Seminar to be delivered under the auspices of UCLouvain's semaine de la transition
The growing global demand for critical minerals to support the low-carbon transition has purred increasing interest in deep-sea mining in the eastern Pacific, particularly the extraction of polymetallic nodules (PMN). The International Seabed Authority (ISA), which oversees the environmental impacts related to these activities, currently has a limited capacity to properly assess and mitigate their potential effects on deep-sea ecosystems.
We present results from a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model coupled with a Lagrangian sediment transport model aimed at simulating the dispersal of sediment plumes generated by PMN mining operations. It appears that fine particles predominantly control the spatial extent of the impacted area, while effective impact assessment and mitigation strategies show strong sensitivity to the biological threshold of unacceptable harm. A complementary analytical approach — resorting to the concepts of Green's function and residence time — allows estimating the order of magnitude of the ocean bottom surface area impacted by sediment, thereby pointing to the type of PMN collector trajectory minimising some of the aforementioned environmental impacts.
About the speakers
Théo Clotman holds a degree in Environmental Sustainability Bioengineering from UCLouvain. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the Earth and Life Institute (UCLouvain), focusing on the ecohydrodynamics of Lakes Tanganyika and Kivu in Central Africa. During his master’s thesis, Théo investigated the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining activities, with a particular focus on sediment plume dispersion resulting from polymetallic nodule extraction in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, eastern Pacific Ocean.
Eric Deleersnijder holds a degree in electrical and mechanical engineering as well as a doctorate in applied sciences (mechanics). He has been a researcher with the F.R.S.-FNRS (www.fnrs.be) for about half of his career. He held visiting positions in France and the Netherlands. He is now a reader with the UCLouvain, where he (co-)teaches courses related to various aspects of mechanics, especially geophysical and environmental fluid dynamics (GEFD). His research interests focus on several aspects of GEFD, especially tracer and timescale methods. He is the founding father of SLIM (www.slim-ocean.be) and one of kingpins of the development of CART (www.cartdiagnoses.be). Additional pieces of information may be found on his homepage (www.ericd.be).
