Water Quality of the North Sea: Concerns and Control Measures

Mathematical modelling techniques are used to quantify the transport in the southern part of the North Sea of pollutants originating from various inputs. Special attention was given to the anthropogenic increase in local concentrations of nutrients (N, P) and heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr) and their potential impact on marine organisms. A depth-averaged hydrodynamic model is used to calculate tidal and wind driven velocities and water levels. By averaging, residual flows are calculated, forming the basis for advective transports in a water quality model. Dispersive transports are derived from a comparison of simulated and observed salinity distributions. Water mass distributions and age functions for various inflowing water types are determined with the model. Transports of nutrients and heavy metals in the southern part of the North Sea are calculated using annual pollution inputs for 1980. Although interactions with bottom sediments are not considered, the calculated and measured concentrations show good similarities. The water quality in the Dutch coastal zone and German Bight area is shown to be highly determined by local pollution loads from the rivers Rhine, Weser and Elbe respectively. Comparison of simulated concentrations for 1980 with those resulting from simulations with estimated natural river inputs, shows that more than 50% of nutrients and heavy metal concentrations originate from human activities in large coastal zone areas. From toxicological information and standards, it is concluded that Cd, Hg and Cu are substances that need special attention in pollution research and control for the Dutch coastal waters.

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Acute otitis externa in divers working in the North Sea: a microbiological survey of seven saturation dives

Journal of Hygiene ◽

10.1017/s0022172400056291 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 78 (3) ◽

pp. 395-409 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

S. R. Alcock

Keyword(s):

North Sea ◽

Otitis Externa ◽

Control Measures ◽

Monitoring And Control ◽

Ear Canal ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

Offshore Oil Industry ◽

And Control ◽

Offshore Oil

SUMMARYSaturation diving is an important and widely used technique in the Offshore Oil Industry. During 1974–5 two saturation dives in the North Sea were terminated because of outbreaks of incapacitating otitis externa, and others were disrupted. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was consistently isolated from the ears of affected divers. Because complex work schedules were threatened seven subsequent dives were subjected to microbiological monitoring and control. Colonization of the ear canal with P. aeruginosa or with other gram-negative bacilli occurred in 39 (67%) of the 58 divers studied, usually within 7 days of starting the dive. Data obtained by serotyping the isolations of P. aeruginosa suggested that a single infected diver may be the source of organisms which rapidly spread to his colleagues and throughout the living chambers, that the living chambers may constitute a reservoir of infection during and between dives, and that certain serotypes of P. aeruginosa are more likely than others to colonize the ear canal in the conditions of a saturation dive. The control measures used during the dives were only partially effective, but none of the divers suffered severe pain and all the dives were an operational success.

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Strategy for Protecting the North Sea: A Chemical Industry Perspective

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1991.0300 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 24 (10) ◽

pp. 269-276

Author(s):

J. R. Lawrence ◽

N. C. D. Craig

Keyword(s):

North Sea ◽

Chemical Industry ◽

Important Research ◽

The Public ◽

The North ◽

Anthropogenic Inputs ◽

Seven Principles ◽

The North Sea ◽

The Cost

The public has ever-rising expectations for the environmental quality of the North Sea and hence of everreducing anthropogenic inputs; by implication society must be willing to accept the cost of reduced contamination. The chemical industry accepts that it has an important part to play in meeting these expectations, but it is essential that proper scientific consideration is given to the potential transfer of contamination from one medium to another before changes are made. A strategy for North Sea protection is put forward as a set of seven principles that must govern the management decisions that are made. Some areas of uncertainty are identified as important research targets. It is concluded that although there have been many improvements over the last two decades, there is more to be done. A systematic and less emotive approach is required to continue the improvement process.

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Water Quality In The North Sea And Injection Water Standards For North Sea Oil Fields

10.2118/4840-ms ◽

1974 ◽

Author(s):

D.H. St. John ◽

J.H. Barkman

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

North Sea ◽

Oil Fields ◽

The North ◽

Injection Water ◽

The North Sea

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Clay mineral distribution and provenance in Mesozoic and Tertiary mudrocks of the Moray Firth and northern North Sea

Clay Minerals ◽

10.1180/claymin.1990.025.4.10 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 519-541 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

M. J. Pearson

Keyword(s):

Clay Mineral ◽

North Sea ◽

Volcanic Activity ◽

Volcanic Material ◽

The North ◽

Moray Firth ◽

History Of ◽

The North Sea ◽

Northern North Sea ◽

And Control

AbstractClay mineral abundances in Mesozoic and Tertiary argillaceous strata from 15 exploration wells in the Inner and Outer Moray Firth, Viking Graben and East Shetland Basins of the northern North Sea have been determined in <0·2 µm fractions of cuttings samples. The clay assemblages of more deeply-buried samples cannot be unambiguously related to sedimentary input because of the diagenetic overprint which may account for much of the chlorite and related interstratified minerals. Other sediments, discussed on a regional basis and related to the geological history of the basins, are interpreted in terms of clay mineral provenance and control by climate, tectonic and volcanic activity. The distribution of illite-smectite can often be related to volcanic activity both in the Forties area during the M. Jurassic, and on the NE Atlantic continental margin during the U. Cretaceous-Early Tertiary which affected the North Sea more widely and left a prominent record in the Viking Graben and East Shetland Basin. Kaolinite associated with lignite-bearing sediments in the Outer Moray Firth Basin was probably derived by alteration of volcanic material in lagoonal or deltaic environments. Some U. Jurassic and L. Cretaceous sediments of the Inner Moray Basin are rich in illite-smectite, the origin of which is not clear.

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