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Deep-Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontiers (DS³F)

The Deep-Sea and Sub-Seafloor Frontiers project (DS³ F) provides a pathway towards sustainable management of oceanic resources on a European scale. It will develop subseafloor sampling strategies for enhanced understanding of deep-sea and subseafloor processes by connecting marine research in life and geosciences, climate and environmental change, with socio-economic issues and policy building. A long-term research approach will be established covering: (i) sustainable ocean management, particularly the deep sea, with enhanced exploitation (fishery, hydrocarbon exploration), (ii) the necessity to unravel the deep-seated geological processes that drive seafloor ecosystems, and (iii) release of the potential of seabed archives for paleo-environmental reconstruction and improved prediction of future climate change

Subseafloor drilling and sampling provide two key aspects for understanding how deep-sea ecosystems presently function and how they may respond to global change: (a) an inventory of current subsurface processes and biosphere, and their links to surface ecosystems, utilizing seafloor observation and baseline studies and (b) a high resolution archive of past variations in environmental conditions and biodiversity. For both aspects, an international effort is needed to maximize progress by sharing knowledge, ideas and technologies, including mission-specific platforms to increase the efficiency, coverage and effectiveness of subseafloor sampling and exploration.

The deep biosphere has been discovered only within the past two decades and comprises a major new frontier for biological exploration. We lack fundamental knowledge about biomass distribution, diversity and physiological activity of deep biosphere communities at life’s extremes, and their impact on seafloor and deep sea ecosystems. Similarly, the geodynamic processes fuelling biological activity, and how these processes impinge upon the emission of geofuels, hydrocarbon formation and other resources, need to be understood. This CSA will develop the most efficient use of subseafloor sampling techniques and existing marine infrastructure to study the geosystem, its effects on the deep biosphere and marine ecosystems, and provide a comprehensive “white paper” for a sustainable use of the oceans and a Maritime Policy.