This was accomplished during an expedition in the Greenland Sea this spring, in cooperation with the University of Bergen (UiB).

The assignment was to continue the mapping of seabed minerals in the deep sea. Resource data (geology) and environmental data (biology) were collected in three locations; near the Jøtul deposit, at the Grøntua and Deep Insight deposits and over a submarine mountain (seamount) in the southern part of blocks that were proposed candidates for announcement in connection with a first licensing round (see map below).

A new discovery of sulphides was proven just south of the Jøtul deposit, and was named Gygra, see map.

The expedition used a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to film and acquire samples from the seabed to learn more about how minerals are formed and where they are located on the NCS.

At the same time, we also want to find out which types of organisms might be found near the mineral resources, and to gain more knowledge about what effects the extraction of minerals might have on the ecosystems in the deep sea.

“As a specialist directorate reporting to the Ministry of Energy, we are tasked with specific assignments in the annual allocation letter. This year, we will be collecting resource and environmental data together with other relevant specialist communities in the area that has been opened up for mineral activity,” says Hilde Braut, head of Offshore New Ventures in the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.

The Directorate has received an allocation of NOK 150 million in the state budget to devote to the resource and environmental mapping effort.

Broad cooperation

Biologist Rosalyn Fredriksen and geologists Janka Rom and Jan Stenløkk took part in the expedition using the FF Kronprins Haakon research vessel.

Fredriksen talks about close dialogue with Mareano and the Institute of Marine Research (link) prior to the voyage to discuss how environmental data should be collected to increase knowledge about the deep sea.

“We collected data using so-called ‘push cores’ and recorded the seabed and animal life using the ROV”.

Physical samples of larger organisms were collected using the ROV’s grab. Organisms also accompanied rock samples to the surface.

“As a marine biologist in the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, I definitely feel a great sense of responsibility for making sure that the video material and the physical samples are collected in a sound manner, and that this will help increase knowledge about the area being opened,” Fredriksen emphasises. 

“It’s also important for us in the Directorate that publicly available data material released from our expeditions can be used for a broader purpose, for example, training artificial intelligence to identify species within research and knowledge used in public administration.”

In preparation for the expedition, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, seabed mapping experts from the Institute of Marine Research and the University of Bergen (UiB) drew up a protocol for the technical layout of the ROV instruments (such as distance from the seabed, the ROV’s speed, brightness, angle of camera and zoom).

“The protocol makes it possible for the other public institutions to use ROV-video collected from our expedition,” says Fredriksen. 

The Directorate received expert support from the Institute of Marine Research during the expedition, to monitor the ROV lines to help record animal life in real time. This was valuable assistance from shore.

The Directorate contributed by deploying two “Seaguard” ocean current metres on behalf of the Institute of Marine Research. They will remain deployed on the seabed, measuring current direction, speed, pressure and temperature, among other things. We collected sediment samples of the seabed for Mareano. The photo shows a “Seaguard” ocean current metre on the seabed. (Photo: UiB)

Continued work

Among other things, 15 rock samples of sulphides and manganese crusts have been delivered to the Directorate’s Geobank, and biological samples have been sent to UiB for further analysis. In addition, nearly two full days of video has been shot as part of the mapping around a 1500-metre seamount.

The photo shows manganese crusts that have grown on basalt, the crust is about 1.5 cm thick (from the sea ridge near the Mohns Ridge).

The video data collected will be released as soon as the quality is good enough. The rock samples will be presented for viewing in Geobank for those who want to have a look. 

A number of institutions are waiting to gain access to the videos so they can understand the formation of the mineral resources on the seabed, and how the biological life develops.

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate will continue to work with the data to gain a better understanding of the geological development in this part of the deep sea, and to update the resource assessment of the minerals on the seabed. 

“As regards a potential licensing round, we’ve obtained good insight into various exploration methods and understanding of the data quality that will be useful in preparing a work programme. We saw differences between various deposits that could indicate development of tailored work programmes per area,” says Janka Rom.

The photo shows a sulphide sample in the form of a fragment of an extinct hydrothermal chimney; the piece is around 25 cm long (from the Grønntua deposit on the Mohns Ridge).