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 the...
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:173049 2023-07-30T04:05:37+02:00 Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent Benn, Angela R. Weaver, Philip P. Billett, David S.M. van den Hove, Sybille Murdock, Andrew P. Doneghan, Gemma B. Le Bas, Tim 2010-09-13 application/octet-stream https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/173049/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/173049/1/fetchObject.action_uri%253Dinfo_doi%25252F10.1371%25252Fjournal.pone.0012730%2526representation%253DPDF en eng https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/173049/1/fetchObject.action_uri%253Dinfo_doi%25252F10.1371%25252Fjournal.pone.0012730%2526representation%253DPDF Benn, Angela R., Weaver, Philip P., Billett, David S.M., van den Hove, Sybille, Murdock, Andrew P., Doneghan, Gemma B. and Le Bas, Tim (2010) Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. PLoS ONE, 5 (9), 1-15. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012730>). other Article PeerReviewed 2010 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 2023-07-09T21:19:31Z 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 University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton PLoS ONE 5 9 e12730 |
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University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
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ftsouthampton |
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English |
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 |
Benn, Angela R. Weaver, Philip P. Billett, David S.M. van den Hove, Sybille Murdock, Andrew P. Doneghan, Gemma B. Le Bas, Tim |
spellingShingle |
Benn, Angela R. Weaver, Philip P. Billett, David S.M. van den Hove, Sybille Murdock, Andrew P. Doneghan, Gemma B. Le Bas, Tim Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent |
author_facet |
Benn, Angela R. Weaver, Philip P. Billett, David S.M. van den Hove, Sybille Murdock, Andrew P. Doneghan, Gemma B. Le Bas, Tim |
author_sort |
Benn, Angela R. |
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 |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/173049/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/173049/1/fetchObject.action_uri%253Dinfo_doi%25252F10.1371%25252Fjournal.pone.0012730%2526representation%253DPDF |
genre |
North Atlantic North East Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North East Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/173049/1/fetchObject.action_uri%253Dinfo_doi%25252F10.1371%25252Fjournal.pone.0012730%2526representation%253DPDF Benn, Angela R., Weaver, Philip P., Billett, David S.M., van den Hove, Sybille, Murdock, Andrew P., Doneghan, Gemma B. and Le Bas, Tim (2010) Human activities on the deep seafloor in the North East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. PLoS ONE, 5 (9), 1-15. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012730>). |
op_rights |
other |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012730 |
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PLoS ONE |
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5 |
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9 |
container_start_page |
e12730 |
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1772817639641448448 |