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Fate and effects
of oil and dispersed oil
on mangrove ecosystems in
Australia
FIELD
EXPERIMENT
SET UP II
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Plate 6a, b, c, d, e. Field trials were used to further investigate short term effects
of spills of Gippsland crude oil and dispersed oil.
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A. Oil treatments
were pumped into plots during rising tidal water.
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B. Dispersed oil
treatments formed a milky mixture with seawater and this was distributed
throughout each plot.
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C. Oil was contained by the enclosures and the
specially constructed "tide gates" allowed tidal waters to enter and
leave the plots while oil was contained inside.
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D. As water levels
dropped, oil was deposited on exposed roots and sediments. The Gippsland crude
oil formed a waxy brown, green layer in pooled accumulations in depressions and
within crab burrow entrances.
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E. Oil released was successfully contained
within the plots which were monitored using litter traps, tagged shoots,
sediment samples, and observations of faunal activity. Within two days of the
sealing of the oil, the most obvious impact was the death of infauna. The trees,
at this time showed no obvious effect.
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