No abstract

Saline minerals are widely distributed in Spain, particularly in the eastern half of the country. Deposits are in rocks of the Triassic-Early Liassic, late Eocene-Oligocene, and Miocene. Although saline minerals occur in Permian rocks, they are not as well developed as they are in the Permian of northern Europe. The principal deposits are in the Keuper and occur over much of eastern Spain. Rock salt occurs extensively in the subsurface Keuper; outcrops consist of gypsum and marl.The Keuper salt forms salt chimneys or salt domes in the Cantabric trough. Fourteen intrusions are known, and they involve a large volume of sedimentary rock. Original salt movement is believed to be due to gravitational tectonics, later modified by the Hercynian and other orogenies. Salt domes also are known in Andalusia and in the Betic chains. The Keuper also provided the lubricant for gliding and intense folding in the Pyrenees. The salt domes of the Cantabric trough rise through 7000 m or more of sedimentary rocks and are in places exposed, providing spectacular exhibits of diapiric folds.The saline deposits have been extensively exploited for rock salt and brine. Potassium salts and sodium sulphate also have been recovered in limited amounts.

No abstract

Slurry oils are one of the few groups of oils that have a density greater than full salinity seawater. Slurry spills at sea are rare, but when they do occur, the response can be difficult, with low final recovery rates. Oil spill response planning and recovery techniques have been refined over many years and the research and development of most methods has been underpinned by the principle that oil floats on water. This recent case study provides an example of the behavior of a slurry spill and the subsequent response operations. A leak of an API gravity 4° slurry occurred from a submarine pipeline in Quintero Bay, Chile, on 14th May 2016. The oil sank to the adjacent sea bed and covered an area of approximately 10,000 m2 in water depths of 18–22 m. The initial response involved over 20 dry-suit divers with surface air to recover the oil with vacuum hoses. These were then supplemented by four diver-operated vacuum dredges. Fortunately weak bottom currents did not redistribute the oil; nevertheless “sea bed booms” were deployed around the perimeter to prevent migration. These “booms” were initially a screen mesh that was later supplemented by sturdier metal frame screens deployed around the zone of the sunken oil in a zigzag configuration. Baseline benthic sediment samples were collected from the adjacent unaffected area and subsequently from the treatment area after completion of operations. A benthic SCUBA SCAT survey using a track-line positioning system was conducted to systematically document the distribution of the oil and post-treatment systematic ROV survey ensured that the end-point oiling conditions had been achieved.