Gas hydrates collect and store both thermogenic and biogenic methane generated in deep ocean sediments that, over geologic time, forms vast methane repositories. Offshore Gas Hydrates: Origins, Development, and Production presents gas hydrates as an emerging, clean energy source possibly more abundant than all other fossil fuels and especially important for countries geographically and economically restricted from conventional fossil fuel resources. The book explores feasible methods to produce offshore hydrate gas, the means to store and transport the remotely produced gas, new hydrate inhibitors for conventional and hydrate production in ultra-deep waters, instability manifestations of seafloor hydrates, and hydrate roles in complex ecological scenarios. Complementing production and drilling method presentations are computer simulation studies, hydrate field tests, and seismic and logging developments. Offshore Gas Hydrates delivers a well-developed framework for both the oil and gas researcher and corporate engineer to better exploit this future unconventional resource, empowering the oil and gas professional with the latest data and information on sophisticated challenges that offshore hydrates present.
Marine and Offshore Corrosion describes the principles of effective corrosion control treatments in marine environments, with emphasis on economic solutions to corrosion. The book explains chemical or electrochemical reaction of an alloy with its environment leading to corrosion, and mechanical loss of the metal by erosion, abrasion, or wear resulting also in corrosion. A main consideration of erosion control that the engineer should look into is the economic side. Other considerations that he should investigate are the strength of a structure, time for construction, availability of materials, and costs. The book also discusses the marine environment consisting of sea water, temperature fluctuations, dissolved gases, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, carbon dioxide, electrical conductivity, fouling. The text describes the selection of materials to be used in marine environments, surface preparation of steel before painting, the type of paint, and metallic coatings. Some of the factors in selecting coating systems are: cost and estimated life before the first scheduled maintenance, adhesion properties, moisture tolerance, elasticity, chemical resistance, impact resistance, bacterial resistance. The factors affecting maintenance include environmental conditions, quality of initial protection applied, type of structure, as well as the design and purpose of the structure. The book has been prepared for engineers and designers who are not corrosion specialists but have to deal with marine corrosion problems as part of their day-to-day professional activities. The text will also turn out to be useful for engineers with general interest in structure, building, or machinery maintenance specially those located near coastal areas.
Advances in Marine Biology has been providing in-depth and up-to-date reviews on all aspects of marine biology since 1963 -- over 40 years of outstanding coverage! The series is well-known for both its excellence of reviews and editing. Now edited by D.W. Sims (Marine Biological Association Laboratory, Plymouth, UK), with an internationally renowned Editorial Board, the serial publishes in-depth and up-to-date content on a wide range of topics that will appeal to postgraduates and researchers in marine biology, fisheries science, ecology, zoology, and biological oceanography.
The contents of the book are assembled from selected papers presented during the International Conference on Isotopes in Environmental Studies – AQUATIC FORUM 2004 convened in Monaco from 25 to 29 October 2004, which was the most important gathering of the year of isotope environmental scientists. The book reviews the present state of the art isotopic methods for better understanding of key processes in the aquatic environment, responsible for its future development and its protection. The main highlights include the latest developments in the study of the behaviour, transport and distribution of isotopes in the aquatic environment, recent climate change records using isotopic tracers in the environment, global isotopic oceanic studies, new trends in radioecological investigations and modelling, impact of groundwater-seawater interactions on coastal zones, groundwater dynamics and modelling, important for management of freshwater resources, development of new isotopic techniques, such as AMS, RIMS and ICPMS, and their applications in environmental studies, new trends in radiometrics underground techniques, new in situ radiometrics technologies and many other exciting topics which were presented and discussed during the Conference. The proceedings constitute an important contribution to the environmental isotopic research. In publishing this book the aim is to make the use of isotopes more widespread in the environmental disciplines and to further stimulate work in this exciting field.
Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas after water vapor in the atmosphere of the earth. More than 98% of the carbon of the atmosphere-ocean system is stored in the oceans as dissolved inorganic carbon. The key for understanding critical processes of the marine carbon cycle is a sound knowledge of the seawater carbonate chemistry, including equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties as well as stable isotope fractionation.Presenting the first coherent text describing equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties and stable isotope fractionation among the elements of the carbonate system. This volume presents an overview and a synthesis of these subjects which should be useful for graduate students and researchers in various fields such as biogeochemistry, chemical oceanography, paleoceanography, marine biology, marine chemistry, marine geology, and others.The volume includes an introduction to the equilibrium properties of the carbonate system in which basic concepts such as equilibrium constants, alkalinity, pH scales, and buffering are discussed. It also deals with the nonequilibrium properties of the seawater carbonate chemistry. Whereas principle of chemical kinetics are recapitulated, reaction rates and relaxation times of the carbonate system are considered in details. The book also provides a general introduction to stable isotope fractionation and describes the partitioning of carbon, oxygen, and boron isotopes between the species of the carbonate system. The appendix contains formulas for the equilibrium constants of the carbonate system, mathematical expressions to calculate carbonate system parameters, answers to exercises and more.
Articles in this Classic Papers volume are rewritten, up-dated and extended versions of papers published in previous volumes of Advances in Botanical Research, chosen because of the high citation of the original papers and the increase of knowledge in the field today.Boulter and Croy discuss the structure and biosynthesis of legume seed storage proteins, an area that has been revolutionized in recent years by advances in 3-D structural analysis and methods of gene manipulation.Raven writes about the significant progress made in our understanding of the biochemistry of inorganic carbon acquisition by marine autotrophs, and places this new information in evolutionary and biogeochemical contexts. Advances in biochemistry have also made impact on research into cyanotixons. Carmichael considers the expansion of cyanotoxin research in the light of the negative impact of these toxins on water quality and aquaculture industries.The structure and regulation of algal photosystems are discussed by Larkum and Howe. They write about the diversity of algal photochemical apparatus and light-harvesting strategy, which has only been appreciated with the use of molecular genetic approaches. Finally, Kunze, Saedler and Loonig review advances in the field of plant transposable elements and the mechanism of transposition. They cover the role of transposable elements in evolution and their use as molecular tools, the importance of which has only speculated on in the original paper in 1986.
The Washington-Oregon coastal zone is a classical Eastern Boundary Current region. The area is extremely productive, the productivity dependent on near-shore infusions of nutrients into surface layers during wind-driven coastal upwelling. The Washington-Oregon coastline is much more regular than areas off California or off the East Coast, where large capes lend complexity to both the physical environment and the ecosystem response. The relatively straight coastline and broad, deep shelf greatly simplify the physical environment, so that processes responsible for much of the variance are more easily identified. The system response from mid-Oregon northward, although not strictly two-dimensional, is more so than many other coastal areas. Consequently, the system is amenable to the testing of relatively simple models integrating wind forcing with physical, chemical and biological responses in the upper water column.This book is an integrated synthesis of physical, chemical, geological and biological research in a dynamic shelf ecosystem characterized by seasonal, wind-driven upwelling, major river influences, extensive silt deposits, productive pelagic and demersal fisheries, and unique surf-zone communities. The broad scope of the book includes: detailed analyses of physical circulation and sediment transport; production and utilization of organic matter in the marine food web; river influences on regional hydrology and sediment deposition; inputs and inventories of anthropogenic chemicals in the water column and sedimentary deposits. Much of the book is based on primary analyses of previously unpublished data sets. Interdisciplinary approaches are emphasized in models and discussions of coastal upwelling dynamics, hydrographic patterns and anomalies, benthic boundary-layer processes and larval transport, oceanographic influences on commercial stocks, mechanics of chemical cycling and accumulation, and surf-zone production. An extensive index and references complete the book.The book is intended both to document and explain specific regional features of the Washington/Oregon shelf system and, more generally, to illustrate the complexities of interactive influences on the dynamics of coastal ecosystems. Oceanographers, both researchers and students, will be very interested in this book, and it can also be used by governmental agencies and industries dealing with coastal zone management and planning.