Results of a Three Year Monitoring Programme on the Natural Recovery of Vegetation after the Erika Oil Spill: Lessons for Adapting Response Techniques

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 (1) ◽  
pp. 1155-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Poncet ◽  
Franck Laruelle ◽  
Rémy Ragot ◽  
Frederic Tintilier

ABSTRACT The Erika oil spill and the attendant cleaning operations it required have impacted almost every type of Breton shoreline, habitats and plant communities on shingle and sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, marshlands and dunes. The French Ministry of the Environment (Ministère de l'écologie et du développement durable) launched an impact assessment in 2000 on oil spill clean-up operations and the recovery of impacted vegetation via the «Réseau de suivi des conséquences écologiques et écotoxicologiques de la marée noire résultant du naufrage de l'Erika» (Monitoring network of the ecological and ecotoxicological consequences of the Erika oil spill). The Cedre and the Conservatoire Botanique National de Brest are dealing with the terrestrial vegetation program. Vegetation was surveyed in sixty locations where one hundred quadrates were recorded covering all vegetation types including all the degrees of oiling and the varying amounts of damage resulting from the removal of the HFO. A few examples of the oiled areas are discussed. The three year monitoring program shows a high degree of persistence of the HFO in uncleaned quadrates of a number of habitats. The FO 6 did no really serious damage in terms of mortality, vegetation cover and species composition. The survey illustrates how gentle manual oil removal techniques can enhance vegetation recovery within the space of a few years. It also exemplifies how some techniques have a very negative impact such as HWHP washing which only serves to delay recovery.

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 378
Author(s):  
Taeyong Kwon ◽  
Seongsim Yoon ◽  
Sanghoo Yoon

Uncertainty in the rainfall network can lead to mistakes in dam operation. Sudden increases in dam water levels due to rainfall uncertainty are a high disaster risk. In order to prevent these losses, it is necessary to configure an appropriate rainfall network that can effectively reflect the characteristics of the watershed. In this study, conditional entropy was used to calculate the uncertainty of the watershed using rainfall and radar data observed from 2018 to 2019 in the Goesan Dam and Hwacheon Dam watersheds. The results identified radar data suitable for the characteristics of the watershed and proposed a site for an additional rainfall gauge. It is also necessary to select the location of the additional rainfall gauged by limiting the points where smooth movement and installation, for example crossing national borders, are difficult. The proposed site emphasized accessibility and usability by leveraging road information and selecting a radar grid near the road. As a practice result, the uncertainty of precipitation in the Goesan and Hwacheon Dam watersheds could be decreased by 70.0% and 67.9%, respectively, when four and three additional gauge sites were installed without any restriction. When these were installed near to the road, with five and four additional gauge sites, the uncertainty in the Goesan Dam and Hwacheon Dam watersheds were reduced by up to 71.1%. Therefore, due to the high degree of uncertainty, it is necessary to measure precipitation. The operation of the rainfall gauge can provide a smooth site and configure an appropriate monitoring network.


Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Yiannis Panagopoulos ◽  
Anna Konstantinidou ◽  
Konstantinos Lazogiannis ◽  
Anastasios Papadopoulos ◽  
Elias Dimitriou

The monitoring of surface waters is of fundamental importance for their preservation under good quantitative and qualitative conditions, as it can facilitate the understanding of the actual status of water and indicate suitable management actions. Taking advantage of the experience gained from the coordination of the national water monitoring program in Greece and the available funding from two ongoing infrastructure projects, the Institute of Inland Waters of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research has developed the first homogeneous real-time network of automatic water monitoring across many Greek rivers. In this paper, its installation and maintenance procedures are presented with emphasis on the data quality checks, based on values range and variability tests, before their online publication and dissemination to end-users. Preliminary analyses revealed that the water pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) sensors and produced data need increased maintenance and quality checks respectively, compared to the more reliably recorded water stage, temperature (T) and electrical conductivity (EC). Moreover, the data dissemination platform and selected data visualization options are demonstrated and the need for both this platform and the monitoring network to be maintained and potentially expanded after the termination of the funding projects is highlighted.


Author(s):  
Виктор Геннадьевич Аковецкий ◽  
Алексей Викторович Афанасьев ◽  
Анжела Асхатовна Ильченко

Оценка геоэкологических рисков на объектах нефтегазового комплекса непосредственно связана с обеспечением безопасности территорий, на которых они расположены. Особенно тяжелые последствия воздействия на экологическое состояние территорий оказывают аварийные разливы нефти и нефтепродуктов. Решение данного класса задач требует оценки уровня аварийного разлива и его классификации с позиций возникновения чрезвычайной ситуации. В статье рассмотрена возможность замены традиционных визуальных методов оценки разливов на разработанные автоматизированные и автоматические способы, использующие для решения задач классификации материалов аэрокосмических съемок. Приведены результаты автоматической классификации изображений мониторинговых наблюдений, которые имели место при аварийном разливе дизельного топлива в г. Норильске, аварии танкера на морской акватории о. Маврикий и аварии сухопутного нефтепровода. Полученные результаты показали работоспособность разработанных методов и возможность их использования в задачах инвентаризации и паспортизации аварийных разливов нефти на суше и акваториях. Purpose. The aim of this work is to ensure the environmental safety of the territories where the accidental spills of oil and oil products have occurred. They have a significant negative impact on the environment of land and water areas. To minimize their impact and eliminate the consequences, an “emergency” regime is introduced in Russia. Depending on the level of the oil spill, it may cover both the territory of a separate facility and a region, and the entire state as a whole. Methods. Traditionally, an estimate of the level of a spill is determined based on the mass of the spilled oil through visual observations from aircraft or ground measurements at selected points. This approach does not allow an accurate assessment of the total area of pollution, the nature of pollution inside the oil slick, as well as the dynamics of its spread over time. To eliminate these limitations, it is proposed to use systems of aerospace monitoring observations and automatic measurements of oil slick parameters: area, composition and mass. To solve this problem, the method of “comparison with the reference standard” was used. Here, samples of color gradations of oil and oil product spill spots proposed in the Bonn Agreement of 2004 were prepared as reference standards. Results. The method was implemented using the experimental software complex AGIR-TM (Aerospace, Geoinformatics, Research, Risks-Technological Modules) which was developed at the Department of Geoecology of the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (NRU). During the experimental testing of this method, the work was carried out to assess the accidental spill in the following cases diesel fuel in Norilsk (2020), oil on a tanker in the water area of Mauritius (2020) and oil in an oil pipeline (2012, 2017). The method provides the localization of the area spills along with the color correction (normalization), classification of the composition of oil and oil products and the through account of the investigated processes. The work results in determination for the area of the oil and oil products spill, its composition and weight. Conclusions. The article shows the relevance of solving problems related to the problem of liquidation of emergency spills of oil and oil products at the facilities of the oil and gas complex. The main approaches to aerospace monitoring observations and automatic interpretation of spill parameters are considered. The proposed approach is based on the use of “digital twins” that implement the transition from manual (visual) to automated and automatic modes for determining the parameters of an oil spill: area, composition and mass. The results presented in the article showed the efficiency of the proposed method and the possibility of its use in the tasks of assessing geoecological risks associated with accidental spills of oil and oil products on land and in water areas.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Dass ◽  
M. A. Rawlins ◽  
J. S. Kimball ◽  
Y. Kim

Abstract. Terrestrial ecosystems of northern Eurasia are demonstrating an increasing gross primary productivity (GPP), yet few studies have provided definitive attribution for the changes. While prior studies point to increasing temperatures as the principle environmental control, influences from moisture and other factors are less clear. We assess how changes in temperature, precipitation, cloudiness, and forest fires individually contribute to changes in GPP derived from satellite data across northern Eurasia using a light-use- efficiency-based model, for the period 1982–2010. We find that annual satellite-derived GPP is most sensitive to the temperature, precipitation and cloudiness of summer, which is the peak of the growing season and also the period of the year when the GPP trend is maximum. Considering the regional median, the summer temperature explains as much as 37.7 % of the variation in annual GPP, while precipitation and cloudiness explain 20.7 and 19.3 %. Warming over the period analysed, even without a sustained increase in precipitation, led to a significant positive impact on GPP for 61.7 % of the region. However, a significant negative impact on GPP was also found, for 2.4 % of the region, primarily the dryer grasslands in the south-west of the study area. For this region, precipitation positively correlates with GPP, as does cloudiness. This shows that the south-western part of northern Eurasia is relatively more vulnerable to drought than other areas. While our results further advance the notion that air temperature is the dominant environmental control for recent GPP increases across northern Eurasia, the role of precipitation and cloudiness can not be ignored.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 540 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. G. O'Connor ◽  
C. M. Mulqueeny ◽  
P. S. Goodman

Fire pattern is predicted to vary across an African savanna in accordance with spatial variation in rainfall through its effects on fuel production, vegetation type (on account of differences in fuel load and in flammability), and distribution of herbivores (because of their effects on fuel load). These predictions were examined for the 23 651-ha Mkuzi Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, based on a 37-year data set. Fire return period varied from no occurrence to a fire every 1.76 years. Approximately 75% of the reserve experienced a fire approximately every 5 years, 25% every 4.1–2.2 years and less than 1% every 2 years on average. Fire return period decreased in relation to an increase in mean annual rainfall. For terrestrial vegetation types, median fire return periods decreased with increasing herbaceous biomass, from forest that did not burn to grasslands that burnt every 2.64 years. Fire was absent from some permanent wetlands but seasonal wetlands burnt every 5.29 years. Grazer biomass above 0.5 animal units ha–1 had a limiting influence on the maximum fire frequency of fire-prone vegetation types. The primary determinant of long-term spatial fire patterns is thus fuel load as determined by mean rainfall, vegetation type, and the effects of grazing herbivores.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-210
Author(s):  
Tatjana Ivanovic ◽  
Sonja Ivancevic ◽  
Milica Maricic

Contemporary research on disorders in modern-day work environment marks burnout among employees in different professions as an important disorder with serious consequences. Practice has shown that recruiters are one of the professions frequently facing burnout. The relationship between burnout, work engagement and turnover intention has often been investigated in the literature. However, even though scholars are increasingly interested in these relationships in other professions, there is a growing need for studies evaluating the relationship between the three concepts among human resource (HR) professionals, particularly recruiters. Having this in mind, the aim of this study is to identify, understand and examine the relationship between burnout, engagement and turnover intention of recruiters in Serbia. The data was collected using an online questionnaire within a sample of 100 recruiters in Serbia. Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was used for measuring burnout, UWES-9 for measuring work engagement and TIS-6 for measuring turnover intention. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for evaluating the relationships between burnout, turnover intention and work engagement. The results of the research showed that work engagement has a negative impact on burnout and that burnout has a positive impact on turnover intention, while the relationship between work engagement and turnover intention was not confirmed. The correlation analysis confirmed all three examined relationships. The results largely support the findings from the literature for other professions confirming that employees who suffer from a high degree of burnout are more likely to have a turnover intention. Finally, the implications of these results and recommendations for organizations and recruiters themselves to prevent and decrease burnout are discussed. The findings of this study can make a contribution to the specific academic literature on burnout among recruiters and initiate further research on this topic of high interest.


Author(s):  
Sergiy Tsviliy ◽  
Olga Korniienko

The article considers the theoretical principles and practical aspects of postcoronavirus recovery of business activity of domestic micro-companies in the hospitality region. The essential characteristics of the hospitality industry are determined on the basis of generalization of domestic and foreign experience. The modern realities of the hospitality sphere of the region are studied. A number of factors that have a negative impact on the microbusiness of the regional hospitality sector have been identified. The analysis of experience of functioning of microenterprises in the conditions of action of factors of pandemic COVID-19 is carried out. The structure of microbusiness of Zaporizhzhia region by types of economic activity is presented and its analysis for 2015-2019 is carried out. The grouping of micro-enterprises in terms of their integration into the sphere of hospitality of the region on the basis of their division by types of economic activity is made. The opinion of the owners of micro-enterprises with a high degree of integration into the hospitality sector of Zaporizhia region regarding the prospects of rapid recovery of business activity was studied and a fragment of the SWOT-analysis matrix was compiled based on the results of the questionnaire. Effective recommendations for the selection of a vector of postcoronavirus recovery of business activity of domestic micro-companies in the region, which provides for innovative development on the basis of a customer-oriented approach, have been developed. The substantial readiness of the microenterprise for postcoronavirus innovation is structured on the basis of mobilization of its potential according to the components of the profile of the internal environment: production, finance, marketing, personnel, management. It is concluded that the priority condition for ensuring the competitiveness of the regional hospitality sector in the postcoronavirus space is to take emergency measures to preserve the economic potential of micro-enterprises, development of their intellectual potential, entrepreneurial spirit and culture.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 277
Author(s):  
Mariano Morell Villalonga ◽  
Manuel Espino Infantes ◽  
Manel Grifoll Colls ◽  
Marc Mestres Ridge

Oil spill accidents during port operations are one of the main hydrocarbon pollution threats for coastal waters. Appropriate environmental risk assessment and pollution events management tools are needed to achieve sustainability and environmental protection in port activity. Recent developments in monitoring techniques and accurate meteo-oceanographic prediction systems have been implemented in many ports, providing tools for environmental management. A novel method based on meteo-oceanographic operational services, in conjunction with Monte Carlo experiments using an oil spill model, is implemented to perform probabilistic maps of potential pollution events. Tarragona port area was chosen as the study case for three reasons: it accommodates a hub of petrochemical industry, the availability of high-resolution wind and water current data, and previous studies at the area offer the possibility to check the results’ accuracy. The interpretation of the impact probability maps reveals a specific pattern explained by the mean hydrodynamic conditions and the energetic north-westerly wind conditions. The impact probability maps may enhance efficiency in the environmental management of port waters and nearby coastal areas, reducing the negative impact of pollutant discharges.


2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 937-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Alfred Schlacher ◽  
Andrew Holzheimer ◽  
Tim Stevens ◽  
David Rissik
Keyword(s):  

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Andrew Smith

The Gorgon Project will develop the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields, located in the Greater Gorgon area, about 130 km off the northwest coast of WA. It includes the construction of a 15 million tonne per annum (mtpa) LNG plant on Barrow Island and a domestic gas plant with the capacity to provide 300 terajoules per day to supply gas to WA. Barrow Island—where Gorgon will be located—is an internationally significant nature reserve and the site of Australia’s largest onshore operating oil field for the past 45 years. As a world-class example of environmental management, it has shown that conservation and development can successfully co-exist. Recognising the importance of Barrow Island’s conservation values, the terrestrial and subterranean environmental monitoring program encompasses key ecological elements on Barrow Island including birds, mammals, subterranean fauna, vegetation, and surface water and land forms. These elements are monitored in relation to the potential impact from environmental stressors identified during pre-construction environmental impact assessments. Here, the author describes the monitoring surveys conducted during the year as appropriate according to the element being considered. All surveys are executed using the Gorgon Project field mobilisation and deployment process, a stringent and dedicated system that ensures all essential health and safety processes are in place and adhered to. Each element is monitored for signs of positive or negative impact across Barrow Island with comparisons made between the pre-determined Terrestrial Disturbance Footprint (TDF) and areas outside of the TDF in which the Gorgon Project is committed to causing zero environmental harm. Statistical control charts and tiered response triggers based on standard deviations are used to inform management decisions about potential environmental effects attributable to the Gorgon Project. A continuous review process is in place to ensure all monitoring programs are scientifically robust and use up-to-date methodologies. Monitoring reports are used to assess the validity of each program and supplementary programs aimed at addressing gaps in existing knowledge are started as and when needed. A reporting framework is in place to ensure regulatory authorities are informed and collaborations are sought to advance overall understanding of the ecology and biology of Barrow Island fauna and flora. The Gorgon Project is operated by an Australian subsidiary of Chevron and is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (about 47%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417%).


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