Case Study: The Ocean Clean-Up
The publication of Office of GY4ES.ORG (2023) presents a case of plastic-choked
beaches in Versova, India. Versova is shown as one of the pristine beaches in the Suburbs of
India. This coastline beach has, over the years, been overwhelmed by high levels of plastic
pollution. However, local communities have been engaged in handling pollution. Led by Afroz
Shah, an environmentalist, the community embarked on a clean-up campaign, and over time,
they managed to remove plastic wastes of more than 5,000,000 kg of plastic waste from the
Versova beaches. The efforts to clean up not only led to the beautification of the coastal beaches
but also improved marine life. Through these improvements, the Ridley turtles that had migrated
from the shores of Versova.
b. Case Study: Various projects that are currently exploring our oceans and their
discoveries so far
The online publication of Nautilus (2024) has presented various projects currently
exploring our oceans and their discoveries. These projects include the expansion of the E/V
Naulitas by 4 m in 2021 to support the autonomous vehicle systems and cabin suites to raise the
earthing capacity. In May 2024, the OET launched an 8-month expedition to explore the Central,
Western, and Eastern Pacific with 10 expeditions in American Samoa, U.S. Remote Islands,
Canada, and Palau, which are ongoing. There have been oceanic explorations in the NOAA
oceans, which are expected to contribute massively to scientific, cultural, and economic value
and, at the same time, support different innovations. Since the beginning of 2024, there have
been different oceanic projects in the Southern and Northern Pacific Oceans, Puerto Rico, and
the Virgin Islands of the United States of America (NOAA, 2024).
c. Case Study: Research into underwater mining
i. Advantages: Deep-sea mining has significant benefits to modern industries. According
to the latest publication of Ashford et al. (2023), deep-sea mining can help reduce the
critical needs of minerals as different countries continue to scale up their decarbonization
efforts. The global demand for minerals is estimated to rise by 400% within the coming
decades. The underwater mining industry is particularly effective in reducing the
overreliance on electric vehicles, solar, and wind power. Development of underwater
mining has far-reaching economic opportunities, job creation, technological innovation,
and increased income for countries with an EEZ that is rich in seabed minerals, which is
potentially a source of new employment, infrastructure development, improved living
standards for the citizens of the coastal nations, but more importantly for small island
states. The deep seabed exploration and mining require advanced technology; hence,
innovative engineering, robotics, and autonomous systems are potential ways to explore
and exploit such mineral resources. Since land mining by nature is deforestation,
underwater mining destroys habitats and otherwise causes a lot of ecological damage that
is less intrusive to earthly environments.
ii. Disadvantages: Mining processes that disturb the floor will discharge sediment plumes,
affect marine life, and form coral and communities living in hydrothermal vents.
Underwater mining is operationally expensive and highly technical. The deep ocean is
physically unkind; with extreme pressure, low temperatures, and accessibility issues,
making technology that safely and efficiently takes out minerals from 4,000 to 6,000
meters in depth requires a huge investment (Carreiro-Silva et al., 2022). Transportation of
minerals from the ocean floor to the surface is also logistically tricky, which adds to the
operational cost.
iii. Ethical concerns: Some of the major ethical concerns in underwater mining include the
prevention of environmental degradation. The ecological communities in such areas are
then very fragile because they exist at such high pressures with low light and very slow
biological processes. This mining causes disturbance on the ocean floor, which develops
sediment plumes, potentially traveling very long distances and smothering marine life,
disrupting ecosystems other than the immediate mining area. Deep-sea species, be it
corals, sponges, or bioluminescent organisms, generally grow very slowly and may take
centuries for any recovery. The ethical consideration is the potential contribution of
underwater mining to global climate change and the consequences that may not be so
well understood long-term. It would, therefore be imperative to avoid specific actions
whose environmental risk is uncertain when deciding on deep-sea mining.
iv. Personal Opinion: In my opinion, and considering the research and analysis regarding
underwater mining, decision-making related to underwater mining activities needs to be
based on a precautionary principle. The deep ocean is one of the most inadequately
understood environments on Earth, and the effects of large-scale mining trespass are not
yet predictable. It would imperative to investigate possible long-term effects of
underwater mining, and studying technologies and regulatory mechanisms that minimize
environmental damage.
d. Insight into the future of marine technology and innovations
i. Northrop Grumman: Manta Ray is creating a new category of UUV (uncrewed
underwater vehicles that will be operating for a long duration in Oceanic environments
that human beings cannot reach).
ii. Future Projects: Beginning in January 2024, Norway has embarked on the process of
exploration of deep-sea minerals, which is expected to commence in 2030. Other projects
iii. Commercial travel (Ocean Gate and other organizations): The OceanGate industry
founded in 2009 focusing on developing submersibles of taking the passengers to deep
destinations. The Deep Flight organization has created high-tech submersibles to increase
adventure tourism with cutting-edge technology.
e. Regular People and their impact on the oceanic environment
i. Afroz Shah: He is a constitutional lawyer who, in 2015, played a significant role in
cleaning the Versova Beach situated in Mumbai, India.
ii. Dana Beach is a small-town community in Metropolitan, South Florida, in the United
States of America. The beach is associated with offering nightlife, dining inside water,
and preservation of the region’s historical heritage.
iii. Uma Mani: She is an earth champion, an Indian Coral Woman, who has been dedicated
to protecting and preserving coral reefs.
iv. Carlos Mallo Molina: A Spanish activist who left his occupation as a practicing civil
engineer to embark on an adventure of protecting and saving oceans. He is currently the
CEO of the NGO Innoceana.
References
Ashford, O., Baines, J., Barbanell, M., & Wang, K. (2023). What We Know About Deep-sea
Mining — And What We Don’t. World Resources Institute.
https://www.wri.org/insights/deep-sea-mining-explained
Carreiro-Silva, M., Martins, I., Riou, V., Raimundo, J., Caetano, M., Bettencourt, R., Rakka, M.,
Cerqueira, T., Godinho, A., Morato, T., & Colaço, A. (2022). Mechanical and
toxicological effects of deep-sea mining sediment plumes on a habitat-forming cold-
water octocoral. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.915650
Nautilus. (2024, June 6). Ocean Exploration Trust. Nautilus Live. https://nautiluslive.org/about
NOAA. (2024). NOAA Ocean Exploration 2024 Expeditions: NOAA Ocean Exploration.
Oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/2024-
expeditions/welcome.html
Office of GY4ES.ORG. (2023, October 3). Oceans vs. Plastic: Impacts and Case Studies.
GY4ES.ORG; GY4ES.ORG. https://www.gy4es.org/post/oceans-vs-plastic-impacts-and-
case-studies