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Impacts of construction activities in wetlands of the United States
Volume 8/Number 3/March 1977 Bennekom, A. J. van, Gieskes, W. W. C. & Tijssen, S. B. (1975). Eutrophication of Dutch coastal waters. Proc. R. Soc. London,
11189,359-374. Brooks, R. R., Presley, B. J. & Kaplan, I. R. (1967). APDC-MIBK extraction system for the determination of trace elements in saline waters by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Talanta, 14, 809-816. Chester, R. & Stoner, J. H. (1974). The distribution of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen in some surface waters of the world ocean. Mar. Chem., 2, 263-275. Duinker, J. C., Eck, G. T. M. van &Nolting, R. F. (1974). On the behaviour of copper, zinc, iron and manganese in the Dutch Wadden Sea; evidence for mobilization processes. Neth. J. Sea Res., 8(2), 214-239. Duinker, J. C. & Nolting, R. F. (1976). Distribution model for particulate trace metals in the Rhine estuary, Southern Bight and Dutch Wadden Sea. Neth. J. Sea Res., I 0(1 ), 71-102. Duinker, J. C. & Kramer, C. J. M. (1977). An experimental study on the speciation of dissolved zinc, cadmium, lead and copper in river Rhine and North Sea water by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (submitted for publication). Dutton, J. W. R., Jefferies, D. F., Folkard, A. R. & Jones, P. G. W. (1973). Trace metals in the North Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 4, 135-138.
US Wetlands Darnell, R. M. (1976). I m p a c t s o f C o n s t r u c t i o n Activities in Wetlands o f the United States. 424 pp. W a s h i n g t o n , D.C., US E n v i r o n m e n t a l Protection Agency. ( E P A 600/3-76-045). Wetlands o f the United States, now recognized as an irreplaceable national resource, provide d r a m a t i c evidence o f m a n ' s adverse impact on his environment. A detailed analysis o f what has h a p p e n e d to these lands and the consequences o f neglect are explained in a recently published report from the US E n v i r o n m e n t a l Protection A g e n c y ( E P A ) , carried out under contract by R. M. Darnell o f the Tereco C o r p o r a t i o n . Wetlands were formerly regarded by some developers as wasted acres that should either be dredged or filled. Only recently has there been increasing understanding o f their vital function in the environment. Wetlands serve as valuable wildlife habitats, water purifiers and g r o u n d water recharge areas, and they are recognized as some o f the n a t i o n ' s most productive systems. Over the years, more than a third o f the wetlands o f the US have been lost, and conservative estimates indicate that more than half o f the remainder have been adversely affected. Darnell notes that the most environmentally d a m a g i n g effects o f the construction activities in wetland areas are direct habitat loss, addition o f suspended solids, and modification o f water levels and flow regimes. Activities which have an impact on wetlands include flood plain surfacing and drainage, mining, i m p o u n d m e n t s , canalization, dredging and channelization, and bank and shoreline construction. The report, which is an attempt to synthesize the existing knowledge on the subject, has a bibliography o f over 1000 references, and an extensive glossary o f relevant terms. D. S. M O U L D E R
Oil Pollution and Orielton Jennifer M. Baker (ed.) (1976). M a r i n e E c o l o g y a n d Oil Pollution. 566 pp., Barking, Essex: Applied Science Publishers. Price: £25.00.
Groot, A. J. de, & Allersma, E. (1975). Field observations on the transport of heavy metals in sediments. In Heavy metals in the aquatic environment. (P. A. Frenkel, ed.), pp. 85-95. Pergamon Press. Martin, J. H. & Knauer, G. A. (1973). The elemental composition of plankton. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 37, 1639-1653. Mtlller, G. & FOrstner, U. (1975). Heavy metals in sediments of the Rhine and Elbe estuaries. Mobilization or mixing effect? Environ. GeoL, 1, 33-39. Postma, H. (1961). Transport and accumulation of suspended matter in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Neth. J. Sea Res., I ( 1/2), 148-190. Riley, J. P. & Roth, I. (1971). The distribution of trace metals in some species of phytoplankton grown in culture. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., 51,63-72. Straaten, L. M. J. U. van & Kuenen, P. H. (1957). Accumulation of fine grained sediment in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Geol. Mijnb., 19, 329-354. Straaten, L. M. J. U. van & Kuenen, P. H. (1958). Tidal actions as a cause of clay accumulation. J. Sedim. Petrol., 28,406---413. Vandeginste, B. G. M., Salemink, P. & Duinker, J. C. (1976). Autoand cross-correlograms of particulate trace metals in the Rhine estuary, Southern Bight and Dutch Wadden Sea. Neth. J. Sea Res.,
10(1), 59-70.
The Oil Pollution Research Unit o f the Field Studies Council, set up early in 1967 after a serious spillage in Milford H a v e n and now directed by Dr Baker, has held three conferences o f increasing size and complexity during its relatively short life. Each gave rise to interesting and useful published Proceedings. The first, a small if select meeting, took place on h o m e g r o u n d in the converted stable buildings o f Orielton, a m a n o r house near P e m b r o k e , and was largely i n t r o d u c t o r y ; the second was organised with the assistance o f the Institute o f Petroleum at the Regent's Park headquarters o f the Zoological Society to report on the work p r o d u c e d during the U n i t ' s first three years. T h e latest, jointly organised in a similar way at the A v i e m o r e Centre last year, provided the subject matter for this far f r o m humble volume. O P R U is n o t e w o r t h y for producing results o f practical as well as academic value, quickly and on a tight b u d g e t - - t h e sort o f work which policymakers need, as Dr Martin H o l d g a t e reminded participants early on. Its s t a f f speak to oilmen and, indeed, receive considerable support f r o m them without being in any other sense in their pockets. Widespread appreciation o f the Unit and its work was demonstrated by the range o f affiliations o f those w h o u n d e r t o o k the j o u r n e y to this delightful but rather remote venue: a third came f r o m the oil industry, a quarter f r o m conservation g r o u p s and smaller n u m b e r s f r o m universities, G o v e r n m e n t departments and shipping interests, including the Royal Navy. One-sixth o f the participants were f r o m overseas. The m a j o r part o f the text, not surprisingly, deals with Milford H a v e n : the ecological impact o f the operations o f this new m a j o r oil-port on rocky shores and saltmarshes (the habitats which have been most studied so far), the p l a n k t o n , birds and seals, together with lengthy reports o f m o r e recent work on soft sediments and the sublittoral, in tide-pools or a r o u n d the outfalls o f refinery effluents. Over 35 000 tankers have passed t h r o u g h the H a v e n during its first 14 years. Just under 2°7o o f these have spilt oil there, but this is not as bad as it seems, considering that every incident is recorded, not matter how small: only 0.05°7o o f them lost more than 5 71
11189,359-374. Brooks, R. R., Presley, B. J. & Kaplan, I. R. (1967). APDC-MIBK extraction system for the determination of trace elements in saline waters by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Talanta, 14, 809-816. Chester, R. & Stoner, J. H. (1974). The distribution of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen in some surface waters of the world ocean. Mar. Chem., 2, 263-275. Duinker, J. C., Eck, G. T. M. van &Nolting, R. F. (1974). On the behaviour of copper, zinc, iron and manganese in the Dutch Wadden Sea; evidence for mobilization processes. Neth. J. Sea Res., 8(2), 214-239. Duinker, J. C. & Nolting, R. F. (1976). Distribution model for particulate trace metals in the Rhine estuary, Southern Bight and Dutch Wadden Sea. Neth. J. Sea Res., I 0(1 ), 71-102. Duinker, J. C. & Kramer, C. J. M. (1977). An experimental study on the speciation of dissolved zinc, cadmium, lead and copper in river Rhine and North Sea water by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (submitted for publication). Dutton, J. W. R., Jefferies, D. F., Folkard, A. R. & Jones, P. G. W. (1973). Trace metals in the North Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 4, 135-138.
US Wetlands Darnell, R. M. (1976). I m p a c t s o f C o n s t r u c t i o n Activities in Wetlands o f the United States. 424 pp. W a s h i n g t o n , D.C., US E n v i r o n m e n t a l Protection Agency. ( E P A 600/3-76-045). Wetlands o f the United States, now recognized as an irreplaceable national resource, provide d r a m a t i c evidence o f m a n ' s adverse impact on his environment. A detailed analysis o f what has h a p p e n e d to these lands and the consequences o f neglect are explained in a recently published report from the US E n v i r o n m e n t a l Protection A g e n c y ( E P A ) , carried out under contract by R. M. Darnell o f the Tereco C o r p o r a t i o n . Wetlands were formerly regarded by some developers as wasted acres that should either be dredged or filled. Only recently has there been increasing understanding o f their vital function in the environment. Wetlands serve as valuable wildlife habitats, water purifiers and g r o u n d water recharge areas, and they are recognized as some o f the n a t i o n ' s most productive systems. Over the years, more than a third o f the wetlands o f the US have been lost, and conservative estimates indicate that more than half o f the remainder have been adversely affected. Darnell notes that the most environmentally d a m a g i n g effects o f the construction activities in wetland areas are direct habitat loss, addition o f suspended solids, and modification o f water levels and flow regimes. Activities which have an impact on wetlands include flood plain surfacing and drainage, mining, i m p o u n d m e n t s , canalization, dredging and channelization, and bank and shoreline construction. The report, which is an attempt to synthesize the existing knowledge on the subject, has a bibliography o f over 1000 references, and an extensive glossary o f relevant terms. D. S. M O U L D E R
Oil Pollution and Orielton Jennifer M. Baker (ed.) (1976). M a r i n e E c o l o g y a n d Oil Pollution. 566 pp., Barking, Essex: Applied Science Publishers. Price: £25.00.
Groot, A. J. de, & Allersma, E. (1975). Field observations on the transport of heavy metals in sediments. In Heavy metals in the aquatic environment. (P. A. Frenkel, ed.), pp. 85-95. Pergamon Press. Martin, J. H. & Knauer, G. A. (1973). The elemental composition of plankton. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 37, 1639-1653. Mtlller, G. & FOrstner, U. (1975). Heavy metals in sediments of the Rhine and Elbe estuaries. Mobilization or mixing effect? Environ. GeoL, 1, 33-39. Postma, H. (1961). Transport and accumulation of suspended matter in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Neth. J. Sea Res., I ( 1/2), 148-190. Riley, J. P. & Roth, I. (1971). The distribution of trace metals in some species of phytoplankton grown in culture. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., 51,63-72. Straaten, L. M. J. U. van & Kuenen, P. H. (1957). Accumulation of fine grained sediment in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Geol. Mijnb., 19, 329-354. Straaten, L. M. J. U. van & Kuenen, P. H. (1958). Tidal actions as a cause of clay accumulation. J. Sedim. Petrol., 28,406---413. Vandeginste, B. G. M., Salemink, P. & Duinker, J. C. (1976). Autoand cross-correlograms of particulate trace metals in the Rhine estuary, Southern Bight and Dutch Wadden Sea. Neth. J. Sea Res.,
10(1), 59-70.
The Oil Pollution Research Unit o f the Field Studies Council, set up early in 1967 after a serious spillage in Milford H a v e n and now directed by Dr Baker, has held three conferences o f increasing size and complexity during its relatively short life. Each gave rise to interesting and useful published Proceedings. The first, a small if select meeting, took place on h o m e g r o u n d in the converted stable buildings o f Orielton, a m a n o r house near P e m b r o k e , and was largely i n t r o d u c t o r y ; the second was organised with the assistance o f the Institute o f Petroleum at the Regent's Park headquarters o f the Zoological Society to report on the work p r o d u c e d during the U n i t ' s first three years. T h e latest, jointly organised in a similar way at the A v i e m o r e Centre last year, provided the subject matter for this far f r o m humble volume. O P R U is n o t e w o r t h y for producing results o f practical as well as academic value, quickly and on a tight b u d g e t - - t h e sort o f work which policymakers need, as Dr Martin H o l d g a t e reminded participants early on. Its s t a f f speak to oilmen and, indeed, receive considerable support f r o m them without being in any other sense in their pockets. Widespread appreciation o f the Unit and its work was demonstrated by the range o f affiliations o f those w h o u n d e r t o o k the j o u r n e y to this delightful but rather remote venue: a third came f r o m the oil industry, a quarter f r o m conservation g r o u p s and smaller n u m b e r s f r o m universities, G o v e r n m e n t departments and shipping interests, including the Royal Navy. One-sixth o f the participants were f r o m overseas. The m a j o r part o f the text, not surprisingly, deals with Milford H a v e n : the ecological impact o f the operations o f this new m a j o r oil-port on rocky shores and saltmarshes (the habitats which have been most studied so far), the p l a n k t o n , birds and seals, together with lengthy reports o f m o r e recent work on soft sediments and the sublittoral, in tide-pools or a r o u n d the outfalls o f refinery effluents. Over 35 000 tankers have passed t h r o u g h the H a v e n during its first 14 years. Just under 2°7o o f these have spilt oil there, but this is not as bad as it seems, considering that every incident is recorded, not matter how small: only 0.05°7o o f them lost more than 5 71