benthic plumes, sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining Nature Communications |
| title | Monitoring benthic plumes, sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining |
| title_full | Monitoring benthic plumes, sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring benthic plumes, sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring benthic plumes, sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining |
| title_short | Monitoring benthic plumes, sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining |
| title_sort | monitoring benthic plumes sediment redeposition and seafloor imprints caused by deep sea polymetallic nodule mining |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56311-0 |
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