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Cited by 131Oceanographic and Atmospheric ProcessesMarine Biology and Ecology ResearchMarine Plankton and Biogeochemistry

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Impact of remotely generated eddies on plume dispersion at abyssal mining sites in the Pacific

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Aleynik, Dmitry, Inall, Mark E., Dale, Andrew, Vink, Annemiek·2017·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-017-16912-2PMC PMC5717004
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Abstract

Proposed harvesting of polymetallic nodules in the Central Tropical Pacific will generate plumes of suspended sediment which are anticipated to be ecologically harmful. While the deep sea is low in energy, it also can be highly turbulent, since the vertical density gradient which suppresses turbulence is weak. The ability to predict the impact of deep plumes is limited by scarcity of in-situ observations. Our observations show that the low-energy environment more than four kilometres below the surface ultimately becomes an order of magnitude more energetic for periods of weeks in response to the passage of mesoscale eddies. The source of these eddies is remote in time and space, here identified as the Central American Gap Winds. Abyssal current variability is controlled by comparable contributions from tides, surface winds and passing eddies. During eddy-induced elevated flow periods mining-related plumes, potentially supplemented by natural sediment resuspension, are expected to spread and disperse more widely and rapidly. Predictions are given of the timing, location and scales of impact.

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Figures

Figure 1 (a) The track of a mesoscale eddy (I) over 318 days from the coast towards the CCZ (licence areas shown with white and APEIs with green lines) and the BGR moorings site (star). Yellow lines encircle a local maximum (>80 cm) sea surface height (SSH) anomaly (AVISO31) at 10-day intervals. Colours reflect mean surface Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE) over the period 2012.06.18-2013.05.01. (b) Timeseries of EKE at the sea-surface in the nearest () and the averaged over adjacent four grid points around the moorings site (). (c) EKE series in a layer 15–20 mab averaged over all three moorings () and at the northern site (). Here EKE = 0.5·(u′2 + v′2), and u′, v′ are the deviations of u,v velocities from the mean ū, v¯ averaged over the shown 3 and 2 years respectively. Eddies arrivals are indicated with black arrows and latin numbers I-V, IX (anticyclonic) and VIc-VIIIc (cyclonic). (d) Inset shows SSH anomaly (colours) and geostrophic currents (arrows) on the date of moorings deployment (2013.04.11). Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).The map in this figure was queried from Google Static Map APIs (http://code.google.com/apis/maps/) using Get_google_map mapping package version 1.4 (https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/24113-get-google-map)
Figure 1 (a) The track of a mesoscale eddy (I) over 318 days from the coast towards the CCZ (licence areas shown with white and APEIs with green lines) and the BGR moorings site (star). Yellow lines encircle a local maximum (>80 cm) sea surface height (SSH) anomaly (AVISO31) at 10-day intervals. Colours reflect mean surface Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE) over the period 2012.06.18-2013.05.01. (b) Timeseries of EKE at the sea-surface in the nearest () and the averaged over adjacent four grid points around the moorings site (). (c) EKE series in a layer 15–20 mab averaged over all three moorings () and at the northern site (). Here EKE = 0.5·(u′2 + v′2), and u′, v′ are the deviations of u,v velocities from the mean ū, v¯ averaged over the shown 3 and 2 years respectively. Eddies arrivals are indicated with black arrows and latin numbers I-V, IX (anticyclonic) and VIc-VIIIc (cyclonic). (d) Inset shows SSH anomaly (colours) and geostrophic currents (arrows) on the date of moorings deployment (2013.04.11). Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).The map in this figure was queried from Google Static Map APIs (http://code.google.com/apis/maps/) using Get_google_map mapping package version 1.4 (https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/24113-get-google-map)CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 2 (a,b) Surface geostrophic velocity (AVISO31) (black) and residual currents at mooring No 1,2,3 (a), 34–36 (at the same sites) and 37 (b) shown in colours (3-daily averaged, layer 15–20 mab) for two deployment phases. The curved arrows indicate current veering during passage of eddies I-V. (c), Rotary spectral density estimates of seabed currents at mooring site 2 are shown with lines ,,3 for total, clockwise (cw) and counter-clockwise (ccw) components and similar lines ,, for the surface currents. Lomb-Scargle62,63 rotary spectra were calculated with unevenly sampled (1 and ¾ hours) data over the period 2013.04.11–2015.06.02. Confidence Intervals (CI = 95%) are included. Integration intervals over long-term, mesoscale, inertial, and tidal + high frequency internal wave’s bands and their contribution (%) in total spectra are shown with lines 7. High_Res_Figure_2 (https://figshare.com/s/78137cca3607d1266702). Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).
Figure 2 (a,b) Surface geostrophic velocity (AVISO31) (black) and residual currents at mooring No 1,2,3 (a), 34–36 (at the same sites) and 37 (b) shown in colours (3-daily averaged, layer 15–20 mab) for two deployment phases. The curved arrows indicate current veering during passage of eddies I-V. (c), Rotary spectral density estimates of seabed currents at mooring site 2 are shown with lines ,,3 for total, clockwise (cw) and counter-clockwise (ccw) components and similar lines ,, for the surface currents. Lomb-Scargle62,63 rotary spectra were calculated with unevenly sampled (1 and ¾ hours) data over the period 2013.04.11–2015.06.02. Confidence Intervals (CI = 95%) are included. Integration intervals over long-term, mesoscale, inertial, and tidal + high frequency internal wave’s bands and their contribution (%) in total spectra are shown with lines 7. High_Res_Figure_2 (https://figshare.com/s/78137cca3607d1266702). Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 3 (a) The difference between the mean Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE, defined as half of the horizontal velocity deviation from mean squared, isoline increment is 25 cm2∙s−2) of the altimetry–derived (AVISO31) ocean surface currents between the averaged eight El-Niño and seven La-Niña periods, calculated over 1993–2016. CCZ licence areas in the Tropical Pacific are shown with yellow and protected areas (APEIs) with green lines. (b) Surface EKE over the BGR mooring site (star on a map). High_Res_Figure_3 (https://figshare.com/s/2a1da19c8d6afe765e52). Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).The map in this figure was queried from Google Static Map APIs (http://code.google.com/apis/maps/) using the Get_google_map mapping package version 1.4 (https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/24113-get-google-map).
Figure 3 (a) The difference between the mean Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE, defined as half of the horizontal velocity deviation from mean squared, isoline increment is 25 cm2∙s−2) of the altimetry–derived (AVISO31) ocean surface currents between the averaged eight El-Niño and seven La-Niña periods, calculated over 1993–2016. CCZ licence areas in the Tropical Pacific are shown with yellow and protected areas (APEIs) with green lines. (b) Surface EKE over the BGR mooring site (star on a map). High_Res_Figure_3 (https://figshare.com/s/2a1da19c8d6afe765e52). Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).The map in this figure was queried from Google Static Map APIs (http://code.google.com/apis/maps/) using the Get_google_map mapping package version 1.4 (https://uk.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/24113-get-google-map).CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 4 (a) Dissolved matter plume core tracks (colours, concentration in parts of unit), formed by neutral tracers released in period (April 2013) at three different dates (red ,,) marked on inset surface elevation (ζ, m) graph. Mooring sites are labelled with M-1, M-2 and M-3. (b) Plume core tracks formed by neutral tracers released in period from ‘calm’ sources (1,4,5) and two more energetic sites (2,3) adjacent to ‘hotspots’ (shown in 12-hour intervals). (c) Observed () and modelled () residual current vectors averaged over 12 hours at 20 mab at mooring site 1. High_Res_Fig. 4 (https://figshare.com/s/1cc75280276f0ead1508). Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).
Figure 4 (a) Dissolved matter plume core tracks (colours, concentration in parts of unit), formed by neutral tracers released in period (April 2013) at three different dates (red ,,) marked on inset surface elevation (ζ, m) graph. Mooring sites are labelled with M-1, M-2 and M-3. (b) Plume core tracks formed by neutral tracers released in period from ‘calm’ sources (1,4,5) and two more energetic sites (2,3) adjacent to ‘hotspots’ (shown in 12-hour intervals). (c) Observed () and modelled () residual current vectors averaged over 12 hours at 20 mab at mooring site 1. High_Res_Fig. 4 (https://figshare.com/s/1cc75280276f0ead1508). Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 5 (a) Model particulate plume on the 10th day after start release (at the end of eddy passing period) containing 5.7·105 individual particles suspended in a water (grey dots) and settled on seafloor (colours). The area with substantial accumulated sediment layer thickness (in m) is shown over bathymetry (grey lines, 50 m). Points along the nodule collector tracks were aligned with equally-spaced Archimedes spiral, and shown on a dashed in-cut to indicate the scale of the harvested zone during the last day (red) and since the beginning of experiment (green). Red and green triangles indicate three mooring sites, labelled with M-1, M-2 and M-3, and two sediment core sampling sites53 respectively. (b), Settling footprint after 10 days of a similar SPM release over period without eddy impact. High_Res_Fig. 5 (https://figshare.com/s/5472457ce071bd654305) and animations are available on-line via Supplementary Info Media3_2D_plume_movie.gif (https://figshare.com/s/abd96d10a22263c42e3b). Figure and media animation were plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).
Figure 5 (a) Model particulate plume on the 10th day after start release (at the end of eddy passing period) containing 5.7·105 individual particles suspended in a water (grey dots) and settled on seafloor (colours). The area with substantial accumulated sediment layer thickness (in m) is shown over bathymetry (grey lines, 50 m). Points along the nodule collector tracks were aligned with equally-spaced Archimedes spiral, and shown on a dashed in-cut to indicate the scale of the harvested zone during the last day (red) and since the beginning of experiment (green). Red and green triangles indicate three mooring sites, labelled with M-1, M-2 and M-3, and two sediment core sampling sites53 respectively. (b), Settling footprint after 10 days of a similar SPM release over period without eddy impact. High_Res_Fig. 5 (https://figshare.com/s/5472457ce071bd654305) and animations are available on-line via Supplementary Info Media3_2D_plume_movie.gif (https://figshare.com/s/abd96d10a22263c42e3b). Figure and media animation were plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com/).CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 6 Settled sediment thickness (m) as a function of distance from the source are shown with 1 black (averaged) and red (maximum) lines computed in numerical Experiments III under eddy impact using two vertical mixing schemes: KL1068 (bold) and PP8167 (thin). Cyan lines show the averaged (solid) and maximum (dashed) thickness of sediments settled during the other 10 days of SPM release, when the impact of the eddy vanished. Yellow symbols 4 show JGOFS77–80 sediment trap rates and their location in Eastern Pacific. Symbols , show visual and measured data from 15 sediment traps collected in BIE50,51, while empty diamonds show BIE trap values scaled by suspended mass ratio R = 31.8 over 10 days between this numerical experiment (454,756t) and in-situ BIE trials (1,427t of sediments were dispersed during 19 days at a rate of 4.2 kg·s−1 by a six-meter-wide “benthic disturber” that was towed in 49 parallel rows within a 3300 m × 150 m polygon)51. Green line 7 indicates the natural sedimentation rate at two A5 stations53. High_Res_Fig. 6 (https://figshare.com/s/d984083a59832f4227ea) and Table 3 are available on-line via Supplementary Info. Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com). The map in this figure was generated by MATLAB R2015b with M_Map (a mapping package, http://www.eos.ubc.ca/~rich/map.html).
Figure 6 Settled sediment thickness (m) as a function of distance from the source are shown with 1 black (averaged) and red (maximum) lines computed in numerical Experiments III under eddy impact using two vertical mixing schemes: KL1068 (bold) and PP8167 (thin). Cyan lines show the averaged (solid) and maximum (dashed) thickness of sediments settled during the other 10 days of SPM release, when the impact of the eddy vanished. Yellow symbols 4 show JGOFS77–80 sediment trap rates and their location in Eastern Pacific. Symbols , show visual and measured data from 15 sediment traps collected in BIE50,51, while empty diamonds show BIE trap values scaled by suspended mass ratio R = 31.8 over 10 days between this numerical experiment (454,756t) and in-situ BIE trials (1,427t of sediments were dispersed during 19 days at a rate of 4.2 kg·s−1 by a six-meter-wide “benthic disturber” that was towed in 49 parallel rows within a 3300 m × 150 m polygon)51. Green line 7 indicates the natural sedimentation rate at two A5 stations53. High_Res_Fig. 6 (https://figshare.com/s/d984083a59832f4227ea) and Table 3 are available on-line via Supplementary Info. Figure was plotted using MATLAB R2015b (http://www.mathworks.com). The map in this figure was generated by MATLAB R2015b with M_Map (a mapping package, http://www.eos.ubc.ca/~rich/map.html).CC BY · PubMed Central

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Thiel, H., Foell, E. J. & Schriever, G. Potential environmental effects of deep seabed mining. Berichte aus dem Zentrum für Meeres- und Klimaforschung der Universität Hamburg 26, 243 (1991).
  2. Zyryanov, V. N. Topographic eddies in a stratified ocean. Regular and Chaotic Dynamics 11, 491–521, https://doi.org/10.1070/RD2006v011n04ABEH000367 (2006). · DOI
  3. Roe, P. L. Some contributions to the modelling of discontinuous flows, in Large-scale computations in fluid mechanics; Proceedings of the Fifteenth Summer Seminar on Applied Mathematics, 1983. (eds Lee, R. L. Sani, R. L. Shih, T. M. & Gresho, P. M.), 2, 163–193 (American Mathematical Society, 1985).

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Metadata

Authors
Aleynik, D., Inall, M. E., Dale, A., & Vink, A.
Affiliations
Scottish Association For Marine Science (GB)
Corresponding author
Aleynik, Dmitry
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-12-05
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
16959-16959
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-017-16912-2
PMC
PMC5717004
OpenAlex
W2770479302
Cited by
131
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 7
FWCI
6.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
correction (2018-05-04)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • European Commission (603418)
  • Natural Environment Research Council
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Biology and Ecology Research
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Plankton and Biogeochemistry
Keywords
polymetallic nodule mining, deep-sea mining, sediment plumes, mesoscale eddies, abyssal currents, tidal forcing, suspended sediment resuspension, plume dispersion, central tropical Pacific, deep-sea mining impacts

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