Marine Mineral Resources and Metals in the Oceans

海洋矿产资源和海洋金属

• 批准号: 170308-2013
• 负责人: Hannington, Mark
• 金额: $ 4.88万
• 依托单位: University of Ottawa
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=633679
• 关键词: Marine; Mineral; Resources; Metals; Oceans

Metal mining is one of the largest sectors of the global economy, and increasing demand for land-based resources is now encouraging exploration in the oceans. A number of countries (China, Japan, Korea, Russia, France and Germany) are actively exploring for mineral deposits at seafloor hydrothermal vents, with the aim of establishing seabed mining operations in the next decade. Other countries have leased portions of their EEZs for offshore mineral exploration. Recent articles in Nature and Science have raised concerns about the pace of this development in the absence of a coordinated scientific effort to understand the origin and distribution of the resources and the likely impacts of mining. Important questions remain about the diversity of seafloor hydrothermal systems, the loading of metals to the oceans from different volcanic and hydrothermal sources, and the geological processes that contribute most to their metal endowment. These aspects are poorly known, even at a qualitative level, but are fundamental to assessing the viability of a future marine minerals industry. To address these questions, we are participating in an international effort to explore and document the mineral deposits in different volcanic and tectonic settings of oceans. PhD students are gathering data on scientific cruises to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland, the Mariana arc, the Melanesian Archipelago (PNG, Solomons, Vanuatu), the Tonga-Kermadec arc, and in the Tyrrhenian Sea. They employ marine geology, geophysics, and geochemistry to identify the controls on the distribution of mineral resources, the large-scale magmatic and tectonic processes that influence metal budgets, and the behaviour of metals in the marine environment. This ambitious program is made possible by established partnerships with German, U.S., N.Z. and other institutions who are providing shiptime and other sea-going assets. At the same time, knowledge from the modern seafloor is greatly enhancing models of mineral endowment in ancient volcanic belts, with direct practical application to mineral exploration on land. Our group is one of the only scientific teams worldwide to bridge this knowledge of modern marine minerals to the understanding of ancient ore deposits.

金属采矿是全球经济最大的部门之一，对陆地资源不断增长的需求正在鼓励海洋勘探。一些国家（中国、日本、韩国、俄罗斯、法国和德国）正在积极勘探海底热液喷口的矿藏，目标是在未来十年建立海底采矿作业。其他国家租赁了部分专属经济区用于近海矿产勘探。 《自然》和《科学》杂志最近的文章对这种发展速度提出了担忧，因为缺乏协调一致的科学努力来了解资源的起源和分布以及采矿可能产生的影响。关于海底热液系统的多样性、从不同的火山和热液来源向海洋装载金属以及对其金属禀赋贡献最大的地质过程，仍然存在重要的问题。这些方面即使在定性水平上也鲜为人知，但对于评估未来海洋矿产行业的生存能力至关重要。为了解决这些问题，我们正在参与一项国际努力，探索和记录不同火山和海洋构造环境中的矿藏。博士生正在收集前往大西洋中脊、冰岛、马里亚纳弧、美拉尼西亚群岛（巴布亚新几内亚、所罗门群岛、瓦努阿图）、汤加-克马德克弧和第勒尼安海的科学航行数据。他们利用海洋地质学、地球物理学和地球化学来确定对矿产资源分布的控制、影响金属预算的大规模岩浆和构造过程以及海洋环境中金属的行为。这一雄心勃勃的计划是通过与德国、美国、新西兰建立的合作伙伴关系实现的。以及提供船舶时间和其他海上资产的其他机构。与此同时，来自现代海底的知识极大地增强了古代火山带矿产资源的模型，并可直接应用于陆地矿产勘探。我们的团队是全球唯一能够将现代海洋矿物知识与对古代矿床的理解联系起来的科学团队之一。