Geology topics

Milton S. Love

Publications and source records attributed to Milton S. Love.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2022

Influence of offshore oil and gas structures on seascape ecological connectivity

Offshore platforms, subsea pipelines, wells and related fixed structures supporting the oil and gas (O&G) industry are prevalent in oceans across the globe, with many approaching the end of their operational life and requiring decommissioning. Although structures can possess high ecological diversity and productivity, information on how they interact with broader ecological processes remains unclear. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the role of O&G infrastructure in maintaining, altering or enhancing ecological connectivity with natural marine habitats. There is a paucity of studies on the subject with only 33 papers specifically targeting connectivity and O&G structures, although other studies provide important related information. Evidence for O&G structures facilitating vertical and horizontal seascape connectivity exists for larvae and mobile adult invertebrates, fish and megafauna; including threatened and commercially important species. The degree to which these structures represent a beneficial or detrimental net impact remains unclear, is complex and ultimately needs more research to determine the extent to which natural connectivity networks are conserved, enhanced or disrupted. We discuss the potential impacts of different decommissioning approaches on seascape connectivity and identify, through expert elicitation, critical knowledge gaps that, if addressed, may further inform decision making for the life cycle of O&G infrastructure, with relevance for other industries (e.g. renewables). The most highly ranked critical knowledge gap was a need to understand how O&G structures modify and influence the movement patterns of mobile species and dispersal stages of sessile marine species. Understanding how different decommissioning options affect species survival and movement was also highly ranked, as was understanding the extent to which O&G structures contribute to extending species distributions by providing rest stops, foraging habitat, and stepping stones. These questions could be addressed with further dedicated studies of animal movement in relation to structures using telemetry, molecular techniques and movement models. Our review and these priority questions provide a roadmap for advancing research needed to support evidence-based decision making for decommissioning O&G infrastructure.

Global Change Biology↗

USGS2020

Calibrating environmental DNA metabarcoding to conventional surveys for measuring fish species richness

The ability to properly identify species present in a landscape is foundational to ecology and essential for natural resource management and conservation. However, many species are often unaccounted for due to ineffective direct capture and visual surveys, especially in aquatic environments. Environmental DNA metabarcoding is an approach that overcomes low detection probabilities and should consequently enhance estimates of biodiversity and its proxy, species richness. Here, we synthesize 37 studies in natural aquatic systems to compare species richness estimates for bony fish between eDNA metabarcoding and conventional methods, such as nets, visual census, and electrofishing. In freshwater systems with fewer than 100 species, we found eDNA metabarcoding detected more species than conventional methods. Using multiple genetic markers further increased species richness estimates with eDNA metabarcoding. For more diverse freshwater systems and across marine systems, eDNA metabarcoding reported similar values of species richness to conventional methods; however, more studies are needed in these environments to better evaluate relative performance. In systems with greater biodiversity, eDNA metabarcoding will require more populated reference databases, increased sampling effort, and multi-marker assays to ensure robust species richness estimates to further validate the approach. eDNA metabarcoding is reliable and provides a path for broader biodiversity assessments that can outperform conventional methods for estimating species richness.

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution↗

USGS2013

Comparison of aliphatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenylethers, and organochlorine pesticides in Pacific sanddab (Citharichthys sordidus) from offshore oil platforms and natural reefs along the California coast

Recently, the relative exposure of Pacific sanddab ( Citharichthys sordidus ) to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at oil-production platforms was reported, indicating negligible exposure to PAHs and no discernible differences between exposures at platforms and nearby natural areas sites. In this report, the potential for chronic PAH exposure in fish is reported, by measurement of recalcitrant, higher molecular weight PAHs in tissues of fish previously investigated for PAH metabolites in bile. A total of 34 PAHs (20 PAHs, 11 alkylated PAHs, and 3 polycyclic aromatic thiophenes) were targeted. In addition, legacy contaminants—polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs),—and current contaminants, polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) linked to endocrine disruption, were measured by gas chromatography with electron-capture or mass spectrometric detection, to form a more complete picture of the contaminant-related status of fishes at oil production platforms in the Southern California Bight. No hydrocarbon profiles or unresolved complex hydrocarbon background were found in fish from platforms and from natural areas, and concentrations of aliphatics were low less than 100 nanograms per gram (ng/g) per component]. Total-PAH concentrations in fish ranged from 15 to 37 ng/g at natural areas and from 8.7 to 22 ng/g at platforms. Profiles of PAHs were similar at all natural and platform sites, consisting mainly of naphthalene and methylnaphthalenes, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene. Total-PCB concentrations (excluding non-ortho-chloro-substituted congeners) in fish were low, ranging from 7 to 22 ng/g at natural areas and from 10 to 35 ng/g at platforms. About 50 percent of the total-PCBs at all sites consisted of 11 congeners: 153 > 138/163/164 > 110 > 118 > 15 > 99 > 187 > 149 > 180. Most OCPs, except dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)-related compounds, were not detectable or were at concentrations of less than 1 ng/g in fish. p,p′ -dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane ( p,p′ -DDE) ranged from 5.6 to 33 ng/g at natural areas and from 17 to 76 ng/g at platforms, and comprised greater than 90 percent of the total-DDT concentrations at all sites. The only detectable PBDE congeners were PBDE-47 and PBDE-100, the total concentrations of which ranged from 0.4 to 1.8 ng/g at natural areas and from 0.5 to 3.0 ng/g at platforms. Total-PAH, -PCB, and -DDT concentrations were compared with other Southern California Bight studies involving shoreline mussel, ( Mytilus Species, Kimbrough and others, 2008) and near shore sampling (Pacific sanddab, Schiff and Allen, 2000). At corresponding sites, only total-PCB concentrations agreed well with results from this study; total-DDT concentrations were generally much lower than concentrations documented in previous studies for samples collected nearer to shore by sewage treatment outfalls or 14 years earlier or closer in time to when DDT production was halted (1970). Natural areas and platforms in the Bight do not appear to be affected by harbor or urban pollution. Platforms were no more polluted than the nearby natural areas, with these locations exhibiting only low concentrations of PAHs, PCBs, DDTs, and other contaminants.

California↗

USGS2013

Whole-body concentrations of elements in three fish species from offshore oil platforms and natural areas in the Southern California Bight, USA

There is concern that offshore oil platforms off Southern California may be contributing to environmental contaminants accumulated by marine fishes. To examine this possibility, 18 kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus Girard, 1854), 80 kelp rockfish (Sebastes atrovirens Jordan and Gilbert, 1880), and 98 Pacific sanddab (Citharichthys sordidus Girard, 1854) were collected from five offshore oil platforms and 10 natural areas during 2005–2006 for whole-body analysis of 63 elements. Forty-two elements were excluded from statistical comparisons as they (1) consisted of major cations that were unlikely to accumulate to potentially toxic concentrations; (2) were not detected by the analytical procedures; or (3) were detected at concentrations too low to yield reliable quantitative measurements. The remaining 21 elements consisted of aluminum, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gallium, iron, lead, lithium, manganese, mercury, nickel, rubidium, selenium, strontium, tin, titanium, vanadium, and zinc. Statistical comparisons of these elements indicated that none consistently exhibited higher concentrations at oil platforms than at natural areas. However, the concentrations of copper, selenium, titanium, and vanadium in Pacific sanddab were unusual because small individuals exhibited either no differences between oil platforms and natural areas or significantly lower concentrations at oil platforms than at natural areas, whereas large individuals exhibited significantly higher concentrations at oil platforms than at natural areas.

California↗

USGS2012

Comparison of concentrations and profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites in bile of fishes from offshore oil platforms and natural reefs along the California coast

To determine the environmental consequences of decommissioning offshore oil platforms on local and regional fish populations, contaminant loads in reproducing adults were investigated at seven platform sites and adjacent, natural sites. Specimens of three species (Pacific sanddab, Citharichthys sordidus ; kelp rockfish, Sebastes atrovirens ; and kelp bass, Paralabrax clathratus ) residing at platforms and representing the regional background within the Santa Barbara Channel and within the San Pedro Basin were collected. Some of the most important contaminant classes related to oil operations are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) because of their potential toxicity and carcinogenicity. However, acute exposure cannot be related directly to PAH tissue concentrations because of rapid metabolism of the parent chemicals in fish; therefore, PAH metabolites in bile were measured, targeting free hydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs) liberated by enzymatic hydrolysis of the bound PAH glucuronides and sulfates. An ion-pairing method was developed for confirmatory analysis that targeted PAH glucuronides and sulfates. Concentrations of hydroxylated PAHs in all samples (76 fish from platforms and 64 fish from natural sites) were low, ranging from less than the limits of detection (5 to 120 nanograms per milliliter bile; 0.03 to 42 nanograms per milligram protein) to a maximum of 320 nanograms per milliliter bile (32 nanograms per milligram protein). A previously proposed dosimeter of PAH exposure in fish, 1-hydroxypyrene, was not detected at any platform site. Low concentrations of 1-hydroxypyrene were detected in 3 of 12 kelp rockfish collected from a natural reef site off Santa Barbara. The most prevalent OH-PAH, 2-hydroxyfluorene, was detected at low concentrations in seven fish of various species; of these, four were from two of the seven platform sites. The greatest concentrations of 2-hydroxyfluorene were found in three fish of various species from Platform Holly and were only about threefold above low, yet quantifiable, concentrations found in three fish from Horseshoe Reef, East Anacapa Island, and Coche Point natural sites; the mean concentrations among all sampling sites were not measurably different.

California↗

USGS2005

Resource inventory of marine and estuarine fishes of the West Coast and Alaska: A checklist of North Pacific and Arctic Ocean species from Baja California to the Alaska - Yukon border

This is a comprehensive inventory of the fish species recorded in marine and estuarine waters between the Alaska–Yukon Territory border in the Beaufort Sea and Cabo San Lucas at the southern end of Baja California and out about 300 miles from shore. Our westernmost range includes the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. In addition, we have also included our best impressions of the species that might reasonably be expected to be members of the West Coast ichthyofauna but have not yet been captured or reported within our study area. These species are marked with an asterisk (*) and have been reported (1) in the western Bering Sea; (2) off Canada’s Yukon Territory and adjacent portions of the Northwest Territories; (3) along the southern-eastern tip (non-Pacific side) of Baja California; and (4) in waters somewhat beyond 300 miles from shore. Although the term West Coast usually refers to the coast of the continuous western states, our usage herein means the entire study area. The West Coast inventory within this range encompasses fish fauna from 44 orders, 232 families, and a minimum of 1,450 species. Please note that introduced and invasive fish species are marked by double asterisks (**) and that their scientific names are highlighted in gray. We have compiled this document because the most geographically inclusive previous inventories (Jordan and Evermann 1896a, Jordan et al. 1930) are largely of historical interest and are out of date. More recent lists and compilations have either focused on relatively narrow taxonomic groups (e. g., Kramer et al. 1995, Love et al. 2002), are regional in scope (e. g., Hart 1973, Hubbs et al. 1979, Mecklenburg et al. 2002), or focus on commonly observed species (e. g., Miller and Lea 1972, Eschmeyer and Herald 1983). With the explosion of coastal research and environmental assessments, beginning in the 1970s, and more recently, renewed scientific interest in biodiversity (e.g., effects of global climate change), our own studies on related subjects regarding fish populations, assemblages, and biological habitats, suggested this was the appropriate time to update and summarize our knowledge.

Report↗

USGS2004

Ecological and political issues surrounding decommissioning of offshore oil facilities in the Southern California Bight

To aid legislators, resource managers, and the general public, this paper summarizes and clarifies some of the issues and options that the federal government and the state of California face in decommissioning offshore oil and gas production platforms, particularly as these relate to platform ecology. Both local marine ecology and political climate play a role in decommissioning offshore oil production platforms. Compared to the relatively supportive political climate in the Gulf of Mexico for “rigs-to-reefs” programs, conflicting social values among stakeholders in Southern California increases the need for understanding ecological impacts of various decommissioning alternatives (which range from total removal to allowing some or all of platform structure to remain in the ocean). Additional scientific needs in the decommissioning process include further assessment of platform habitat quality, estimation of regional impacts of decommissioning alternatives to marine populations, and determination of biological effects of any residual contaminants. The principal management need is a ranking of environmental priorities (e.g. species-of-interest and marine habitats). Because considerable numbers of economically important species reside near oil platforms, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries should consider the consequences of decommissioning alternatives in their overall management plans. Management strategies could include designating reefed platforms as marine protected areas. The overarching conclusion from both ecological and political perspectives is that decommissioning decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis.

Ocean and Coastal Management↗