Deep Sea Minerals - Vol 3 - Cobalt-rich Ferromanganese Crusts

Phytoplankton – microscopic free-floating algae that drift in sunlit sur- face waters. Plankton – small or microscopic aquatic plants and animals that are sus- pended freely in the water column; they drift passively and cannot move against the horizontal motion of the water (contrast with “nekton” that are capable of horizontal movement). Precipitate – to separate in solid form from a solution e.g. manganese ions precipitate from seawater onto the surface of another solid, such as a grain of sand.

Marine spatial planning – a process that brings together multiple users of the ocean – including energy, industry, government, conservation and recreation – to make informed and coordinated decisions about how to use marine resources sustainably based on a spatial framework (maps). It allows planners to consider the cumulative effect of maritime activities and to minimise conflict between multiple uses of the same area. Marine protected areas and fisheries reserves are examples of marine spatial planning components. Meiofauna – animals passing through a 0.3 millimetre sieve and retained on = 0.032 to 0.063 millimetre sieves (depending on the taxon studied). Megabenthic community – a community comprising megafauna, which are large (+45 kg) benthic organisms. Mineral reserves – part of the mineral resource that is valuable and which is technically, economically and legally feasible to extract. Microalgae – phytoplankton; small plants visible under a microscope, such as diatoms. Microfauna – small, microscopic animals (less 0.063 mm), such as proto- zoa, nematodes, small arthropods, etc. Microfauna exist in every habitat on Earth. Pelagic – of, relating to or living in the water column of seas and oceans (as distinct from benthic). Precautionary Principle – a globally accepted definition results from the work of the Rio Conference, or “Earth Summit” in 1992. Principle #15 of the Rio Declaration notes: “In order to protect the environment, the pre- cautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation”. Megafauna – animals larger than 45 kg in weight.

Protozoans – a diverse group of generally motile single celled organisms.

Recruitment – the influx of new members into a population by either re- production or immigration. Seascape – the marine version of “landscape”; comprised of suites of habitats that consistently occur together.

Sessile – an organism fixed in one place, immobile.

Substrate – the surface a plant or animal lives upon. The substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials. Taxonomic group – animal or plant group having shared characteristics. Each group is given a rank and groups of a given rank can be aggregated to form a super group of higher rank and thus create a hierarchical clas- sification. The groups created through this process are referred to as taxa (singular taxon). Zooplankton – small, sometimes microscopic, animals that drift in the ocean; protozoa, crustaceans, jellyfish and other invertebrates that drift at various depths in the water column are zooplankton. There are two ma- jor types of zooplankton: those that spend their entire lives as part of the plankton (called Holoplankton) and those that only spend a larval or reproductive stage as part of the plankton (called Meroplankton).

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