oceans aware: inform, inspire, involve
the more you know about the ocean the more you can do to protect and restore it
the deep sea
Not all that long ago it was thought that sunlight was an essential component for life and that the depths of the ocean were barren but with the discovery of hydrothermal vents teeming with life near the Galápagos Islands back in 1977 this began to change. Hydrothermal vents occur when seawater penetrates cracks in the Earth’s crust. Absorbing metals from the surrounding rocks in the process, the water returns to the ocean floor at temperatures of up to 400 °C carrying metals such as manganese, cobalt, lithium, iron, zinc and copper. When it meets the near freezing ocean water, solid deposits are formed, which can form chimney-like towers of deposits. Some spew water filled with black iron sulphide (named black smokers), others emit white coloured elements like barium, calcium, and silicon (white smokers).
With the discovery of hydrothermal vents came the discovery of chemosynthesis and with it a new concept of how life on Earth may have originated over 3 billion years ago - and indeed may even exist elsewhere in the solar system. Whilst photosynthesis uses light, chemosynthesis uses the compounds in the water to support life. Specialized bacteria in the areas around the vents convert the sulphur compounds and heat from the water into food and energy. As the bacteria multiply they provide food for other animals such as deep-sea mussels, clams, snails, shrimps, yeti crabs, zoarcid fish and octopuses, acting as a magnet for deep sea life in areas that were once considered barren. Some species, such as giant tube worms, have developed a symbiotic relationship with the microbes, hosting them in exchange for their nutrients. Giant tubeworms can grow up to 2 metres in length, they cluster together around vents using hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide and oxygen from the water to feed the bacteria they host. The bacteria use the energy from the hydrogen sulphide to convert carbon dioxide into sugars which in return feed the tubeworms.
It is thought that there are about 500 hydrothermal vent sites found in volcanic areas across the ocean floor. Research into the vents, the metals they bring to the floor and the marine life that they attract is still in comparatively early stages due to the challenges involved in reaching these depths and the limited number of submersibles capable of doing so. Interestingly, marine life throughout the water column is attracted to the vents, from the ocean floor up to the epipelagic zone. Migratory species such as whales or tunas tend to congregate above vents or seeps on their journeys, often resting at these sites for days at a time.
Polymetallic Nodule-Rich Abyssal Plains and the Water Column
The capacity of the deep ocean to store carbon - and the enourmous impact that mining or dredging the seabed will have - are discussed in this informative webinar, Policy Perspectives on the Deep Ocean under Climate Change, its’well worth a watch:
Spotlight on the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), is a group of more than 90 non-government organizations, fishers organizations and law and policy institutes worldwide working together to protect vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems. Created in 2004 as a response to international concerns over the harmful impacts of deep-sea bottom trawling, the DSCC has since widened its remit and is now working "to protect vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems and conserve deep-sea species, recognizing that this has wide implications for the ocean as a whole, Earth systems and human wellbeing", its focus now includes deep-sea mining, deep-sea fishing and ocean governance.
In terms of deep-sea fishing, DSCC aims to protect all seamounts in the High Seas from the destructive impacts of deep-sea bottom trawling. They call on all States "to ensure effective implementation of the United Nations General Assembly resolutions which commit nations to protect deep-sea ecosystems from damage caused by bottom fisheries on the high seas". The DSCC is also working to ensure that the text of the new United Nations treaty for the High Seas will include effective protection of the deep sea.
The DSCC is calling for a moratorium on seabed mining unless and until certain conditions around environmental harm, good governance and social license can be met. According to their website, they see commercial deep-sea mining as a new threat for the ocean which would irreversibly destroy ancient deep-sea habitats, impact those who derive their livelihoods from the ocean (for example from fisheries), and risk disturbing the planet’s biggest carbon sink. They are working to stop this industry before it starts by demanding that leaders and governments put "science and precaution first when it comes to deciding whether or not to open the deep sea to an extractive industry that we don’t need and cannot afford".
The DSCC calls for the following conditions to be met before a moratorium could be lifted:
the environmental, social and economic risks are comprehensively understood;
it can be clearly demonstrated that deep seabed mining can be managed in such a way that ensures the effective protection of the marine environment and prevents loss of biodiversity;
where relevant, there is a framework in place to respect the free, prior, informed consent of Indigenous peoples and to ensure consent from potentially affected communities;
alternative sources for the responsible production and use of the metals also found in the deep sea have been fully explored and applied, such as reduction of demand for primary metals, a transformation to a resource efficient, closed-loop materials circular economy, and responsible terrestrial mining practices;
public consultation mechanisms have been established and there is broad and informed public support for deep seabed mining, and that any deep seabed mining permitted by the International Seabed Authority fulfils the obligation to ‘benefit (hu)mankind as a whole’ and respects the Common Heritage of Mankind; and
member States reform the structure and functioning of the International Seabed Authority to ensure a transparent, accountable, inclusive and environmentally responsible decision-making and regulatory process to achieve the above.
Joining DSCC and hundreds of marine scientists in their call, numerous companies like Google, Philips, VW, BMW and Volvo have agreed to support a moratorium and have committed not to source minerals from the deep seabed or to use such minerals in their supply chains and not to finance deep seabed mining activities. A number of States called for a moratorium at the latest meeting of the IUCN in 2021, with some States going further, banning seabed mining in their waters. A list of all those involved may be found here, the latest updates are available on the DSCC twitter account and you can join their call to put your hand up for a moratorium here.
The DSCC's In Too Deep documentary explores the question if we really need to mine the ocean floor.
Tracey Jennings/Coral Reef Image Bank