Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority
Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority
that this matter was sensitive, he said that data and information on its innovation and development are essential. Dr. Wanjik mentioned that practice has shown that the major difficulty confronting the Government is not so much with reporting, but is with auditing the report and the actual work undertaken during the term of the exploration licence. He pointed out that there is a deficiency at the moment in undertaking the auditing task. 10. Current national and international programmes of investigation for seafloor hydrothermal activity In his presentation, Prof.Chris German of the Challenger Division for Seafloor Processes of Southampton Oceanography Centre described national and international programmes of investigation of seafloor hydrothermal activity. Dr. German, introducing himself also mentioned that he represents an organization called Inter Ridge, which is an international collaboration of around 20 different nations. The collaboration is mainly on an academic level to study aspects of mid-ocean ridge research. He noted that the mid-ocean ridge is one of the most difficult areas to access, and is situated in some of the most remote parts of the ridge system. He described the Mid-Ocean Ridge as a chain of mountains that run the entire length of the oceans starting from the Arctic down through the Atlantic, through the Indian Ocean and out to the Pacific Ocean. The chain, he continued, extends to around 60,000 km of an almost continuous geologic feature and is also the largest potential ecosystem in the world. He further noted that the study of the mid-ocean ridges is relatively new and not much is known about them. He described what seafloor vents are and provided information on their global distribution and significance. He also described some of the current techniques used for locating sites of hydrothermal activity. Dr. German explained that individual high temperature vents at midocean ridges might be around 10 cm in diameter at their mouth yet over time they grow and form chimneys anywhere from 1 m to 30 m tall. A typical vent field would comprise of several such chimneys spread out over an area approximately 100 m across. Throughout this area there could be a number of low-temperature vents also, emitting hot water from the seabed. Even the INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 40
low temperature vents emitting around 10-30 o C of water, are considerably warmer than typical ocean water, which is normally around 2-3 ο C. The significance is that in the vicinity of this warm water, a majority of vents specific biota are present. Dr. German observed that although the mid-ocean ridge extends as a near continuous volcanic chain, it does not exhibit the same activity everywhere. He stated that one of the important features associated with the range is plate spreading, which is fastest across much of the equatorial and southern East Pacific Rise (10-20 cm per year), with intermediate spreading rates in the eastern and central Indian Ocean and extreme NE Pacific (5-7 cm per year), and much slower spreading rates throughout the Atlantic ocean (2-3 cm per year), and along the SW Indian and Arctic Ridges (less than 2 cm per year) after. Dr. German remarked that it almost took a decade of further research to locate the first “black smoker” on the slow-spreading mid-Atlantic ridge. The first seafloor hydrothermal vent was discovered along the fast spreading east Pacific Rise. He pointed out that the discovery of vents in the slow spreading ridge was initially dispensed with based on the theory that hydrothermal activity could not occur at ridges that exhibited less than certain threshold-spreading rates. At the time, he continued, hydrothermal vents have been discovered even along the SW Indian Ocean which is one of the world’s slowest spreading ridges. However, he pointed out that the abundance of hydrothermal venting correlates with the spreading rate, thus hydrothermal activity is most abundant along the south eastern Pacific Rise followed by the north eastern Pacific Rise, the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the NE Pacific Ocean, and the central mid-Atlantic Ridge. Dr. German explained that the majority of currently active hydrothermal fields are in the fast spreading ridges. He noted that it may well be that the most economically interesting concentrations of polymetallic sulphides are actually produced in fault-controlled systems along slowspreading ridges. He theorized that as faulting can play an important role in controlling the distribution of hydrothermal venting, ridge crests, as well as fresh volcanism, there is scope for important hydrothermal circulation throughout all the world’s ocean ridge systems. With respect to international ventures, he stated that the French and US research programmes would INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 41
- Page 2 and 3: Workshop on Minerals Other than Pol
- Page 4 and 5: Published in Jamaica 2004 by the In
- Page 6 and 7: Chapter 6* Impact of the Developmen
- Page 8 and 9: PART 4 REGULATORY AND PROMOTIONAL F
- Page 10 and 11: The Authority designates one of two
- Page 12 and 13: deposits and gas hydrates of the co
- Page 14 and 15: Prof. Chris German, Challenger Divi
- Page 16 and 17: Mr. Sven Petersen, Research Associa
- Page 18 and 19: SECRETARIAT Ambassador Satya N. Nan
- Page 20 and 21: is to submit “an application that
- Page 22 and 23: that was established to help protec
- Page 24 and 25: on the continental margin. He state
- Page 26 and 27: with the German firm Preussag. As p
- Page 28 and 29: metre or metres of these black smok
- Page 30 and 31: nodules in terms of these metals -
- Page 32 and 33: Professor Herzig stressed however t
- Page 34 and 35: While noting that the continuity of
- Page 36 and 37: asal diameter at 1,600 m water dept
- Page 38 and 39: discovery of the new hydrothermal s
- Page 40 and 41: esearch cruises dedicated to ferrom
- Page 42 and 43: global mid-ocean ridge system. He p
- Page 44 and 45: athymetric map of the seafloor. A s
- Page 46 and 47: were encouraging. In the course of
- Page 50 and 51: complete a preliminary evaluation o
- Page 52 and 53: metals - nickel, cobalt, manganese,
- Page 54 and 55: 12. Issues to be taken into account
- Page 56 and 57: entities. Many of them included min
- Page 58 and 59: In this regard, the Secretary-Gener
- Page 60 and 61: According to Dr. Vysotsky, as estim
- Page 62 and 63: With regard to current knowledge ab
- Page 64 and 65: Dr. Corbett gave a brief account of
- Page 66 and 67: River resulting in the introduction
- Page 68 and 69: Ms. Zaamwani pointed out that as th
- Page 70 and 71: geochemical and geotechnical survey
- Page 72 and 73: of its continental shelf through bi
- Page 74 and 75: also stated, is similar to that of
- Page 76 and 77: Chapter 7 Technical requirements fo
- Page 78 and 79: Table 1: Classification of marine m
- Page 80 and 81: Volcanogenic Metalliferous sediment
- Page 82 and 83: deposits, including massive sulphid
- Page 84 and 85: 3. Marine Minerals Related to Deep
- Page 86 and 87: The black smoker chimneys dischargi
- Page 88 and 89: contain metals are present at discr
- Page 90 and 91: Figure 4. A diagrammatic east-west
- Page 92 and 93: and refining of these crusts is mor
- Page 94 and 95: distances of hundreds of kilometres
- Page 96 and 97: 2) Deep ocean hot springs at massiv
that this matter was sensitive, he said that data and information on its<br />
innovation and development are essential.<br />
Dr. Wanjik mentioned that practice has shown that the major difficulty<br />
confronting the Government is not so much with reporting, but is with<br />
auditing the report and the actual work undertaken during the term of the<br />
exploration licence. He pointed out that there is a deficiency at the moment in<br />
undertaking the auditing task.<br />
10. Current national and international programmes of investigation for<br />
seafloor hydrothermal activity<br />
In his presentation, Prof.Chris German of the Challenger Division for<br />
Seafloor Processes of Southampton Oceanography Centre described national<br />
and international programmes of investigation of seafloor hydrothermal<br />
activity. Dr. German, introducing himself also mentioned that he represents<br />
an organization called Inter Ridge, which is an international collaboration of<br />
around 20 different nations. The collaboration is mainly on an academic level<br />
to study aspects of mid-ocean ridge research. He noted that the mid-ocean<br />
ridge is one of the most difficult areas to access, and is situated in some of the<br />
most remote parts of the ridge system. He described the Mid-Ocean Ridge as<br />
a chain of mountains that run the entire length of the oceans starting from the<br />
Arctic down through the Atlantic, through the Indian Ocean and out to the<br />
Pacific Ocean. The chain, he continued, extends to around 60,000 km of an<br />
almost continuous geologic feature and is also the largest potential ecosystem<br />
in the world. He further noted that the study of the mid-ocean ridges is<br />
relatively new and not much is known about them. He described what<br />
seafloor vents are and provided information on their global distribution and<br />
significance. He also described some of the current techniques used for<br />
locating sites of hydrothermal activity.<br />
Dr. German explained that individual high temperature vents at midocean<br />
ridges might be around 10 cm in diameter at their mouth yet over time<br />
they grow and form chimneys anywhere from 1 m to 30 m tall. A typical vent<br />
field would comprise of several such chimneys spread out over an area<br />
approximately 100 m across. Throughout this area there could be a number of<br />
low-temperature vents also, emitting hot water from the seabed. Even the<br />
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 40
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