4 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Long-Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks, 1996-1997
A summary of the long-term observation of the delicate Flower Garden Banks coral reef ecosyste
Recommended from our members
Long-Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 1998-1999
A continuation of the long-term monitoring of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary coral reef habitats, using a variety of methods to asses the changes in said reef communities
Recommended from our members
Long-Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 1998-2001: Final Report
An update of Texas A&M and Continental Shelf Associates studies designed to monitor the ongoing ecological health of the coral in the Flower Garden Banks (FGB). This is a deepwater, discontinuous reef that arcs along the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico and is the site of oil and gas operations that could potentially impact the integrity of the FGB
Environmental benefits of leaving offshore infrastructure in the ocean
The removal of thousands of structures associated with oil and gas development from the world's oceans is well underway, yet the environmental impacts of this decommissioning practice remain unknown. Similar impacts will be associated with the eventual removal of offshore wind turbines. We conducted a global survey of environmental experts to guide best decommissioning practices in the North Sea, a region with a substantial removal burden. In contrast to current regulations, 94.7% of experts (36 out of 38) agreed that a more flexible case‐by‐case approach to decommissioning could benefit the North Sea environment. Partial removal options were considered to deliver better environmental outcomes than complete removal for platforms, but both approaches were equally supported for wind turbines. Key considerations identified for decommissioning were biodiversity enhancement, provision of reef habitat, and protection from bottom trawling, all of which are negatively affected by complete removal. We provide recommendations to guide the revision of offshore decommissioning policy, including a temporary suspension of obligatory removal