Browsing by Author "Van Dover, CL"
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Item Open Access An atlas of protected hydrothermal vents(Marine Policy, 2019-10-01) Menini, E; Van Dover, CLActive hydrothermal vents are valued worldwide because of the importance of their biodiversity and their influence on scientific discovery and insight about life on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe. There exist at least 20 areas and area networks with conservation measures for deep-sea hydrothermal vents, established by 12 countries and three Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, in six oceanic regions. Area-based management tools (ABMT) implemented by these countries illustrate multiple categories and means of protection and management of these rare and vulnerable habitats. Some ABMTs only regulate bottom and deep-trawling fisheries activities, others manage additional activities such as mining, scientific research, and bioprospecting, while still others protect active hydrothermal vents through broad conservation interventions. This atlas summarizes the “who”, “what”, “when”, “where” of protected hydrothermal vents worldwide and underscores recognition of the importance of hydrothermal-vent ecosystems by coastal States.Item Open Access Biodiversity loss from deep-sea mining(Nature Geoscience, 2017-07-01) Van Dover, CL; Ardron, JA; Escobar, E; Gianni, M; Gjerde, KM; Jaeckel, A; Jones, DOB; Levin, LA; Niner, HJ; Pendleton, L; Smith, CR; Thiele, T; Turner, PJ; Watling, L; Weaver, PPEItem Open Access Characterization of methane-seep communities in a deep-sea area designated for oil and natural gas exploitation off Trinidad and Tobago(Frontiers in Marine Science, 2017-10-30) Amon, DJ; Gobin, J; Van Dover, CL; Levin, LA; Marsh, L; Raineault, NA© 2017 Amon, Gobin, Van Dover, Levin, Marsh and Raineault. Exploration of the deep ocean (>200 m) is taking on added importance as human development encroaches. Despite increasing oil and natural gas exploration and exploitation, the deep ocean of Trinidad and Tobago is almost entirely unknown. The only scientific team to image the deep seafloor within the Trinidad and Tobago Exclusive Economic Zone was from IFREMER in the 1980s. That exploration led to the discovery of the El Pilar methane seeps and associated chemosynthetic communities on the accretionary prism to the east of Trinidad and Tobago. In 2014, the E/V Nautilus, in collaboration with local scientists, visited two previously sampled as well as two unexplored areas of the El Pilar site between 998 and 1,629 m depth using remotely operated vehicles. Eighty-three megafaunal morphospecies from extensive chemosynthetic communities surrounding active methane seepage were observed at four sites. These communities were dominated by megafaunal invertebrates including mussels (Bathymodiolus childressi), shrimp (Alvinocaris cf. muricola), Lamellibrachia sp. 2 tubeworms, and Pachycara caribbaeum. Adjacent to areas of active seepage was an ecotone of suspension feeders including Haplosclerida sponges, stylasterids and Neovermilia serpulids on authigenic carbonates. Beyond this were large Bathymodiolus shell middens. Finally there was either a zone of sparse octocorals and other non-chemosynthetic species likely benefiting from the carbonate substratum and enriched production within the seep habitat, or sedimented inactive areas. This paper highlights these ecologically significant areas and increases the knowledge of the biodiversity of the Trinidad and Tobago deep ocean. Because methane seepage and chemosynthetic communities are related to the presence of extractable oil and gas resources, development of best practices for the conservation of biodiversity in Trinidad and Tobago waters within the context of energy extraction is critical. Potential impacts on benthic communities during oil and gas activities will likely be long lasting and include physical disturbance during drilling among others. Recommendations for the stewardship of these widespread habitats include: (1) seeking international cooperation; (2) holding wider stakeholder discussions; (3) adopting stringent environmental regulations; and (4) increasing deep-sea research to gather crucial baseline data in order to conduct appropriate marine spatial planning with the creation of marine protected areas.Item Open Access Corrigendum: Deep-sea mining with no net loss of biodiversity-An impossible aim [Front. Mar. Sci., 5, (2018) (53)] DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2018.00053(Frontiers in Marine Science, 2018-06-13) Niner, HJ; Ardron, JA; Escobar, EG; Gianni, M; Jaeckel, A; Jones, DOB; Levin, LA; Smith, CR; Thiele, T; Turner, PJ; Van Dover, CL; Watling, L; Gjerde, KM© 2018 Niner, Ardron, Escobar, Gianni, Jaeckel, Jones, Levin, Smith, Thiele, Turner, Van Dover, Watling and Gjerde. The terms "offset" and "reef balls" appear in the reference given in our paper, "International Marine Mitigation Bank" (IMMB, 2017), but our referencing is not precise. The following clarifications better direct readers to discussions held in relation to compensation and offsetting for deep-sea mining.Item Open Access Ecological risk assessment for deep-sea mining(Ocean and Coastal Management, 2019-06-15) Washburn, TW; Turner, PJ; Durden, JM; Jones, DOB; Weaver, P; Van Dover, CL© 2019 The Authors Ecological risk assessment for deep-sea mining is challenging, given the data-poor state of knowledge of deep-sea ecosystem structure, process, and vulnerability. Polling and a scale-intensity-consequence approach (SICA) were used in an expert elicitation survey to rank risk sources and perceived vulnerabilities of habitats associated with seabed nodule, sulfide, and crust mineral resources. Experts identified benthic habitats associated with seabed minerals as most vulnerable to habitat removal with a high degree of certainty. Resource-associated benthic and pelagic habitats were also perceived to be at risk from plumes generated during mining activities, although there was not always consensus regarding vulnerabilities to specific risk sources from different types of plumes. Even for risk sources where habitat vulnerability measures were low, high uncertainties suggest that these risks may not yet be dismissed. Survey outcomes also underscore the need for risk assessment to progress from expert opinion with low certainty to data-rich and ecosystem-relevant scientific research assessments to yield much higher certainty. This would allow for design and deployment of effective precautionary and mitigation efforts in advance of commercial exploitation, and adaptive management strategies would allow for regulatory and guideline modifications in response to new knowledge and greater certainty.Item Open Access Inactive sulfide ecosystems in the deep sea: A review(Frontiers in Marine Science, 2019-01-01) Van Dover, CL© 2019 Van Dover. Polymetallic seafloor massive sulfides that are no longer hydrothermally active are a target for an emergent deep-sea mining industry, but the paucity of ecological studies and environmental baselines for inactive sulfide ecosystems makes environmental management of mining challenging. The current state of knowledge regarding the ecology (microbiology and macrobiology) of inactive sulfides is reviewed here and attention is given to environmental management considerations where lack of knowledge impedes informed policy recommendations and decisions.Item Open Access Memorializing the Middle Passage on the Atlantic seabed in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction(Marine Policy, 2020-01-01) Turner, PJ; Cannon, S; DeLand, S; Delgado, JP; Eltis, D; Halpin, PN; Kanu, MI; Sussman, CS; Varmer, O; Van Dover, CL© 2020 The Authors More than 12.5 million Africans were held captive on 40,000+ voyages during the transatlantic slave trade. Many did not survive the voyage and the Atlantic seabed became their final resting place. Exploration for mineral resources on the international seabed (the “Area”) in the Atlantic Basin is already underway, governed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Member States of the ISA have a duty to protect objects of an archeological and historical nature found in the Area. Such objects may be important examples of underwater cultural heritage and can be tied to intangible cultural heritage, as evidenced through links with religion, cultural traditions, art and literature. Contemporary poetry, music, art, and literature convey the significance of the Atlantic seabed in African diasporic cultural memory, but this cultural heritage has yet to be formally recognized by the ISA. We encourage Member States of the ISA to consider ways to respect and memorialize those who lost their lives and came to rest on the seabed in advance of mineral exploitation. Increased awareness of the Middle Passage seascape may be accomplished without limiting exploitation of mineral resources. An example of how this might be achieved is to place one or more virtual ribbons on ISA maps to depict major slave-trade routes across the Atlantic and in memory of those who died during their Middle Passage.Item Open Access SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE AND INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS FOR PROTECTION OF ACTIVE HYDROTHERMAL VENT ECOSYSTEMS FROM DEEP-SEA MINING(Marine Policy, 2018-04-01) Van Dover, CL; Arnaud-Haond, S; Gianni, M; Helmreich, S; Huber, JA; Jaeckel, AL; Metaxas, A; Pendleton, LH; Petersen, S; Ramirez-Llodra, E; Steinberg, PE; Tunnicliffe, V; Yamamoto, H© 2018 There is increasing interest in mining minerals on the seabed, including seafloor massive sulfide deposits that form at hydrothermal vents. The International Seabed Authority is currently drafting a Mining Code, including environmental regulations, for polymetallic sulfides and other mineral exploitation on the seabed in the area beyond national jurisdictions. This paper summarizes 1) the ecological vulnerability of active vent ecosystems and aspects of this vulnerability that remain subject to conjecture, 2) evidence for limited mineral resource opportunity at active vents, 3) non-extractive values of active vent ecosystems, 4) precedents and international obligations for protection of hydrothermal vents, and 5) obligations of the International Seabed Authority under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for protection of the marine environment from the impacts of mining. Heterogeneity of active vent ecosystems makes it extremely challenging to identify “representative” systems for any regional, area-based management approach to conservation. Protection of active vent ecosystems from mining impacts (direct and indirect) would set aside only a small fraction of the international seabed and its mineral resources, would contribute to international obligations for marine conservation, would have non-extractive benefits, and would be a precautionary approach.