Dark oxygen production at the manganese nodule-covered aphotic abyssal seafloor

Speaker

Andrew K. Sweetman is the leader of the Seafloor Ecology and Biogeochemistry research group at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), UK. He holds a PhD in deep-sea ecology from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Germany). Andrew is an expert on seafloor biodiversity and ecology and has a strong focus on the impact of anthropogenic stressors on shallow and deep-sea benthic ecosystems. Over the last 12 years, he has generated > 10 million GBP of research funding and led/ co-led a total of 28 research projects (funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration[USA], the Norwegian Research Council, the European Union, the Malaysia Research Council, UK Seabed Resources LTD/ Lockheed Martin, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation [USA], The Metals Company Inc, Natural Environment Research Council [UK], Engineering and Physical Science Research Council [UK], Global Challenges Research Fund [UK]) on diverse topics including assessing the effects of

1. invasive species (and their removal) on benthic biogeochemistry and ecosystem functioning
2. aquaculture on deep-sea fjord ecosystems,
3. carbon dioxide release from carbon capture and storage (CCS) reservoirs on continental shelf ecosystems
4. mine-tailings deposition, massive sulphide and polymetallic nodule mining on deep-sea ecosystems
5. global warming on polar ecosystems
6. synergistic climate change stressors on shallow and deep-ocean systems

He has also been leading projects to assess the importance of jellyfish blooms in the biological C-pump, and the effect of dead jellyfish (from jellyfish blooms), wood and kelp material on deep-sea benthic environments.