Advection-diffusion-settling of deep-sea mining sediment plumes. Part 1: Midwater plumes
Name
advection-diffusion-settling-of-deep-sea-mining-sediment-plumes-part-1-midwater-plumes.pdf
Size
1.02 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
f59f53fc440fbd4ba06017f93bb45619
Author(s)
Ouillon, Raphael
Muñoz-Royo, Carlos
Alford, Matthew H.
Peacock, Thomas
Date Issued
2022
Journal
Flow
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Citation
Ouillon R, Muñoz-Royo C, Alford MH, Peacock T. Advection-diffusion-settling of deep-sea mining sediment plumes. Part 1: Midwater plumes. Flow. 2022;2:E22.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The evolution of midwater sediment plumes associated with deep-sea mining activities is investigated in the passive-transport phase using a simplified advection–diffusion-settling model. Key metrics that characterize the extent of plumes are defined based on a concentration threshold. Namely, we consider the volume flux of fluid that ever exceeds a concentration threshold, the furthest distance from and maximum depth below the intrusion where the plume exceeds the threshold, and the instantaneous volume of fluid in excess of the threshold. Formulas are derived for the metrics that provide insight into the parameters that most strongly affect the extent of the plume. The model is applied to a reference deep-sea mining scenario around which key parameters are varied. The results provide some sense of scale for deep-sea mining midwater plumes, but more significantly demonstrate the importance of the parameters that influence the evolution of midwater plumes. The model shows that the discharge mass flow rate and the concentration threshold play an equal and opposite role on setting the extent of the plume. Ambient ocean turbulence and the settling velocity distribution of particles play a lesser yet significant role on setting the extent, and can influence different metrics in opposing ways.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1017/flo.2022.20
