NEWS As the world turns to the sea for critical minerals needed in the green transition, understanding the environmental risks of seabed mining becomes urgent. Francisco Nascimento and his team have worked long days aboard KBV 181 to collect baseline data on biodiversity and ecosystem processes before mining in Gulf of Bothnia (possibly) begins.
Francisco and his team are sampling the sediment to esablish a community structure baseline.
ImageMartina JeutheThe goal of this SWERVE-supported expedition has been to investigate the environmental risks linked to seabed mining (SBM) for rare earth elements in the Baltic Sea. Two areas have initially been identified as potential mining sites, and this expedition marked the first visit to the second location.
“We are doing this by establishing a baseline community structure and measuring ecosystem functions prior to disturbance. We have collected samples for an experiment that will be simulating sediment removal and plume impacts, and tracking recovery of biodiversity, ecosystem processes and contaminant fluxes,” says Francisco Nascimento, expedition leader and researcher, Stockholm University.
The team wants to fill critical knowledge gaps on how seabed mining (SBM) affects benthic microbes, fauna, and biogeochemical cycles.
Sediments are collected aboard research vessel KBV 181.
ImageMartina Jeuthe“Our results will directly inform and improve ecological risk assessment (ERA) tools used by regulators. This will enable evidence-based management of seabed mining and safeguarding the Baltic’s ecosystem services. Our work here supports sustainable resource extraction that underpins the clean-energy transition while minimizing environmental harm,” says Francisco.
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The Swedish Research Vessel Infrastructure for Marine Research (SWERVE) is a national infrastructure funded by the Swedish Research Council to deliver enhanced access to vessel and data infrastructure for Swedish marine researchers, and support training of a national network of marine technicians.
Umeå Marine Sciences Centre is a part of SWERVE and provides the research vessel KBV 181 for sampling in the Gulf of Bothnia.
