. Deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystems - a scoping report on their socio-economy, management and governance. UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 28. Deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystems. Hydrothermal vents, such as this black smoker at the Logachev hydrothermal vent site on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and their underlying mineralization system are the source of rich polymetallic sulphide deposits at and just below the seafloor. on a commercial scale. If it were an option, consequent GHG emissions would only exacerbate the problem of climate change. The occurrence and distribution of gas hydrates is also
. Deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystems - a scoping report on their socio-economy, management and governance. UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series 28. Deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystems. Hydrothermal vents, such as this black smoker at the Logachev hydrothermal vent site on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and their underlying mineralization system are the source of rich polymetallic sulphide deposits at and just below the seafloor. on a commercial scale. If it were an option, consequent GHG emissions would only exacerbate the problem of climate change. The occurrence and distribution of gas hydrates is also of special interest to other industrial developments taking place in the deep sea, such as oil and gas operations. In relevant areas, gas hydrates could become one of the major risks for these activities, as their disturbance can dramatically modify the character and engineering response of the seabed and subsoil and may lead to large and explosive gas releases. Deep-sea mining Context Both continental margins and ocean basins contain potentially valuable non-fuel mineral resources. Some of these minerals have a terrigenous origin; that is, they come from land erosion and were transported to the sea mainly by rivers and glaciers. Margins and ocean ridges, however, are host to other sources and processes (for example, volcanicl that form different types of mineral deposits !see ISA, 2004 for a detailed description). The main potentially exploitable sources of deep-sea minerals lie in polymetallic manganese nodules, polymetallic sulphides, and cobalt-rich ferro- manganese crusts (see Box ]. The potential for deep-sea mining operations is significant. Submarine cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts of to 1 per cent grades would be enough to provide up to 20 per cent of global cobalt demand, but cost-effective mining methods still need to be developed (Rona, 2003). Similarly, the high recovery cost of manganese nodules on abyssal plains and hydrothermal vent polymetallic sulphi
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