GLORIA

GEOMAR Library Ocean Research Information Access

X

Your email was sent successfully. Check your inbox.

An error occurred while sending the email. Please try again.

Proceed reservation?

Export
  • 1
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Ecology of a polymetallic nodule occurrence gradient: Implications for deep‐sea mining
    Wiley ; 2019
    In:  Limnology and Oceanography Vol. 64, No. 5 ( 2019-09), p. 1883-1894
    Details
    In: Limnology and Oceanography, Wiley, Vol. 64, No. 5 ( 2019-09), p. 1883-1894
    Abstract: Abyssal polymetallic nodule fields constitute an unusual deep‐sea habitat. The mix of soft sediment and the hard substratum provided by nodules increases the complexity of these environments. Hard substrata typically support a very distinct fauna to that of seabed sediments, and its presence can play a major role in the structuring of benthic assemblages. We assessed the influence of seafloor nodule cover on the megabenthos of a marine conservation area (area of particular environmental interest 6) in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (3950–4250 m water depth) using extensive photographic surveys from an autonomous underwater vehicle. Variations in nodule cover (1–20%) appeared to exert statistically significant differences in faunal standing stocks, some biological diversity attributes, faunal composition, functional group composition, and the distribution of individual species. The standing stock of both the metazoan fauna and the giant protists (xenophyophores) doubled with a very modest initial increase in nodule cover (from 1% to 3%). Perhaps contrary to expectation, we detected little if any substantive variation in biological diversity along the nodule cover gradient. Faunal composition varied continuously along the nodule cover gradient. We discuss these results in the context of potential seabed‐mining operations and the associated sustainable management and conservation plans. We note in particular that successful conservation actions will likely require the preservation of areas comprising the full range of nodule cover and not just the low cover areas that are least attractive to mining.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0024-3590 , 1939-5590
    URL: Issue
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.1002/lno.v64.5
    DOI: 10.1002/lno.11157
    Language: English
    Publisher: Wiley
    Publication Date: 2019
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2033191-5
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 412737-7
    SSG: 12
    SSG: 14
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    Online Resource
  • 2
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Compact-Morphology-based poly-metallic Nodule Delineation
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC ; 2017
    In:  Scientific Reports Vol. 7, No. 1 ( 2017-10-17)
    Details
    In: Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 7, No. 1 ( 2017-10-17)
    Abstract: Poly-metallic nodules are a marine resource considered for deep sea mining. Assessing nodule abundance is of interest for mining companies and to monitor potential environmental impact. Optical seafloor imaging allows quantifying poly-metallic nodule abundance at spatial scales from centimetres to square kilometres. Towed cameras and diving robots acquire high-resolution imagery that allow detecting individual nodules and measure their sizes. Spatial abundance statistics can be computed from these size measurements, providing e.g. seafloor coverage in percent and the nodule size distribution. Detecting nodules requires segmentation of nodule pixels from pixels showing sediment background. Semi-supervised pattern recognition has been proposed to automate this task. Existing nodule segmentation algorithms employ machine learning that trains a classifier to segment the nodules in a high-dimensional feature space. Here, a rapid nodule segmentation algorithm is presented. It omits computation-intense feature-based classification and employs image processing only. It exploits a nodule compactness heuristic to delineate individual nodules. Complex machine learning methods are avoided to keep the algorithm simple and fast. The algorithm has successfully been applied to different image datasets. These data sets were acquired by different cameras, camera platforms and in varying illumination conditions. Their successful analysis shows the broad applicability of the proposed method.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2045-2322
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13335-x
    Language: English
    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
    Publication Date: 2017
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2615211-3
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    Online Resource
  • 3
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Megafauna community assessment of polymetallic-nodule fields with cameras: platform and methodology comparison
    Copernicus GmbH ; 2020
    In:  Biogeosciences Vol. 17, No. 12 ( 2020-06-19), p. 3115-3133
    Details
    In: Biogeosciences, Copernicus GmbH, Vol. 17, No. 12 ( 2020-06-19), p. 3115-3133
    Abstract: Abstract. With the mining of polymetallic nodules from the deep-sea seafloor once more evoking commercial interest, decisions must be taken on how to most efficiently regulate and monitor physical and community disturbance in these remote ecosystems. Image-based approaches allow non-destructive assessment of the abundance of larger fauna to be derived from survey data, with repeat surveys of areas possible to allow time series data collection. At the time of writing, key underwater imaging platforms commonly used to map seafloor fauna abundances are autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and towed camera “ocean floor observation systems” (OFOSs). These systems are highly customisable, with cameras, illumination sources and deployment protocols changing rapidly, even during a survey cruise. In this study, eight image datasets were collected from a discrete area of polymetallic-nodule-rich seafloor by an AUV and several OFOSs deployed at various altitudes above the seafloor. A fauna identification catalogue was used by five annotators to estimate the abundances of 20 fauna categories from the different datasets. Results show that, for many categories of megafauna, differences in image resolution greatly influenced the estimations of fauna abundance determined by the annotators. This is an important finding for the development of future monitoring legislation for these areas. When and if commercial exploitation of these marine resources commences, robust and verifiable standards which incorporate developing technological advances in camera-based monitoring surveys should be key to developing appropriate management regulations for these regions.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 1726-4189
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.5194/bg-17-3115-2020
    Language: English
    Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
    Publication Date: 2020
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2158181-2
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    Online Resource
  • 4
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Biological effects 26 years after simulated deep-sea mining
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC ; 2019
    In:  Scientific Reports Vol. 9, No. 1 ( 2019-05-29)
    Details
    In: Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 9, No. 1 ( 2019-05-29)
    Abstract: The potential for imminent abyssal polymetallic nodule exploitation has raised considerable scientific attention. The interface between the targeted nodule resource and sediment in this unusual mosaic habitat promotes the development of some of the most biologically diverse communities in the abyss. However, the ecology of these remote ecosystems is still poorly understood, so it is unclear to what extent and timescale these ecosystems will be affected by, and could recover from, mining disturbance. Using data inferred from seafloor photo-mosaics, we show that the effects of simulated mining impacts, induced during the “DISturbance and reCOLonization experiment” (DISCOL) conducted in 1989, were still evident in the megabenthos of the Peru Basin after 26 years. Suspension-feeder presence remained significantly reduced in disturbed areas, while deposit-feeders showed no diminished presence in disturbed areas, for the first time since the experiment began. Nevertheless, we found significantly lower heterogeneity diversity in disturbed areas and markedly distinct faunal compositions along different disturbance levels. If the results of this experiment at DISCOL can be extrapolated to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, the impacts of polymetallic nodule mining there may be greater than expected, and could potentially lead to an irreversible loss of some ecosystem functions, especially in directly disturbed areas.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2045-2322
    URL: Article
    DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44492-w
    Language: English
    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
    Publication Date: 2019
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2615211-3
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
    BibTip Others were also interested in ...
    Online Resource
Close ⊗
This website uses cookies and the analysis tool Matomo. More information can be found here...