scholarly journals Are southern California oil and gas platforms essential fish habitat?

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. S266-S271 ◽  
Author(s):  
M HELVEY
Keyword(s):  
Southern California ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Essential Fish Habitat

scholarly journals Fish densities associated with structural elements of oil and gas platforms in southern California

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin L Meyer-Gutbrod ◽  
Li Kui ◽  
Mary M Nishimoto ◽  
Milton S Love ◽  
Donna M Schroeder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Artificial Reef ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Structural Element ◽  
Young Of The Year

There are thousands of offshore oil and gas platforms worldwide that will eventually become obsolete, and one popular decommissioning alternative is the "rigs to reefs" conversion that designates all or a portion of the underwater infrastructure as an artificial reef, thereby reducing the burden of infrastructure removal. The unique architecture of each platform may influence the size and structure of the associated fish assemblage if different structural elements form distinct habitats for fishes. Using scuba survey data from 11 southern California platforms from 1995 to 2000, we examined fish assemblages associated with structural elements of the structure, including the major horizontal crossbeams outside of the jacket, vertical jacket legs, and horizontal crossbeams that span the jacket interior. Patterns of habitat association were examined among three depth zones: shallow (<16.8 m), midwater (16.8–26 m), and deep (>26 m); and between two life stages: young- of-the-year and non-young-of-the-year. Fish densities tended to be greatest along horizontal beams spanning the jacket interior, relative to either horizontal or vertical beams along the jacket exterior, indicating that the position of the habitat within the overall structure is an important characteristic affecting fish habitat use. Fish densities were also higher in transects centered directly over a vertical or horizontal beam relative to transects that did not contain a structural element. These results contribute to the understanding of fish habitat use on existing artificial reefs, and can inform platform decommissioning decisions as well as the design of new offshore structures intended to increase fish production.

The Role of Oil and Gas Conductors as Fish Habitat at Two Southern California Offshore Platforms

2021 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milton S. Love ◽  
Scott Clark ◽  
Merit McCrea ◽  
Katelin Seeto ◽  
Conner Jainese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern California ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Offshore Platforms

Wave Propagation Versus Transient Ground Displacement as a Credible Hazard to Buried Oil and Gas Pipelines

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas G. Honegger
Keyword(s):  
Wave Propagation ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Ground Deformation ◽  
Gas Pipeline ◽  
Tensile Failure ◽  
Northridge Earthquake ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Permanent Ground Deformation

In 1997, a research project was initiated by Southern California Gas Company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, with support from Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, and Toho Gas, to investigate the cause of natural gas pipeline damage during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. As part of this research activity, extensive field and laboratory investigations were performed on a 1925 gas pipeline that suffered several girth weld failures in Potrero Canyon, a remote and unpopulated area just north of the Santa Susana Mountains. The pipeline is operated by the Southern California Gas Company, one of the principle sponsors of the gas utility research project. The investigations into the performance of the pipeline were largely prompted by questions regarding the cause of pipeline damage. Although ground cracking and sand boils were observed in Potrero Canyon following the Northridge earthquake, there were no clear signs of permanent ground deformation near the locations of pipeline damage. Pipeline damage, consisting predominantly of girth weld tensile failure and two instances of buckling of the pipe wall, indicated that significant relative pipe-soil deformation might have occurred. Field investigations were unable to identify surface evidence of permanent ground deformation near the locations of pipeline damage and attention focused on the possibility that the damage could have been caused by wave propagation. This focus was based on the assertions of past researchers that pipelines with poor-quality oxyacetylene girth welds are susceptible to damage from wave propagation. The detailed investigation of The pipeline has concluded that wave propagation was not a significant factor in the pipeline damage and raises questions regarding wave propagation effects as a causative mechanism for pipeline damage in past earthquakes. A simple analytical model of the transient ground deformation that may have occurred in the vicinity of the pipeline damage was found to provide insight into the cause of the ground cracking observed at the margins of Potrero Canyon, approximate magnitudes of differential ground displacements that may have occurred during the earthquake, and the reasons for the spatial distribution of pipeline damage. This model is proposed as the basis for identifying locations where similar earthquake effects can be identified in future hazard assessment studies.

scholarly journals An analysis of the sessile, structure-forming invertebrates living on California oil and gas platforms

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-596
Author(s):  
Milton S Love ◽  
Mary M Nishimoto ◽  
Linda Snook ◽  
Li Kui
Keyword(s):  
Southern California ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Lophelia Pertusa ◽  
The Family ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Invertebrate Assemblages

Using video transects of oil and gas platform crossbeams off central and southern California, we characterized the structure-forming invertebrates (with a height of at least 20 cm) found around 23 oil and gas platforms at depths between 20 and 363 m. We observed 20,357 individual invertebrates, comprising 19,800 Cnidaria and 557 Porifera of at least 15 species or species groups. Metridium farcimen (Brandt, 1835) was by far the most commonly observed cnidarian, forming 97.6% of all invertebrates catalogued. The alcyonacean, Leptogorgia chilensis (Verrill, 1868), and the scleractinian, Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758), were the most commonly observed corals. White vase sponges (most or all in the family Aphrocallistidae) were the most abundant of the sponges (comprising 38.4% observed). We also documented a variety of unidentified foliose, barrel, and other various-shaped sponges. The height of these invertebrates ranged from 20 to 80 cm. Taxa displayed a variety of depth patterns. Some, such as M. farcimen, unidentified white vase sponges, and L. pertusa, were found throughout most or all of the survey depth range, while others (notably the gorgonians L. chilensis, Placogorgia spp., and Acanthogorgia spp.) were found over a relatively narrow range. Invertebrate assemblages tended to be similar among many platforms reflecting species similarities over a broad range of platform depths. Based on these relationships, it is apparent that the assemblages of structure-forming invertebrates varied by depth rather than geography.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document