AWI researchers demonstrate high natural radioactivity of manganese nodules

New study shows: Handling manganese nodules can pose health risks

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ALFRED WEGENER INSTITUTE, HELMHOLTZ CENTRE FOR POLAR AND MARINE RESEARCH

Large areas of the ocean floor are covered with polymetallic nodules and crusts. The potato-sized manganese nodules can be found in all oceans, especially in the Pacific Ocean, at water depths between 4,000 and 6,000 metres. Formed over millions of years, they contain valuable metals like copper, nickel, cobalt and rare-earth elements – in other words, a range of elements required for the manufacture of electronic products like computers, smartphones, batteries, magnets, motors and high-tech components. Accordingly, manganese nodules and deep-sea mining have increasingly gained the attention of industries and politicians over the past several years.

Particularly large quantities of manganese nodules can be found in the deep ocean of the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the North Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii. Several countries – including the Federal Republic of Germany – have secured exploration licenses for the zone, entitling them to first gather reference data in the license areas and, on this basis, assess the potential ecological impacts of commercial deep-sea mining of manganese nodules. In July 2023, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) plans to define concrete regulations for their industrial mining.

“Through the Joint Programming Initiative Oceans projects ‘MiningImpact’ and ‘MiningImpact2’, which were funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and as part of an international consortium bringing together more than 30 partner institutes, we’ve been investigating the potential impacts of deep-sea mining on the habitats and ecosystems of the sediments and water column in the Pacific Ocean since 2015,” explains Prof Sabine Kasten, who leads the MiningImpact subprojects at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). “Our new study on the radioactivity of manganese nodules demonstrates that, beyond the consequences for marine ecosystems, there could be human health hazards in connection with mining and processing of manganese nodules, and the use of products manufactured on this basis. It’s imperative that this aspect is considered in all future planning.”

For their study, which was just released in the journal “Scientific Reports”, the AWI experts assessed manganese nodules retrieved in the framework of two expeditions (2015 and 2019) on board the Research Vessel SONNE in the Clarion Clipperton Zone. “Based on previous studies it was already known that the nodules’ outer layer contains natural radioactive substances like thorium-230 and radium-226, which have accumulated at the nodules’ surface from seawater over long periods of time. However, their values had never been considered in the context of radiation protection legislation,” says first author and biogeochemist Dr Jessica Volz. “Our study shows that in the outer layer of these extremely slowly growing nodules, certain substances, which emit alpha radiation can exceed limits found in radiation protection legislations a hundred- to a thousand-fold.” In the case of radium-226, the AWI team repeatedly measured radioactivity levels of more than 5 becquerels per gram on the nodules’ outer layer. For comparison: the limit set in Germany’s Radiation Protection Ordinance is 0.01 becquerels per gram. Even when dealing with legacy pollution from uranium ore mining, depending on the situation, a detailed risk assessment is required when limits of 0.2 or 1 becquerel per gram are exceeded.

“Even though we expected high radioactivity levels in the nodules based on earlier studies, the levels that we actually measured still surprised us,” explains AWI researcher and co-author Dr Walter Geibert. “In particular, the high accumulation rate of the radioactive noble gas radon was a new finding. As such, handling manganese nodules without protective gear can pose a health risk. It is not just through inhaling the dust produced during processing, but also the high radon concentrations that can build up when they are stored in poorly ventilated spaces. Some radioactive substances could accumulate in the nodule products during/after processing, such as actinium-227 in the rare-earth elements.”

In future studies, the experts plan to investigate whether manganese nodules from different deep-sea regions reach similar values, and how the ecological, economic and social risks of deep-sea mining and the commercial use of manganese nodules can be estimated on the basis of these new findings.

Original publication:

Jessica B. Volz, Walter Geibert, Dennis Köhler, Michiel M. Rutgers van der Loeff and Sabine Kasten. Alpha radiation from polymetallic nodules and potential health risks from deep-sea mining. Sci Rep 13, 7985 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33971-w

The study was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF Grant 535 03F0812F) as part of the JPI Oceans project “MiningImpact2” – “Environmental impacts and risks of deep-sea mining”.

The MiningImpact and MiningImpact 2 projects were and are coordinated by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel. The study was launched during the project phase at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven.

You can find further information on the MiningImpact2 project here:

https://jpi-oceans.eu/en/miningimpact-2

Notes for Editors:

You can find printable images in the online version of this press release: https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press.html

Your contact partners at the Alfred Wegener Institute are Dr. Jessica Volz (e-mail: jessica.volz@awi.de) and Dr. Walter Geibert (e-mail: walter.geibert@awi.de).

If you have any further questions, Nils Ehrenberg (e-mail: media@awi.de) at the AWI’s Communications and Media Relations Department will be happy to help you.

Follow the Alfred Wegener Institute on Twitter (https://twitter.com/AWI_Media), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/awiexpedition/) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/AlfredWegenerInstitute).

The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) conducts research in the Arctic, Antarctic and oceans of the high and mid-latitudes. It coordinates polar research in Germany and provides major infrastructure to the international scientific community, such as the research icebreaker Polarstern and stations in the Arctic and Antarctica. The Alfred Wegener Institute is one of the 18 research centres of the Helmholtz Association, the largest scientific organisation in Germany.

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JOURNAL

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-023-33971-w 

ARTICLE TITLE

Alpha radiation from polymetallic nodules and potential health risks from deep-sea mining.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-May-2023

“Moe” than just advertisement: reflections on the use of anime characters for tourism promotion

A recent study has found that the use of anime “moe” characters in tourism promotion may have negative effects

Peer-Reviewed Publication

DOSHISHA UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: NOW, A STUDY HAS FOUND THAT THE USE OF THESE CHARACTERS MAY PERPETUATE HARMFUL STEREOTYPES ABOUT WOMEN AND PROMOTE HETERONORMATIVE NOTIONS OF MASCULINITY. view more 

CREDIT: JSKS FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS IMAGE SOURCE LINK TO BE ADDED IN THE IMAGE CREDIT SECTION OF EA FORM: HTTPS://COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG/WIKI/FILE:RED_SUIT_ANIME_GIRL_TEMPLE.PNG

In Japan, advertisements featuring anime characters are often used to sell goods and services. Marketing strategies that use anime characters exploit people's feelings toward them. The Japanese slang "moe", derived from the Japanese intransitive verb “moeru,” meaning to sprout, has come to represent people's affection for anime characters, sometimes also called "moe characters."

Marketing campaigns employing moe characters have caused controversy due to how they depict women, especially in the context of "moe-okoshi," or moe-based regional tourism promotion. In this regard, a study was conducted recently by Associate Professor Yasuhito Abe of the Department of Media, Journalism, and Communications at Doshisha University, Japan, to investigate the Executive Committee of Daughters of Chita, or CMJI (Chita Musume Jikkō Iinkai, in Japanese), a project for promoting tourism in the Chita Peninsula of Japan. The study was made available online on March 23 2023, and published in Volume 26, Issue 3 of the International Journal of Cultural Studies.

"I sought to gain a deeper understanding of the social and cultural conditions under which public sectors promote moe practices in collaboration with private sectors within the realm of regional promotion," explains Dr. Abe.

Founded in 2010, CMJI employs content featuring moe characters to promote regional tourism. Most of the content produced under the CMJI project revolves around a group of young female characters, "the daughters of Chita," each of whom represents either a city or town in the Chita Peninsula. In YouTube promotional videos produced by CMJI, moe characters introduce notable locations in the Chita Peninsula by suggestively interacting with the viewers. For instance, a CMJI YouTube video that Dr. Abe scrutinized features a virtual date with a young girl called Mihama Ren, who introduces viewers to Mihama town as a prime location for dating.

Moe characters cater to a predominantly male audience and often perpetuate a harmful way of depicting women as sexualized objects, infamous as the "male-gaze." In the study, Dr. Abe explored two aspects of CMJI's tourism promotion campaign: how it depicted regions in the Chita Peninsula as "looked-upon" objects, and how it encouraged moe-consumption among its audience.

He found that although CMJI garnered significant attention with the use of moe characters, the practice tends to reduce a city or town's rich history to a simplistic narrative that targets certain audiences' feelings toward moe characters. "Moe-okoshi practice may contribute to the colonization of each area through the embedded male gaze, thus turning local spots into dating spots and constraining the scope of regional promotion to a matter of visibility for particular audiences," notes Dr. Abe.

He also found that the use of moe-elements in the CMJI project is ethically questionable since it depicts young women as looked-upon objects and promotes heteronormative notions of masculinity among its audience. Moreover, moe-based marketing campaigns run the risk of alienating a subsection of their audience who find the ideals of moe unacceptable. This study is one of the first to look at moe practices employed in marketing from a critical perspective to examine their long-term and far-reaching effects. Since regional promotion strategies employing content similar to moe can have negative effects, Dr. Abe concludes that "Diverse regional promotion practitioners, local governments, and mainstream media outlets in Japan and beyond could emphasize the concept of gender in order to critically evaluate and shape the development of regional promotion strategies."

The study is an important contribution to understanding how gendered dimensions can not only impinge upon the effectiveness of regional promotion but also involve inherent ethical issues. It makes a strong argument for further research to acquire a better understanding of moe-related regional promotion and its unintended societal consequences.

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JOURNAL

International Journal of Cultural Studies

DOI

10.1177/13678779231160568 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Content analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

More than just the regional promotion in Japan: The case of Chita Musume

CRISPR CRITTERS

Confirming the safety of genetically edited allergen-free eggs

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: SCIENTISTS FROM HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY PRODUCED OVM KNOCKED OUT CHICKENS USING GENOME EDITING TOOLS. (COLORED CHICKENS ARE KNOCKOUT CHICKENS.) view more 

CREDIT: EZAKI ET AL. 2023, FOOD AND CHEMICAL TOXICOLOGY

Researchers have developed a chicken egg that may be safe for people with egg white allergies. Chicken egg allergies are one of the most common allergies in children. Though most children outgrow this allergy by age 16, some will still have an egg allergy into adulthood. Egg white allergies can cause a variety of symptoms, including vomiting, stomach cramps, breathing problems, hives, and swelling and some people with egg white allergies are unable to receive certain flu vaccines.

Using genome editing technology, researchers have produced an egg without the protein that causes egg white allergies. This protein, called ovomucoid, accounts for approximately 11% of all the protein in egg whites.

Research detailing the food safety profile of this modified egg, called the OVM-knockout, was detailed in a paper published in Food and Chemical Toxicology in April 2023.

“To use OVM-knockout chicken eggs as food, it is important to evaluate its safety as food. In this study, we examined the presence or absence of mutant protein expression, vector sequence insertion, and off-target effects in chickens knocked out with OVM by platinum transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs),” said Ryo Ezaki, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life at Hiroshima University in Hiroshima, Japan. TALENs are restriction enzymes that recognize specific DNA sequences and break or cut them.

In order to develop the OVM-knockout eggs, researchers needed to detect and eliminate the ovomucoid protein in the egg whites. TALENs were engineered to target a piece of RNA called exon 1, which codes for specific proteins. The eggs produced from this technique were then tested to ensure there was no ovomucoid protein, mutant ovomucoid protein, or other off-target effects. The eggs had the desired frameshift mutation, which is a mutation created by inserting or deleting nucleotide bases in a gene, and none of them expressed mature ovomucoid proteins. Anti-ovomucoid and anti-mutant ovomucoid antibodies were used to detect any traces of the protein, but there was no evidence of ovomucoid in the eggs. This means that mutant ovomucoids could not create new allergens. This is an important step in determining the safety profile of the eggs.

Other gene editing tools, such as CRISPR, tend to have off-target mutagenesis effects. This means that new mutations are prompted by the gene editing process. However, whole genome sequencing of the altered egg whites showed mutations, which were possibly off-target effects, were not localized to the protein-coding regions.

“The eggs laid by homozygous OVM-knockout hens showed no evident abnormalities. The albumen contained neither the mature OVM nor the OVM-truncated variant,” said Ezaki. “The potential TALEN-induced off-target effects in OVM-knockout chickens were localized in the intergenic and intron regions. Plasmid vectors used for genome editing were only transiently present and did not integrate into the genome of edited chickens. These results indicate the importance of safety evaluations and reveal that the eggs laid by this OVM knockout chicken solve the allergy problem in food and vaccines.”

Looking ahead, researchers will continue to verify the safety profile of the OVM-knockout eggs. Because some people are highly allergic to this specific protein, even small amounts of ovomucoid can cause a reaction. Researchers will need to perform additional immunological and clinical studies to determine the safety of the OVM-knockout eggs. At this time, researchers have determined that OVM-knockout eggs are less allergenic than standard eggs and can be safely used in heat-processed foods that patients with egg allergies can eat. “The next phase of research will be to evaluate the physical properties and processing suitability of OVM-knockout eggs, and to confirm their efficacy through clinical trials,” said Ezaki. “We will continue to conduct further research toward the practical application of allergy-reduced eggs.”

Other contributors include Tetsushi Sakuma, Mei Matsuzaki, Takashi Yamamoto, and Hiroyuki Horiuchi of the Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life at Hiroshima University and Daisuke Kodama, Ryou Sasahara, and Taichi Shiraogawa from the R&D Division of the Institute of Technology Solution at Kewpie Corporation in Tokyo Japan.

The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI (19H03107, 19K22286) and JST COI Grant Number JPMJPF 2010 supported this research.

About Hiroshima University

Since its foundation in 1949, Hiroshima University has striven to become one of the most prominent and comprehensive universities in Japan for the promotion and development of scholarship and education. Consisting of 12 schools for undergraduate level and 5 graduate schools, ranging from natural sciences to humanities and social sciences, the university has grown into one of the most distinguished comprehensive research universities in Japan. English website: https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en

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JOURNAL

Food and Chemical Toxicology

DOI

10.1016/j.fct.2023.113703 

ARTICLE TITLE

Transcription activator-like effector nuclease-mediated deletion safely eliminates the major egg allergen ovomucoid in chickens

NATURAL CAPITALI$M

What’s a park worth to the economy?

First of its kind study quantifies mental and physical health value of urban parks

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

 NEWS RELEASE 17-MAY-2023

A new framework developed by University of Waterloo researchers demonstrates the significant economic health savings and benefits from urban park investments.

In the first case study of its kind in Canada, researchers looked at Peterborough’s new Quaker Foods City Square park, which cost taxpayers $6.4 million, and have estimated the economic value of physical and mental health benefits that could come from it at more than $4 million per year. The framework considers the health savings associated with improved mental health and better air quality, the avoided economic burden of physical inactivity and higher life satisfaction.

The study demonstrates the value of developing and enhancing urban parks as a strategy to improve population health and well-being, and as a means of cost savings to the medical system. 

“Investments in urban parks are among the soundest financial decisions a community can make,” said Jeffrey Wilson, professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development. “When you consider the population health benefits, the value of lessening climate-related impacts and the role of parks to support economic development, we see how parks provide a large payback.” 

The park was developed on land previously used as a parking lot to revitalize the downtown core of Peterborough. The study’s estimated benefits of this new space represent only a portion of the park’s value, as the researchers considered only a few benefits attributed to park use and vegetation cover. 

Future research could calculate other benefits such as respite from hot temperatures, relief from noise pollution, increased biodiversity and social benefits resulting from stronger feelings of community cohesion, higher levels of community engagement, and reduced isolation. The researchers also identified other factors, such as socio-demographic, cultural variables, and urban design features, that could be included to increase the rigour of the results and further quantify the return on urban park investments.  

“Dollars drive decisions,” said Wilson. “It can be challenging for decision-makers to support the development and expansion of urban parks because there are competing land use pressures, and municipalities are responsible for park operation and maintenance costs. However, this study offers concrete evidence that the health system savings alone justify the financial investment.” 

The study, The economic value of health benefits associated with urban park investment, appears in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.  

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JOURNAL

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Extremely hot days are warming twice as fast as average summer days in North-West Europe

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

 

IMAGE: TIME SERIES OF AVERAGE SUMMER (BLACK) AND MAXIMUM SUMMER (RED) DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES AVERAGED OVER ENGLAND AND WALES, 1960-2021. TREND-LINES ARE ALSO SHOWN FOR EACH TIME SERIES. IMAGE CREDIT: MATTHEW PATTERSON, DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. view more 

CREDIT: MATTHEW PATTERSON, DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.

• New study analysed data on near-surface air temperatures recorded for North-West Europe over the past 60 years.

• The findings show that the maximum temperature of the hottest days is increasing at twice the rate of the maximum temperature of average summer days.
• The results highlight the need for urgent action by policy makers to adapt essential infrastructure to the impacts of climate change.

New research led by the University of Oxford has found that climate change is causing the hottest days in North-West Europe to warm at double the rate of average summer days. The difference in trends is most pronounced for England, Wales, and Northern France. Worryingly, while current climate models accurately predict the rate of warming for average days, they underestimate the rate at which the hottest days are warming compared to observations.

According to lead researcher Dr Matthew Patterson, from the University of Oxford’s Department of Physics, the results indicate that extreme heat events – such as the UK’s record-breaking heatwave last summer – are likely to become more regular. Dr Patterson said: ‘These findings underline the fact that the UK and neighbouring countries are already experiencing the effects of climate change, and that last year’s heatwave was not a fluke. Policy makers urgently need to adapt their infrastructure and health systems to cope with the impacts of higher temperatures.’

For the study, published today in Geographical Research Letters, Dr Patterson analysed data from the past 60 years (1960-2021) recording the maximum daily temperature, provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Although the maximum recorded temperature varied between years, the overall trend clearly showed that the hottest days for North-West Europe had warmed at twice the rate of average summer days. For England and Wales, the average summer day increased by approximately 0.26°C per decade, whilst the hottest day increased by around 0.58°C per decade. However, this faster warming of the hottest days was not observed to this extent elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere.

The reason causing this faster warming of the hottest days relative to average summer days is not yet understood. According to Dr Patterson, this may be due to the hottest summer days in North-West Europe often being linked to hot air transported north from over Spain. Because Spain is warming faster than North-West Europe, this means that air carried in from this region is ever more extreme relative to the ambient air in North-West Europe. The hottest days of 2022, for instance, were driven by a plume of hot air carried north from Spain and the Sahara. However, further research is needed to verify this.

Dr Patterson added: ‘Understanding the warming rate of the hottest days will be important if we are to improve climate model simulation of extreme events and make accurate predictions about the future intensity of such events. If our models underestimate the rise in extreme temperatures over the coming decades, we will underestimate the impacts this will have.’

Extreme heat has significant negative impacts on many different aspects of society, including energy and transport infrastructure, and agriculture. It also exacerbates conditions including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, putting a strain on health services.

The current UK Government has been criticised by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) for failing to act quickly enough to adapt for the impacts of global heating. These new findings add even more urgency for policy makers to adapt infrastructure and systems vulnerable to extreme heat.

Notes to editors:

For media requests and interviews, contact Dr Matthew Patterson, Department of Physics, University of Oxford: matthew.patterson@physics.ox.ac.uk

The study ‘North-West Europe hottest days are warming twice as fast as mean summer days’ will be published in Geographical Research Letters, DOI 10.1029/2023GL102757. This link will go live when the embargo lifts. To view a pre-embargo copy of the study, contact Dr Matthew Patterson, Department of Physics, University of Oxford: matthew.patterson@physics.ox.ac.uk

About the University of Oxford

Oxford University has been placed number 1 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the seventh year running, and ​number 2 in the QS World Rankings 2022. At the heart of this success are the twin-pillars of our ground-breaking research and innovation and our distinctive educational offer.

Oxford is world-famous for research and teaching excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collaborations. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research alongside our personalised approach to teaching sparks imaginative and inventive insights and solutions.

Through its research commercialisation arm, Oxford University Innovation, Oxford is the highest university patent filer in the UK and is ranked first in the UK for university spinouts, having created more than 200 new companies since 1988. Over a third of these companies have been created in the past three years. The university is a catalyst for prosperity in Oxfordshire and the United Kingdom, contributing £15.7 billion to the UK economy in 2018/19, and supports more than 28,000 full time jobs.

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JOURNAL

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

10.1029/2023GL102757 

ARTICLE TITLE

North-West Europe hottest days are warming twice as fast as mean summer days

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-May-2023

Fauna return rapidly in planted eelgrass meadows

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

 

IMAGE: NEWLY PLANTED EELGRASS IN THE STUDY. 15 MONTHS LATER THE BIODIVERSITY IN THE PLOT WAS ALMOST THE SAME AS IN AN OLD ESTABLISHED EELGRASS MEADOW. view more 

CREDIT: EDUARDO INFANTES

A study of eelgrass meadows planted by researchers from the University of Gothenburg shows that fauna return rapidly once the eelgrass has started to grow. Already after the second summer, the biodiversity in the planted meadow was almost the same as in old established eelgrass meadows.

Eelgrass meadows have declined heavily in southern Bohus county in recent decades and in many places have disappeared altogether. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have been working on the restoration of eelgrass meadows for twelve years. These meadows are important for biodiversity, as the eelgrass serves as habitat or nursery for young cod, crabs and shrimps for example.  

In a new study, the researchers have evaluated how rapidly replanted eelgrass gets populated by various invertebrates. The study has been going on for over two years in a bay near Gåsö island just west of Skaftö in Bohus county, and the findings are very positive. The researchers counted the abundance of invertebrates that live or burrow in bottom sediments or on the surface of bottom sediments.

Size less important

“The recolonisation has been very rapid. After the first three-month growing season, up to 80 per cent of the invertebrates had returned to the newly planted eelgrass,” says Eduardo Infantes, marine biologist at the University of Gothenburg.

During the summer in 2019, the researchers planted the eelgrass shoots in four test plots of different sizes on the seabed, and with different spacing between the shoots. According to the researchers’ observations in autumn 2020, size has played less of a role in the recovery of biodiversity in the eelgrass meadows.

In fact, even if the eelgrass has not had time to grow to the same density as in an established eelgrass meadow, the biodiversity is similar after only two growing seasons as in a reference area of preserved eelgrass in the same bay. Even smaller patches embedded within larger restoration plots showed good results.

Their findings were reported in a scientific journal article published in Restoration Ecology.

Can save money

“This is good news for future restorations and new plantings of eelgrass meadows. We can plant new smaller plots with fewer shoots and this saves money because this is an expensive method for restoring biodiversity on the seabed,” says Eduardo Infantes.

Eelgrass meadows have multiple functions that make it imperative to protect them. In addition to their important role in the coastal ecosystem, eelgrass roots bind the sediment and prevent erosion and limit resuspension of sediment in the water.

Comparison of new planted eelgrass and a plot that was planted 15 months ago.

CREDIT

Eduardo Infantes

Eduardo Infantes, Marine Biologist at the University of Gothenburg.

CREDIT

University of Gothenburg

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JOURNAL

Restoration Ecology

DOI

10.1111/rec.13887 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

ARTICLE TITLE

Rapid faunal colonization and recovery of biodiversity and functional diversity following eelgrass restoration

Barentsburg: "Everyone was told to stop posting opinions about the war"

"It was clearly said, either you work and don't speak out, or you'll be fired," tells Timofey Rogozhin, former head of the tourist arm of Russia's state-owned Aktikugol company at Svalbard.

After years in the Russia's state-owned tourism business at Svalbard, Timofey Rogozhin and Valeria Mikhailskaya left Barentsburg.

By Thomas Nilsen

BARENTS OBSERVER    
May 11, 2023

The “not-talk, not-discuss” message came in early March 2022, shortly after Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine. Messenger was Russia’s top official and former head of Arktikugol.

Timofey Rogozhin has left the mining settlement of Barentsburg where he was in charge of developing Arctic tourism as a new income for Moscow’s presence in the Norwegian archipelago.

Today, he is shocked to see how his former employer, Trust Arktikugol, together with the Russian Consulate General, on May 9 staged a military-style propaganda parade in Barentsburg. On Norwegian territory.

“There were no parades on Victory Day in Barentsburg,” Rogozhin tells. He lived in the town for eight years and left after strong disagreements with Moscow on Russia’s political direction.

“Usually on May 7 or 8 there was a performance or a concert, there was an official meeting at the Consulate General, with Norwegian guests,” the ex-tourism chief explains. He adds that sometimes a flower laying ceremony took place at Cape Heer where an artillery gun from a Norwegian ship is placed in commemoration of the fights taking place during World War II.

Under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, Norway has full and absolute sovereignty over the archipelago. Citizens from signatory countries, like Russia, have equal rights of abode as Norwegians. For Moscow, that is key to maintaining its presence in the old mining community on the strategically important archipelago between the shallow Barents Sea and the deeper Norwegian Sea and Greenland Sea.

Timofey Rogozhin also recalls that former Consul General, Sergey Gushchin, began to practice the Immortal Regiment actions a few years ago. “Usually it gathered no more than 20-30 people,” Rogozhin says.

Last year everything changed in Barentsburg. Moscow appointed both a new Consul General and a new CEO of the Trust Arktikugol, the company that in practice runs everything in Barentsburg.

For outsiders, the military-style parade this week was a real eye-opener.

With the Consulate General’s diplomatic car in front and a low-flying MI8 helicopter above, the military-style Russian May 9 parade continued along the snow-covered road in Barentsburg.

Photo courtesy of Arktikugol

“Is Norway developing a “little green men” problem on Svalbard,” asks Ph.D. Fellow Karen-Anna Eggen at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies.

“As security policy issues become more prominent in the Arctic region, maintaining low tensions might be less tempting for Russia as it looses leverage gained through cooperation in other spheres, Eggen notes in a tweet.

The parade in Barentsburg came two days before Norway took over the chair of the Arctic Council on May 11. From Russia. A country that the seven other Arctic nations, for war reasons, don’t want to have around the table anymore when polar affairs are discussed.

Timofey Rogozhin is very critical of Aktikugol’s behavior at Svalbard. Especially after the brutal attack on Ukraine.

“Everyone was clearly and sternly told to stop writing any of their opinions about the war on social networks, regardless of views,” Rogozhin recalls from early March 2022. He says the message was not to be misunderstood: “Either you work and don’t speak out, or you’ll be fired.”
Answer, but no answer

Replying to questions from the Barents Observer about the accusations, Arktikugol writes in an email that “Everything that we want to share is put to our social media.”

The social media platforms of the company, on Vkontakte and Telegram, however, have no texts near any of the asked questions. The company has neither answered about possible similar military-style “victory day” parades to be arranged in Barentsburg in the years to come.

Previously, Barentsburg had a mix of Ukrainians and Russians working side-by-side in the town, the mine and tourism arm.

“Almost all citizens of Ukraine have left,” Rogozhin says. “They began to leave in the first days of the war. and throughout 2022. According to my estimate, at least 50 people left. Maybe more.”

Valeria Mikhailskaya is one of them. The Ukrainian woman left Barentsburg for Longyearbyen where she today works in tourism. She confirms what Timofey Rogozin tells about the situation in the Russian settlement which is located some 40 kilometers from Longyearbyen.

 
“Ongoing madness”

Rogozhin says the so-called “victory parade” was a clear display of the ongoing madness.

The parade through the main street of Barentsburg consisted of 50 cars, snowmobiles, trucks, busses, a low-flying MI8 helicopter, and lined-up people with Russian and Soviet memorial flags. Most interesting, the ten first snowmobile drivers were dressed up in dark-green military-looking winter uniforms that looked like they were used for the first time and shipped north for this special occasion.

Ten snowmobile drivers in brand-new dark-green military-style uniforms participated. 

Photo courtesy of Arktikugol

“The past year has turned a civilized modern village with an open and friendly society into some kind of grey closed and aggressive swamp. If you look at social networks [in Barentsburg], you can clearly see a systematic desire to return to the Soviet system and totalitarianism,” Timofey Rogozhin states.

Totalitarian direction

“This is indicative of the direction Russia is taking more generally in a totalitarian direction,” says Karen-Anna Eggen to the Barents Observer.

She is not surprised about Arktikugol ordering its employees to stay silent. However, “it clearly goes against the freedom of expression that applies on Norwegian soil,” Eggen makes clear.

Lack of war criticism, or any second opinions about the Moscow regime is obvious, on the English Facebook site and the Russian. Same with the Russian language Vkontakte.

Norway and Russia have fairly similar articles in the constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech. Paragraph 100 in the Norwegian Constitution says “There shall be freedom of expression.” The Russian text in Paragraph 29(1) says “Everyone shall be guaranteed the freedom of ideas and speech.”

At Russia’s northernmost settlement, people are forced into silence, Rogozhin believes.

Timofey says the new leaders in Barentsburg regularly provoke aggravation of relations, giving the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs a reason to accuse Norway of allegedly violating the Svalbard treaty and infringing on Russia’s rights. 

Photo: Thomas Nilsen

He is convinced the May 9 parade arranged by the new leaders in Barentsburg had one task: to demonstrate the strength of Russia. “Not soft power, but the power of propaganda.”

“This clearly reflects the overall actions of today’s Russian government.”

The Governor of Svalbard, Lars Fause, says to the Barents Observer he was invited to take part in the commemoration, but declined the invitation because of the war in Ukraine. Via social media, the Governor later saw the parade and says diplomatically: “The marking appears larger and with a different expression than before.”

Fause, though, underlines “There is freedom of assembly in Norway.”

The Foreign Ministry in Oslo weighs the words carefully when commenting on the Russian parade.

“In today’s situation, commemorations of Victory Day have taken on a different content as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which violates international law. It is understandable that this arouses negative reactions,” says the ministry’s spokesperson Ragnhild Simenstad to the Barents Observer.

 

The end is nearing for repair of Russian fishing boats in northern Norway

Planned maintains and repair are as a main rule no longer allowed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes clear. In Finnmark, Police on Friday announced new onshore rules, limiting the areas of access in Kirkenes and Båtsfjord.

KIMEK shipyard in Kirkenes is frequently serving Russian fishing boats. 

By Thomas Nilsen
BARENTS OBSERVER   
May 12, 2023

Russian fishing vessels are allowed to make port calls to Tromsø, Kirkenes and Båtsfjord, but only for a limited number of services:

Crew change
Fuelling
Unloading (fish)
Provisioning
Controls

Repair and maintenance are not included.

The reminder about the sanctions regime against Russia was published on Friday by the Foreign Ministry.

“The sanctions against Russia affect Norwegian business in many sectors, be it shipbuilding, oil and gas, fisheries and more. The measures are meant to be broadly applicable,” Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt says.

“The purpose of these is to reduce Russia’s ability to finance warfare in Ukraine,” she underlines.

The Russian fish-factory vessel “Ester” is a frequent visitor at Kirkenes. 

This means that ship repair yards, like KIMEK in Kirkenes and Tromsø Mekaniske, could have to make individual applications for exceptions from the sanctions regime for each ship upfront.

Such exceptions could be given for services tasked for “maritime safety”, the ministry writes.

“There is a generally high threshold for granting exceptions. For example, you cannot get an exception for planned maintenance.”

Greger Mannsverk, CEO of KIMEK shipyard in Kirkenes, refuses an interview request from the Barents Observer.

End could come to Russian fishing vessels docked and repaired in the ship hall of KIMEK. 

Security concerns are raised in Norway after President Putin last summer included possible military use of civilian fishing vessels in the country’s maritime doctrine. Russian intelligence is likely already using fishing boats for mapping interesting areas, the Norwegian Police Security Service has warned.

On Friday, the Chief of Police in Finnmark, Ellen Katrine Hætta, decided to limit the areas of access for Russian seamen going onshore in Kirkenes and Båtsfjord.

“Today’s security situation in Europe increases the need for security and control activities carried out by Norwegian authorities. Narrowing the area of access is also a measure in this context,” says Hætta.

With the new regulations, the seamen can still visit the Russian consulate general, the World War II monument and shops in the center of Kirkenes and Båtsfjord.

KIMEK shipyard in Kirkenes has the majority of its customers coming from Russia. 

In its revised national budget presented on Thursday, the government grants an extra 46,5 million kroner (€4 million) to increase the control of Russian fishing vessels making port calls to northern Norway. The extra money goes to the Customs and is aimed to stop possible illegal export of products under the sanctions regime.

Police, Customs and Coast Guard will increase control of the ports in Kirkenes, Båtsfjord and Tromsø. 

Photos: Thomas Nilsen

Mining comes to end in Nikel

More 80 years after Finns found huge nickel and copper reserves in the Kaula-Kotselvaara deposit, the last remaining mine in the Russian border town of Nikel is closed.

The Kaula-Kotselvaara mine closes after more than 80 years of production.

 Photo: Atle Staalesen

By Atle Staalesen    

BARENTS OBSERVER
May 12, 2023

The town that in late 2020 closed its nickel smelter now loses another key industrial object. Nornickel, the mining and metallurgy company, in April confirmed that it is closing the Kaula-Kotselvaara mine.

It is the last remaining mine in what was once a thriving mining and metallurgy town. At most, the population in Nikel exceeded 20,000.

In the 1980s, the town became internationally known for its serious pollution that affected the vulnerable Arctic lands also in neighbouring Norway.

According to Ruslan Ilyasov, director for personnel and social policy at Nornickel’s regional subsidiary Kola GMK, the miners and equipment of the Kaula-Kotselvaara will be transferred to Severny mine in the neighboring town of Zapolyarny. It is all part of the company’s efforts to “alter the configuration” of the mining capacities in the area, Ilyasov explains.

No more industry jobs for the workers of Nikel. The nickel smelter closed in 2020. 

Photo: Atle Staalesen

Workers will also be offered training and re-education for other jobs in the company, he says to local media.

Nornickel is in the process of expanding its Severny mine in Zapolyarny and there is reportedly a significant demand for additional miners.

Over the next months, about 200 men will be engaged in closure and conservation of the Kaula-Kotselvaara. After that, the premises will be abandoned.

Locals fear that Nikel now turns into a full-out ghost town.

“First they closed the plant, and now they close the mine. The town will be left without any production facilities, and where there is no production there will be no point in having a service sector,” a local social media resource reports.

Mining output at the Kaula-Kotselvaara has gradually shrunk over the years and is believed to have amounted to less than 700,000 tons of ore per year before the closure. There is still reserves in the area, but the miners will have to dig 200 meter deeper into the ground to access them, according to a local information resource.

The local ore reserves in the area were discovered by Finnish geologists in the 1920s, and development of the Kaula-Kotselvaara and adjacent processing facilities and electricity supply was started in the mid-1930s.

The town that by the Finns was called Kolosjoki was conquered by German troops in 1941 and nickel from Kaula-Kotselvaara subsequently became of great importance for Hitler and his weapon industry.

Following the 2WW, the town and surrounding Petsamo area was seized by the USSR, and mining resumed after 1945.