Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority
Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSIONS ON THE IMPACT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLYMETALLIC MASSIVE SULPHIDES ON DEEP-SEA HYDROTHERMAL VENT ECOSYSTEMS Dr. S Kim Juniper, of GEOTOP Research Centre, University of Quebec in Montreal prefaced his presentation by informing participants that the mining industry is not the first industry interested in studying massive sulphides at vent areas. He said that in fact basic biology is one of the major stakeholders in this area. He said that through scientific research, new discoveries in biology are discovered by studying this environment. In addition to informing participants about how the different types of biodiversity are formed and sustained, Dr. Juniper said that he would address the question of environmental assessment and the potential impact from mining and what needs to be done to prepare for mining. Dr. Juniper placed the discovery of biodiversity at vent sites in context by describing the normal situation in the abyssal plains of the deep sea that he said is the largest ecological region on earth, covering something like 59% of the planet surface, and under 2km of water. Using slides, he said that the animals that live on the seafloor, such as a sea cucumber crawling around in mud that he showed, depend entirely on what is happening 2000 metres above them in the photic zone for food. He explained that in the photic zone where there is light, there is plankton carrying out photosynthesis and leaking particles of organic matter that eventually trickle down and get to the seafloor. For most seafloor animals in the abyssal plains, this is the source of food. Dr. Juniper described the abyssal plains as a biological desert because species of individual animals are rare. He also said that if one considered the entire abyssal plains, one could find several million species living in it although one would also find that it’s a long way from one individual to the next. Recalling earlier presentations on hydrothermal vent environments, in particular the parts on hot fluids full of chemicals coming out onto the INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 298
seafloor, he described this environment as toxic. He said that any animal living in this environment has to be a specialist. Dr. Juniper said that hydrogen sulphide and other substances that for many other species of animals would be toxic is actually the source of energy for many of these specialist animals. He said that microbes that are found in this environment use a process called chemosynthesis to take the chemicals, transform them, derive energy for their metabolism from them, and use this energy to turn carbon dioxide into sugar. He said that the sugar that is produced is the food for the rest of the food chain. He described the situation at vent sites as unusual, with many bacteria living inside the tissues of animals. He said that the bacteria are not just growing on the seafloor and being gobbled up, but that to make the system even more productive they are living in symbiosis within the tissues of some of these very specialized animals that exist only in hydrothermal vent environments. To illustrate the high degree of evolution that has gone into creating the symbiosis, Dr. Juniper used the example of the giant tubeworm that is found on the east Pacific Rise all the way from the gulf of Northern California all the way to near Easter Island in the South Pacific. Dr. Juniper described the discovery as interesting because there has never been anything found like it in the entire history of biology. He said the discovery has been classified as one of the major biological findings of the 20 th century. He pointed out that there are also many animals found at hydrothermal vent sites that do not have bacteria living in their tissue. He said that these animals live off free-living bacteria. He also said that freeliving bacteria grow on animal surfaces and on water surfaces, being born out in the hydrothermal fluid. He showed participants some white material that he said came out from below the seafloor in the vents. He described this material as bacterial particles, individual cells that have come together. He showed participants a slide of a large field of tubeworms including two giant spider crabs that he said lived off the site. Dr. Juniper said that samples taken from this area usually consist of clumps of intertwined tubeworms held INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 299
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SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSIONS ON<br />
THE IMPACT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLYMETALLIC<br />
MASSIVE SULPHIDES ON DEEP-SEA HYDROTHERMAL VENT<br />
ECOSYSTEMS<br />
Dr. S Kim Juniper, of GEOTOP Research Centre, University of Quebec<br />
in Montreal prefaced his presentation by informing participants that the<br />
mining industry is not the first industry interested in studying massive<br />
sulphides at vent areas. He said that in fact basic biology is one of the major<br />
stakeholders in this area. He said that through scientific research, new<br />
discoveries in biology are discovered by studying this environment. In<br />
addition to informing participants about how the different types of<br />
biodiversity are formed and sustained, Dr. Juniper said that he would address<br />
the question of environmental assessment and the potential impact from<br />
mining and what needs to be done to prepare for mining.<br />
Dr. Juniper placed the discovery of biodiversity at vent sites in context<br />
by describing the normal situation in the abyssal plains of the deep sea that<br />
he said is the largest ecological region on earth, covering something like 59%<br />
of the planet surface, and under 2km of water.<br />
Using slides, he said that the animals that live on the seafloor, such as<br />
a sea cucumber crawling around in mud that he showed, depend entirely on<br />
what is happening 2000 metres above them in the photic zone for food. He<br />
explained that in the photic zone where there is light, there is plankton<br />
carrying out photosynthesis and leaking particles of organic matter that<br />
eventually trickle down and get to the seafloor. For most seafloor animals in<br />
the abyssal plains, this is the source of food.<br />
Dr. Juniper described the abyssal plains as a biological desert because<br />
species of individual animals are rare. He also said that if one considered the<br />
entire abyssal plains, one could find several million species living in it<br />
although one would also find that it’s a long way from one individual to the<br />
next. Recalling earlier presentations on hydrothermal vent environments, in<br />
particular the parts on hot fluids full of chemicals coming out onto the<br />
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 298