What Did Scientists Learn from Deepwater Horizon?
such as deep-sea coral communities, the oil, gas and dispersants combined with other stressors to create long-lasting impacts.Gene analysis tools, used on a wide scale for the first time, provided unprecedented insights into which microbes consumed oil, gas, and dispersants in marine ecosystems.Advanced chemical analysis showed for the first time that weathering on the ocean surface, particularly by sunlight and oxygen (photo-oxidation), changed the composition of oil but reduced the effectiveness of dispersants applied to the surface.The spill science community can be most effective by working collaboratively
Environmental DNA Emerging in the Ocean Science Community
of rapid methods for identifying and quantifying HABs of public health concern. Distinguishing toxic and nontoxic HAB species required species-specific molecular probes. But at the time it still took orders of magnitude longer to process samples using molecular probes as compared to physical, chemical, or optical measurements with commercially available sensors.Creating a portable “molecular biology laboratory in a can” was seen as a solution to more rapid HAB warnings following sample collection. After years of traditional lab techniques this was a non-trivial undertaking. By way
Mapping the Ikaite Columns of the Ikka Fjord, SW Greenland
;6H2O) columns in Greenland. Energy Procedia 146, 59-67, doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2018.07.009.Tollefsen E., G. Stockmann, A. Skelton, L. Lundqvist & E. Sturkell, 2019. Secondary alteration of the Grønnedal-Ika igneous complex and the genesis of ikaite, CaCO3·6H2O, SW Greenland. Chemical Geology 510, 18-30.Acknowledgements:Mapping the Ikaite columns of the Ikka Fjord, SW GreenlandWe would like to acknowledge and thank the Bolin Centre for Climate Research in Sweden, ‘Aase og Jørgen Munters Fond’ and ‘Aage V. Jensens Fond’ in Denmark, Eggertsjóð
Singapore: LNG Terminal to Develop Data Center
of data centers. In this project, we aim to demonstrate a novel way of storing cold energy released from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) re-gasification process and using it to cool data centers efficiently," said Dean's Chair Associate Professor Praveen Linga, who is from the NUS Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the leader of the project team.A five-member team from NUS Engineering, Keppel Data Centers and SLNG will jointly develop a prototype of a new cooling medium that can achieve two key functions: firstly, to efficiently store and carry cold energy from the Singapore
Balmoral Scoops Three Awards
20% in the latest financial year with order conversion rising by a similar amount, the company said.Engineering and projects director, Fraser Milne, said, “Our ability to retain, grow and invest in talent has resulted in the company providing an unrivaled team of technical specialists across chemical science, mechanical and polymer engineering.“We have genuine strength in depth here at Balmoral, that’s what differentiates us and leads to recognition in the shape of contract wins and, pleasingly, industry peer awards.”Milne concluded, “We have always strived to deliver
Study: Sunlight Degrades Polystyrene Faster than Expected
plastics is nothing new, Ward says: “Just look at plastic playground toys, park benches, or lawn chairs, which can rapidly become sun-bleached.” The WHOI study shows that sunlight doesn’t just cause the plastics to physically break down, however—it also causes them to degrade chemically into dissolved organic carbon and trace amounts of carbon dioxide, at levels far too low to impact climate change. Once the plastic undergoes this transformation, its original form disappears from the environment, and it becomes entirely new byproducts that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Considering
Study: How Much of Corals’ Nutrition Comes From Hunting
;Essential amino acids are required for an animal to survive, but most corals can’t make them. They have to get them from either their symbionts or something they just ate,” says Fox. “But each of those sources make amino acids in different ways, which gives the molecules distinct chemical signatures.”Those signatures can be used to “fingerprint” the source of the amino acid, he adds. By measuring chemical differences in six individual amino acids, the researchers were able to determine how much of a coral’s nutrition was coming from symbionts, or from captured
Increased Confidence in CO2 Storage
as CO2 bubbles began to emerge from beneath the sediment. The idea was then to test how well an array of sensors, developed and built for the experiment, might perform.Acoustic and optical instruments were deployed to detect the sound made by streams of bubbles or spot them with cameras, while chemical sensors ‘sniffed out’ the CO2 and the minute amounts of inert chemical tracers it contained, so allowing the scientists to differentiate this signal from any naturally occurring CO2. ROVs and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) bearing other sensors completed the arsenal
Thyssenkrupp Wins 3D Printing Approval
Ship Classification & Technical Director of DNV GL – Maritime.The approval covers the 3D printing and processing of austenitic stainless steel parts. Certification was also awarded for the acceptance process in accordance with EN 10204 and the associated product information, particularly the chemical and physical material characteristics. Approvals for individual special components are also being prepared.“We are delighted that with thyssenkrupp TechCenter Additive Manufacturing we now have a certified partner who can supply thyssenkrupp Marine Systems with additive manufactured parts
Aker Solutions Wins ADNOC Umbilicals Contract
subsea umbilicals for the Dalma gas development project located offshore the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf.The scope includes four steel tube umbilicals totaling more than 100 kilometers. The umbilical system will provide power supply, communication services and chemical injection fluids. It will connect the subsea equipment to three new wellhead platforms and link the topside equipment located on the offshore control platform to equipment located onshore."This is the first subsea umbilical award by ADNOC in the UAE and the first subsea award for Aker Solutions
