The wreck of the MV Rena: spatio-temporal analysis of ship-derived contaminants in the sediments and fauna of Astrolabe Reef

ABSTRACT

The October 2011 sinking of the container ship MV Rena on Astrolabe Reef, New Zealand, provided a rare opportunity to examine the fate of shipwreck-derived contaminants on an offshore rocky reef and food chain. Analyses of trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organotins indicated significant but localised contamination of Astrolabe Reef but not of nearby Mōtītī Island. Three years after the grounding, PAH concentrations were greater in sediments at Astrolabe (up to 131?mg kg^?1) than at control locations, while organotins from the ship's antifouling hull paint were found exclusively in Astrolabe Reef sediments and biota. Over 80% of Astrolabe sediment samples contained tributyltin at concentrations above guideline sediment levels (>0.07?mg kg^?1). Tributyltin and its decomposition products were also recorded in sea urchins, gastropods, lobster and fishes at concentrations up to 0.2?mg kg^?1. Wreck and cargo-derived metals, particularly copper, tin and zinc, were present in some Astrolabe sediment samples above Australia and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council guideline concentrations. However, there appeared to be only limited transmission of metals through the food chain. Copper, tin and zinc were recorded at greater concentrations in Astrolabe sea urchins and gastropods compared to control specimens, while metal concentrations in other biota were comparable across impact and control sites. Despite over 3 years having passed since the Rena grounding, the data series does not show any upward or downward trends in contaminant concentrations on Astrolabe Reef. Consequently, there is uncertainty about the long-term implications of the Rena grounding for the ecology of Astrolabe Reef.     

浮托安装进船过程中护舷碰撞力实测研究

浮托安装法广泛应用于大型组块海上安装。导管架平台上部组块浮托安装进船过程中,风、浪、流引起的浮托驳船横向运动造成浮托驳船与导管架桩腿的碰撞,碰撞力可能会对导管架结构造成损伤。陆丰7-2上部组块浮托安装中,为了监测碰撞力大小,设计了碰撞力海上监测系统。通过在导管架外侧四个桩腿上安装光纤光栅应变传感器对碰撞过程中导管架桩腿进行应力监测,进而计算碰撞力。对碰撞过程,载荷作用位置、方向进行简化,并对载荷大小及垂向作用位置对计算的影响进行了研究。结构分析模型简化后,测点von-Mises应力与碰撞力大小成正比,对导管架整体结构建模计算并取局部结构计算比例系数,结合应力实测数据计算出进船过程中驳船对导管架桩腿碰撞力。     

Safety Assessment of Buried Pipeline during Pile Driving Vibration in Offshore Engineering

To assess the impact of pile driving on adjacent submarine pipelines during the reconstruction of a pier berth, the local damage model of submarine pipelines is established to explore the safety thresholds of the particle peak velocity and horizontal displacement. The results are analyzed and adjusted by the existing standards and the corresponding literatures. Then, a three-dimensional numerical model is presented to assess the feasibility of the construction of piles by the obtained safety limits, in which the nonlinear behavior of the soil and stress–seepage coupling analysis are considered. After the construction, the safety of submarine pipelines is rechecked by the measured value of the particle peak velocity and horizontal displacement. Meanwhile, the propagation law of vibration, the horizontal displacement of underground soil, and the pore pressure during pile driving are explored. The results indicate that the construction of piles of 2# mooring pier did not cause damage to adjacent submarine pipelines. However, the construction of piles of 1# mooring pier which is nearer may cause damage to submarine pipelines.     

Seasonally and spatially referenced estimates of recreational shore-angling effort,catch composition,catch rates and total catch in the Goukamma Marine Protected Area,South Africa

A roving creel survey of the recreational shore fishery along the 16.4-km coastline in the Goukamma Marine Protected Area on the south coast of South Africa was conducted from 2009 to 2011. Some 838 patrols were stratified equally among months, areas and years, but intentionally biased towards weekends. Angler densities at Buffalo Bay and Groenvlei were 0.59 and 0.28 anglers km?1, respectively. Weekend densities were double to quadruple weekday densities and fishing during winter was more popular than during summer. Area, habitat and distance to access points explained variation in angler densities. Shannon–Wiener diversity in catches declined from 2.18 in an earlier (1993–2002) survey to 1.79. Although the order of species abundance in the catches remained largely unchanged, blacktail Diplodus capensis dominance increased to 57.3% by number, at the expense of galjoen Dichistius capensis. Habitat explained 27% of the variance in catch composition. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) for the top nine species ranged from 0.19 to 6.35 fish 100-h?1. The CPUE of all species, except spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii, declined. Blacktail and galjoen CPUE declined by 17% and 77%, respectively. The total catch estimate was 2 986 fish y?1. Transgressions of size limits were common. The results suggest that the fishery is overexploited and that catch rates are declining.     

利用InSAR识别与监测黑方台黄土滑坡

针对甘肃永靖县的黑方台地区滑坡不断对当地居民人身及财产安全构成重大威胁的现状,该文选取高分辨率的升降轨TerraSAR数据、3m分辨率的DEM数据和30m分辨率的SRTM DEM数据,利用InSAR技术对该地区的地表形变进行监测,主要结果如下:用Stacking技术获取了黑方台的形变速率图,识别出14处不稳定滑坡体;用SBAS-InSAR技术对典型滑坡体进行时间序列监测,将InSAR结果投影到滑坡方向与已有的GPS结果进行比较,最大较差为6mm,最大中误差为3mm。结果表明,InSAR技术用来识别与监测黄土滑坡方便可靠,并且精度较高。     

水下工程项目监理的任务与条件

结合近年来参与有关水下工程检测和项目监理的实践体验 ,从总结水下工程项目的基本特征着手 ,分析了水下工程项目监理的主要任务 ,并结合对于实施水下工程项目监理必备装备条件的探讨 ,介绍了国内外现有水下监测技术装备的开发应用状况     

Theoretical aspects of cap-rock and fault seals for single- and two-phase hydrocarbon columns

Cap-rock seals can be divided genetically into those that fail by capillary leakage (membrane seals) and those whose capillary entry pressures are so high that seal failure preferentially occurs by fracturing and/or wedging open of faults (hydraulic seals). A given membrane seal can trap a larger oil column than gas column at shallow depths, but below a critical depth (interval), gas is more easily sealed than oil. This critical depth increases with lower API gravity, lower oil GOR and overpressured conditions (for the gas phase). These observations arise from a series of modelling studies of membrane sealing and can be conveniently represented using pressure/ depth (P/D) profiles through sealed hydrocarbon columns. P/D diagrams have been applied to the more complex situation of the membrane sealing of a gas cap underlain by an oil rim; at seal capacity, such a two-phase column will be always greater than if only oil or gas occurs below the seal.These conclusions contrast with those for hydraulic seals where the seal capacity to oil always exceeds that for gas. Moreover, a trapped two-phase column, at hydraulic seal capacity will be less than the maximum-allowed oil-only column, but more than the maximum gas-only column. Unlike membrane seals, hydraulic seal capacity should be directly related to cap-rock thickness, in addition to the magnitude of the minimum effective stress in the sealing layer and the degree of overpressure development in the sequence as a whole.Fault-related seals are effectively analogous to membrane cap-rocks which have been tilted to the angle of the fault plane. Consequently, all of the above conclusions derived for membrane cap-rocks apply to both sealing faults sensu stricto (fault plane itself seals) and juxtaposition faults (hydrocarbon trapped laterally against a juxtaposed sealing unit). The maximum-allowed two-phase column trapped by a sealing fault is greater than for equivalent oil-only and gas-only columns, but less than that predicted for a horizontal membrane cap-rock under similar conditions. Where a two-phase column is present on both sides of a sealing fault (which is at two-phase seal capacity), a deeper oil/water contact (OWC) in one fault block is associated with a deeper gas/oil contact (GOC) compared with the adjacent fault block. If the fault seal is discontinuous in the gas leg, however, the deeper OWC is accompanied by a shallower GOC, whereas a break in the fault seal in the oil leg results in a common OWC in both fault blocks, even though separate GOC's exist. Schematic P/D profiles are provided for each of the above situations from which a series of fundamental equations governing single- and two-phase cap-rock and fault seal capacities can be derived. These relationships may have significant implications for exploration prospect appraisal exercises where more meaningful estimates of differential seal capacities can be made.The membrane sealing theory developed herein assumes that all reservoirs and seals are water-wet and no hydrodynamic flow exists. The conclusions on membrane seal capacity place constraints on the migration efficiency of gas along low-permeabiligy paths at depth where fracturing, wedging open of faults and/or diffusion process may be more important. Contrary to previous assertions, it is speculated that leakage of hydrocarbons through membrane seals occurs in distinct pulses such that the seal is at or near the theoretically calculated seal capacity, once this has been initially attained.Finally, the developed seal theory and P/D profile concepts are applied to a series of development geological problems including the effects of differential depletion, and degree of aquifer support, on sealing fault leakage, and the evaluation of barriers to vertical cross-flow using RFT profiles through depleted reservoirs. It is shown that imbibition processes and dynamic effects related to active cross-flow across such barriers often preclude quantitative analysis and solution of these problems for which simulation studies are usually required.     

台风海况下半潜式钻井平台动力性能监测与分析

半潜式钻井平台在海洋油气资源开发中发挥着重要作用,目前主要采用模型试验和数值模拟方法对其动力性能进行研究,非常缺乏台风等极端海况下半潜式平台动力响应的实海域监测数据。以某半潜式钻井平台为研究对象,构建了一套比较完善的平台动力性能监测系统,并对台风“杜苏芮”过境阶段的监测数据进行了分析。根据平台艏部气隙及运动监测数据推算了平台吃水及环境波高;采用随机波浪的统计分析方法,计算得到短期海况的有效波高、谱峰周期、能量谱等信息,通过与多种典型海浪谱对比发现Jonswap谱与所测波谱吻合较好;对平台的横摇、纵摇及垂荡运动进行了时域统计分析和频域谱分析,得到了台风海况下被测平台波频运动的实际响应特征,对于指导平台抗台作业具有重要意义。     

河口海岸三维水流数值模型中几种垂向坐标模式研究述评

回顾了近年来国内外河口、近岸海域三维斜压水流数值模式研究的进展,着重讨论了不同垂向坐标下三维水流模式的发展状况以及存在的问题。地形拟合坐标(σ坐标)模式可以很好地拟合床面地形和自由面,已在物理海洋学中被广泛使用。但在地形变化剧烈,尤其在密度层结效应明显的海域,σ坐标模式中的水平压强梯度力误差会引起伪密度流。寻求高精度的数值模式以及更加有效的拟合坐标变换将是值得努力的方向。     

A new global alignment approach for underwater optical mapping

Lately, underwater vehicles have become important tools for exploration, monitoring and creation of maps of the seabed. Within mapping applications, the maps obtained from optical data are becoming essential in different study areas such as biological, geological and archaeological surveys, or in detection of benthic temporal changes. However, the underwater medium is very challenging for optical sensors and does not allow the area of interest to be imaged in a single image. Therefore, image mosaicing methods are necessary. Although recent advances in detection of correspondences between images have resulted in highly effective image registration methods, global alignment methods are still needed to obtain a globally coherent mosaic. In this paper, we propose a new global alignment method which works on the mosaic frame and does not require non-linear optimisation. Additionally, a simple image rectifying method is presented to reduce the down-scaling effect which might occur when minimising errors defined in the mosaic frame. Moreover, this rectifying method can also be seen as an alternative and straightforward way of incorporating different sensor information if available. The proposed framework has been tested with underwater image sequences. The resulting method is faster than its counterparts while providing the same level of registration quality.