Socio-economic and environmental inventory of the North Atlantic Region including the outer continental shelf and adjacent waters from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to Bay of Fundy. Volume 1. Executive summary. Final report

Technical Report · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1974

OSTI ID:5386056

Maciolek-Blake, N; Grassle, J F; Neff, J M

Concerns about the potential effects of oil- and gas-exploration activities on Georges Bank led to the initiation of a monitoring program in July 1981. The program included sampling of the benthic communities near, upcurrent, and downcurrent of the drilling rigs, analysis of bottom photographs for epifauna and microtopography, trawl collections, total organic carbon, and sediment grain size analysis. Six replicate samples were collected with a 0.04 sq m Van Veen grab sampler at 46 stations on a seasonal basis. Twenty-nine stations were positioned in a tight radial array around a rig at 80 m. A second group of three stations were near a rig site at 140 m. The remaining stations covered a broad expanse of the Bank and nearby areas of potential deposition of drilling materials. Additional aspects of this program included a detailed life-history analysis of 23 dominant species, and a study which linked fish feeding with benthic production. Bottom photographs revealed depth-related patterns of microtopography and confirmed the patchy distribution of the sand dollar, Echinarachnius parma, as documented from the grab samples. Eight dry wells were drilled to date in the Lease Sale 42 area. No biological impacts that could be attributed to drilling activities were detected at any station.

• Research Organization: Battelle New England Marine Research Lab., Duxbury, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5386056
• Report Number(s): PB-89-232219/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
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AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BENTHOS
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
CONTINENTAL SHELF
DOCUMENT TYPES
DRILLING
ENDANGERED SPECIES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
EXPLORATION
FEDERAL REGION I
FISHERIES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEORGES BANK
HABITAT
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LEASING
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NORTH AMERICA
OFFSHORE DRILLING
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PHOTOGRAPHY
PROGRESS REPORT
RESOURCES
SEAS
SEDIMENTS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
SURFACE WATERS
USA