Deepwater Ports in California

In just three years (1977} the first trickle of Alaskan North Slope oil will arrive in California ports. By 1978, the trickle will grow to a flood supplying all· the requirements of our State with the excess piped to the Southwest United States. Other lowsulphur content oil is and will continue to be imported from Indonesia in deepdraft ships exceeding 260,000 deadweight tons. One oil company serving the Alaska-California route desires to build three ships of that tonnage. In time, other companies will follow as smaller ships age and are phased out in favor of the larger, more economical deepdraft vessels. Soon after the establishment of this Assembly Select Committee on Deepwater Ports, at least two such large ships arrived off the Channel Islands of Southern California, transferred their oil cargo at sea to smaller ships, and departed. By 1978, there will be at least one arrival daily. Yet, there is no port in the United States now capable of receiving these deepdraft vessels. Environmental-economic tradeoffs dictate that imported oil be delivered to refineries at the nearest point consistent with nautical safety and safeguards against oil spillages during transfer operations. The locations of existing refineries and siting of new required refineries, taken together with ocean depths, comprise the formula for judging optimum locations for bringing ashore in California millions of barrels of imported oil daily. Jurisdiction of California submerged tidal lands comes under the State Lands Commission, two constitutional officers elected statewide and the Director of Finance appointed by the Governor. Necessary permits for planned refinery sites are required by a. multitude of public agencies with similar, overlapping and duplicative social, environmental, and economic concerns

Deepwater Ports in California

In just three years (1977} the first trickle of Alaskan North Slope oil will arrive in California ports. By 1978, the trickle will grow to a flood supplying all· the requirements of our State with the excess piped to the Southwest United States. Other lowsulphur content oil is and will continue to be imported from Indonesia in deepdraft ships exceeding 260,000 deadweight tons. One oil company serving the Alaska-California route desires to build three ships of that tonnage. In time, other companies will follow as smaller ships age and are phased out in favor of the larger, more economical deepdraft vessels. Soon after the establishment of this Assembly Select Committee on Deepwater Ports, at least two such large ships arrived off the Channel Islands of Southern California, transferred their oil cargo at sea to smaller ships, and departed. By 1978, there will be at least one arrival daily. Yet, there is no port in the United States now capable of receiving these deepdraft vessels. Environmental-economic tradeoffs dictate that imported oil be delivered to refineries at the nearest point consistent with nautical safety and safeguards against oil spillages during transfer operations. The locations of existing refineries and siting of new required refineries, taken together with ocean depths, comprise the formula for judging optimum locations for bringing ashore in California millions of barrels of imported oil daily. Jurisdiction of California submerged tidal lands comes under the State Lands Commission, two constitutional officers elected statewide and the Director of Finance appointed by the Governor. Necessary permits for planned refinery sites are required by a. multitude of public agencies with similar, overlapping and duplicative social, environmental, and economic concerns

Modelling an integrated impact of fire, explosion and combustion products during transitional events caused by an accidental release of LNG

In a complex processing facility, there is likelihood of occurrence of cascading scenarios, i.e. hydrocarbon release, fire, explosion and dispersion of combustion products. The consequence of such scenarios, when combined, can be more severe than their individual impact. Hence, actual impact can be only representedby integration of above mentioned events. A novel methodology is proposed to model an evolving accident scenario during an incidental release of LNG in a complex processing facility. The methodology is applied to a case study considering transitional scenarios namely spill, pool formation and evaporation of LNG, dispersion of natural gas, and the consequent fire, explosion and dispersion of combustion products using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Probit functions are employed to analyze individual impacts and a ranking method is used to combine various impacts to identify risk during the transitional events.The results confirmed that in a large and complex facility, an LNG fire can transit to a vapor cloud explosion ifthe necessary conditions are met, i.e.the flammable range, ignition source with enough energy and congestion/confinement level. Therefore, the integrated consequences are more severe than those associated with the individual ones, and need to be properly assessed. This study would provide an insight for an effective analysis of potential consequences of an LNG spill in any LNG processing facility and it can be useful for the safety measured design of process facilities

Choosing best practices for managing impacts of trawl fishing on seabed habitats and biota

Bottom trawling accounts for almost one quarter of global fish landings but may also have significant and unwanted impacts on seabed habitats and biota. Management measures and voluntary industry actions can reduce these impacts, helping to meet sustainability objectives for fisheries, conservation and environmental management. These include changes in gear design and operation of trawls, spatial controls, impact quotas and effort controls. We review nine different measures and actions and use published studies anda simple conceptual model to evaluate and compare their performance. The risks and benefits of these management measures depend on the extent to which the fishery is already achieving management objectives for target stocks and the characteristics of the management system that is already in place. We offer guidance on identifying best practices for trawl-fisheries management and show that best practices and their likelihood of reducing trawling impacts depend on local, national and regional management objectives and priorities, societal values and resources for implementation. There is no universalbest practice, and multiple management measures and industry actions are required to meet sustainability objectives and improve trade-offs between food production and environmental protection

In situ fluorescence measurements of dissolved organic matter: a review

YesThere is a need for an inexpensive, reliable and fast monitoring tool to detect contaminants in a short time, for quick mitigation of pollution sources and site remediation, and for characterization of natural dissolved organic matter (DOM). Fluorescence spectroscopy has proven to be an excellent technique in quantifying aquatic DOM, from autochthonous, allochthonous or anthropogenic sources. This paper reviews the advances in in situ fluorescence measurements of DOM and pollutants in various water environments. Studies have demonstrated, using high temporal-frequency DOM fluorescence data, that marine autochthonous production of DOM is highly complex and that the allochthonous input of DOM from freshwater to marine water can be predicted. Furthermore, river measurement studies found a delayed fluorescence response of DOM following precipitation compared to turbidity and discharge, with various lags, depending on season, site and input of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration. In addition, research has shown that blue light fluorescence (λemission = 430–500 nm) can be a good proxy for DOC, in environments with terrestrial inputs, and ultraviolet fluorescence (λemission = UVA–320–400 nm) for biochemical oxygen demand, and also E. coli in environments with sanitation issues. The correction of raw fluorescence data improves the relationship between fluorescence intensity and these parameters. This review also presents the specific steps and parameters that must be considered before and during in situ fluorescence measurement session for a harmonized qualitative and quantitative protocol. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the research on in situ fluorescence are identified.Authors, E.M. Carstea and C.L. Popa, acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Research and Innovation, CNCS-UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2016-0646, within PNCDI III, project number 18N/2019, under the Core Program OPTRONICA VI, project number 19PFE/17.10.2018 and project number 152/2016, SMIS 108109