Proximate measurements of acoustic emissions associated with the installation and operation of an exploration jack-up drilling-rig in the North Sea (PDF)
Little is known about localized, near-field soundscapes during offshore hydrocarbon drilling campaigns. In the Dogger Bank, North Sea, underwater noise recordings were made 41–60 m from the drill stem of the Noble Kolskaya jack-up exploration drilling rig. The aims were to document noise received levels (RLs) and frequency characteristics of rig-associated near-field noise. The rig […]
Underwater visual records of marine megafauna around offshore anthropogenic structures (PDF)
In oceans and seas worldwide, an increasing number of end-of-life anthropogenic offshore structures (e.g., platforms, pipelines, manifolds, windfarms, etc.) are facing full or partial removal. As part of the decommissioning process, studies on potential importance of subsea infrastructure to marine megafauna (defined as: cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, large fish – such as sharks, rays, billfishes, and […]
Enhancing the global scientific value of industry remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) (PDF)
Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are used extensively by the offshore oil and gas and renewables industries for inspection, maintenance, and repair of their infrastructure. With thousands of subsea structures monitored across the world’s oceans from the shallows to depths greater than 1,000 m, there is a great and underutilized opportunity for their scientific use. Through […]
Editorial: Seafloor Heterogeneity: Artificial Structures and Marine Ecosystem Dynamics (PDF)
Some of the most productives and biodiverse communities occur on “reefs” (Birkeland, 2015). Many species benefit from physical presence of habitat-forming reefs which provide complex three-dimensional hard substrates and a greater number of ecological niches (Loke et al., 2015). Although reefs are often exemplified by “corals,” they also include other seafloor features such as biogenic […]
Presentation of binning-based inter-click interval data from passive acoustic monitoring of free-ranging harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) (PDF)
C-PODs are used for Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) at an offshore open sea location in the German North Sea. Diel patterns of echolocation click trains are extracted from minimum inter-click interval (minICI) data by binning. The aim of this study is to reassess and refine minICI ranges of click train […]
Assessing the Cadmium Effects on the Benthic Foraminifer Ammonia cf. parkinsoniana: An Acute Toxicity Test (PDF)
Heavy metals are one of the most hazardous pollutants in marine environments because of their bioaccumulation and biomagnification capabilities. Among them, cadmium (Cd) has been considered as one of the most dangerous for marine organisms. Here we incubated Ammonia cf. parkinsoniana specimens, a benthic foraminiferal taxon used in previous experiments, for up to 48 h […]
Characterizing the first wave of fish and invertebrate colonization on a new offshore petroleum platform (PDF)
Offshore Oil & Gas (O&G) infrastructure creates artificial reef complexes that support marine communities in oceans. No studies have characterized the first wave of colonization, which can reveal information about habitat attraction and ecological connectivity. Here we used opportunistically-collected industrial Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to investigate fish and invertebrate colonization on a new North Sea […]
