CSA Ocean Sciences provides expert environmental consultation to the marine mining industry by drawing on its decades-long and global history of deep ocean science, scientific and operational support for offshore environmental impact studies for various industries and regulatory agencies, and familiarity with the draft International Seabed Authority (ISA) standards and guidelines.
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The initial environmental objective of the marine mining industry, as mandated by the ISA and applicable national governments, is to establish a robust environmental baseline of the lease area by thoroughly investigating the biological, chemical, metocean, and physical conditions. These lease areas are typically found in highly remote (i.e., Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, Mid-Atlantic Ridge), very deep (i.e., > 4,000 m), and extremely challenging regions of the world’s oceans. CSA helps their marine mining clients to meet these challenges by:
- Working collaboratively to design purpose-fit, scientifically vigorous, and ISA compliant survey designs for the investigation of deep-sea environmental conditions;
- Providing operational expertise in the design, deployment, servicing, and recovery of ultra-deep water mooring systems;
- Supplying, mobilizing, and operating a suite of scientific instrumentation (i.e., CTDs, box-corers, landers, carousels, bioaccumulation devises) and proven specialized operational equipment (i.e., fast deepwater winches, A-frames, laboratories) necessary for highly remote deep-sea investigations; and
- Managing exploratory assets (i.e., vessels, autonomous underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles), international shipping and travel logistics, oceanic modelers, and survey support personnel for long-term expeditions.
Leveraging Deep-Sea Expertise
The primary environmental objective of the marine mining industry is to prepare an ISA compliant environmental impact assessment (EIA). CSA scientists utilize their experience with the deep-sea environment and regulatory framework to prepare strategic and project-specific EIAs. That expertise is the foundation of CSA leadership in both at-sea and desktop environmental impact assessments.
CSA provides end-to-end client services with the necessary experience, capacity, and resources to support all phases (i.e., preparatory, management, at-sea, desktop analysis) of the emerging ISA regulatory requirements for deepwater ocean mining projects.
Importantly, CSA is a science-based organization that produces a wholly objective analysis and environmental assessment. Consequently, CSA is held in high regard and our products are trusted by both regulatory agencies and industry worldwide as unbiased and defensible.
