Sediment contaminant surveillance in Milford Haven Waterway

Little, David I.; Bullimore, Blaise; Galperin, Yakov; Langston, W.J.

doi:10.1007/s10661-015-5017-1

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Deeper in the cores the chemistry profiles reflected the former coal-and lime-burning industries, shipping, ship building, and World War II inputs. The STA helped to explain these patterns and in turn was vindicated by the chemistry data (Little, 2009;Little and McLaren, 1989).…”

Section: Sta and Pollutant Chronology In Mhwmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Ebb tide-dominated sediment coarsening and signs of erosion were seen on Pwllcrochan Flats. Equilibrium was observed in Angle Bay, with some evidence that fine sediment is being winnowed (Little and McLaren, 1989;McLaren and Little, 1987).…”

Section: Sta and Pollutant Chronology In Mhwmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the 1970s, the use of radiometric dating had been widely adopted for contemporary sediments, as illustrated above by the dating of unconsolidated sediment cores in MHW using Cs 137 and Pb 210 (Little and McLaren, 1989). Resulting chiefly from atmospheric tests of nuclear bombs, Cs 137 became detectable from 1953-54, and by identifying peak activities occurring in the 1960s, Cs 137 was used to date sediment and estimate sedimentation rates.…”

Section: Darwin Vs Thomsonmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Discussion of: McLaren, P., 2014. Sediment Trend Analysis (STA®): Kinematic vs. Dynamic Modeling. Journal of Coastal Research, 30(3), 429–437.

Little¹,

Bullimore

2015

Journal of Coastal Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The first sediment trend analysis (STA) in the United Kingdom was of Milford Haven Waterway, in 1987. Its findings and recommendations have since been tested intensively in terms of physical, chemical, and biological field data and have not been found wanting in the high profile of a major oil and gas port located in an internationally important conservation area. This discussion summarizes a wide range of multidisciplinary evidence that supports the STA method and conclusions. The STA kinematic approach has helped to generate falsifiable hypotheses for further research of the coastal and estuarine processes in the waterway. The results also provide a robust framework for monitoring and managing its environment. The approach could be used in combination with dynamic modeling but without necessarily waiting on a detailed understanding of all the variables. This simple philosophy is illustrated by McLaren's timely reminder of two historic debates in the Earth sciences: the age of the Earth and continental drift. Some additional thoughts on these classic struggles are provided.ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Biological impact, dredging, hydrocarbon fingerprint, Milford Haven monitoring, palaeomagnetism, pollution chronology, radiometric date, sediment profile imagery.

show abstract

Section: Sta and Pollutant Chronology In Mhwmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Sta and Pollutant Chronology In Mhwmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Darwin Vs Thomsonmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Discussion of: McLaren, P., 2014. Sediment Trend Analysis (STA®): Kinematic vs. Dynamic Modeling. Journal of Coastal Research, 30(3), 429–437.

Little¹,

Bullimore

2015

Journal of Coastal Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…From 1960, MHW has a long history of receiving industrial and municipal pollution from chronic inputs and accidental releases, although the volume of oil spilled, the spill rate and the chronic effluent inputs have continually declined. The inlet shows evidence of ne-grained sediment mobility affecting the fate and effects of oil and metal contaminants (Little, [1][2][3][4][5] and McLaren 6 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental forensics evaluation of sources of sediment hydrocarbon contamination in Milford Haven Waterway

Little¹,

Galperin

Bullimore

et al. 2015

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current and historic petroleum-related activities in Milford Haven Waterway (MHW; Wales, UK) contribute to hydrocarbon contamination of surficial sediments. Three main hydrocarbon components of sediments were analyzed: (1) aliphatic hydrocarbons of predominantly biogenic origin, representing about 5-15% of total hydrocarbons (THC); (2) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from recent petrogenic and mainly older pyrogenic sources, representing about 2-6% of THC; (3) unresolved complex mixture from spill-related and heavily-weathered petrogenic sources, representing as much as 70-85% of THC. Environmental forensics evaluation of the data demonstrate that although 72,000 tonnes (t) crude oil spilled from the Sea Empress in 1996, the Forties blend cargo was not identified in 2010. However, using biomarkers, heavy fuel oil (HFO) from Sea Empress' bunkers (480 t spilled) was detected further upstream and more widely than previously. Iranian crude (100 t) spilled by the El Omar in 1988 and fuel (130,000 t) lost during bombing in 1940 also were tentatively identified. The PAH source ratios demonstrate that the historic pyrogenic PAHs come mainly from biomass and coal combustion. The distribution pattern of PAHs appeared more pyrogenic in 2012 than in 1996, as if recovering from the more petrogenic signature, in places, of the Sea Empress. The heavier PAH distributions were pyrogenic at most stations, and similar to those in sediments from oil terminal berths up to 2006, when dredging operations peaked. Partly as a result of this, in 2007 the concentrations of PAHs peaked throughout the waterway. Apart from effluent, atmospheric and runoff inputs, most of the identified inputs to the surficial sediments are historic. Therefore, likely processes include disturbance by construction (e.g. pile-driving) and dredging of contaminants sequestered in sediments, followed by their wide redistribution via suspended sediment transport.

show abstract

“…In its capacity as a major oil port, it used to house up to four refineries, including associates jetties and pipelines. Although only one refinery is now in operation (Valero), there have been two new natural gas plants (Dragon LNG and South Hook LNG) that have been constructed (Little et al 2016).…”

Section: Study Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing understanding of kelp aquaculture in Wales: tests across multiple life stages and environmental contexts

Brandt¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sediment contaminant surveillance in Milford Haven Waterway

Cited by 6 publications

References 11 publications

Discussion of: McLaren, P., 2014. Sediment Trend Analysis (STA®): Kinematic vs. Dynamic Modeling. Journal of Coastal Research, 30(3), 429–437.

Discussion of: McLaren, P., 2014. Sediment Trend Analysis (STA®): Kinematic vs. Dynamic Modeling. Journal of Coastal Research, 30(3), 429–437.

Environmental forensics evaluation of sources of sediment hydrocarbon contamination in Milford Haven Waterway

Advancing understanding of kelp aquaculture in Wales: tests across multiple life stages and environmental contexts

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About