Research project S4P/25E/MiningImpact3 (Research action S4P)
Under the joint European JPI-Oceans research call “Ecological Aspects of Deep-Sea Mining”, a third phase has been funded across seven participating countries, including Belgium. The research plan of MiningImpact 3 (MI3) will build on the outcomes of the first two phases (Project webpage), by extending the scientific basis for assessing the ecological implications of deep-sea resource mining, reducing uncertainties surrounding deep-sea ecosystems and their potential vulnerabilities. In doing so, MI3 aims at informing the ongoing regulatory discussions on deep-seabed resource mining.
The objectives of the MI3 project are:
- Assess the spatial and temporal variability of the deep-sea environment
- Understand genetic connectivity of deep-sea populations
- Study the effects of mining-induced toxicity and pressures on benthic and pelagic communities
- Compare the impacts of deep-sea mining with those of terrestrial mining
- Advance governance and management tools, including digital twin technology
- Support the development of indicators of ecosystem health and thresholds for serious harm
The results of MI3 will directly inform the ongoing development of international regulations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and also support evidence-based policymaking for deep-sea resource management.
As a research partner funded through Science4Policy, RBINS contributes to MI3 via an integrated programme of environmental baseline research including faunal trace metal analyses, water column and sediment characterisation, complemented by stakeholder consultation.
The objectives of RBINS within MI3 can be divided into three pillars:
1. Trace metal baseline development and data harmonisation
RBINS contributes to strengthening the environmental baseline needed to assess deep-sea mining impacts, by drawing on expertise established in MiningImpact phases 1 and 2. RBINS will support MI3 through harmonisation and integration of existing datasets, with a particular focus on trace metal characterisation in scavenging amphipods from polymetallic nodule areas. This work will help extend the temporal coherence of baseline evidence and support the ecotoxicological assessment of mining-related disturbance. This work aligns with the wider project objective of developing faunal trace metal baselines which are relevant to environmental monitoring and impact assessment and the eventual development of normative thresholds.
2. Physical oceanography and benthic-pelagic coupling
RBINS also contributes to MI3 through oceanographic study of the water-column that helps to characterise baseline conditions of water masses in polymetallic nodule ecosystems. Using vertical profiling and water sampling across depth gradients, RBINS will support the assessment of chemical and physical composition of suspended particles and its environmental variability, both throughout the water column and across geographic regions. This will help to improve the understanding of how pelagic processes connect to seafloor conditions, but also to build a reference baseline to assess future effects arising from the return of mining water. This contribution will also support the project’s wider effort to evaluate benthic-pelagic coupling and to place mining-related impacts in a broader ecosystem context.
3. Stakeholder consultation at the science-policy interface
RBINS will contribute to MI3 by helping to align scientific research with societal concerns addressing emerging regulatory needs in the field of deep-sea resource mining. Building on experience developed through stakeholder interaction at the Belgian national level, RBINS will co-organise an international stakeholder consultation workshop together with UGent and GEOMAR, to examine how environmental concerns raised by stakeholders relate to the available scientific evidence, ongoing data collection, and requirements under the ISA Mining Code. This work is timely as the deep-sea-mining governance landscape is still evolving, and there is a clear need to identify where scientific knowledge is already sufficient and where future targeted research is still required. In this way, within MI3, RBINS contributes to a more transparent and policy-relevant dialogue on marine environmental management at both national and international levels.
