Benthic Conservation Features and Species Associated With Subsea Pipelines: Considerations for Decommissioning
Benthic Conservation Features and Species Associated With Subsea Pipelines: Considerations for Decommissioning
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DOI：
10.3389/fmars.2019.00200
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发表时间：
2019-04-16
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Wilding, Thomas A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Rouse, Sally;Lacey, Nichols C.;Wilding, Thomas A.
暴露在海底的石油和天然气管道可以起到“人工礁”的作用，为鱼类和底栖物种提供栖息地，包括一些被列入保护名录的物种。随着海上油气行业的成熟，运营商和国家政府必须决定退役管道是否应留在原地或移走陆上处置。在大多数司法管辖区，要求在比较评估中评估不同管道退役方案的环境后果。要有效地做到这一点，需要了解管道和动物群之间的联系。管道运营商定期使用遥控车辆（Remote Operated Vehicles，简称ROV）收集视频片段，用于检查和维护目的。这段录像有可能深入了解海洋环境和海上管道之间的相互作用。这项研究使用了8条管道的检查镜头来量化一些欧盟和英国保护指定项下列出的物种和特征的存在和丰度;在管道或邻近沉积物上观察到12种此类特征和物种。软珊瑚Alcyonium digitatum是目前在位于泥上的管道密度最高，而Sabellaria sp.和Echinus esculentus是更常见的管道砂。在管道周围也经常观察到鳕、海葵和寄居蟹。该研究确定了将工业摄影机镜头用于生态目的的局限性，但表明考虑到分类单元的大小，图像分辨率，摄影速度和海拔高度，这可能是一种有价值的方法，可以获得对环境-基础设施相互作用的更多见解。结果表明，拆除管道将消除已建立的底栖物种群落，其中一些具有保护价值。然而，这种损失的生态意义必须与管道退役期间更广泛的考虑因素进行权衡，包括成本，技术可行性和对其他海洋用户的影响。
Oil and gas pipelines that lie exposed on the seabed can function as "artificial reefs," providing habitat for fish and benthic species, including some that are listed under conservation designations. As the offshore hydrocarbon industry matures, operators and national governments must decide whether decommissioned pipelines should be left in situ or removed for onshore disposal. In most jurisdictions, there is a requirement to evaluate the environmental consequences of different pipeline decommissioning options in a comparative assessment. To do this effectively requires an understanding of the associations between pipelines and fauna. Pipeline operators routinely collect video footage for inspection and maintenance purposes using remotely operated vehicles (ROV). This footage has the potential to provide insight into interactions between the marine environment and offshore pipelines. This study uses inspection footage from eight pipelines to quantify the presence and abundance of species and features listed under a number of EU and United Kingdom conservation designations; 12 such features and species were observed on the pipelines or neighboring sediments. The soft coral Alcyonium digitatum was present in the highest densities on pipelines located on mud, while Sabellaria sp. and Echinus esculentus were more common on pipelines in sand. Gadoids, anemones and hermit crabs were also frequently observed around pipelines. The study identifies the limitations to the use of industry ROV footage for ecological purposes, but shows that with consideration of taxon size, image resolution, ROV speed and altitude, this can be a valuable approach to gain additional insights into environment-infrastructure interactions. The results suggest that removal of pipelines will remove established colonies of epibenthic species, some of which have conservation value. The ecological significance of this loss, however, must be weighed against the broader considerations during pipeline decommissioning including cost, technical feasibility and impacts to other marine users.