1.1 General topography of the seabed extending from the coastline to the deep ocean floor 24
1.2 The Ocean Cycle 25
1.3 Typical lithostratigraphy of the continental shelf compared to similar stratigraphy of the deep ocean floor 27
1.4 Seafloor composition of the Barents Sea continental shelf 29
1.5 A CO2 leak in Utah, USA 31
1.6 Pockmarks of Isfjorden, Svalbard, Norway 31
2.1 Diagram showing seafloor habitats and the water column biome, from the coast to the deepest trenches 38
2.2 State-of-the art equipment for deep-sea research 40
2.3 Examples of faunal communities from continental margins 42
2.4 Examples of hydrothermal vent ecosystems 49
2.5 Marine litter collected in the deep Mediterranean Sea with an otter trawl 51
2.6 Deep-sea mining system and associated impacts on the pelagic and benthic ecosystems 58
2.7 Interactions amongst waste disposal, exploitation of resources and climate change that may have synergistic effects in deep-sea ecosystems 60
3.1 Carta Marina, by Olaus Magnus 63
3.2 Landing of the Atlantic Cable of 1866, Heart’s Content, Newfoundland, by Robert Charles Dudley 67
3.3 H.M.S. Challenger 1874 71
3.4 Examining the ‘haul’ on board the ‘Challenger’, by W.H. Overend 71
3.5 The Meteor expedition, by A. Merz 73
3.6 Arvid Pardo monument at the University of Malta 80
4.1 Schematic profile of the continental margin with geological terms in black and delineation terms of Article 76 UNCLOS in red 88
4.2 The continental shelf or Norway in the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea 99
4.3 Map showing the possible distribution of petroleum and mineral resources of the Norwegian continental shelf 103