ISO/TC 8/SC 13/WG 4 - Marine environment impact assessment

This document provides general technical recommendations for components of marine biotic surveys in the international seabed area, including station and survey line design, sampling strategies, survey items, equipment for survey and analysis, and sample preservation and analysis. This document is applicable to marine biotic surveys in the international seabed area.

This document provides general technical guidance for the operation of marine environment impact assessments (MEIA) to assess the degree of impact of deep-sea activities of exploration and exploitation for mineral resources to the marine environment. It does not cover matters related to the legal framework for MEIA and deep-sea activities on energy resources.

This document provides requirements and recommendations for conducting marine surveys of interstitial biota in marine sediments. It includes the specification of technical methods for the investigation of marine sediments, foraminifera, ostracoda, radiolaria, diatoms, coccoliths, sedimentary sporopollen, benthic viruses, benthic microbes (including bacteria, archaea and fungi), benthic microalgae, benthic protozoa and metazoan meiobenthos. This document is applicable to marine surveys in diverse benthic habitats at any seabed, such as benthic sediments of coastal zones, shallow seas, or deep-sea waters.

This document specifies minimum requirements and provides recommendations for the gathering of image-based data at seafloor where epifauna and benthopelagic fauna with a minimum dimension of 1 cm are used as a proxy for the status of the biological community.

This document specifies a bioassay for the determination of the presence of unknown toxic contaminants in test seawater (see Figure A.1). It is based on the inhibition of photosynthetic activity of the marine cyanobacterium Cyanobium sp. (NIES-981) by such toxic contaminants. The inhibition is determined based on delayed fluorescence (DF) intensity. The method is rapid and requires less laboratory space than standard bioassays. Hence, it can be used on-board to generate basic data for seawater quality management at deep-sea mining sites where time and space are extremely limited.

This document specifies a general protocol for the observation of the meiofaunal community in the deep seabed. The standardized method can be used in any phase [baseline data acquisition, monitoring during and after mining (testing)] accompanying resource development, making it easier to compare data beyond differences in workers and waters. This document is intended for marine environment impact assessments and other occasions where long-term image-based data are required.