The article discusses the evolution and current state of transparency of environmental performance data in the Russian Oil and Gas sector. We build upon our first‐hand experience in a transparent, publicly available information and third‐party‐verified rating system. Based on 2014–16 successive annual ratings, we conclude that implementing “soft” responsibility mechanisms can improve environmental responsibility standards and transparency in the oil and gas industry. At the same time, in terms of improving environmental performance of oil and gas companies it is reasonable to assume an emerging trend. Its full realization will require (1) longer rating time, including that for public exposure to misleading environmental performance information and the use of poorly verified nonfinancial reporting; (2) application of independent analysis of satellite monitoring information to the professional audit and public verification of nonfinancial reporting; and (3) sophistication of guidelines for professional audit and public verification of nonfinancial reports.
Major (Al, Fe), minor (Mn), and trace (Li, Cu, Ni, Cr, Cd, Zn, Pb) metals along with nutrients (TOC, TON, TS, TP) and enzymatic activities were determined in 18 surface sediment and two soil samples collected in six small bays of the Karelian shore of Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea, Russian Arctic. The studied sediments tended to be marine, with a major input of organic matter from autochthonous sources. Marine organic material might be an important carrier of trace metals in the examined sediments. According to sediment quality guidelines, all tracemetal contents were below the threshold levels. The results of azocasein-trypsin tests also suggested no significant contamination of analysed sediments and soils. A comparison of the trace-metal contents in the sediments examined with those of the western Arctic shelf showed higher levels of Zn and Cr in the Karelian shore. Presumably these disparities were related to regional differences in sediment chemistries rather than to any enhanced pollution within the studied area. Both geochemical composition and enzymatic-activities patterns among sites studied are largely controlled by the sediment granulometry. The evolution of sediments in the restricted exchange environments under investigation is caused by depositional conditions, which are strongly affected by small-scale hydrodynamic processes specific for each particular area. The most vivid examples are separating basins, where the fine-grained sediments enriched in organic matter -and thus in nutrients and metals -are formed under calm hydrodynamic conditions enhanced by severely restricted water exchange.
[1] This paper investigates the dynamics of an internal hydraulic jump in a river plume and associated suspended sediment dispersal. Field investigations were undertaken into the river plume generated by the Herbert River, Australia, following a moderate flood event induced by Cyclone Fritz in 2004. The forced plume experiences an abrupt transition from supercritical to subcritical via an internal hydraulic jump, as defined by a mode-1 internal Froude number computed using the phase speeds from the TaylorGoldstein equation. The hydraulic theory of a two-layer stratified flow was used to identify the plume shape and the mechanical energy loss within the jump. The hydraulic jump energy loss is primarily transferred to the buoyancy-driven potential energy, uplifting the river plume. Intense stratification decreases the bottom stress, damping the resuspension. Therefore, a separative nepheloid dispersal system occurs at the jump section. Both the upper and lower nepheloid flows are confined to the inner shelf, but have different dispersal behaviors and mechanisms. The upper nepheloid flow, which is primarily controlled by advection and settling, satisfies an exponential decay law of the total suspended sediment concentrations versus the offshore distance. The lower nepheloid flow dominated by deposition is detached seaward near the lift-off point of the river plume. A turbidity front associated with the jump may accumulate a large quantity of suspended sediments, enhancing sediment release from the river plume. These findings will promote in-depth understanding of both the cross-shelf sediment dispersal and muddy deposit on the shelf.Citation: Wu, J., L. Ametistova, M. Heron, C. J. Lemckert, and P. Kalangi (2006), Finite dispersal of a separative nepheloid plume by an internal hydraulic jump in a tropical mountainous river estuary,
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