Transfer Processes In Cohesive Sediment Systems

In the transfer of chemical species through the aquatic environment the association with fine sediment particles is often of crucial importance. The n~ture, permanence and kinetics of this association is, in many cases, unknown yet it is central to any effort concerned with predicting the pathways of pollutant transfer and the fluxes along them. It is often unclear to precisely what surface, if any, a pollutant is attached. The transfer of species between surfaces and solution may be chemically or biochemically controlled. These processes may take place within a host framework which has a time and space dependent structure. The natural straining of this framework resulting from physical and chemical processes moves porewater and the dissolved species in it. Thus, to adequately predict the natural transfer of species within a cohesive sediment system the physical, biochemical and chemical processes must be dynamically coupled. This informal colloquium examined topics relevant to the associ ation of pollutant and sediment. These included the mineral particle surfaces and the surrounding ionic associations, methods of describing the particles and the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological processes operating in association with fine sediment substrates. The physical processes of sediment transport were deliberately excluded.

The background for the Workshop on Cohesive Sediment Dynamics - . !!!!!. Special Reference to Physical Processes in Estuaries is briefly outlined in Chapter I. Here I wish to acknowledge those whose support I consider to be pivotal to this under taking. My deepest appreciation goes to Cynthia Vey, whose organizational skills and dedicated effort made the completion of this volume possible. Thanks are also due to Gail Terry for workshop organization, Jean Branson for word processing and Lillean Pieter for helping with drawings. Finally, I must express my sincere appreciation to Arthur Ezra 9f the National Science Foundation for providing support (through Grant No. CEE-8401185) for the workshop, and to Hsiang Wang for depart mental encouragement. With deepest regret, I must note the untimely death of Ranjan Ariathurai, 39, on June 5, 1985, before this volume could be published. He was a guiding force to many within the small group of researchers in cohesive sediment dynamics, and his professional brilliance and inspirational personal qualities constituted the true spirit . behind the workshop. I trust this volume will serve, albeit in a small way, as a fitting memory to this spirit, and to the remarkable professional contributions Ranjan made during his short career. Professor Ray B. Krone Professor Emmanuel Partheniades Department of Civil Engineering Department of Engineering Sciences University of California University of Florida Davis, California Gainesville, Florida TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION Ashish J. Mehta •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 II.

A. Rorsch Member of the TNO Board of Management Like all living creatures man has from the very outset influenced the environment. Initially, the traces of human activity were hardly noticeable and so were their effects on the equilibrium of the ecosystem as such. However, as soon as man learned how to use tools, he was able to influence his surroundings more drastically, and to proliferate more rapidly. As a matter of fact that is the time when things went wrong, because a process was started off which was to continue with ever-increasing speed and on an ever increasing scale. The present condition of nature as a result of the activities of mankind is generally known. Whether it is an accident with a nuclear plant or the vanishing of tropical rain forests, acid deposition or the pollution of soil, water and air, environmental disasters almost seem to be the order of the day. It is striking that with all these - more or less arbitrary - examples the provision of energy plays a role. In this respect one can add an even more important energy carrier to the list, namely: crude oil.

First published in 1992, Environmental Particles describes properties, roles, and methods for the characterization of environmental particles in air, water, sediment, and soil. This book emphasizes modern methods for sampling, instrumental characterization methods, and physical/chemical principles for describing the properties and roles of particles in the environment (particularly their influence on the transport of toxic compounds). It will be an excellent reference source for environmental chemists and physicists, limnologists, oceanographers, air and soil scientists, analytical chemists, environmental engineers, scientists involved in environmental protection, and students.

Large volumes of produced water are generated and discharged to the coastal and ocean waters worldwide from offshore oil and gas production facilities. There is concern that the chemicals in the produced water may harm marine ecosystems. This book summarizes the bioavailability and marine ecotoxicology of metal and organic contaminants that may occur in oil well produced water at concentrations significantly higher than those in ambient seawater. The contaminants of concern include arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, radium isotopes, zinc, monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, and bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate. The first part of the book is a detailed discussion of the chemical composition of produced water from offshore oil wells worldwide and its fates following discharge to the ocean. The remaining chapters of the book summarize the current scientific literature on the sources and distributions in the ocean of each of the contaminants of concern and their bioaccumulation and toxicity to marine organisms. This book will be of value to: environmental scientists in the oil and gas industry; marine toxicologists and ecological risk assessors in academia, government, and industry; government regulatory agencies concerned with marine environmental protection. The book advances the concept that bioavailability evaluation must be included in all ecological risk assessments and other environmental assessments of chemical contaminants in marine and freshwater ecosystems.

This book details three main topics: the screening and characterization of hydrocarbons from air, soil and water; technologies in the biodegradation of hydrocarbons; and the bioconversion of hydrocarbons for biofuel/chemicals, as well as recent developments in the remediation of hydrocarbons and their environmental benefits. The first section focuses on screening methods, qualitative and quantitative analysis of hydrocarbons from soil, air and water environments, speciation of hydrocarbons, and natural bioremediation strategies in such environments. The second section examines technologies for removing hydrocarbon contaminants from various environments, especially advanced technologies for the removal of hydrocarbons and in-situ and ex-situ remediation strategies and problems, as well as concrete case studies. The last section, covering the bioconversion of hydrocarbons for biofuel/chemicals, highlights the biochemicals and bioproducts developed from hydrocarbons, with a particular focus on biochemical and chemical technologies used to produce biopolymers, biofuel precursors and commodity chemicals from hydrocarbons.

An introduction to biological survey methods for estuaries and coasts.