We are undertaking one of the most comprehensive deep-sea research programs in history.

The purpose of NORI’s offshore environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) program is to understand, predict, and mitigate wherever possible the impacts of collecting polymetallic nodules from the Clarion Clipperton Zone. Our work on NORI’s offshore ESIA is also advancing the fields of deep-sea science, environmental monitoring, and adaptive management of environmental impacts.

The data we’re collecting in collaboration with some of the world’s foremost independent experts in marine science is shared freely with the international community, and NORI’s deep-sea samples are being studied at labs around the world.

We’ve achieved several world-firsts and other noteworthy milestones:

• Independent scientists conducted the deepest-ever sampling of pelagic biota at over 4,000 meters.
• Data from two baseline campaigns submitted to the ISA’s DeepData platform in 2023 represent the largest molecular-based assessment of macrofauna using box cores ever compiled.
• During our 2022 pilot nodule collection trials, the first in the CCZ since the 1970s, independent scientists successfully monitored an integrated deep-sea mining test in real-time for the first time in history.

The insights from NORI’s offshore ESIA continue to inform engineering decisions and help us develop technologies to collect polymetallic nodules with the lightest possible touch. These studies will come together to form a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, the key component of the final exploitation application which NORI intends to present to the International Seabed Authority.

To find out more about any of our research areas, get in touch.

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