Decrease in natural marine hydrocarbon seepage near Coal Oil Point, California, associated with offshore oil production

Decrease in natural marine hydrocarbon seepage near Coal Oil Point, California, associated with offshore oil production

Prolific natural hydrocarbon seepage occurs offshore of Coal Oil Point in the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Within the water column above submarine vents, plumes of hydrocarbon gas bubbles act as acoustic scattering targets. Using 3.5 kHz sonar data, seep distribution offshore of Coal Oil Point was mapped for August 1996, July 1995, and July 1973. Comparison of the seep distributions over ...

The spatial scales, distribution, and intensity of natural marine hydrocarbon seeps near Coal Oil Point, California

Natural hydrocarbon seepage from marine environments is an important source of methane and other gases to the atmosphere. Quantifying this flux is necessary for constraining global budgets and understanding local air pollution sources. A field of strong hydrocarbon seepage offshore of Coal Oil Point near Santa Barbara, California produces extensive areas of bursting bubbles at the sea surface. ...

Compositional changes in natural gas bubble plumes: observations from the Coal Oil Point marine hydrocarbon seep field

Detailed measurements of bubble composition, dissolved gas concentrations, and plume dynamics were conducted during a 9-month period at a very intense, shallow (22-m water depth) marine hydrocarbon seep in the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Methane, carbon dioxide, and heavier hydrocarbons were lost from rising seep bubbles, while nitrogen and oxygen were gained. Within the rising seawater ...

Coal, Oil Shale, Natural Bitumen, Heavy Oil, and Peat

Underwater noise from offshore oil production vessels.

Underwater acoustic recordings of six Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels moored off Western Australia are presented. Monopole source spectra were computed for use in environmental impact assessments of underwater noise. Given that operations on the FPSOs varied over the period of recording, and were sometimes unknown, the authors present a statistical approach to noise le...