The acute and chronic effects of wastes associated with offshore oil and gas production on temperate and tropical marine ecological processes

A review of the acute and chronic effects of produced formation water (PFW), drilling fluids (muds) including oil-based cutting muds, water-based cutting muds, ester-based cutting muds and chemical additives, and crude oils associated with offshore oil and gas production was undertaken in relation to both temperate and tropical marine ecological processes. The main environmental effects are summarized, often in tabular form. Generally, the temporal and spatial scales of these studies, along with the large levels of inherent variation in natural environments, have precluded our ability to predict the potential long-term environmental impacts of the offshore oil and gas production industry. A series of critical questions regarding the environmental effects of the offshore oil and gas production industry that still remain unanswered are provided for future consideration.     

A preliminary investigation of strong-motion data from the French Antilles

Strong-motion networks have been operating in the Caribbean region since the 1970s, however, until the mid-1990s only a few analogue stations were operational and the quantity of data recorded was very low. Since the mid-1990s, digital accelerometric networks have been established on islands within the region. At present there are thought to be about 160 stations operating in this region with a handful on Cuba, 65 on the French Antilles (mainly Guadeloupe and Martinique), eight on Jamaica, 78 on Puerto Rico (plus others on adjacent islands) and four on Trinidad.After briefly summarising the available data from the Caribbean islands, this article is mainly concerned with analysing the data that has been recorded by the networks operating on the French Antilles in terms of their distribution with respect to magnitude, source-to-site distance, focal depth and event type; site effects at certain stations; and also with respect to their predictability by ground motion estimation equations developed using data from different regions of the world. More than 300 good quality triaxial acceleration time-histories have been recorded on Guadeloupe and Martinique at a large number of stations from earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 4.8, however, most of the records are from considerable source-to-site distances. From the data available it is found that many of the commonly-used ground motion estimation equations for shallow crustal earthquakes poorly estimate the observed ground motions on the two islands; ground motions on Guadeloupe and Martinique have smaller amplitudes and are more variable than expected. This difference could be due to regional dependence of ground motions because of, for example, differing tectonics or crustal structures or because the ground motions so far recorded are, in general, from smaller earthquakes and greater distances than the range of applicability of the investigated equations.     

A stochastic model of surface contaminant releases to support assessment of site contamination at a former industrial site

An industrial site is usually contaminated by accidental (and occasionally intentional) releases of pollutants to the environment from various operations carried out on that site. Consequently, the pattern of contamination created during the life of the site depends in part, at least, on the pattern of operations. Thus, the assessment of the pattern of contamination over the site should be improved: if it is possible to identify the pattern of operations on the site, the duration of the different activities and the perceived likelihood of releases from the different operations. A stochastic model has been developed that can be used to simulate alternative realizations of contaminant releases (duration, extent and timing). The model employs release zones associated with particular activities or groups of activities on the site and the areas of each of the zones may be independent or overlapping. The period of activity in each zone is obtained from the site records, while the likelihood and extent of contamination in each zone is inferred from an analysis of the contamination data obtained by point sampling. The form of the model, the method of inference of the model parameter values from the site data and the application of the model to the study site are presented. The release model has been developed as part of a suite of stochastic models for site ground contamination analysis. The stochastic soil and transport models and the application of the integrated modelling system are described in separate papers.     

The Enso-Fire Dynamic in Insular Southeast Asia

We examined the spatiotemporal patterns of fire in insular Southeast Asia from July 1996 to December 2001 using a set of consistent, nighttime fire observations provided by the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) sensor. Monthly ATSR fire counts were analyzed relative to georeferenced climatic and land-cover data from a variety of sources. We found that fires were strongly correlated with Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) (r = ?0.75) and Niño 3.4 index (r = 0.72) in forested land-cover types within the equatorial belt (5.5^°S–5.5^°N). Cross-correlation analysis revealed that detrended SOI was modestly correlated (r = 0.42) with detrended monthly fire count with a positive lag of four months. However, our analysis also revealed that fire counts reached their maximum 6 months before the absolute maximum of SOI. Annual sums of SOI (∑_SOI) and fire counts revealed linearity for ∑_SOI≤ 0. Overall, the results suggest that ENSO indices may have limited predictive utility at a monthly time scale, but that temporal aggregation and additional fire observations may enhance our capacity to forecast fires in different cover types based on ENSO data.     

Microbial reduction of chromium from the hexavalent to divalent state

We demonstrate that Shewanella oneidensis, a metal-reducing bacteria species with cytoplasmic-membrane-bound reductases and remarkably diverse respiratory capabilities, reduced Cr(VI) to Cr(II) in anaerobic cultures where chromate was the sole terminal electron acceptor. Individual cell microanalysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) demonstrates Cr(II) concentrated near the cytoplasmic membrane, suggesting the terminal reduction pathway is intracellularly localized. Further, estimated cellular Cr(II) concentrations are relatively high at upwards of 0.03-0.09 g Cr/g bacterium. Accumulation of Cr(II) is observed in S. oneidensis cells prior to the formation of submicron-sized precipitates of insoluble Cr(III) on their surfaces. Furthermore, under anaerobic conditions, Cr(III) precipitates that encrust cells are shown to contain Cr(II) that is likely bound in the net negatively charged extracellular biopolymers which can permeate the surfaces of the precipitates. In otherwise nearly identical incubations, Cr(III) precipitate formation was observed in cultures maintained anaerobic with bubbled nitrogen but not in three replicate cultures in an anaerobic chamber.     

Evaluation of Simultaneous Analyte Leaching/Vapour Phase Introduction for Direct Osmium Isotope Ratio Measurements in Solid Samples by Double-Focusing Sector Field ICP-MS

The analytical performance of a method for Os isotope ratio measurement by double‐focusing, sector field ICP‐MS (ICP‐SFMS) was evaluated. The method is based on several optimised, concurrent processes: Os extraction from samples in hot concentrated nitric acid; separation of Os from the digest solution by the formation of volatile osmium tetroxide accelerated by continuous hydrogen peroxide addition; transport of analyte vapour by an oxygen flow into the ICP; and isotopic determination by ICP‐SFMS. Due to the very efficient utilisation of analyte (approaching 0.5‰), Os isotope ratio measurement could be performed at low pg levels. Combined with an ability to process sample sizes up to 2 g (up to 50 g if the organic matrix of biological or botanical samples is eliminated by ashing), materials with Os concentrations in the low, or even sub pg g^?1 range could be determined by this method. Given that two complete digestion/distillation systems were available for interchangeable use, throughputs of up to fifteen samples per 8 hour shift could be achieved. The method precision, evaluated as the long‐term reproducibility of ¹⁸⁷ Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio measurements in a commercial Os reference sample containing 0.5 ng Os, was 0.16% relative standard deviation (RSD, 1s). The method has been applied to perform replicate ¹⁸⁷ Os/¹⁸⁸ Os ratio measurements on a suite of fifty reference materials of various origins and matrix compositions, with Os concentrations varying from < 0.1 pg g^?1 to > 100 ng g^?1, yielding an average precision of 3% RSD. Though none of the materials tested are certified for Os content or Os isotope composition, comparison of the obtained data with published Os isotope information for similar sample types revealed close agreement between the two. The method can also be used for the simultaneous, semi‐quantitative determination of Os concentrations.     

Magnetic properties of recent sediments in Lake Baikal, Siberia

Mineral magnetic measurements of six ²¹⁰Pb-dated surface cores from different basins of Lake Baikal, Siberia, show temporal records controlled by a range of internal and external processes. With the exception of sediments on the Academician Ridge, there is clear evidence for widespread reductive diagenesis effects on the ferrimagnetic component coupled with neo-formation of paramagnetic iron minerals. Greigite formation, bacterial magnetosome accumulation and turbidite layers may affect the properties of some sediment levels. Concentrations of canted antiferromagnetic minerals (eg. haematite) appear to increase from the 19th century onwards. These minerals are less affected by dissolution processes and probably represent detrital minerals delivered by catchment fluvial processes. The magnetic evidence for recent atmospheric pollution by fossil-fuel combustion processes is weak in all the cores, and supports the findings from studies of spherical carbonaceous particles (SCPs) and heavy metals that pollution is largely restricted to the southern basin. Correlations between recent sediments based on magnetic data may be insecure over long distances or between basins.