Probing the Depths: SWERVE funded Research Voyage Maps Risks of Baltic Seabed Mining
As the world turns to the sea for critical minerals needed in the green transition, understanding the environmental risks of seabed mining becomes urgent. On the first SWERVE expedition, Francisco Nascimento and his team worked long days aboard KBV 181 to collect baseline data on biodiversity and ecosystem processes before mining begins. Their goal: to close crucial knowledge gaps and strengthen tools for ecological risk assessment, ensuring that seabed mining—if it happens—can be managed with care and scientific insight.
What is the main goal of this cruise, and what kinds of data are you collecting?
The aim of this voyage has been to investigate the environmental risks associated with seabed mining (SBM) for rare earth elements in the Baltic Sea. We are doing this by establishing a baseline community structure and measuring ecosystem functions prior to disturbance. We have collected samples for an experiment that will be simulating sediment removal and plume impacts, and tracking recovery of biodiversity, ecosystem processes and contaminant fluxes.
To collect this data, what instruments are you using?
We used a CTD rosette for water-column profiling and discrete water sampling, for sediment collection we used a Gemini corer, Van Veen grab, and box corer and in-situ incubations on deck for biogeochemical rate measurements. Complementary laboratory analyses will include eDNA/eRNA sequencing, nutrient assays, and porewater chemistry.
What’s a typical day like onboard for the research team?
We start of the day together with breakfast at 7.30 and then we work until 22.30-23.00, with breaks for lunch, dinner and when we are moving between stations. It is long days!
Did you encounter any surprising findings or challenges during the cruise?
Thanks to Swerve support we were able to for the first time sample a new area where seabed mining is also planned to happen, what the findings are we will find out when diving into the data and doing the experiments!
Why is this research important, and how might it impact people and/or the planet?
By filling critical knowledge gaps on how SBM affects benthic microbes, fauna, and biogeochemical cycles, our results will directly inform and improve ecological risk assessment (ERA) tools used by regulators. This will enable evidence-based management of seabed mining and safeguarding the Baltic’s ecosystem services. Our work here supports sustainable resource extraction that underpins the clean-energy transition while minimizing environmental harm.
What’s one thing you wish more people understood about marine research?
That ship time is essential to access marine systems and that it is very expensive. Just collecting a few cores is a complex chain of logistics, from ship scheduling and weather windows to specialized equipment and data management. It must align perfectly to generate high-quality, open-access datasets.
What are the most challenging parts of doing science at sea?Balancing scientific goals with high costs is a big challenge for this type of research. When it comes down to doing science at sea, fluctuating sea and weather conditions is the greatest hurdle. Rough seas do not only hamper sampling efficiency but also affect the safety of expensive equipment.
What has receiving the SWERVE funding and ship time meant for you?
SWERVE support has been pivotal in enabling spring-season sampling thus completing our seasonal dataset and ensuring the success of our experiments. It has allowed us for the first time visit the second area where seabed mining might happen and collect valuable data for establishment of baseline levels. This ship time provided a unique opportunity to generate important biodiversity and ecosystem-process data for ecological risk assessment of Baltic SBM.
Project leader: Francisco Nascimento
Research Vessel: KBV 181
Research topic: Environmental risks of seabed mining; impacts on Baltic benthic biodiversity and ecosystem processes.
