Page 29: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2022)

recover from mining disturbance through a project called the said. The AUV will gather sea? oor images to quantity the den-

Seabed Mining And Resilience To EXperimental impact, or sity and distribution of marine life. Multibeam bathymetry and

SMARTEX. The collaboration will leverage analysis, mod- side-scan sonar will be used to make detailed maps, and the eling and vessels and marine robotic systems from the UK addition of a Robotic Cartridge Sampling Instrument will al-

Natural Environment Research Council. SMARTEX’s work is low for evidence of life to be collected through DNA sampling.

unique in that its scope spans multiple decades. “I discovered information about the mining tests done in the late 1970s and Sedimental value had the idea of reinvestigating these so we could understand Another risk of DSM is sediment plume. There are two types recovery processes over a reasonably long timescale of four of plumes that occur during nodule mining—? rst, the collec- decades,” Jones explained. “This would enable us to provide tion vehicle skims the seabed, stirring up sediment and pick- better evidence on the long-term impact of mining.” ing up nodules to send to a surface vessel above. The second

The team is currently preparing for the ? rst of their two ex- plume is created as the surface vessel returns unwanted sedi- peditions to the CCZ, leaving in February 2023 from Costa ment and water from nodule collection back to the ocean. The

Rica. Their work will be supported by a robust lineup of equip- disruption of sediment can impact ? lter feeders and species ment, ranging from acoustic mapping to oceanographic moor- that use echolocation or bioluminescence to communicate ings. Two key pieces of tech include their remotely operated and navigate. Dr. Thomas Peacock, a mechanical engineering vehicle (ROV), ISIS, and their autonomous underwater vehicle professor and Director of MIT’s Environmental Dynamics (AUV), Autosub 5. “The ROV will enable us to obtain amaz- Laboratory, has been collaborating on a project to moni- ing high-resolution images of the sea? oor and the marine life tor and track sediment plume from the mining process. “The inhabiting it. It will also allow us to collect specimens of some goal,” he explained in video about the research, “is to under- of the unusual animals, collect samples precisely in disturbed stand if a sediment plume is released from a surface mining areas and enable us to do experiments on the sea? oor,” Jones vessel, how far and in what concentration will that sediment - Locate and track cables

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