The effects of oil exploration and production in the northern north sea: Part 1–The levels of hydrocarbons in water and sediments in selected areas, 1978–1981

Massie, L. C.; Ward, A.P.; Davies, J. M.; Mackie, P. R.

doi:10.1016/0141-1136(85)90002-9

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…McIntosh et a l . (1983) and Massie (1985) should be consulted for method and detailed analysis of the aromatics. In 1982 macrobenthos monitoring was included in the programme (Moore 1983) and in the surveys of 1984 and 1985 biological monitoring was extended to encompass a limited investigation of the meiobenthos.…”

Section: Effects Of Hydrocarbon Discharges On Subtidal Meiobenthos (A) Oil Platform I M P a C T : The Beryl Field Study (I) Study Area Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of oily discharges on the meiobenthos of the North Sea

Moore

Murison

Long

et al. 1987

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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The impact of hydrocarbon discharges on the intertidal and subtidal meiobenthos of the North Sea is examined primarily by a consideration of two field investigations. The first study examines the effects of an oil refinery discharge on intertidal meiofauna in the Firth of Forth, while the second describes the impact of oil platform discharges on the surrounding meiobenthos. The impact of the refinery effluent is only clearly distinguishable upstream of the discharge, as downstream the effects are confused with those of a second petrochemical discharge. The meiofaunal community is only strongly affected on the upper shore and this appears to be chiefly the result of an organic enrichment effect causing a raising of the redox potential discontinuity (RPD) layer. All meiofaunal taxa examined are sharply reduced in density and species richness within 320 m of the discharge but at 600-900 m from the discharge meiofaunal densities are enhanced or depressed, relative to clean sediments, dependent upon the seasonal pattern of the RPD layer. Farther down the shore the impact is only felt at most by a slight reduction in species richness and subtle change in species abundance patterns on the middle shore for a distance of about 600 m. The meiofaunal responses to the petrochemical discharges seem similar to those described for the macrofauna in the same area, although a small meiofaunal population persists in the most polluted sediments in the absence of macrofauna. The discharge of drilling cuttings, contaminated with oil-based drilling mud, was found to strongly modify meiofaunal densities within 800 m of the Beryl A Platform. Nematode densities are strongly reduced in the vicinity of the platform and it is thought that the impact on this infaunal taxon may be due to slow degradation within the sediment of toxic fractions of the diesel base of the drilling mud. By contrast copepod densities were greatly enhanced in one survey and the difference in impact is considered to be due to the epibenthic habit of the species involved, enabling them to flourish in conditions of high food or low predation and competition or all three. The species involved seem typical members of meiofaunal communities of organically enriched sediments. Some improvement in meiofaunal densities throughout the period 1984-85 is thought to be possibly the result of a switch from diesel-based to lowtoxicity drilling muds. It is concluded from these and other studies that hydrocarbon discharges into the North Sea are unlikely to be causing extensive damage to meiofaunal communities.

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Section: Effects Of Hydrocarbon Discharges On Subtidal Meiobenthos (A) Oil Platform I M P a C T : The Beryl Field Study (I) Study Area Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of oily discharges on the meiobenthos of the North Sea

Moore

Murison

Long

et al. 1987

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…(1980) have shown that zoopl structure is susceptible to oil at concentrations as low as 5-15 mg m -3. This level is not much higher than the average concentration (4 mg m-3) determined by Massie ( 1985) in fluorescence surveys around the Brent, Beryl and Forties oilfields.…”

Section: Plankton and Hydrocarbon Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 55%

The importance of the planktonic ecosystem of the North Sea in the context of oil and gas development

Reid

1987

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Planktonic organisms are the primary source of food for the top level of the marine food chain, the fish. Yet only part of the plankton is ingested by fish, the remainder sediments to the bottom to provide food for benthic organisms (which may in turn be grazed by demersal fish) and to contribute to a detrital sink. Although the relative proportions of the plankton entering each of these compartments is still a matter of debate, some indication of its importance as a resource can be gauged from the North Sea fishery that has yielded 2-3 Mt per year since the mid-1960s. Calculations for the North Sea of the annual production of phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish and benthos as energy equivalents are contrasted with the annual energy yields of oil and gas. Since 1948 the plankton of the North Sea has been monitored at a depth of 10 m by the Continuous Plankton Recorder ( CPR ) survey. Results for two large areas which encompass the Brent, Beryl and Forties oilfields are presented. Between 1948 and 1982 the plankton of these areas showed similar large changes in population structure in both phytoplankton and zooplankton with almost tenfold changes in levels of biomass during this 35 year period. The development of oil-related activities is discussed in relation to the plankton time-series with comment on possible causes of the changes which are believed to be the result of natural variability.

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“…In the same area the 2-6 ring PAH concentrations have been recorded at 8.4-33.5 figg' 1 (Massie et al 1985). The levels of oil-derived aliphatic hydrocarbons in sediments in Sullom Voe are generally less than lOO/igg' 1 dry weight sediment, with the total 2-6 ring PAHs ranging from 0.12 to 0.5 fig g' 1 dry wt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Chemical monitoring in Sullom Voe: the SOTEAG and statutory programmes

Davies

Matheson²

1995

Proc., Sect. B Biol. sci.

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SynopsisTwo chemical monitoring programmes have operated in Sullom Voe since 1978, a statutory programme which measures levels of contaminants in the area of the diffuser outfall and the SOTEAG programme which measures contamination in the wider area of Sullom Voe and Yell Sound. Both programmes were in place prior to the operation of the terminal and had gathered useful information. The subsequent information provided annually by the two monitoring programmes during the operations of the terminal has allowed accurate assessment of the levels of contamination in the area of operation and has shown that the contamination from heavy metals and hydrocarbons in the Sullom Voe area is at the lower end of the range of levels encountered in mainland estuarine regions.

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The effects of oil exploration and production in the northern north sea: Part 1–The levels of hydrocarbons in water and sediments in selected areas, 1978–1981

Cited by 22 publications

References 9 publications

The impact of oily discharges on the meiobenthos of the North Sea

The impact of oily discharges on the meiobenthos of the North Sea

The importance of the planktonic ecosystem of the North Sea in the context of oil and gas development

Chemical monitoring in Sullom Voe: the SOTEAG and statutory programmes

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