Physicochemical Characteristics of Oil Spill Impacted Agricultural Soils in Three Areas of the Niger Delta

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-144
Author(s):  
J.C. Nnaji ◽  
A.C. Egwu
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics

OIL SPILLS IN NIGERIA: ARE THERE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS?

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 300289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloamaka Carol Okonkwo
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
Economic And Social Impacts

Oil exploration and production results in various problems ranging from oil spills, gas flaring, habitat destruction, air and water pollution as well as land degradation. In this work oil spill will be singled out as main topic of discussion as it is one of the area in the oil industry that is been affecting the industry seriously in recent years. Oil spill can cause colossal damage which includes destruction of economic and social activities. The problems culminates into several impacts which include health, environmental, economic and social impacts. Over the years, so much attention is been given to the environmental and health impact of these spills. This work is going to go beyond this environmental and health impacts to the economic and social impacts. Economic impacts of oil spills generally include cost of clean-up and compensation, damage to agricultural lands, fishery and wildlife. Social impact on the other hand includes community conflicts, violence and frustration which leads to militancy, reduction in tourism and hospitality industries. The social and economic impacts actually go together in the sense that social impacts most times affects the economy. For instance, social impacts on tourism and hospitality industries causes reduction in jobs, poverty and revenue. In Nigeria, the impacts of oil spill appear more devastating owing to the fact that it is a developing country and that there is always political crisis in the country. Spills have caused deaths, destruction of farmlands, destruction of fishing industry, destruction of tourism facilities and cultural areas. In the Niger Delta Region, one can say that the impacts take different dimensions are many as spill and subsequent pollution is believed to be one of the main causes of militancy in the Niger Delta. This work looks at the socio-economic impacts of spills holistically and socio-economic impact specifically on the Niger Deltans and proffer solutions. A comparative approach will be used to analyse how socio-economic impacts of oil spills is being dealt with in some selected jurisdictions and the lessons Nigeria can learn from it putting into consideration the socio-economic and political situations. In doing that, formidable options available to Niger Deltans who are victims of oil spills will be explored. This will include options that will make the spillers accountable and responsible.

scholarly journals Linking remotely sensed vegetation structure and soil contamination data to monitor oil spill driven degradation in the Niger Delta Mangrove

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Brolly ◽  
Isa Kwabe ◽  
Raymond Ward ◽  
Christopher Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Soil Contamination ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Soil Sampling ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
Area Index

<p>In this study, soil sampling, vegetation analysis, and remotely sensed indices are used to devise a framework for monitoring impact of oil pollution on Mangrove forests. Mangroves are under threat from resource extraction and associated degradation. As a result of their inter-tidal location, Mangroves provide habitat for terrestrial and aquatic organisms and are important components of coastal ecosystems, providing a range of naturally available ecosystem services. Despite the widely accepted and documented range of ecosystem services provided by mangroves, they have nevertheless, experienced a worldwide degradation resulting from various anthropogenic activities including oil exploitation.</p><p>This research is conducted in the Niger Delta where the largest spatial extent of Mangrove forests in Africa is located, consisting of 7% of global stock. Hydrocarbon exploitation in the Niger Delta region is one of several resource extractions undertaken in the area and as a result associated environmental pollution has caused a drastic decline in the region’s biodiversity and ecological resources. Of interest to this study is the effect of associated oil spills on the Mangrove forest ecosystem and their detection.</p><p>This study undertook a detailed field exercise over three seasons across the Niger Delta within close proximity to recorded oil spills; as noted in the NOSDRA (National Oil Spill Detection & Response Agency) archive. Soil sampling and laboratory analyses were conducted to establish the level and nature of contamination and supported by complementary vegetation structure analysis evaluating Leaf Area Index (LAI) from ground (LAI2200C) and spaceborne (Landsat archive) systems. Levels of soil contamination were significant with respect to control areas regarding both presence and concentration of heavy metal pollutants (Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Pb, Al and Hg). Additionally, negative structural impacts were detected on the local soil via Bulk Density reductions, known to impact soil function, as high as 0.566 g/cm<sup>3</sup> when comparing control Estuarine with high polluted locations, and Soil Organic Matter (SOM) reductions indicated by a mean percentage difference to the control of 11% for high polluted Fringing locations. These results highlight the immediate harm from spills, with degraded areas visually recorded and validated via ground measurements with mean LAI in high polluted Estuarine locations recording 1.8 higher. Linking vegetation structure in the Mangrove system with soil contamination allows the use of remote sensing to identify areas of degradation and subsequently to model the level and nature of contamination. The correlation between  ground and spaceborne measurements of LAI (eg. r=0.62 p<0.005 for fringing low pollution locations), allows machine learning approaches to be used to model LAI given the presence of contaminants and to provide a framework for supporting the detection and recording of areas at risk. Success will be expanded upon through use of GEDI lidar waveforms in the near future to improve the remotely derived description of forest structure.</p>

scholarly journals SPATIAL DATABASE DEVELOPMENT FOR OIL SPILLS POLLUTION AFFECTING WATER QUALITY SYSTEM IN NIGER DELTA

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-4/W16 ◽  
pp. 645-657
Author(s):  
H. A. Umar ◽  
M. F. Abdul Khanan ◽  
A. Ahmad ◽  
M. J. Sani ◽  
M. Z. Abd Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Data Base ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Kernel Density ◽  
Data Base Design ◽  
Entity Relationship ◽  
Er Diagram

Abstract. The effects of oil spills in the Niger Delta has caused unending menace to the quality of drinking water in most wells and boreholes of the area as most of the wells are shallow and are susceptible to contamination due to the nature of its Geology. The aim of this paper is to develop a database on how oil spills affects water quality which is one of the most crucial resources in the Niger Delta. The study uses existing oil spills data to show the areas and extent of oil pollution in the Niger Delta. Geospatial analysis was used to design an oil spill data base comprising the logical, physical, and conceptual data base design. Visio was used for the design of the entity relationship (ER) diagram of the study. The Kernel density and Getis-Ord G* statistic were used in GIS to map the oil spill areas in the region. Results of spatial spill distribution from the Kernel density and Getis-Ord G* statistic revealed that three states of the Niger Delta namely, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta states are the hottest spots for oil spill occurrences and distribution. The ER chart showed the relationships between the pollution sources, their pathways, and the receptors. The ER diagram developed could be of significance to environmentalists and other stakeholders in understanding the processes through which contaminants get to the various compartments of the earth system.

scholarly journals Soil characteristics constrain the response of bacterial and fungal communities and hydrocarbon degradation genes to phenanthrene soil contamination and phytoremediation with poplars

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Correa-García ◽  
Karelle Rheault ◽  
Julien Tremblay ◽  
Armand Séguin ◽  
Etienne Yergeau
Keyword(s):  
Soil Type ◽  
Contaminated Soils ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Its Region ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Contaminant Degradation ◽  
Real Time Quantitative Pcr ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Bacterial Genes

AbstractRhizodegradation is a promising cleanup technology where microorganisms degrade soil contaminants in the rhizosphere. A symbiotic relationship is expected to occur between plant roots and soil microorganisms in contaminated soils that enhance natural microbial degradation in soils. However, little is known about how this initial microbiota influences the rhizodegradation outcome in a context of different soil microbiotas. Recent studies have hinted that soil initial diversity has a determining effect on the outcome of contaminant degradation. To test this hypothesis, we planted (P) or not (NP) balsam poplars (Populus balsamifera) in two soils of contrasting diversity (agricultural and forest) that were contaminated or not with 50 mg kg-1 of phenanthrene (PHE). The DNA from the rhizosphere of the P and the bulk soil of the NP pots was extracted and the bacterial genes encoding for the 16S rRNA, the PAH ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase alpha subunits (PAH-RHDα) of gram-positive (GP) and gram-negative (GN) bacteria, and the fungal ITS region were sequenced to characterize the microbial communities. and the abundance of the PAH-RHDα genes were also quantified by real-time quantitative PCR. Plant presence had a significant effect on PHE degradation only in the forest soil, whereas both NP and P agricultural soils degraded the same amount of PHE. Bacterial communities were principally affected by the soil type, and upon contamination the dominant PAH degrading community was similarly constrained by soil type. Our results highlight the crucial importance of soil microbial and physicochemical characteristics in the outcome of rhizoremediation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document