Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2011 Oct;62(10):2170-80. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.07.002. Epub 2011 Aug 11.
Sinking of aggregated phytoplankton cells is a crucial mechanism for transporting carbon to the seafloor and benthic ecosystem, with such aggregates often scavenging particulate material from the water column as they sink. In the vicinity of drilling rigs used by the oil and gas industry, the concentration of particulate matter in the water column may at times be enriched as a result of the discharge of 'drill cuttings' - drilling waste material. This investigation exposed laboratory produced phytoplankton aggregates to drill cuttings of various composition (those containing no hydrocarbons from reservoir rocks and those with a <1% hydrocarbon content) and assessed the change in aggregate size, settling rate and resuspension behavior of these using resuspension chambers and settling cylinders. Results indicate that both settling velocity and seabed stress required to resuspend the aggregates are greater in aggregates exposed to drill cuttings, with these increases most significant in aggregates exposed to hydrocarbon containing drill cuttings.
聚集的浮游植物细胞下沉是将碳输送到底部海洋和海底生态系统的关键机制，在下沉过程中，这些聚集体经常从水柱中清除颗粒物质。在石油和天然气工业使用的钻井平台附近，由于“钻屑”（钻井废物）的排放，水柱中颗粒物的浓度有时会增加。本研究将实验室生产的浮游植物聚集体暴露于各种成分的钻屑中（那些不含储层岩石中烃类的钻屑和那些烃含量<1%的钻屑），并使用再悬浮室和沉降管评估这些钻屑对聚集体大小、沉降速率和再悬浮行为的变化。结果表明，暴露于钻屑中的聚集体的沉降速度和重新悬浮所需的海底应力都更大，在暴露于含烃钻屑中的聚集体中，这些增加最为显著。
