scholarly journals Estimation Accuracy and Classification of Polymetallic Nodule Resources Based on Classical Sampling Supported by Seafloor Photography (Pacific Ocean, Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, IOM Area)

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Mucha ◽  
Monika Wasilewska-Błaszczyk
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Estimation Accuracy ◽  
Relative Standard Error ◽  
Polymetallic Nodule ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Relative Standard ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone ◽  
Small Parts

The amount and accuracy of nodule resources estimation in the Pacific Ocean are among the main factors conditioning the future exploitation. The estimates are based on the results of classical, direct seafloor sampling. Due to the large distance between sampling sites, the accuracy of assessing nodule resources in small parts of the deposit is low. The accuracy can be increased by using a large number of seafloor photographs taken along the route of the research vessel performing classic sampling. The study conducted for a part of the area administered by Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM) included: (i) determining a model of the relationship between nodule abundance and seafloor nodule coverage using statistical methods, (ii) assessing the accuracy of nodule resources estimation using a geostatistical kriging procedure, (iii) proposing a preliminary classification of resources referring to International Seabed Authority (ISA) classification standards as material for further discussion. It was found that achievement of high accuracy in the estimation of nodule resources (with relative standard error <5%) in blocks planned for annual exploitation based on direct sampling is difficult. While the use of seafloor photographs increases the accuracy of estimating nodule resources, this improvement is not radical due to the unfavorable, preferential arrangement of photographic data.

scholarly journals Megafauna of the UKSRL exploration contract area and eastern Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean: Annelida, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, Chordata, Ctenophora, Mollusca

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diva Amon ◽  
Amanda Ziegler ◽  
Jeffrey Drazen ◽  
Andrei Grischenko ◽  
Astrid Leitner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽  
Molecular Barcoding ◽  
Polymetallic Nodule ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Biological Studies ◽  
Threatened Habitat ◽  
The Uk ◽  
A Site

There is growing interest in mining polymetallic nodules from the abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Despite having been the focus of environmental studies for decades, the benthic megafauna of the CCZ remain poorly known. To predict and manage the environmental impacts of mining in the CCZ, baseline knowledge of the megafauna is essential. The ABYSSLINE Project has conducted benthic biological baseline surveys in the UK Seabed Resources Ltd polymetallic-nodule exploration contract area (UK-1). Prior to ABYSSLINE research cruises in 2013 and 2015, no biological studies had been done in this area of the eastern CCZ. Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle and Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (as well as several other pieces of equipment), the megafauna within the UK Seabed Resources Ltd exploration contract area (UK-1) and at a site ~250 km east of the UK-1 area were surveyed, allowing us to make the first estimates of megafaunal morphospecies richness from the imagery collected. Here, we present an atlas of the abyssal annelid, arthropod, bryozoan, chordate, ctenophore and molluscan megafauna observed and collected during the ABYSSLINE cruises to the UK-1 polymetallic-nodule exploration contract area in the CCZ. There appear to be at least 55 distinct morphospecies (8 Annelida, 12 Arthropoda, 4 Bryozoa, 22 Chordata, 5 Ctenophora, and 4 Mollusca) identified mostly by morphology but also using molecular barcoding for a limited number of animals that were collected. This atlas will aid the synthesis of megafaunal presence/absence data collected by contractors, scientists and other stakeholders undertaking work in the CCZ, ultimately helping to decipher the biogeography of the megafauna in this threatened habitat.

scholarly journals Possibilities and Limitations of the Use of Seafloor Photographs for Estimating Polymetallic Nodule Resources—Case Study from IOM Area, Pacific Ocean

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1123
Author(s):  
Monika Wasilewska-Błaszczyk ◽  
Jacek Mucha
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
General Linear Model ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Acceptable Accuracy ◽  
Polymetallic Nodule ◽  
Ordinal Variable ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Small Parts

Direct seafloor sampling using, e.g., box corers is insufficient to obtain an acceptable accuracy of nodule resource estimates in small parts of potential deposits. In order to increase the reliability of the estimates, it was rational to use the results of photographic surveys of the seafloor. However, the estimation of nodule abundance based on seafloor photographs is associated with a number of problems and limitations. The main goal of the study was a statistical analysis of the role and interrelationships of selected factors affecting the accuracy of nodule abundance assessment based on seafloor photographs from the H22 exploration block located in the Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (IOM) area in the Pacific. A statistically significant, but only moderately strong, correlation was found between the abundance of nodules and seafloor nodule coverage (quantitative variables), the nodule abundance and genetic type of nodules (ordinal variable estimated visually from photos), and between seafloor coverage with nodules and sediment coverage of nodules (ordinal variable estimated visually from photos). It was suggested that the nodule abundance could be effectively and more accurately predicted using a general linear model that includes both quantitative and ordinal variables.

A method of screening for spike fertility in wheat

2012 ◽  
Vol 151 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. ABBATE ◽  
A. C. PONTAROLI ◽  
L. LÁZARO ◽  
F. GUTHEIM
Keyword(s):  
Screening Method ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Relative Standard Error ◽  
Grain Number ◽  
Crop Physiology ◽  
Plot Size ◽  
Relative Standard ◽  
Crop Maturity

SUMMARYWheat grain yield is often associated with grain number/m2. Spike fertility (SF), i.e. the quotient between grain number and spike chaff dry weight, is a major component of grain number/m2 determination. Several methodologies have been proposed in the literature for field determination of SF, but they are tedious and expensive. Also, no comparison between methodologies has been done. The feasibility of using wheat SF as a selection criterion in a breeding programme or as a variable of interest in crop physiology studies depends largely upon the availability of a simpler and faster method for collecting and processing samples. Thus, the objective of the present study was to determine: (1) the association between SF calculated with the non-grain spike dry weight at anthesis (reference method) or at crop maturity, (2) the association between SF evaluated at the plot level (i.e. both non-grain spike dry weight and grain number determined as per area unit) and at the individual spike level and (3) the minimum number of individual spikes that should be sampled for the development of a screening method that can be applied in wheat breeding programmes or in crop physiology studies. Associations between variables were determined by correlation analysis of treatment means, and by a test of agreement for categorical rating (low, medium and high SF) between individual data of each variable. Four experiments (BY95, BC96, BC97 and ML07) were performed with five, ten, eight and eight wheat cultivars, respectively, under no environmental limitations, except for experiment ML07 which was not irrigated. In the first three experiments, SF was determined both at the beginning of grain filling and at maturity, in plot-size samples (0·8 m2/plot). In experiments BC96 and BC97, SF was determined both in plot-size samples and in individual spikes (five spikes per plot), at the beginning of grain filling. In experiment ML07, increasing numbers of individual spikes were sampled at maturity to assess SF. As a result: (1) a significant association (R2=0·78; P<0·001; d.f.=20) was detected between SF determined at the beginning of grain filling and at maturity, and the test of agreement for categorical rating showed that the classification of data into categories of SF was equivalent between methods (P>0·05); (2) when comparing SF determined in large plot-size samples v. in small samples of individual spikes, a good adjustment (R2=0·77; P<0·001; d.f.=6) was also observed, with no significant cultivar×experiment interaction and a good agreement between methods in the classification of data into categories of SF (P>0·05); and (3) increasing sample size from 5 to 40 spikes gradually decreased the average relative standard error of the mean (from 0·034 to 0·012, respectively). In conclusion, wheat SF can be determined in a fairly accurate way by sampling a small group of individual spikes at crop maturity, thereby allowing the evaluation of a large number of treatments in a timely fashion and the screening of breeding material from early generations.

Description of two new species of munnopsid isopods (Crustacea: Isopoda: Asellota) from manganese nodules area of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, Pacific Ocean

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2783 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARINA V. MALYUTINA
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Manganese Nodules ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Clipperton Fracture Zone ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone

Two new species of deep sea asellotes of the family Munnopsidae, Rectisura slavai sp. nov. and Storthyngura yuzhmorgeo sp. nov. are described from the manganese nodules area in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone of the Pacific Ocean. The discovery of these new species allowed re-examination of the taxonomic position of two similar species, Storthyngura ? intermedia (Beddard, 1885) from the Northeastern Basin of the Pacific Ocean and Ilyarachna defecta Menzies & George, 1972 from the Peru-Chile Trench, eastern Pacific Ocean. The species are moved to the genera Rectisura Malyutina, 2003 and Storthyngura Vanhöffen, 1914, respectively. Additional composition and distribution of the species of the genera are presented.

scholarly journals From the Surface to the Deep-Sea: Bacterial Distributions across Polymetallic Nodule Fields in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus V. Lindh ◽  
Brianne M. Maillot ◽  
Christine N. Shulse ◽  
Andrew J. Gooday ◽  
Diva J. Amon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Polymetallic Nodule ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean

SOME FURTHER RECORDS OF PELAGIC POLYCHAETA FROM THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC NORTH OF LATITUDE 40° N. AND EAST OF LONGITUDE 175° W., TOGETHER WITH RECORDS OF SIPHONOPHORA, MOLLUSCA, AND TUNICATA FROM THE SAME REGION

1960 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 787-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Berkeley ◽  
C. Berkeley
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
New Records ◽  
The Other ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Northeast Pacific ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Northeastern Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean

Seventeen species of pelagic Polychaeta from the northeastern Pacific are recorded. Of these, five (Sphaerosyllis pirifera Claparède, Dorvillea kefersteini McIntosh, Spiophanes cirrata Sars, Magelona sp., and Flabelligera affinis Sars) are species which, whilst not exclusively pelagic, are known to swim at some stage, particularly as larvae. One record (Pedinosoma curtum Reibisch) is new to the Pacific Ocean, two (Pontodora pelagica Greef and Callisona nasuta Greef) are new to the northeastern Pacific region, and four (Pelagobia longicirrata Greef, Lopadorhynchus uncinatus Fauvel, Sagitella kowalewskii Wagner, and Callizona angelini (Kinberg)) are records of northerly extensions of distribution. The first observation of a larval Cossura (probably of C. longocirrata Webster and Benedict) is recorded. Poeobius meseres Heath is recorded from a number of stations and the classification of Poeobiidae is discussed.Eight species of Siphonophora are listed, all of which constitute new records for the region covered by the present collections. Six species of Mollusca, comprising five Pteropoda and one Heteropoda, are recorded, none of which have been identified previously in northeastern Pacific plankton. Three of the genera of Pteropoda (Anopsia, Thliptodon, and Cliopsis) are characteristic of warmer seas, the other two, and the heteropod, are widely distributed. Of the two species of Tunicata listed one is new to the northeastern Pacific.

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