Comparing environmental impacts of deep-seabed and land-based mining: A defensible framework

A Metaxas¹, C D Anglin², A Cross^{3

4}, J Drazen⁵, M Haeckel⁶, G Mudd⁷, C R Smith⁵, S Smith⁸, P P E Weaver⁹, L Sonter¹⁰, D J Amon^{11

12}, P D Erskine¹³, L A Levin¹⁴, H Lily¹⁵, A S Maest¹⁶, N C Mestre¹⁷, E Ramirez-Llodra¹⁸, L E Sánchez¹⁹, R Sharma²⁰, A Vanreusel²¹, S Wheston²², V Tunnicliffe²³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
² Anglin & Associates Consulting, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
³ School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁴ EcoHealth Network, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA.
⁵ University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
⁶ GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
⁷ Environmental Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Blue Globe Solutions Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁹ Geosed Ltd, Romsey, Hampshire, UK.
¹⁰ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹¹ Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
¹² SpeSeas, D'Abadie, Trinidad and Tobago.
¹³ Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹⁴ Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
¹⁵ Independent Legal Consultant, Canterbury, Kent, UK.
¹⁶ Buka Environmental, Telluride, Colorado, USA.
¹⁷ Centre for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA)-Infrastructure Network in Aquatic Research (ARNET), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
¹⁸ REV Ocean, Lysaker, Norway.
¹⁹ Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
²⁰ National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India.
²¹ Marine Biology Research Group Ghent University Krijgslaan, Ghent, Belgium.
²² Tembusu-Sustainability & Risk Management, Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland.
²³ Department of Biology/School Earth & Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

PMID: 38780465
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17334

Comparative Study

Comparing environmental impacts of deep-seabed and land-based mining: A defensible framework

A Metaxas et al. Glob Chang Biol. 2024 May.

. 2024 May;30(5):e17334.

doi: 10.1111/gcb.17334.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
² Anglin & Associates Consulting, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
³ School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁴ EcoHealth Network, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA.
⁵ University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
⁶ GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
⁷ Environmental Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Blue Globe Solutions Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁹ Geosed Ltd, Romsey, Hampshire, UK.
¹⁰ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹¹ Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
¹² SpeSeas, D'Abadie, Trinidad and Tobago.
¹³ Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹⁴ Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
¹⁵ Independent Legal Consultant, Canterbury, Kent, UK.
¹⁶ Buka Environmental, Telluride, Colorado, USA.
¹⁷ Centre for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA)-Infrastructure Network in Aquatic Research (ARNET), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
¹⁸ REV Ocean, Lysaker, Norway.
¹⁹ Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
²⁰ National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India.
²¹ Marine Biology Research Group Ghent University Krijgslaan, Ghent, Belgium.
²² Tembusu-Sustainability & Risk Management, Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland.
²³ Department of Biology/School Earth & Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

PMID: 38780465
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17334

Abstract

The crises of climate change and biodiversity loss are interlinked and must be addressed jointly. A proposed solution for reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and thus mitigating climate change, is the transition from conventional combustion-engine to electric vehicles. This transition currently requires additional mineral resources, such as nickel and cobalt used in car batteries, presently obtained from land-based mines. Most options to meet this demand are associated with some biodiversity loss. One proposal is to mine the deep seabed, a vast, relatively pristine and mostly unexplored region of our planet. Few comparisons of environmental impacts of solely expanding land-based mining versus extending mining to the deep seabed for the additional resources exist and for biodiversity only qualitative. Here, we present a framework that facilitates a holistic comparison of relative ecosystem impacts by mining, using empirical data from relevant environmental metrics. This framework (Environmental Impact Wheel) includes a suite of physicochemical and biological components, rather than a few selected metrics, surrogates, or proxies. It is modified from the "recovery wheel" presented in the International Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration to address impacts rather than recovery. The wheel includes six attributes (physical condition, community composition, structural diversity, ecosystem function, external exchanges and absence of threats). Each has 3-5 sub attributes, in turn measured with several indicators. The framework includes five steps: (1) identifying geographic scope; (2) identifying relevant spatiotemporal scales; (3) selecting relevant indicators for each sub-attribute; (4) aggregating changes in indicators to scores; and (5) generating Environmental Impact Wheels for targeted comparisons. To move forward comparisons of land-based with deep seabed mining, thresholds of the indicators that reflect the range in severity of environmental impacts are needed. Indicators should be based on clearly articulated environmental goals, with objectives and targets that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound.

Keywords: SMART indicators; biodiversity loss; deep‐seabed versus land‐based mining; ecological and environmental thresholds; ecosystem attributes; environmental impact wheel.

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References

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Comparing environmental impacts of deep-seabed and land-based mining: A defensible framework

Affiliations

Comparing environmental impacts of deep-seabed and land-based mining: A defensible framework

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

REFERENCES

Publication types

MeSH terms

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