scholarly journals CO2 uptake decreased and CH4 emissions increased in first two years of peatland seismic line restoration

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Schmidt ◽  
Scott J. Davidson ◽  
Maria Strack
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
Net Productivity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Seismic Lines ◽  
Reference Areas

Abstract Oil and gas exploration has resulted in over 300,000 km of linear disturbances known as seismic lines, throughout boreal peatlands across Canada. Sites are left with altered hydrologic and topographic conditions that prevent tree re-establishment. Restoration efforts have concentrated on tree recovery through mechanical mounding to re-create microtopography and support planted tree seedlings to block sightlines and deter predator use, but little is known about the impact of seismic line disturbance or restoration on peatland carbon cycling. This study looked at two mounding treatments and compared carbon dioxide and methane fluxes to untreated lines and natural reference areas in the first two years post-restoration. We found no significant differences in net ecosystem CO2 exchange, but untreated seismic lines were slightly more productive than natural reference areas and mounding treatments. Both restoration treatments increased ecosystem respiration, decreased net productivity by 6–21 gCO2m− 2d− 1, and created areas of increased methane emissions, including an increase in the contribution of ebullition, of up to 2000 mgCH4m− 2d− 1. Further research on this site to assess the longer-term impacts of restoration, as well as application on other sites with varied conditions, will help determine if these restoration practices are effective.

scholarly journals High Precision Altimeter Demonstrates Simplification and Depression of Microtopography on Seismic Lines in Treed Peatlands

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassondra Stevenson ◽  
Angelo Filicetti ◽  
Scott Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Minor Variation ◽  
Topographic Complexity ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
Linear Forest ◽  
Seismic Lines

Seismic lines are linear forest clearings used for oil and gas exploration. The mechanical opening of forests for these narrow (3–10 meter) lines is believed to simplify microtopographic complexity and depress local topographic elevation. In treed peatlands, simplified microtopography limits tree regeneration by removing favourable microsites (hummocks) for tree recruitment and increasing the occurrence of flooding that reduces survival of tree seedlings. Little, however, has been done to quantify the microtopography of seismic lines and specifically the degree of alteration. Here, we measured microtopography at 102 treed peatland sites in northeast Alberta, Canada using a high precision hydrostatic altimeter (ZIPLEVEL PRO-2000) that measured variation in local topography of seismic lines and adjacent paired undisturbed forests. Sites were separated into four peatland ecosite types and the presence or absence of recent (<22 years) wildfires. Paired t-tests were used to compare microtopographic complexity and depression depth of seismic lines compared with adjacent forests. Microtopographic complexity on seismic lines was simplified by 20% compared to adjacent stands with no significant change between recently burned and unburned sites, nor between ecosites. Not only were seismic lines simplified, but they were also depressed in elevation by an average of 8 cm compared to adjacent forests with some minor variation between ecosites observed, but again not with recent wildfires. Thus, simplification of microtopographic complexity and the creation of depressions can persist decades after initial disturbance with some differences between peatland ecosites, implying the need for ecosite-specific restoration of topographic complexity. The importance of microtopography for tree regeneration on seismic lines remains an important question for reforestation of these disturbances and thus long-term recovery of habitat for species dependent on undisturbed peatlands, including woodland caribou.

scholarly journals Impact of Atmospheric Optical Properties on Net Ecosystem Productivity of Peatland in Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2124
Author(s):  
Kamila M. Harenda ◽  
Mateusz Samson ◽  
Radosław Juszczak ◽  
Krzysztof M. Markowicz ◽  
Iwona S. Stachlewska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Diffuse Radiation ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
High Carbon ◽  
Atmospheric Scattering ◽  
Net Productivity ◽  
Diffusion Index ◽  
Ecosystem Production ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Carbon

Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle due to the high carbon storage in the substrate. Ecosystem production depends, for example, on the solar energy amount that reaches the vegetation, however the diffuse component of this flux can substantially increase ecosystem net productivity. This phenomenon is observed in different ecosystems, but the study of the atmosphere optical properties on peatland production is lacking. In this paper, the presented methodology allowed us to disentangle the diffuse radiation impact on the net ecosystem production (NEP) of Rzecin peatland, Poland. It allowed us to assess the impact of the atmospheric scattering process determined by the aerosol presence in the air mass. An application of atmospheric radiation transfer (ART) and ecosystem production (EP) models showed that the increase of aerosol optical thickness from 0.09 to 0.17 caused NEP to rise by 3.4–5.7%. An increase of the diffusion index (DI) by 0.1 resulted in an NEP increase of 6.1–42.3%, while a DI decrease of 0.1 determined an NEP reduction of −49.0 to −10.5%. These results show that low peatland vegetation responds to changes in light scattering. This phenomenon should be taken into account when calculating the global CO2 uptake estimation of such ecosystems.

Maintaining line of sight in oil and gas exploration: A case study from Mahakam Delta, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 558-565
Author(s):  
Balakrishnan Kunjan ◽  
Witan Ardjakusumah ◽  
Kevin McDonald ◽  
Hannah Booth ◽  
Seda Rouxel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Airborne Gravity ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Depth Migration ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
East Kalimantan ◽  
Well Data ◽  
Technical Effort ◽  
Seismic Lines ◽  
Over Time

In all exploration processes, the evaluation of basins, permits, and individual prospects changes over time with incremental availability and quality of data, technical effort expended, and knowledge gained. The NU prospect, located in the Mahakam Hilir PSC (East Kalimantan), is an example in which geologic chance of success (GCOS) predictions can change over time with increasing acquisition and availability of geophysical and geologic data and the studies done on them. We show how studies done on any one prospect or group of prospects can progressively increase/decrease the chance of at least one success in an exploration campaign of several wells. After a series of four wells was drilled in the PSC, which did not deliver commercial success, a change in approach was required to continue exploration. This included the acquisition of airborne gravity gradiometry data, initial trial prestack depth migration (PSDM) reprocessing of two key 1989 vintage 2D lines, acquisition of vintage well data from four Sambutan Field wells, acquisition of nine vintage 2D seismic lines over the field, and PSDM reprocessing of the nine 2D seismic lines. All data were then integrated to build a new geologic model. As a result, the NU prospect GCOS progressively moved from less than 10% to nearly 40%.

scholarly journals Disturbing to restore? Effects of mounding on understory communities on seismic lines in treed peatlands

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 1340-1351
Author(s):  
Laureen F.I. Echiverri ◽  
S. Ellen Macdonald ◽  
Scott E. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
Understory Plant ◽  
Understory Plant Communities ◽  
Understory Communities ◽  
Associated Species ◽  
Seismic Lines

In peatlands, microtopography strongly affects understory plant communities. Disturbance can result in a loss of microtopographic variation, primarily through the loss of hummocks. To address this, mounding treatments can be used to restore microtopography. We examined the effects of mounding on the understory vegetation on seismic lines in wooded fens. Seismic lines are deforested linear corridors (∼3 to 8 m wide) created for oil and gas exploration. Our objectives were to compare the recovery of understory communities on unmounded and mounded seismic lines and determine how recovery varies with microtopographic position. Recovery was evident in the unmounded seismic lines, with higher shrub and total understory cover at the “tops” of the small, natural hummocks than at lower microtopographic positions — much like the trends in adjacent treed fens. In contrast, mounding treatments that artificially created hummocks on seismic lines significantly changed understory communities. Mounded seismic lines had higher forb cover, much lower bryophyte cover, less variation along the microtopographic gradient, and community composition less similar to that of the reference sites than unmounded seismic lines due to higher abundance of marsh-associated species. Our results suggest that mounding narrow seismic lines can be detrimental to the recovery of the understory communities in treed peatlands.

scholarly journals Delayed responses of an Arctic ecosystem to an extreme summer: impacts on net ecosystem exchange and vegetation functioning

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5877-5888 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Zona ◽  
D. A. Lipson ◽  
J. H. Richards ◽  
G. K. Phoenix ◽  
A. K. Liljedahl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Extreme Event ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
Gross Primary Production ◽  
Net Ecosystem Exchange ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Lag Effects ◽  
Tundra Ecosystem ◽  
Co2 Sink ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The importance and consequences of extreme events on the global carbon budget are inadequately understood. This includes the differential impact of extreme events on various ecosystem components, lag effects, recovery times, and compensatory processes. In the summer of 2007 in Barrow, Arctic Alaska, there were unusually high air temperatures (the fifth warmest summer over a 65-year period) and record low precipitation (the lowest over a 65-year period). These abnormal conditions were associated with substantial desiccation of the Sphagnum layer and a reduced net Sphagnum CO2 sink but did not affect net ecosystem exchange (NEE) from this wet-sedge arctic tundra ecosystem. Microbial biomass, NH4+ availability, gross primary production (GPP), and ecosystem respiration (Reco) were generally greater during this extreme summer. The cumulative ecosystem CO2 sink in 2007 was similar to the previous summers, suggesting that vascular plants were able to compensate for Sphagnum CO2 uptake, despite the impact on other functions and structure such as desiccation of the Sphagnum layer. Surprisingly, the lowest ecosystem CO2 sink over a five summer record (2005–2009) was observed during the 2008 summer (~70% lower), directly following the unusually warm and dry summer, rather than during the extreme summer. This sink reduction cannot solely be attributed to the potential damage to mosses, which typically contribute ~40% of the entire ecosystem CO2 sink. Importantly, the return to a substantial cumulative CO2 sink occurred two summers after the extreme event, which suggests a substantial resilience of this tundra ecosystem to at least an isolated extreme event. Overall, these results show a complex response of the CO2 sink and its sub-components to atypically warm and dry conditions. The impact of multiple extreme events requires further investigation.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF SEISMIC OPERATIONS IN THE OTWAY BASIN, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 741 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Williams ◽  
A. J. Boulton ◽  
M. Hyde ◽  
A. J. Kinnear ◽  
C. D. Cockshell
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Seismic Exploration ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Seismic Lines

The Department of Mines and Energy, South Australia (DME) contracted Michael Williams and Associates Pty Ltd to audit the environmental management of seismic exploration operations in the South Australian Otway Basin. The audit was carried out in early 1992 and covered petroleum exploration operators and DME environmental management systems. An innovative field sampling technique was developed to compare the environmental impact of two different seismic line clearing techniques. Recovery of native vegetation as measured by vegetation structure was also quantified.The audit found DME to have a dynamic and integrated environmental management system while company systems varied in standard. Wide consultation assisted the audit process.As a result of clearing for agriculture, native vegetation covers only six per cent of the Otway Basin. With the strict limitations to broad-scale vegetation clearance since the mid-1980s and the cessation since 1991, the greatest environmental impact of seismic exploration is the clearance of native vegetation for access by seismic vehicles. Native vegetation structure and associated abiotic variables on seismic lines and adjacent control sites, were subject to a classification and ordination analysis which compared the impact of seismic lines constructed by bulldozer or Hydro-ax (industrial slasher). Post-seismic recovery rates of three different vegetation associations were also determined. This analytical technique permits the effects of seismic line clearance to be compared with the natural variability of specific vegetation associations within a region. In interpreting the results however, there is a confounding effect of line type and year as most of the more recent seismic lines were constructed using a Hydro-ax. Results indicate that Hydro-ax clearing affects vegetation structure less than bulldozing. Most Hydro-ax sites recovered within a few years whereas some sites, bulldozed as early as 1971, particularly tussock grasslands, have not yet recovered.This study provides a significant break-through in the debate about the persistence of seismic impacts on native vegetation. As a rapid preliminary assessment, sampling vegetation structure rather than floristics, provides a cost-effective audit and monitoring technique which can be used by non-specialists in a range of petroleum exploration environments. Any significant structural differences may require more detailed analysis to determine if floristic composition also differed.

scholarly journals How linear features alter predator movement and the functional response

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah W. McKenzie ◽  
Evelyn H. Merrill ◽  
Raymond J. Spiteri ◽  
Mark A. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Functional Response ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
First Passage Time ◽  
Elliptic Partial Differential Equation ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
Line Density ◽  
Time Model ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Seismic Lines

In areas of oil and gas exploration, seismic lines have been reported to alter the movement patterns of wolves ( Canis lupus ). We developed a mechanistic first passage time model, based on an anisotropic elliptic partial differential equation, and used this to explore how wolf movement responses to seismic lines influence the encounter rate of the wolves with their prey. The model was parametrized using 5 min GPS location data. These data showed that wolves travelled faster on seismic lines and had a higher probability of staying on a seismic line once they were on it. We simulated wolf movement on a range of seismic line densities and drew implications for the rate of predator–prey interactions as described by the functional response. The functional response exhibited a more than linear increase with respect to prey density (type III) as well as interactions with seismic line density. Encounter rates were significantly higher in landscapes with high seismic line density and were most pronounced at low prey densities. This suggests that prey at low population densities are at higher risk in environments with a high seismic line density unless they learn to avoid them.

The Application of Microbes in Petroleum Industry

2013 ◽  
Vol 868 ◽  
pp. 542-546
Author(s):  
Ji Hua Wang ◽  
Shan Shan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Oil Industry ◽  
Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
The Impact

With the advances in biological sciences, microbiology techniques to be applied to people in all areas of production and life, this paper introduces the microorganisms in the oil industry in all sectors such as oil and gas exploration microorganisms, microbial enhanced oil recovery and microbial degradation of the oil pollution and other aspects of the application. By summarizing the impact of microbial technology for the various aspects of oil industry, make the foundation of the microbial creative application in the field of oil industry.

scholarly journals Delayed responses of an Arctic ecosystem to an extremely dry summer: impacts on net ecosystem exchange and vegetation functioning

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 19189-19217 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Zona ◽  
D. A. Lipson ◽  
J. H. Richards ◽  
G. K. Phoenix ◽  
A. K. Liljedahl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Extreme Event ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
Gross Primary Production ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Net Ecosystem Exchange ◽  
Co2 Uptake ◽  
Tundra Ecosystem ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The importance and mode of action of extreme events on the global carbon budget are inadequately understood. This includes the differential impact of extreme events on various ecosystem components, lag effects, recovery times, and compensatory processes. Summer 2007 in Barrow, Arctic Alaska, experienced unusually high air temperatures (fifth warmest over a 65 yr period) and record low precipitation (lowest over a 65 yr period). These abnormal conditions resulted in strongly reduced net Sphagnum CO2 uptake, but no effect neither on vascular plant development nor on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) from this arctic tundra ecosystem. Gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco) were both generally greater during most of this extreme summer. Cumulative ecosystem C uptake in 2007 was similar to the previous summers, showing the capacity of the ecosystem to compensate in its net ecosystem exchange (NEE) despite the impact on other functions and structure such as substantial necrosis of the Sphagnum layer. Surprisingly, the lowest ecosystem C uptake (2005–2009) was observed during the 2008 summer, i.e the year directly following the extremely summer. In 2008, cumulative C uptake was ∼70% lower than prior years. This reduction cannot solely be attributed to mosses, which typically contribute with ∼40% – of the entire ecosystem C uptake. The minimum summer cumulative C uptake in 2008 suggests that the entire ecosystem experienced difficulty readjusting to more typical weather after experiencing exceptionally warm and dry conditions. Importantly, the return to a substantial cumulative C uptake occurred two summers after the extreme event, which suggest a high resilience of this tundra ecosystem. Overall, these results show a highly complex response of the C uptake and its sub-components to atypically dry conditions. The impact of multiple extreme events still awaits further investigation.

scholarly journals Seismic lines in the boreal and arctic ecosystems of North America: environmental impacts, challenges, and opportunities

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Dabros ◽  
Matthew Pyper ◽  
Guillermo Castilla
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
Seismic Line ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Seismic Lines

The oil and gas industry has grown significantly throughout the boreal and arctic ecosystems of North America. A major feature of the ecological footprint of oil and gas exploration is seismic lines—narrow corridors used to transport and deploy geophysical survey equipment. These lines, which traverse forests, tundra, uplands, and peatlands, were historically up to 10 m wide. Over the past decade, seismic lines have decreased in width (in some cases down to 1.75–3 m); however, their density has increased drastically and their construction is expected to continue in regions of Canada and the United States that are rich in oil and gas resources. We examine the literature related to the environmental impacts of, and restoration and reclamation efforts associated with, seismic lines in the boreal and arctic ecosystems of North America. With respect to conventional seismic lines, numerous studies report significant and persistent environmental changes along these lines and slow recovery of vegetation that translates into a lasting fragmentation of the landscape. This fragmentation has many ramifications for biodiversity and ecosystem processes, including significant implications for threatened woodland caribou herds. While modern, low-impact seismic lines have comparatively lower ecological effects at the site-level, their high density and associated potential edge effects suggest that their actual environmental impact may be underestimated. Seismic line restoration is a critical aspect of future integrated landscape management in hydrocarbon-rich regions of the boreal-arctic, and if widely applied, has the potential to benefit a wide range of species and maintain or re-establish key ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity.

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