Tuesday, January 15th, 2019

HASR Bistro

Social/dinner hour from 6 pm: talk starts 7 pm

Everybody welcome: no admission charge

No corkage charge if you buy your wine at the neighboring HASR liquor store

Cheap and easy (cash only) parking at the underground municipal garage at 155 N. Beretania

Exit ramp is directly opposite HASR Bistro

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Philomène Verlaan, PhD, JD.

Visiting Colleague, UH Department of Oceanography

 

Deep Sea Mining

Deep-sea mining presents us with a complex mixture of both scientific and legal challenges, due to its multi-faceted and interdependent technological, scientific, environmental, social, industrial, political, economic and legal aspects.

Dr Verlaan will discuss these probems with a particular emphasis on what is currently the most commercially attractive deep-sea hard mineral resource, namely the polymetallic nodules, (typically a few centimeters in size) found on the deep (~4500m) ocean floor southeast of Hawai’i.

Dr Philomène Verlaan is an oceanographer specializing in the biogeochemistry and ecology of deep-sea ferro-manganese nodules and crusts. She obtained her PhD at Imperial College, London, and has undertaken 24 oceanic research cruises.

She is also an attorney specializing in international law of the sea. She assists international public and private entities in negotiating the complex interface between marine science and law of the sea to achieve environmentally and commercially responsible uses of marine resources.