On Friday, July 21st, a U.N Preparatory Committee on high seas biodiversity agreed on a recommendation to the U.N. General Assembly to advance an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) to negotiate a potential Open Ocean Treaty for the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems beyond national jurisdiction. Unlike the seabed beyond national jurisdiction, which has had a legal […]
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A new paper published by scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is challenging scientific assumptions on the way deep sea vents are colonized. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, describes two geographically close hydrothermal vent fields that support very different animal communities. Both vents were discovered in […]
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A new book from Springer offers one of the most comprehensive looks at deep sea mining to date. Edited by Dr. Rahul Sharma of Goa, India’s National Institute of Oceanography, Deep-Sea Mining: Resource Potential, Technical and Environmental Considerations is a milestone update on this emerging industry, with contributions in 18 chapters from experts involved in […]
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Exploring some of the world’s most remote ocean regions is no small task, especially when the mission includes investigation of benthic habitats and features on the forefront of interest to the deep seabed mining industry. Yet a slurry of such expeditions has recently been undertaken, launching headlines around the world and contributing to our scientific […]
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Last July, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) met for its 22nd Session in Kingston, Jamaica and elected Michael W. Lodge of the United Kingdom as the new Secretary General of the Authority. Secretary-General Lodge began work on his 4-year term on 1 January 2017 and succeeds Mr. Nii Allotey Odunton of Ghana, who had been […]
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At the recent Annual General Meeting of Nautilus Minerals Inc., Chairman Russell Debney, announced to gathered shareholders in Toronto that submerged trials for their completed Seafloor Production Tools (SPTs) had begun in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This announcement came shortly after news that the Nautilus Launch and Recovery System (LARS) had arrived at the Mawei […]
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As the International Seabed Authority (ISA) gets ready to begin its 23rd Annual Meeting this August in Kingston, it’s a noteworthy reflection point to consider the progressing state of the “Mining Code”. “Mining Code” is the term used by the ISA to describe the entire body of rules, regulations and procedures that will regulate prospecting, […]
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The development of Financial Regulations to address the benefit sharing aspects of the Mining Code has recently moved to the forefront of ISA business. Per International Seabed Authority (ISA) Assembly agreement, the whole of the Mining Code cannot go into force without a financial regime in place. In short, this means mining operations cannot begin […]
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From February to April 2017, NOAA and partners will conduct two telepresence-enabled ocean exploration cruises on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline information of unknown and poorly known deepwater areas in American Samoa, Samoa, and the Cook Islands, with an emphasis on the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument (RAMNM) and the National Marine […]
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