Workshop on the Establishment of a Geological Model of ...

Baidy Diène, Special Adviser to the Minister of Mining and Energy of Senegal, outlined the legal
background underpinning the Authority’s role in collecting resource assessment data from contractors, as
spelled out in the Law of the Sea Convention and the regulations on exploration. Data were required from
prospectors conducting unregulated research, but mainly from applicants for exploration contracts and the
contractors themselves, annually and in still greater detail at the end of contracts. These submissions were to
cover many types of physical, environmental and even financial data, and had to be reliable, representative
and comparable. The Authority’s task was not only to collect this information but also to organize it and
make it publicly accessible.
Mr. Diène, who is also a member of the Authority’s Legal and Technical Commission, suggested that
the Authority try to develop standard procedures for data gathering and analysis by contractors. Such
standards should be general; they should not extend to areas such as the equipment to be used. He
suggested that the Legal and Technical Commission make recommendations on such standardization.
5. Data Issues
Dr. Charles Morgan of Planning Solutions Inc., Hawaii (United States), offered suggestions on the types
of data that should enter into a geological model of the CCZ. The main aims of the model, in his view, were to
clarify nodule formation processes, provide a guide for prospectors and assist in resource assessment. Data
in each category should meet two criteria: ready availability without further significant effort or expense, and
relevance to nodule abundance and metal content. The authors of the model should follow a process that
would allow for continuing refinement. The outcome should include both statistical analysis, in the form of
maps and tables, and qualitative descriptions.
He listed some key variables, starting with topography, which would be useful in understanding
regional geology even if details were insufficient to select individual mine sites. Morphology – the shapes and
sizes of nodules – should be brought into the picture, despite difficulties in quantifying this factor.
Sedimentation was another element, since nodules did not grow in the absence of sediment and were likely
to be buried where there was too much of sediment. Benthic (deep‐water) currents were obviously
important, but their use in a model would be limited by inadequate knowledge. Finally, primary productivity,
a measure of biological activity in the ocean, was a major element. By measuring chlorophyll levels and
extrapolating back 20 million years or so to the start of nodule formation, scientists could develop a more
coherent picture of the occurrence and distribution patterns of nodule deposits.
Dr. Lindsay Parson, Project Leader in the Southampton National Oceanography Centre, in the United
Kingdom, pointed out that a geological model would have to depend on existing data, since new information
was not likely to arrive in the foreseeable future. At the same time, the model should take account of
changes in scientific understanding of how nodules developed on the seabed. The model would have to
serve both the public scientific community and the industrial community. Though it would be based on the
CCZ, many of the factors it covered were generic, applicable throughout the oceans. It would have to
synthesize data from many fields, from geology to biology to the environment.
As to the process of developing the model, he suggested that an initial version be prepared in three or
four months and circulated to scientists, who would provide feedback on a continuing basis over the next
three to four years, gradually refining the product. Once completed, the model should be accessible through
the Authority’s website.
6. Raw Material for the Model
Several marine scientists gave the workshop an account of studies into the geological and related
features of the deep‐sea environment that have resulted in discovering high grade and abundance nodule
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