Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent.
BACKGROUND: Environmental impacts of human activities on the deep seafloor are of increasing concern. While activities within waters shallower than 200 m have been the focus of previous assessments of anthropogenic impacts, no study has quantified the extent of individual activities or determined th...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e007a21a1b4548918eec20cd0cae61dd 2023-05-15T17:36:05+02:00 Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. Angela R Benn Philip P Weaver David S M Billet Sybille van den Hove Andrew P Murdock Gemma B Doneghan Tim Le Bas 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 https://doaj.org/article/e007a21a1b4548918eec20cd0cae61dd EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2938353?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 https://doaj.org/article/e007a21a1b4548918eec20cd0cae61dd PLoS ONE, Vol 5, Iss 9, p e12730 (2010) Medicine R Science Q article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 2022-12-31T01:49:36Z BACKGROUND: Environmental impacts of human activities on the deep seafloor are of increasing concern. While activities within waters shallower than 200 m have been the focus of previous assessments of anthropogenic impacts, no study has quantified the extent of individual activities or determined the relative severity of each type of impact in the deep sea. METHODOLOGY: The OSPAR maritime area of the North East Atlantic was chosen for the study because it is considered to be one of the most heavily impacted by human activities. In addition, it was assumed data would be accessible and comprehensive. Using the available data we map and estimate the spatial extent of five major human activities in the North East Atlantic that impact the deep seafloor: submarine communication cables, marine scientific research, oil and gas industry, bottom trawling and the historical dumping of radioactive waste, munitions and chemical weapons. It was not possible to map military activities. The extent of each activity has been quantified for a single year, 2005. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Human activities on the deep seafloor of the OSPAR area of the North Atlantic are significant but their footprints vary. Some activities have an immediate impact after which seafloor communities could re-establish, while others can continue to make an impact for many years and the impact could extend far beyond the physical disturbance. The spatial extent of waste disposal, telecommunication cables, the hydrocarbon industry and marine research activities is relatively small. The extent of bottom trawling is very significant and, even on the lowest possible estimates, is an order of magnitude greater than the total extent of all the other activities. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: To meet future ecosystem-based management and governance objectives for the deep sea significant improvements are required in data collection and availability as well as a greater awareness of the relative impact of each human activity. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North East Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLoS ONE 5 9 e12730 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Angela R Benn Philip P Weaver David S M Billet Sybille van den Hove Andrew P Murdock Gemma B Doneghan Tim Le Bas Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
BACKGROUND: Environmental impacts of human activities on the deep seafloor are of increasing concern. While activities within waters shallower than 200 m have been the focus of previous assessments of anthropogenic impacts, no study has quantified the extent of individual activities or determined the relative severity of each type of impact in the deep sea. METHODOLOGY: The OSPAR maritime area of the North East Atlantic was chosen for the study because it is considered to be one of the most heavily impacted by human activities. In addition, it was assumed data would be accessible and comprehensive. Using the available data we map and estimate the spatial extent of five major human activities in the North East Atlantic that impact the deep seafloor: submarine communication cables, marine scientific research, oil and gas industry, bottom trawling and the historical dumping of radioactive waste, munitions and chemical weapons. It was not possible to map military activities. The extent of each activity has been quantified for a single year, 2005. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Human activities on the deep seafloor of the OSPAR area of the North Atlantic are significant but their footprints vary. Some activities have an immediate impact after which seafloor communities could re-establish, while others can continue to make an impact for many years and the impact could extend far beyond the physical disturbance. The spatial extent of waste disposal, telecommunication cables, the hydrocarbon industry and marine research activities is relatively small. The extent of bottom trawling is very significant and, even on the lowest possible estimates, is an order of magnitude greater than the total extent of all the other activities. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: To meet future ecosystem-based management and governance objectives for the deep sea significant improvements are required in data collection and availability as well as a greater awareness of the relative impact of each human activity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Angela R Benn Philip P Weaver David S M Billet Sybille van den Hove Andrew P Murdock Gemma B Doneghan Tim Le Bas |
author_facet |
Angela R Benn Philip P Weaver David S M Billet Sybille van den Hove Andrew P Murdock Gemma B Doneghan Tim Le Bas |
author_sort |
Angela R Benn |
title |
Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. |
title_short |
Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. |
title_full |
Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. |
title_fullStr |
Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. |
title_sort |
human activities on the deep seafloor in the north east atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 https://doaj.org/article/e007a21a1b4548918eec20cd0cae61dd |
genre |
North Atlantic North East Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North East Atlantic |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 5, Iss 9, p e12730 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2938353?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 https://doaj.org/article/e007a21a1b4548918eec20cd0cae61dd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 |
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PLoS ONE |
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