Will a paradigm shift from on-shore to off-shore mining serve the future of humanity?
Sabine Gollner (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research)
Richard Herrington (Natural History Museum, London, UK)
Telmo Morato (Okeanos Research Institute, University of the Azores)
Ingeborg Rønning (Keep Norway Clean, Oslo)
Pradeep Singh (Oceano Azul Foundation, and Research Institute for Sustainability, GFZ, Potsdam)
Abstract
Paradigm shifts are by definition untested. They confront the status quo based on new evidence or new discoveries and form the basis for change. Real, constructive change, however, must be bigger than the likes of us, must be comprehensive and inclusive of others and, most importantly, must examine and quantify cause-and-effect in advance of implementation. Predicting Earth’s future is no longer possible using the natural sciences alone. We must include social sciences and the arts.
Deep-sea mining will not eliminate land-based mining, nor will it resolve poverty as the poorest of humanity dig in the mud, hand-filling and carrying impossible sacks of slurry and ore-bearing rock on bare backs. Such artisanal operations are lethal, if not through accidents, then through truncated workers’ lifespans on exposure to toxic metals, notably mercury, closely associated with gold mining. Nevertheless, steps forward are being taken to improve working conditions.
Deep-sea mining on a continental shelf or shallow underwater ridge will have uniquely different consequences than deep sea ploughing of gargantuan expanses of unconsolidated abyssal sediment to comb together and raise polymetallic (Co-Ni-Cu) nodules growing over tens of millions of years at thousands of meters water depth. Neither locality has been appropriately tested. Most agree it is essential to evaluate in advance the effects of mining on fragile and remote ecosystems which we barely understand. Perhaps a better quantification of river deterioration from artisanal mining could be made before jumping wholesale into the sea where 70% of our planet’s surface is stored out of view.
Deep-sea mining will remove chemosynthetic life support, throwing our planet’s primary food chain into chaos. Extraction of metalliferous deep-sea nodules is unsustainable on the human time scale. Will humanity’s great 21st century experiment for green energy be our legacy as we leave marine life choking on dredged waste material, and create a seafloor that cannot re-establish its biota?
All opinions, statements, and questions, either from the panel or the audience, are the speakers’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), our conference organizer Copernicus or the Austria Center Vienna, but have been shared here in the name of supporting open, transparent, and unedited discussion on this topic.
Not to be missed, this GDB will be a lively event with spectacular filming and music, and a spread of panelists including marine biologists, geoscientists, philosophers, and lawyers -- all with their viewpoints on how we move forward for a sustainable future. Arrive on time for the opening act!
Session assets
16:15–16:25
Welcome and movie clip
16:25–16:35
Introduction of panellists and overarching question
16:35–17:15
Panelists responses
17:15–17:55
Audience questions and participation
17:55–18:00
Closing remarks
Speakers
- Sabine Gollner, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Netherlands
- Richard Herrington, Natural History Museum, United Kingdom
- Ingeborg Rønning, Norway
- Telmo Morato, Portugal
- Pradeep Singh, Oceano Azul Foundation, Portugal