Skip Navigation

American Zoologist 1990 30(1):37-43; doi:10.1093/icb/30.1.37
© 1990 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by GIAMMONA, C. P.
Right arrow Articles by DARNELL, R. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Environmental Effects of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Program on Louisiana Continental Shelf Communities1

CHARLES P. GIAMMONA and REZNEAT M. DARNELL
Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University College Station, Texas 77843
Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University College Station, Texas 77843

In order to create solution cavities in coastal salt domes to store the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserves, it has been necessary to dispose of up to a million barrels of concentrated brine daily in coastal waters for several years. The natural system receiving this effluent is characterized by a variable hydrographic regime and high but variable standing crops of plankton, benthos and nekton. In the summer months the system is periodically stressed by stratification of the water column and bottom hypoxia. The brine effluent was found to remain near the bottom, achieve very rapid dilution, and impinge upon no more than 40 km2 of bottom. No demonstrable effects were noted on the sediments or phytoplankton populations, but effects were observed on the zooplankton, benthos, and nekton. The benthos displayed long-term cumulative impacts. Results of this study are examined to provide a basis for designing future impact studies in coastal waters.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.