Firth of Forth oil pollution incident, February 1978

Where seaducks and other waterfowl are highly concentrated, even small quantities of oil can be a major hazard. A pollution incident on the Firth of Forth in February 1978 was notable in that it affected 241 Great Crested Grebes Podiceps cristatus (a high proportion of those present at the time) as well as 700 diving ducks. Evidence is provided indicating that the slick passed close to the main wildfowl feeding area at night, oiling nocturnal-feeding Scaup Aythya marila and Pochard A. ferina and a raft of roosting grebes, while Eider Somateria mollissima and Goldeneye Bucephala clangula, which had moved elsewhere to roost, largely escaped. The behaviour of freshly oiled birds is described. Heavily oiled Pochard flew 7 km inland to a loch before they were incapacitated. This is the sixth oil pollution incident to affect a large number of birds on the Forth since January 1970.     

Pollution studies in the Clyde Sea area

The Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland is a major seaway and vacation area, it supports important commercial fisheries and receives domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes from a catchment area with a population of well over 2 million. The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland has a continuing investigation of the area to keep track of the increasing threat of pollution, particularly to the fishing industry.     

Pollution studies in the Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth, on the east coast of Scotland has hitherto received the untreated wastes of the city of Edinburgh. Some areas of the southern side of the Firth are heavily polluted in consequence. A new sewage treatment scheme will be introduced early in 1976 and a six-year monitoring programme is in progress to measure the efficiency of the new scheme. It is hoped that this work will eventually contribute to a better understanding of the influence of domestic and industrial sewage on the marine and estuarine environment.     

Possible use of non-toxic industrial spillage as a hydrographic tracer

There is a lack of information on deep water or bottom drift in the Firth of Clyde. Dust spillage from the iron ore unloading terminal at Hunterston in the inner Firth offers an opportunity for tracing bottom water movements by determination of ferric oxide levels in the sediments.     

Effects of pollution on the benthos of the Firth of Forth

A long-term benthic study has been undertaken in the Firth of Forth to assess the environmental impact of a new sewage treatment scheme for the city of Edinburgh. The Sewage Scheme reduces the suspended solids content of the liquid effluent by approximately 60% and achieves a lowering of the concentration of materials in solution through more efficient dilution and dispersion. Marked changes in the intertidal benthic flora and fauna have been recorded along the Edinburgh coastal zone. These changes have been apparent as the decline and disappearance of populations of certain pollution indicator species and the appearance and establishment of several species previously unrecorded along the more polluted parts of the Edinburgh shoreline. Study of the sublittoral benthos has shown no deleterious effect arising from the new effluent outfall, although there does appear to be some enhancement of the fauna in the area.     

The nematode/copepod ratio some anomalous results from the Firth of Clyde

An analysis is presented of some intertidal meiofauna assemblages from the Firth of Clyde. The results cast doubt on the validity of the nematode/copepod ratio as a means of assessing marine pollution. In the light of this analysis, data from the literature on the meiofauna assemblages of the Firth of Clyde are reinterpreted. It is concluded that the ratio is unreliable because (a) it oversimplifies a highly complex set of relationships and (b) nematode and copepod populations may react independently to a variety of environmental parameters, of which pollution is only one. In these circumstances it is suggested that the ratio should be abandoned as a practical pollution indicator.     

鄱阳湖都昌自然保护区浮游甲壳动物群落时空分布特征及其驱动因子

江西省都昌候鸟省级自然保护区作为鄱阳湖流域内占地面积最大的自然保护区,承担着保护世界性和国家重点保护濒危越冬候鸟资源等重要责任。探究都昌候鸟自然保护区浮游甲壳动物群落结构及其主要影响因子,可为都昌保护区内鸟类栖息地的生境保护与动态评估提供科学依据。2019—2021年1、4、7和10月对都昌保护区内4个区域的浮游甲壳动物的密度、生物量和水环境因子进行采样调查,运用多样性指数、Pearson相关性和冗余分析(RDA)等对都昌保护区水质情况以及浮游甲壳动物与水环境因子和叶绿素a之间的关系进行解析。结果显示,调查期间共鉴定出浮游甲壳动物31种,其中枝角类(20种)和桡足类(11种)。都昌保护区浮游甲壳动物年均密度213.81 ind./L,年均生物量为1.51mg/L。都昌保护区浮游甲壳动物群落结构时空变化较大,季节上,夏季或秋季浮游甲壳动物的生物量达到峰值,冬季浮游甲壳动物种类最少;空间上南矶一般区(D4)浮游甲壳动物密度和生物量较大,其次是撮箕湖一般区(D3),小矶山核心区(D1)和三山核心区(D2)差异较少。根据多样性指数和均匀度指数分析都昌保护区水质情况,结果表现为撮箕湖一般区(D3...     

Incidence of polychlorinated biphenyls in Clyde seaweed

PCBs accumulate in seaweeds. This survey of concentrations found in fixed algae around the Firth of Clyde reveals a similar pattern of PCB distribution to that found in mussels.     

Organochlorine residues from plankton

Concentrations of PCBs, DDT and dieldrin in plankton at a number of stations from Gouroch in the Firth of Clyde to the International Ocean Weather Station India 400 miles west of Scotland show an mexpected gradient from the polluted estuary to the open ocean levels. The results are consistent with the general assumption that there is progressive concentration of these residues in marine food chains.     

基于EEI反演的储层油气识别研究

埕岛油田是我国极浅海地区第一个投入开发的大油田,其馆陶组上段属河流相砂泥岩沉积,油气富集程度高。该层段分为五套砂组,其中三砂组和四砂组是主要的含油储层。此次研究的目标工区内主要的烃类是重质油,含油储层与含水储层的物性差异较小,通过反演常规的弹性参数无法准确指示油气。基于测井曲线和岩石物理交汇分析,本文构建了敏感的油气指示因子,通过扩展的弹性阻抗反演技术反演该指示因子从而进行油气展布预测。该方法在工区得到了良好的应用效果。      

Benthic oxygen fluxes and sediment properties on the northeastern New Zealand continental shelf

We examined spatial variations in benthic remineralisation (measured as sediment oxygen consumption (SOC)) and sediment properties on the northeastern New Zealand continental shelf and slope to assess the importance of benthic mineralisation in this ecosystem and to provide data for more complete global carbon budgets. SOC measured in dark incubations conducted in early summer ranged from 128 μmol m⁻² h⁻¹ at the deepest (360 m) to 1222 μmol m⁻² h⁻¹ at the shallowest (4.2 m) site and decreased significantly with water depth (p<0.001, r²=0.78, SOC=1222.8−456.3×log₁₀[water depth], n=14 sites). These rates were in the range found on continental shelves elsewhere (64–1750 μmol m⁻² h⁻¹, n=30 studies) and had a very similar distribution with water depth. SOC was also measured in light incubations at seven sites (4.2–35 m water depth) to examine the effects of microphytobenthos and accounted for 42–106% of rates measured in the dark. Measurements of near-bed light intensities suggested that microphytobenthos production was not solely regulated by light intensity but evidently influenced by other factors. A two-dimensional PCA ordination of surface sediment properties accounted for 83.3% of the total variance in the data and divided the study area into three clusters that corresponded well to its spatial division into the shallow (<30 m) Firth of Thames, the Hauraki Gulf (30–50 m) and the northern shelf-slope region. In the Firth of Thames sediments were very fine-grained with low CaCO₃ and high total organic matter and pigment content, and low C:N ratios. The northern shelf-slope sediments showed the opposite trends to the Firth of Thames and those in the Hauraki Gulf had mostly intermediate values. Dark SOC was significantly correlated with sediment organic matter, carbon, nitrogen, pigments and silt/clay content (p<0.05, r=0.55–0.85) but a multiple linear regression revealed that water depth was the only significant predictor. Calculations suggest that approximately 13%, 10% and 34% of primary production is remineralised in the sediments of the northern shelf-slope region, Hauraki Gulf and Firth of Thames, respectively, indicating a strong benthic–pelagic coupling on the northeastern New Zealand continental shelf that was particularly pronounced in the Firth of Thames due to its shallow depth and significant terrestrial and riverine inputs.     

Water quality in the firth of forth

A long-term programme of water quality monitoring has been undertaken in the Firth of Forth to assess the environmental impact of a new sewage treatment scheme for the City of Edinburgh. The sewage scheme reduces the suspended solids content of the liquid effluent by approximately 60% and achieves a lowering of the concentration of materials in solution through more efficient dilution and dispersion. The application of a sea water quality index to water quality data has demonstrated a significant improvement along the Edinburgh coastal zone, resulting mainly from a reduction in suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, primary nutrients and faecal contamination. There has been no apparent change in the levels of trace metals.     

Intertidal fauna of the industrialized Forth estuary

The estuarine Firth of Forth on the East Coast of Scotland receives a considerable volume of industrial and domestic effluent. This report summarizes the present status of intertidal invertebrates and their bird predators.     

Oil source analysis of Upper Tertiary Shawan Formation in Chepaizi area,in the northwest margin of Junggar basin

Well che89, located in the Chepaizi area in the northwest margin of Junggar basin, acquires high production industrial oil flow, which is an important breakthrough in the exploration of the south foreland slope area of Junggar basin. The Chepaizi area is near two hydrocarbon generation depressions of Sikeshu and Shawan, which have sets of hydrocarbon source rock of Carboniferous to Jurassic as well as Upper Tertiary. Geological and geochemical parameters are proper for the accumulation of mixed source crude oil. Carbon isotope, group composition and biomarkers of crude oil in Upper Tertiary of well Che89 show that the features of crude oil in Upper Tertiary Shawan Formation are between that of Permian and Jurassic, some of them are similar to these two, and some are of difference, they should be the mixed source of Permian and Jurassic. Geochemical analysis and geological study show that sand extract of Lower Tertiary Wulunguhe Formation has the same source as the crude oil and sand extract of Upper Tertiary Shawan Formation, but they are not charged in the same period. Oil/gas of Wulunguhe Formation is charged before Upper Tertiary sedimentation, and suffered serious biodegradation and oxidation and rinsing, which provide a proof in another aspect that the crude oil of Upper Tertiary Shawan Formation of well Che89 is not from hydrocarbon source rock of Lower Tertiary.     

The mussel Mytilus edulis as a bio-assay organism for mercury in seawater

Surveys of natural populations of mussels have identified areas of mercury contamination in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. A field bio-assay technique has been devised which accurately reflects the mean total mercury concentration in the surrounding seawater. The detection limit of the technique is estimated at 5–20 ng Hg l.^?1, and consequently the method can detect comparatively small enhancements over background mercury concentrations in estuarine and sea water.     

油气区地表黄土磁化率异常直接指示油气藏研究

油气区地表黄土具有磁化率异常,早已是一 个不争的事实,而为什么会产生这种异常,以及这 种异常对探测油气藏是否具有某种指导性意义,一 直是国内外油气地球物理工作者关注和研究的课题 之一。本文作者对油气区地表黄土磁化率异常成因 进行了分析,并采用适当的数学手段,对中国西部 某油气区黄土样品磁化率观测值进行了处理;合理 地划分出黄土磁化率背景值,根据磁化率异常确定 油气远景区和量化评价因子。经过实际油井验证, 证明了应用磁化率指示油气藏信息的有效性。     

Oil source analysis of Upper Tertiary Shawan Formation in Chepaizi area,in the northwest margin of Junggar basin

Well che89, located in the Chepaizi area in the northwest margin of Junggar basin, acquires high production industrial oil flow, which is an important breakthrough in the exploration of the south foreland slope area of Junggar basin. The Chepaizi area is near two hydrocarbon generation depressions of Sikeshu and Shawan, which have sets of hydrocarbon source rock of Carboniferous to Jurassic as well as Upper Tertiary. Geological and geochemical parameters are proper for the accumulation of mixed source crude oil. Carbon isotope, group composition and biomarkers of crude oil in Upper Tertiary of well Che89 show that the features of crude oil in Upper Tertiary Shawan Formation are between that of Permian and Jurassic, some of them are similar to these two, and some are of difference, they should be the mixed source of Permian and Jurassic. Geochemical analysis and geological study show that sand extract of Lower Tertiary Wulunguhe Formation has the same source as the crude oil and sand extract of Upper Tertiary Shawan Formation, but they are not charged in the same period. Oil/gas of Wulunguhe Formation is charged before Upper Tertiary sedimentation, and suffered serious biodegradation and oxidation and rinsing, which provide a proof in another aspect that the crude oil of Upper Tertiary Shawan Formation of well Che89 is not from hydrocarbon source rock of Lower Tertiary.

     

The distribution of 137Cs in surface intertidal sediments from the Solway Firth

The distribution of ¹³⁷Cs from the Sellafield (Windscale) nuclear fuel reprocessing plant has been examined in detail in the surface intertidal sediments of the inner Solway Firth by means of a hovercraft-borne radiometric survey. With the exception of a belt of relatively active sands to the south of Silloth, caesium distribution is generally consistent with that of fine-grained sediment such that the highest concentrations occur in mud flat and salt marsh sediments which are most extensive in sheltered coastal embayments. ¹³⁷Cs activities in July 1980 were typically 2–30 pCi g^?1 but locally exceeded 50 pCi g^?1. These levels are considerably lower than those recorded in locations, such as the outer Solway and Ravenglass estuary, which are closer to the Sellafield outfall.     

Trace metals in Solway Firth sediments

Although the hinterland of the Solway Firth contains deposits of a variety of non-ferrous metals, and coal and steel industries grew there during the industrial revolution, the trace metal content of sediments in the firth is low, and the Solway is the last major unpolluted estuary in Britain.     

Palaeomagnetism and K/Ar results from the Duncansby volcanic neck,NE Scotland: superimposed magnetizations,age of igneous activity,and tectonic implications

The Duncansby volcanic neck, intruding the Middle Devonian red beds of north Caithness, Scotland, has revealed two significantly different axes of magnetization, yielding pole positions at 149°E, 24°N and 126.5°E, 60°N, respectively. The first pole, which is interpreted as corresponding to the oldest magnetization, is in perfect agreement with Devonian polar estimates from west of the Great Glen Fault. It is tentatively suggested therefore that the Duncansby neck correlates with the Late Devonian volcanism in the nearby Orkney Islands though palaeomagnetism allows an upper age estimate of around Middle Carboniferous. The data support an earlier proposition of there being a palaeomagnetic discordance across the Great Glen Fault that can be interpreted in terms of a large-scale late- or post-Devonian transcurrent movement along this fracture zone. The original (? Late Devonian) magnetization has been nearly completely erased by the second phase of magnetization which, according to its pole position, most likely dates from about the Middle Jurassic. The latter magnetization is thought to be a consequence of burial, the coastal districts of Caithness having participated in the general subsidence of the North Sea area in late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic times. The burial magnetization, involving VPTRM and or TCRM processes, is considered to have been “frozen-in” as a result of uplift in connection with the well-documented mid-Jurassic tectonic phase that affected the northern North Sea basin, including the adjacent Moray Firth area. K/Ar analyses of the Duncansby intrusion give apparent ages ranging from 258 to 239 Ma. These dates, which lie between the two geological events inferred from palaeomagnetism, are not seen as true rock ages but rather as the result of a partial Ar loss during burial reheating.