Observed foundation behaviour of concrete gravity platforms installed in the North Sea 1973–1978

Available measurements of foundation behaviour of the 13 concrete gravity platforms installed in the North Sea in the years 1973–1978 are presented. The measurements cover both the installation phase and the early part of the operation period. For the installation phase, measurements of dowel and skirt penetration resistance, base contact stresses, tilt, piping and erosion, are presented. For the operation period, the presentation includes measurements of settlements, pore water pressures, base contact stresses, permanent lateral displacements, cyclic displacements, dynamic behaviour and erosion. The measurements are used to back calculate soil properties and to evaluate the adequacy of the design procedures which have been used. The observations give valuable experience with respect to the foundation performance of offshore gravity platforms.     

Exposure of phytoplankton to ekofisk crude oil

Solutions of Ekofisk crude oil in sea water were prepared by slow stirring for 21h in a closed system. Headspace and GC/MS techniques were applied to establish dose composition and levels. The standardized test medium produced in a closed system contained approximately 14 mg oil per litre and was dominated by low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons and phenols.The toxicity of the standarized oil-containing medium to three marine diatoms was studied in a cage culture turbidostat and by conventional batch culture technique. The three algal species differed in sensitivity to the oil compounds, but showed identical ranking in both test systems.Standardized test medium diluted to 50% with respect to oil content stopped the growth of the most sensitive alga, Skeletonema costatum. For comparison naphthalene was applied and gave 50 % growth reduction at a concentration of 400 μg litre^?1. The growth of Chaetoceros ceratosporum was only slighty affected by the full strength standard test medium, which had no influence on the growth of Phaeodactylum tricornutum, the least sensitive organism. The presence of an oil layer on the surface of the standard test medium during the growth test greatly increased its toxicity and blocked completely the photosynthesis even of P. tricornutum after 4 days.     

Evolution of metamorphic volatiles during exhumation of microdiamond-bearing granulites in the Western Gneiss Region, Norway

Fluid inclusions in garnet, kyanite and quartz from microdiamond-bearing granulites in the Western Gneiss Region, Norway, document a conspicuous fluid evolution as the rocks were exhumed following Caledonian high- and ultrahigh-pressure (HP–UHP) metamorphism. The most important of the various fluid mixtures and daughter minerals in these rocks are: (N₂ + CO₂ + magnesian calcite), (N₂ + CO₂ + CH₄ + graphite + magnesian calcite), (N₂ + CH₄), (N₂ + CH₄ + H₂O), (CO₂) and (H₂O + NaCl + CaCl₂ + nahcolite). Rutile also occurs in the N₂ + CO₂ inclusions as a product of titanium diffusion from the garnet host into the fluid inclusions. Volatiles composed of N₂ + CO₂ + magnesian calcite characterise the ambient metamorphic environment between HP–UHP (peak) and early retrograde metamorphism. During progressive decompression, the mole fraction of N₂ increased in the fluid mixtures; as amphibolite-facies conditions were reached, CH₄ and later, H₂O, appeared in the fluids, concomitant with the disappearance of CO₂ and magnesian calcite. Graphite is ubiquitous in the host lithologies and fluid inclusions. Thermodynamic modelling of the metamorphic volatiles in a graphite-buffered C-O-H system demonstrates that the observed metamorphic volatile evolution was attainable only if the f _O2 increased from c. −3.5 (±0.3) to −0.8 (±0.3) log units relative to the FMQ oxygen buffer. External introduction of oxidising aqueous solutions along a system of interconnected ductile shear zones adequately explains the dramatic increase in the f _O2. The oxidising fluids introduced during exhumation were likely derived from dehydration of oceanic crust and continental sediments previously subducted during an extended period of continental collision in conjunction with the Caledonian orogeny. Received: 15 December 1997 / Accepted: 25 May 1998     

Experimental investigation of the critical ionization velocity in gas mixtures

The critical ionization velocity which is of cosmogonic and astrophysical interest has hitherto mainly been investigated for pure gases. Since in space we always have gas mixtures, it is of interest also to study gas mixtures. The present report, which is a summary of a more detailed report (Axnäs, 1976), summarizes the results of systematic experiments on the critical ionization velocity as a function of the mixing ratio for binary gas mixtures of H₂, He, N₂, O₂, Ne and Ar. The apparatus used is a coaxial plasma gun with an azimuthal magnetic field. The discharge parameters are chosen so that the plasma is weakly ionized. In some of the mixtures it is found that one of the components tends to dominate in the sense that only a small amount (regarding volume) of that component is needed for the discharge to adopt a limiting velocity close to that for the pure component. Thus in a mixture between a heavy and a light component having nearly equal ionization potentials, the heavy component dominates. Also, if there is a considerable difference in ionization potential between the components, the component with the lowest ionization potential tends to dominate.Paper dedicated to Professor Hannes Alfvén on the occasion of his 70th birthday, 30 May, 1978.     

Reprint of “Seasonal and daily variation of mercury evasion at coastal and off shore sites from the Mediterranean Sea”

Dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) was measured continuously using two newly developed techniques and a manual technique. The continuous techniques were based on the equilibrium between the aqueous and gaseous phase (DGM = Hg_extr / H', Hg_extr is the measured mercury concentration in the gas phase, H' is the Henry's Law coefficient at the desired temperature). In order to calculate the annual mercury evasion from the Mediterranean Sea, diurnal and seasonal measurements of DGM, total gaseous mercury in air (TGM), water temperature and wind speed were performed. During August 2003, March–April 2004 and October–November 2004 measurements of these parameters were conducted on board the RV Urania. The continuous measurements of DGM showed a diurnal variation in concentration, at both coastal and off shore sites, with higher concentrations during daytime than nighttime. The concentration difference could be as large as 130 fM between day and night. The degree of saturation was calculated directly from the measurements, S = Hg_extr / TGM and was found to vary between the different seasons. The highest average degree of saturation (850%) and the largest variation in saturation (600–1150%) was observed during the summer. The spring showed the lowest variation (260–360%) and the lowest average degree of saturation (320%). The autumn also showed a large variation in saturation (500–1070%) but a lower average (740%) compared to the summer cruise. This might be explained by the temperature difference between the different seasons, since that parameter varied the most. The flux from the sea surface was calculated using the gas exchange model developed by Nightingale et al. [Nightingale, P.D., Malin, G., Law, C.S., Watson, A.J., Liss, P.S., Liddicoat, M.I., Boutin, J., Upstill-Goddard, R. C., 2000. In situ evaluation of air–sea gas exchange parameterization using novel conservative and volatile tracers. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 14(1):373–387]. The evasion varied between the different seasons with the highest evasion during the autumn, 24.6 pmol m^− 2 h^− 1. The summer value was estimated to 22.3 pmol m^− 2 h^− 1 and the spring to 7.6 pmol m^− 2 h^− 1. Using this data the yearly evasion from the Mediterranean Sea surface was estimated to 77 tons.     

Intelligent ship traffic monitoring for oil spill prevention: risk based decision support building on AIS

The paper describes a model, which estimates the risk levels of individual crude oil tankers. The intended use of the model, which is ready for trial implementation at The Norwegian Coastal Administrations new Vard? VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) centre, is to facilitate the comparison of ships and to support a risk based decision on which ships to focus attention on. For a VTS operator, tasked with monitoring hundreds of ships, this is a valuable decision support tool. The model answers the question, "Which ships are likely to produce an oil spill accident, and how much is it likely to spill?".     

Prevention of oil spill from shipping by modelling of dynamic risk

This paper presents a new dynamic environmental risk model, with intended use within a new, dynamical approach for risk based ship traffic prioritisation. The philosophy behind this newly developed approach is that shipping risk can be reduced by directing efforts towards ships and areas that have been identified as high priority (high risk), prior to a potential accident. The risk model proposed in this paper separates itself from previous models by drawing on available information on dynamic factors and by focusing on the ship's surroundings. The model estimates the environmental risk of drift grounding accidents for oil tankers in real time and in forecast mode, combining the probability of grounding with oil spill impact on the coastline. Results show that the inherent dynamic risk introduced by an oil tanker sailing along the North Norwegian coast depends, not surprisingly, significantly upon wind and ocean currents, as well as tug position and cargo oil type. Results of this study indicate that the risk model is well suited for real time risk assessment, and effectively separates low risk and high risk situations. The model is well suited as a tool to prioritise oil tankers and coastal segments. This enables dynamic risk based positioning of tugs, using both real-time and projected risk, for effective support in case of a drifting ship situation.