Azizul Hakim
About Azizul Hakim
Consumer demand for essential minerals is rising in the race to cut greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. Mining for minerals (e.g., nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, and rare earth elements) is attempting to reach the millions of square kilometers of metal ores on the seafloor. Mining on the seabed generates plumes of particles that spread across the ocean floor away from the mining area and are expected to impact deep-sea organisms and water quality.
Aggregation of tiny particles from mining sediment plumes occurs frequently in deep oceans, resulting in bigger aggregates of several hundred microns. Because of the different mixing conditions and higher particle concentrations in mining plumes, aggregation, and dispersion are the most common processes in mid- and deep oceans. The composition of the material found in these plumes and the currents that transport, mix, and disperse them determine their behavior and impact. Aggregation of the sediment particles can significantly affect the transport, deposition, and resuspension of mining sediment plumes in deep oceans.
Considering these recent socio-economic and industrial activities, I am interested in aggregation processes in marine environments with a focus on particle dispersal during industry operations (e.g., deep-sea mining, and fishing).