Biological monitoring of the Forties Oilfield  (North Sea)

Abstract

Conclusions: “1) The benthic fauna of the Forties Field is rich and diverse and qualitatively corresponds well to previous descriptions. Quantitatively there havebeen a number of changes in the abundance of species, in particular increases in Capitomastus minimus and Chaetozone setosa at certain stations, 2) Thebiological gradients correlating with gradients in the physical environment notedin the previous surveys again were evident, 3) No area of biological effect around installations could be delineated by the man survey, although the industrial activity in the field was implicated in the changes noted at several stations. Limited information from cores obtained in 1982 from the near vicinity of the FC platform indicate some localized disturbance to the environment involving faunal modification and elevated hydrocarbon levels, 4) The hydrocarbon content of the main survey sediments was low and, possibly with a single exception, does notappear related to the biological changes.”