Study of biological processes on the US mid-Atlantic Slope and rise. Volume 2. Final report, Report. for March 1984-March 1986

Technical Report · Tue Dec 15 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5328410

Maciolek, N; Grassle, J F; Hecker, B; Boehm, P D; Brown, B

Box core samples were collected at 14 stations as part of a monitoring program to evaluate potential effects of exploratory drilling in water depths of 1500 and 2100 m. The box core samples were analyzed for benthic infauna, hydrocarbons, sediment grain size, and total organic carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Benthic infaunal diversity was high at all stations on all sampling dates. As a group, the shallower (1515-1613 m) stations were more diverse than the deeper stations. Species composition and abundance was homogeneous at depths of 2020 to 2195 m along a 176-km transect. Changes in diversity or similarity among stations over time could be explained by changes in the densities of a few dominant species, and were often related to differences in sediment texture, rather than drilling activities.

• Research Organization: Battelle Ocean Sciences, Duxbury, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5328410
• Report Number(s): PB-88-183090/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
020900 -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
520100 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ABUNDANCE
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BENTHOS
CARBON
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
CONTINENTAL SLOPE
DOCUMENT TYPES
DRILLING
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN
MINERAL RESOURCES
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
OFFSHORE DRILLING
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PARTICLE SIZE
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
POLLUTION
PROGRESS REPORT
RESOURCES
SEAS
SEDIMENTS
SIZE
SPECIES DIVERSITY
SURFACE WATERS
TEXTURE
WATER POLLUTION