Experimental biological effects assessment associated with on-shore brine discharge from the creation of gas storage caverns

Most of the studies on biological and ecological effects associated with brine discharge into the marine environment are related to the operation of desalination plants, for the production of freshwater. In this study we analysed the biological effects of a brine effluent from a completely different source, produced from the lixiviation of rock salt caves, for the creation of natural gas storage caverns. Lethal and sub-lethal endpoints following exposure to the brine were studied in a range of macrofauna species characteristic of the soft and hard bottom habitats in the vicinity of the discharge area, namely the isopod Eurydice pulchra, the annelids Sabellaria alveolata and Ophelia radiata, the sea-urchin Paracentrotus lividus and the bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis. In a first series of experiments, brine, with salinity above 300, was diluted in distilled water to a salinity value close to that of the seawater in the discharge area (salinity 36) and, surprisingly, none of the exposed species was able to survive or develop into viable larvae. A second series of experiments exposed the species to brine diluted with seawater, simulating more realistic discharge circumstances. All the tested species at all the measured endpoints (adult survival, larval abnormal development, sperm fertilization success) showed negative biological effects in brine solutes always at a lower salinity than that of a salinity control obtained with concentrated seawater. The sub-lethal experiments with larval development of P. lividus, S. alveolata and M. galloprovincialis, and the fertilization success of P. lividus gave EC₅₀ values for the brine solute with salinity in the range of 40.9–43.5, whereas the EC₅₀ values for the concentrated seawater were in the range of salinity 44.2–49.0. It is hypothesised that differences in the ionic composition of the brine cause the inability of the species to tolerate the exposure to brine.     

晋江海域海水淡化工程浓盐水排海方案研究

为科学选择海水淡化浓盐水排海方案,运用MIKE3数值模拟软件,选取福建晋江附近海域,建立了海水淡化浓盐水排海三维数值模型,模型水位振幅误差在10 cm以内,流速、流向计算结果与实测值变化规律一致,精度符合要求。考虑多端口、排放口间距、喷射速度等因素对浓盐水稀释的影响,选取了4种不同的浓盐水排放方案,开展了海水淡化浓盐水排放扩散模拟,计算了不同排海方案下盐升包络面积。结果表明,晋江海域浓盐水排放量为3.5万t/d的海水淡化工程采用扩散器后盐升分布面积显著减少,采用多个排放口且每个排放口多个端口喷射的排放方案,可明显增强浓盐水在受纳海域中的扩散稀释效果,盐升3的分布面积可减少近一半。建议加强我国海水淡化工程浓盐水排海扩散器的研究与应用,保护受纳海域海洋生态环境。     

海水淡化浓海水与电厂温排水混排方案研究

本文以渤海湾为例，运用MIKE3 FM数值模拟软件建立了渤海湾天津附近海域海水淡化浓海水与电厂温排水混合排放温盐扩散三维数值模型，开展了浓海水和温排水不同混合比例温盐扩散对比研究。研究结果表明：浓海水与温排水混合排放可以使受纳海域盐升范围显著减小，并且混合比例越高，效果越明显。在温升影响方面，与等量温排水单独排放相比，混合排放会使底层海域温升包络面积增大，表层减小，但当混合比例超过1：30（温排水量约为35 m³/s），表层和底层海域温升包络面积接近于等量温排水单独排放的温升包络面积；综合考虑温盐扩散，当海水淡化浓海水排放量在10×104 m³/d，盐升不超过20时，与温排水混合排放比例超过1：30（温排水量超过35 m³/s），盐度在排放口附近可稀释到背景值，由于混合排放密度变化引起的温度下沉影响几乎可以忽略不计。相关研究结论可为海水淡化浓海水科学排放/推动海水淡化和海洋环境和谐可持续发展提供技术支撑。     

How robust is the environmental impact assessment process in South Australia? Behind the scenes of the Adelaide seawater desalination project

This work tests the robustness of policies and procedures designed to protect South Australia's marine environment through a case study of the Adelaide Desalination Plant—the most expensive (∼A$1.8 billion) infrastructure project in South Australia's history. Although this project has been subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)—the highest level of assessment in Australia—on inspection it appears that the current operating licence for the desalination brine discharge breaches Government approval conditions and ignores the collective expert scientific advice of the project's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Hence, the EIA process in South Australia for this project is flawed. Improvements could be made to the South Australian system by including the requirements for operating licences as an integral part of the EIA.     

群岛峡道浓盐水排放扩散的三维数值模拟

采用三维潮流温盐数学模型对六横岛附近海域的水动力环境及盐度场分布进行数值模拟,并以实测资料进行验证,所建立模型可以较好地反映该海域潮流动力特征及盐度场的分布情况。利用验证后的三维数学模型,对海水淡化工程浓盐水排放后盐度场分布进行计算,将排放后的盐度分布与工程前进行对比分析,并推算盐升面积及垂向盐度增量。结果表明,海水淡化工程排放的浓盐水对六横岛海域盐度分布的影响主要集中在排水口附近的底层,影响区域呈带状分布,最大盐度增量为1.2左右,且排水口附近海域出现盐度垂向分层。     

海水淡化排放的高盐废水对海洋生态环境的影响

盐度是海洋环境中最重要的生态因子之一,每种生物各有其适宜生长盐度要求,当环境盐度超过该范围时,生物体的生长、发育、生殖、行为和分布都会受到影响.近10年来,随着淡水资源紧缺和海水淡化处理成本的下降,海水淡化厂数量急剧增加,大量浓盐水进入海区导致受纳海域盐度升高.高浓度盐水给海洋生态环境带来许多负面影响,有关浓盐水的海洋生态安全问题备受人们关注.在总结和分析浓盐水对海洋浮游生物、底栖动物、甲壳类动物、鱼类和海草等影响的基础上,指出海水淡化厂排放的高盐废水对海洋生态的潜在威胁,浓盐水的排放使一些经济水产种类产量减少,给渔业资源和海洋经济带来损失.不同地域环境对海水淡化厂排放水的敏感程度不同,且潮流、海流和水团等水文因素以及海水淡化厂的日处理量和规模等因子决定了排放的高盐废水对海域生态影响的程度.为减少排放的高盐废水对出水口附近海域的影响,提出了海水淡化工程合理规划和布局的可行措施,要选择水体交换良好的海域作为海水淡化工程所在地,对排水口要进行因地制宜地设计,做好高盐废水的再利用工作,以最大限度地减少排放的高盐废水对海区环境的负面影响.建议对海水淡化厂附近海域进行有针对性的水质调查和监测,并做好环境风险影响的评价工作;制定及完善相关的法律法规,建立统一的高盐废水排放标准,而该标准则要以排放的高盐废水对当地海洋生态不造成较大的影响为依据,使海水淡化产业的发展有法可依.     

Impact of the brine from a desalination plant on a shallow seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadow

Although seawater desalination has increased significantly over recent decades, little attention has been paid to the impact of the main by-product (hypersaline water: brine) on ecosystems. In the Mediterranean, potentially the most affected ecosystems are meadows of the endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica. We studied the effect of brine on a shallow P. oceanica meadow exposed to reverse osmosis brine discharge for more than 6 years. P. oceanica proved to be very sensitive to both eutrophication and high salinities derived from the brine discharge. Affected plants showed high epiphyte load and nitrogen content in the leaves, high frequencies of necrosis marks, low total non-structural carbohydrates and low glutamine synthetase activity, compared to control plants. However, there was no indication of extensive decline of the affected meadow. This is probably due to its very shallow situation, which results in high incident radiation as well as fast dilution and dispersion of the brine plume.     

海水冷冻预淡化系统的试验研究

本文提出了一种基于冷冻脱盐的海水双级冷冻预淡化系统。该系统利用蒸发结晶器对海水进行冷冻,并通过振动分离与洗涤实现冰晶与卤水的分离,以此实现海水的初步脱盐,可作为反渗透淡化的预处理系统。同时,海水冷冻淡化过程中消耗的冷量可重新回收用于空调制冷,淡化成本得以有效降低。本文建立了海水双级冷冻预淡化系统的数学模型,获得了试验系统的关键设计参数,以此搭建了试验平台并完成了试验测试,并对海水双级冷冻预淡化系统进行了经济性分析。试验结果表明:经过海水冷冻预淡化系统,预淡化海水产量可维持在21~27 L/h之间;预淡化海水盐度可从35降低到约11;预淡化过程可回收总冷量7.91 kW;反渗透淡化总成本可降低约33%。     

Spatio-temporal variability in faunal assemblages surrounding the discharge of secondary treated sewage

Macrofaunal assemblages inhabiting the intertidal zone surrounding an input of secondary treated effluent were sampled in order to determine how the pollution impact varied temporally and spatially. Assemblages varied along the pollution gradient formed by the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant outfall in Gulf St Vincent, South Australia. While the abundance of some species did not vary, the abundance of juvenile western king prawns (Melicertus latisulcatus) and blue crabs (Portunus pelagicus) progressively decreased with proximity to the outfall. Species richness and diversity also decreased towards the outfall. An increase in nutrient content in the water adjacent to the outfall is likely to explain these changes. At distances of 4 and 5 km away, species diversity increased and the abundance of M. latisulcatus decreased, possibly due to a change in habitat from sand to seagrass. The occurrence of a storm prior to sampling on one occasion masked the effects of pollution and habitat changes. The results of this study suggest that the disposal of treated effluent into Gulf St Vincent is having a localised effect on the faunal assemblages surrounding the discharge point.     

Anthropogenic threat assessment of marine-associated fauna in Spencer Gulf,South Australia

Assessing the vulnerability of species to [anthropogenic threats is an essential step when developing management strategies for wild populations. With industrial development forecasted to increase in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, it is crucial to assess the ongoing effects of anthropogenic threats to resident and migratory species. Expert elicitation was used to assess 27 threats against 38 threatened, protected, and iconic marine-associated species. Species and threat interactions were assessed individually, and as taxonomic or functional groups. Climate change had the greatest overall exposure (c.f. risk) across species, followed by disturbance, pollution, disease/invasive species, and fishing/aquaculture threats. The largest overall sensitivities (c.f. consequences) were pollution and disease/invasive species, followed by climate change, disturbance and fishing/aquaculture threats. Vulnerability scores (exposure x sensitivity) showed the climate change group posing the greatest overall threat in Spencer Gulf, with individual climatic threats ranking as three of the top four biggest threats to most animal groups. Noise, shipping, and net fishing were considered the greatest region-specific individual threats to marine mammals; as were trawl fishing, line fishing, and coastal activities to fish/cuttlefish; trawl fishing, line fishing, and net fishing to elasmobranchs; and oil spill, disease, and coastal activities to sea/shorebirds. Eighteen of the 20 highest vulnerability scores involved the short-beaked common dolphin, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, and Australian sea lion, highlighting the particular susceptibility of these species to specific threats. These findings provide a synthesis of key threats and vulnerable species, and give management a basis to direct future monitoring and threat mitigation efforts in the region.     

海水淡化工程对环境的影响及其应对

为促进我国海水淡化产业的可持续发展,文章分析海水淡化工程对环境的影响,重点分析浓海水对海洋生态环境的影响,并提出应对措施。研究结果表明:海水淡化工程在能耗、排污、用地、取水和噪音等方面对环境产生影响,尤其是海水淡化产生的浓海水,在温度、盐度、有机物和营养盐、重金属、酸度、余氯、溶解氧以及机械卷载效应等方面严重影响海洋生态环境和海洋生物,亟须高度关注和深入研究;随着我国海水淡化产能的增加,应完善海水淡化技术、优化浓海水排放和加快浓海水综合利用,同时健全相关法律法规和标准规范。     

晋江海域海水淡化排海盐度场三维数值模拟

本文运用MIKE3数值模拟软件,建立了晋江海域海水淡化排海三维温、盐扩散模型,模拟了不同潮期、潮时盐度的水平和垂直方向扩散情况。结果表明,浓海水排海后盐度分布受水位和流速的影响,水位越高、流速越大,稀释和扩散作用越明显,在垂向上的扩散距离越小。规模20万t/d海水淡化工程浓海水排放对附近海域盐升的水平影响在几百米范围内,垂向影响在3 m以内,且随着水位和流速的增加在水平和垂向上能够较快稀释扩散,在附近不存在环境敏感区的情况下,不会对海洋环境造成显著影响。     

Hydrographic changes during 20 years in the brine-filled basins of the Red Sea

Many of the deep basins filled by hot brines in the Red Sea have not been investigated since their discovery in the early 1970s. Twenty years later, in September 1992, six of these deeps were revisited. The temperature and salinity of the Suakin, Port Sudan, Chain B, and Nereus deeps ranged from 23.25 to 44.60°C and from 144 to 270‰. These values were approximately the same in 1972, indicating that the budget of heat and salt was quite balanced. We measured strong gradients of properties in the transition zone between brines and overlying seawater. The contribution of salinity to the density gradient was more than one order of magnitude higher than the opposite contribution of temperature across the seawater–brine interface. Therefore the interface was extemely stable, and the transfer of properties across it was considered to be controlled mostly by molecular diffusion. We calculate that the diffusional transport of salt from the brines to seawater cannot affect significantly the salinity of the brines over a 20 year period, which agrees with the observations. The brine pools can persist for centuries with no salt input. Therefore, the persisence of brines does not correspond to a steady balance between diffusional loss and continuous input of hydrothermal solutions. Deeps that experience only episodical hydrothermal brine supplies may persist for a long time with salt inherited from past inputs. The theoretical loss of heat by diffusion from the brine to seawater was higher than the observed decrease in temperature of the brine pool during the 20 year period of observation. We calculated that the heat flux out of the pools into the overlying seawater was compensated by a heat flux into the pools of about 250–600 mW/m². This range of values corresponds to bottom heat flow values that have been reported earlier for the axial zone of the Red Sea. In contrast to the other brine pools, the temperature and salinity of the Valdivia Deep brine increased by 4.1°C and 10‰, respectively, between 1972 and 1992, which is explained by present-day hydrothermal brine discharge.     

天津南港工业区海水淡化工程附近海域水质调查

海水淡化工程带给城市经济社会效益的同时,也给海洋环境带来负担。海水淡化工程产生的大量排海浓海水在温度、盐度、有机物和营养盐、重金属、酸度、余氯、溶解氧和机械卷载效应等方面对海洋生态环境和海洋生物会产生一定影响,甚至对人类健康产生间接的危害。文章在2018年调查天津南港工业区海水淡化工程附近海域水质状况的基础上,分析海水水质变化趋势。研究表明：2018年调查区域主要污染因子为无机氮,其次为化学需氧量;其局部海域范围内无机氮和化学需氧量的含量各自呈现规律性变化;其他指标均未出现明显波动;南港工业区海水淡化工程附近海域的调查指标未发生明显变化。     

Distribution of meiofaunal abundance in relation to environmental factors in Beibu Gulf, South China Sea

This study aims to explore the distribution of meiofaunal abundance in relation to environmental factors in the Beibu Gulf,a natural semi-enclosed part of the South China Sea,surrounded by China and Vietnam.Meiofauna and ten benthic environmental factors were determined at 27 sampling stations in the Beibu Gulf in four surveys during 2006-2007.The results show a clear geographical trend in meiofaunal abundance,water depth,salinity and clay content.The meiofaunal abundance and the clay content decreased,whereas the water depth and the salinity increased from the north to the south of the Gulf.The percentage of meiofaunal abundance in the 0-2 cm layer increased,whereas in the 2-5 cm and 5-10 cm layers it decreased from the north to the south of the Gulf.Correlation analysis show significant negative correlations between meiofaunal abundance and water depth,benthic temperature,salinity and pH,but significant positive correlations between meiofaunal abundance and dissolved oxygen,chlorophyll a and clay content.     

渤海湾海岸带开发对近海水环境影响分析

应用水动力学、水质数学模型,以渤海湾海岸带的几种典型开发活动--围海造地、海水淡化和河口建闸为例,模拟分析海岸带开发活动对渤海湾近岸海域水环境的影响.研究沿海围垦造成的潮通量、近岸流场水动力条件和污染物输移的变化;分析海水淡化工程浓缩海水的排放,高盐度高浓缩污染物对局部生态环境的影响;分析河口建闸后蓄积的污水排放方式对河口及近岸海域造成的影响,大量污水一次性排放会增大河口及近岸海域污染面积和污染程度.     

北部湾东北部水团分布及季节变化分析

基于2016年9月—2017年8月北部湾海域棕囊藻调查9个航次的温度、盐度和密度等水文数据,通过K-mean动态聚类分析方法分析了研究海域水团的分布及季节变化过程。根据温盐资料将研究海域的海水类型分为低温高盐的陆架底层水团、陆架表层混合水团和低盐沿岸水团。通过20°10′N断面上多期次的温盐分布特征揭示了北部湾整体上逆时针环流在北部湾东侧陆坡的存在;通过大面水文调查的结果揭示琼州海峡的余流特征,并结合卫星漂流浮标运动轨迹揭示了珠江冲淡水对研究海区水团分布的影响。本研究丰富了对北部湾东北部水团分布和季节变化的认知,对研究该海域赤潮发生、发展规律有指导意义。     

Management priorities for seawater desalination plants in a marine protected area: A multi-criteria analysis

The development of seawater desalination plants to increase water reliability in coastal areas poses a threat to the health of near shore marine ecosystems and may affect the effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) that have been established to meet international conservation targets. This paper applies a multi-criteria analysis approach to quantify stakeholder groups’ priorities for seawater desalination plants that have been proposed in communities adjacent to a National Marine Sanctuary. All groups placed the highest importance on minimizing environmental impacts on protected areas and endangered species that could be affected by water intake and brine discharge emphasizing the need for integrated land and sea conservation. Minimizing socio-economic impacts on coastal communities was much less important. Stakeholders also weighted reducing pressure on water levels in rivers, streams, and aquifers as more important than increasing water for residential consumption, which may foster coastal growth rather than replacing water taken from other sources. The study further revealed differences in the importance of multiple management objectives among stakeholder groups, which highlights the need to elicit distinct priorities of all groups to understand concerns and potential conflicts of desalination with existing marine users. The analysis of consistency ratios revealed that around half of all surveyed stakeholders had high inconsistencies in their responses, which suggests either a lack of understanding of desalination, or reflects the complexity of establishing desalination plants in coastal areas adjacent to a marine protected area.     

海水淡化排海浓盐水对胶州湾盐度分布影响

为考察海水淡化产生的浓盐水对胶州湾盐度分布的影响,利用POM模式,建立了胶州湾盐度扩散模型,分别以现有海水淡化量和2010年规划海水淡化量所排放的浓盐水量为输入条件,模拟计算了胶州湾盐度的分布和变化。模拟显示,2010年2月、5月、8月和10月胶州湾整个湾内平均盐度分别为30.9895,30.8040,30.0221和30.2306,较2008年分别增加约0.0276,0.0274,0.0212和0.0205。浓盐水排放位置附近局部海域盐度增加明显,如黄岛浓盐水排放点附近海域,2月大潮涨潮时盐度超过31.55的水域面积较2008年增加0.24 km2,并且出现0.08 km2盐度超过32.00的水域;2月大潮落潮时盐度超过31.55水域面积比2008年增加0.53 km2左右,盐度超过32.00的面积增加约0.16 km2。2月、5月、8月和10月最高值分别达到40.23,36.66,37.94和37.87。结合前期室内实验结果可以看出,2月份的盐度最高值超过对胶州湾浮游植物生长有明显影响的非检测浓度(38.62)。这表明,按2010年规划的海水淡化规模所产生的排海浓盐水尽管对整个胶州湾的盐度分布影响不大,但会导致局部海域盐度明显增加,从而可能会对该海域浮游植物生长造成一定影响。     

Spatial and temporal changes in infaunal communities inhabiting soft-bottoms affected by brine discharge

The discharge of an effluent of high salinity from reverse osmosis desalination plants has a strong impact on marine communities. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of brine discharge over soft bottom communities along the Alicante coast (Southeast Spain) over a two year period. Changes in the infaunal assemblage were analysed using univariate and multivariate techniques. Each year we sampled along three transects at three depths (4, 10 and 15m) during winter and summer. We observed a substitution of a community characterized by the presence of Polychaeta, Crustacea and Mollusca, for another dominated by nematodes (up to 98%), in the stations closer to the discharge where salinity values exceed 39 psu.