Estimating the environmental impact of deep-sea mining

New technologies and the green transition are pushing our consumption further than ever. Mining is thus essential to follow the trend. But mines are depleting themselves. Hopefully there is a possibility for an almost limitless supply of some metals. The Clarion Clipperton fracture zone is full of polymetalic nodules. These stones barely bigger than a fist abound in ores. They contain cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese and could help us achieve the green transition. The only obstacle is that these nodules are lying on the seabed at more than 4000m underwater. Collecting them is thus a real challenge but the environmental impact of the collection could also be really harmful for the local fauna and flora. It is thus essential to evaluate the environmental impact of deep sea mining. The biggest impact will come from plumes of sediment released during the collection of the nodules. Tracing those plumes is the key towards the evaluation of the environmental impact. This thesis will develop the method to build a model using the 3D version of the Second-generation Louvain-la-Neuve Ice-Ocean Model. That model will then be developed in the Clarion Clippertone zone in order to simulate the currents to later trace the plumes.