One of the main drivers nowadays is the electrification of the energy supply, e.g., cars, batteries, PV cells and wind-turbines. This growth in demand is driven by the increasing world population and its increasing welfare, urbanization and development of technology ( Hein et al., 2020). The demand for critical raw materials, such as cobalt and rare earth elements is growing worldwide. In this review, we explore the physical processes that govern plume dispersion phenomena (focusing in the main on benthic plumes), discuss the state of the art in plume dispersion analysis and highlight what lessons can be learned from shallow water applications, such as dredging, to better predict and reduce the spread and impact of deep-sea mining plumes. Various plume sources are identified, of which the most profound are those generated by the excavation and collection process of the seafloor mining tool and the discharge flow to be released from the surface operation vessel after initial dewatering of the ore. In that regard, the sediment plumes that are generated by the mining activity have received the highest concern, as these plumes might travel for several kilometers distance from the mining activity. Nevertheless, an improved understanding of how mining activities will affect the deep-sea environment is required to obtain more accurate assessment of the potential environmental impact. Deep-sea mining has been spurred by the need for critical resources to support growing populations, urbanization, high-tech applications and the development of a green energy economy.
Over the past decade, deep-sea mining (DSM) has received renewed interest due to scarcity of raw materials. 5HR Wallingford, Dredging and Coasts & Oceans, Wallingford, United Kingdom.4Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, Netherlands.3Stichting Deltares, Ecosystems and Sediment Dynamics, Delft, Netherlands.2Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Mineral Production and HSE, Trondheim, Norway.1Technische Universiteit Delft, Offshore and Dredging Engineering, Delft, Netherlands.Rudy Helmons 1,2* Lynyrd de Wit 3 Henko de Stigter 4 Jeremy Spearman 5
0 kommentar(er)
