AI to help the oceans and deep-sea mining

Artificial intelligence and machine learning can contribute to the saving and sustainable use of the ocean. This is possible by improving aquaculture, and the cultivation of marine species for food, while reducing the amount of animal feed and protecting the health of marine ecosystems. Meanwhile, AI can be used in shipping to analyse weather systems, optimise ship speeds, and reroute port traffic to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Norway plans to open part of its continental shelf to deep-sea commercial mining in line with its strategy to reduce dependence on the oil and gas industry. The country needs minerals to transform its economy into greener, and Norway’s seabed may contain raw materials such as copper, zinc, manganese and cobalt. However, environmental organisations warn that exploitation of the seabed poses a threat to the biodiversity of the area’s sensitive ecosystems.

About 300 km off the country’s east coast, scientists from Argentina’s Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas (ICB) recorded the presence of many marine species such as pilot whales, orcas, humpback whales, dusky sharks, sea lions, Magellanic penguins, albatrosses and petrels. Now activists are calling on Shell plc and BP p.l.c to stop new activities in the region, as both the equipment used to map the geological structures of the seabed and the drilling itself are harming marine life.