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"Martin Vaz Archipelago is located at the parallel 20°S, 1200 km away from the Brazilian coastline and is composed of Plio-Pleistocenic alkaline rocks that represent the last volcanic event of the Vitória-Trindade Ridge. The Archipelago is divided into three main units: Pico das Gaivotas Unit (i) is made up of nosean-phonolite and phono-tephrite domes and tephri-phonolite dykes with clinopyroxene, nosean and potassic feldspar phenocrysts, and scarce kaersutite anhedral phenocrysts; the Bandeira Unit (ii), in turn, comprises melanephelinitic and basanitic lava flows with olivine and clinopyroxene (diopside) phenocrysts; and lastly, the Basal Unit (iii) is composed of pyroclastic deposits with tuffs, lapilli-tuffs and lapillite. The clinopyroxene phenocrysts from Pico das Gaivotas and Bandeira Units have anhedral green cores with sieved and poikilitic textures and show reaction rims composed of opaque minerals, indicating disequilibrium and compositional changes in the liquid. This study provides mineral chemistry data indicating that clinopyroxene rims are more primitive (Mg# 57.46–84.12) and enriched in Al–Ti–Fe3+-Ca compared to the Fe-rich green-cores, probably related with a more primitive Ca-rich magma input in the magmatic chamber after the green-core crystallization from a different liquid. Olivine crystals from Bandeira Unit show resorption features and no compositional affinity with the analyzed liquid, indicating that these crystals have a xenocrystic origin from mantle peridotitic source. Clinopyroxene geothermobarometry data suggest different pressure and temperature conditions for cores and rims during crystallization, reflecting a polybaric evolutionary history. Pico das Gaivotas Unit clinopyroxene phenocrysts suggest a particularly higher-pressure environment, and a complex evolutionary history. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"The Cretaceous Bauru Group of the Paraná Basin in Brazil is a widespread continental unit well known for its vertebrate and invertebrate fossiliferous content. The São Carlos Formation is an exception among its distinct and dominantly reddish siliciclastic units, which are otherwise devoid of palynomorphs. It includes an unique unit, the Ibaté Bed, which corresponds to the lower interval of the Fazenda Nossa Senhora de Fátima Member (FNSF Mbr) and is represented by a dark grey organic silty-argillaceous rhythmite with a rich palynoflora. These rocks are the main focus of this study. Samples were collected from the type section of the formation that is located in the central area of the São Paulo State. Identified palynomorph types are as follows: 32 pteridophyte spore taxa, 31 gymnosperm pollen taxa and 64 angiosperm pollen taxa. Acritarchs, prasinophytes and phytoclasts were also recognized. Seven new taxa are proposed: Anacolosidites eosenonicus sp. nov., Leiosphaeridia ibateensis sp. nov., Stellatia gen. nov., Trichomites brevifurcatus gen. et sp. nov., Trichomites duplihelicoidus gen. et sp. nov., Trichomites simplex gen. et sp. nov. and Tricolpites joelcastroi sp. nov. In quantitative terms, the ephedroid pollen grains – e.g., Equisetosporites, Gnetaceaepollenites and Steevesipollenites – are predominant. Their occurrence associated with Classopollis grains suggest a warm climate tending towards dryness. Some levels are relatively rich in pteridophyte spores, suggestive of contribution from lakeside vegetation. The permanent presence of freshwater is attested by conspicuous microalgal remains (Botryococcus, Pediastrum, Staurastrum and prasinophycean phycomata), recognizable via fluorescence microscopy. Significant amounts of microalgal remains in some samples suggest episodic blooms in the lake, probably induced by eutrophication. The Ibaté Bed corresponds to a depositional scenario involving a distal lacustrine environment with low-oxygen conditions in its bottom waters. As observed in offshore Brazilian basins, the presence of Anacolosidites eosenonicus sp. nov., combined with the absence of Steevesipollenites nativensis, indicates a late Santonian age for the bed (ca. 84 Ma). Other associated index-palynomorphs are compatible with this time assignment, which is reinforced by the presence of carbonized sclereids that are associated with the “Great Santonian Wildfire” recorded in coeval marine offshore strata of the Campos and Santos basins. The FNSF Mbr is stratigraphically related to the uppermost part of the Adamantina and Uberaba formations of the Bauru Group. Among all known Brazilian Late Cretaceous palynological continental records, this is the richest one ever detected. Although Late Cretaceous in age, the composition of the Ibaté Bed palynoflora reflects better the mid Cretaceous ASA Paleophytogeographic Province. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd"
"This study presents new stable carbon and oxygen isotope data from Lower Cretaceous lacustrine carbonate rock samples recovered from a well drilled in the Santos Basin, offshore southeast Brazil. These samples represent a record of a continental environment just prior to the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean and the ultimate break-up of Gondwanaland. The geochemical data, along with carbonate mineralogy, indicate repeated cycles of lake level variation that could be attributed to climatic oscillations. Despite the absence of correlations between ?13C and ?18O values, facies analysis and the isotopic and mineralogical data suggest that lake hydrology was essentially closed for most of the depositional interval studied here. The existence of persisting trends of nearly constant ?13C values with a spread in ?18O values though, suggests long water residence times in the palaeolake, equilibrium between atmosphere and lake water CO2, as well as significant evaporation of water. The overall geological model that emerges unveils a more comprehensive picture of the depositional conditions that favoured the continuity of a significant carbonate factory in the middle of the Gondwanan continent, corroborating previous studies that suggested the lasting existence of a large and somewhat shallow endorheic lake in the area during the Early Cretaceous. As a result of this recorded trend strongly suggesting equilibrium between lake waters DIC (dissolved inorganic carbon) reservoir and atmospheric CO2, the data are most consistent with lacustrine deposition rather than precipitation of travertine, contrasting with some suggestions for the genesis of the carbonates of the Barra Velha Formation. Finally, this apparent equilibrium with the atmosphere likely left a preserved record in the continental carbonates of the final stages that preceded a major global environmental disturbance associated with an increase in atmospheric CO2, known for this time as the Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 1a. If this is correct, it also helps to put further time constraints on this studied interval, which should not be younger than Barremian age, and to provide a regional continental perspective on a global event. © 2020 Elsevier B.V."
"Oil offshore Brazil, as well as in other continents, has demanded floating units for oil production. Typical anchored production units are the semi-submersible platforms, FPSO, Spar Buoys and TLPs. All of them use several anchoring lines for station keeping. In the offshore Brazil scenario, the last twelve years the FPSOs adopts the torpedo piles and polyester ropes in the anchoring lines in deep and ultra-deep waters. The FPSO “Cidade de Angra dos Reis” was the first to operate in pre-salt area in October 2010. From then on, it became common the production units with VLCC size, oil production of 150,000 barrels per day and 24 anchoring lines. The reason for such large number of anchors is the 1,200 tonnes torpedo piles holding power restriction. The proposition developed in this paper reduces the number of anchor lines using well know offshore equipment such as: driven piles, mooring chains, polyester ropes and conventional anchoring deck equipment. The main difference is the use of driven piles with holding power above 1,800 tonnes and anchor lines with a breaking strength of more than 2,000 tonnes. It is shown that a decrease of number of anchoring lines from 24 to 12 can be achieved. Consequently, it will decrease also the space occupied by the anchoring lines in the seabed by reducing the subsea layout of risers, flow lines and well head. This allows a technical and economical scenario more feasible when compared with the currently used on the Brazilian oil & gas market. Copyright © 2019 ASME"
"The objective of this work is to describe the climate of Espírito Santo and the northern part of the Campos Basin (i.e., the Espírito Santo geographical area - ESGA), which is located in southeastern Brazil. The observed data from the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading-Brazil platform, operated by Petrobras during the period 2004-2013, are used in this work. The results show that the 10-m wind over the ESGA blows predominantly from the northeast, north and east directions during the year, with moderate intensity (between 4.0 and 7.0 m s-1). The north wind is more intense than the south quadrant wind, which occurs during the passage of the transient systems. The average wind speed depends on the South Atlantic subtropical anticyclone position, which influences the surface pressure gradient over the study area. The wind is weaker during autumn; it reaches a monthly average of 5.3 m s-1 in April and is stronger in September and January (7.3 and 7.1 m s-1, respectively). The mean sea level pressure oscillates between 1012.3 hPa in the summer and 1019.5 hPa in the winter; the 2-m air temperature varies between 23.2°C in September and 27.4°C in March, and the 2-m relative humidity exhibits a minimum of 72.7% in May and a maximum of 84.2% in December. With regard to the frontal systems frequency, an average of 30.2 systems reach the southern ESGA each year, with a maximum in September (3.9 systems) and a minimum in February (0.8 system). © 2019, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"Invented by Petrobras in 1996, the torpedo anchor has been successfully applied in Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) in the Gulf of Mexico (Medeiros, 2002). With a torpedo-like hydrodynamic shape, the torpedo anchor obtains the kinetic energy required for penetration by free-falling through the water. It then uses that energy to penetrate into the seabed, thereby completing its installation. This paper discusses the large deformation finite element method and the CEL method, which are used to calculate the torpedo anchor penetration in a cohesive-soil seabed. The characteristics of the soil and the anchor at different moments during the torpedo anchor penetration are analyzed based on simulation results. © 2020 Coastal Education Research Foundation Inc.. All rights reserved."
"The population structure of Mithraculus forceps sampled monthly on Anchieta Island from January 1999 to December 2000 was studied. A total of 68 individuals were collected by SCUBA diving. The population presented normal and unimodal distribution, and the total sex ratio was 1.4:1.0 in favour of males. Ovigerous females were captured during all seasons. The pattern observed for the M. forceps population in Anchieta Island indicated the strategy favoured by environmental characteristics of the island and by coexistence with other decapod crustaceans in the studied area."
"With the prospect of about 200,000 bpd of crude oil productions from offshore fields operated by Petrobras being added to output in 2005, Brazil should be very close to self-sufficiency by the end of the year. Delays to the completion of three large platforms, which have now taken up stations at fields in the Campos Basin, coupled with declining production at several other aging fields at Campos and elsewhere, meant that an average of 50,000 bpd less was produced in 2004 than in 2003. The reduction occurred during a year when, after remaining static for 3 yr, demand increased by 3.5% to average 1.76 million bpd in 2004. as a result, the company had to import 173 million bbl of crude in 2004. The imported products, mainly diesel, naphtha, and LPG, cost about $10 more per barrel in 2004 than they had in 2003. A discussion covers impact of product prices; gas production; political matters; and newbuild vessels."
"Petrobras will invest at least $3.5 billion in the northeastern state of Bahia through 2010 to expand the local gas networks, boost oil and gas output, and improve refining capabilities. Among the projects, Petrobras plans to invest over $1.2 billion to develop gas produciton at the offshore Manati field in the Camamu-Almada basin. Production should start by January 2006, with output reaching about 4.5 million cu m/day of gas, increasing the state's gas production to 11 million cu m/day of gas."
"Albacora, a giant field located under water depths ranging from 230m to 1,900m, in Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, has an estimated oil-in-place volume of 4.4 billion bbl and extends over an area of 235 km2. The development plan conceived for this field has been divided into three phases, which the first one is a cost-effective pilot production system, which has started field production in October, 1987. This paper describes many alternatives under study by PETROBRAS for installation of the second phase of the field exploitation. Water depths of the wellheads at this phase will reach 1,166m and the start-up is expected to occur in 1994, with a peak production of nearly 200,000 bopd in 1996. The alternatives differ basically in parameters such as the type (semi-submersible,compliant tower, jacket), quantity, size and location of the production units, the type and configuration of the subsea systems, the type of the production and export risers (rigid, semi-rigid or flexible) and also the level of the infra-structure integration. An economical analysis ends the paper and shows that Phase II, besides of performing a pioneer conception at world level, is also a cost-effective production system. Copyright © 1890, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"© 2020, © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London 2020. All Rights Reserved.The Neotropics host the highest number of species of the biological realms, but the roles of Pleistocene climatic oscillations and longstanding geographic barriers on the origins of this remarkable biodiversity remains debated. Here, we test the relative contribution of these evolutionary mechanisms on the genetic and phenotypic diversification of Amphisbaena pretrei, a poorly studied amphisbaenid from eastern Brazil. Ecological niche modelling identified a large area along the coast of north-eastern Brazil that remained climatically stable since the last glacial maximum (21 kyr). Morphological analysis revealed the existence of differentiation in the southernmost sampled locality, despite generalized morphometric conservatism. Genetic structure was organized into two clades that are separated by the São Francisco river and that diverged some 3 Myr, before the recent Pleistocene glacial cycles. Coalescent analyses rejected all scenarios that included demographic changes, supporting instead diversification under population stability, also confirmed by neutrality tests. Taken together, our results support a prominent role of the São Francisco river as a longstanding barrier favouring the diversification of the fossorial A. pretrei, relative to recent Pleistocenic demographic dynamics. Generally, this study shows that including species with diverse natural histories is necessary before attempting any generalization regarding the evolutionary processes underlying Neotropical biodiversity."
"The Sapinhoá and Lula North-East fields, 300km offshore Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are the two pilot fields of the Pre-salt development strategy. Field architecture consists of satellite wells connected to a spread moored FPSO in each of the fields. Through a design competition Petrobras and Partners selected the de-coupled riser system developed by Subsea 7. In each field two BSRs (Buoy Supporting Risers) anchored at 250m below waterline support the rigid risers on one side and flexible flowlines running to the FPSO on the other. Each BSR displaces close to 10,000t of water and provides a nominal net up thrust of 3,250t. This Paper highlights the engineering challenges and the solution developed for the large-scale foundation anchors that support these massive BSRs in the harsh environment of the Santos Basin in 2140m water depth. Vertically below each corner of the BSR tank an 8m diameter by 18m penetration suction anchor houses the receptacles for the pair of tethers. Tension in the tethers was tuned to optimise the system stiffness (to minimise lateral BSR excursion orbits and avoid clash of risers and FPSO mooring lines) while requiring minimum anchor capacity. Four ballast modules of 150t each sit on top of each suction anchor to provide the remainder of the required uplift resistance. Soil conditions across both fields consist of soft silty clay. A geotechnical FE model of the suction anchor in Abaqus was used to evaluate the interaction of the structure, surrounding soil and trapped water beneath the top cap. The model was used to develop the complete load-displacement curves of the system during the undrained design current events. A consolidation FE model using the Soft Soil model in PLAXIS showed that the hybrid anchor/ballast system under sustained uplift loading is stable throughout the design life for the level of sustained design load. Although the LRFD verification format of suction anchors and gravity anchors are well covered in the design codes, there seems to be a gap in the coverage of this particular type of hybrid anchor. The governing condition was found to be the long term drained pull-out capacity under sustained loading with the assumption of slowly leaking suction port and air evacuation port at the top. Copyright © 2017 ASME."
"By taking a bold step forward in developing the Garoupa field offshore Brazil with subsea techniques, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) will benefit from early production to help satisfy the country's growing energy demand. This article describes the first phase of the development program. Petrobras is seeking a producing rate of 45,000 b/d from nine drilled wells. Wellhead cellars, in which many components, associated connections and well-control systems will be encapsulated, are described along with submarine flow lines, processing and loading, and production and processing control systems."
"Construction of the Rio de Janeiro-Sao Paulo gas line for Petrobras represents a landmark within Brazilian energy development since the system interconnects the main South America industrial center located in Sao Paulo state to the Campos basin. This basin, one of the gas and oil offshore producing areas, has the fastest development in the world and is responsible for over 50% of Brazilian oil and natural gas production. This paper discuses the various terrain characteristics, logistics and construction details for this project."
"On November, 2010 Petrobras defined the necessity of one additional gas export pipeline in Santos Basin Pre-Salt area to improve the capacity of the export gas network and assure the objectives defined in the Strategic Plan. Nowadays there are two gas export pipelines in operation to export the gas from pre-salt area: Rota 1 connecting Lula Sul field to onshore facilities in Caraguatatuba/SP and Rota 2 connecting Lula Área de Iracema Sul to onshore facilities in Cabiunas/RJ. The new 20-in and 24-in gas export pipeline named Rota 3 is approximately 307km long and connects Lula Norte field in Santos Basin to Jaconé Beach/Maricâ It has 15 spare hubs and 3 PLEMs for future connections to Sépia, Berbigão, Atapu, Sururu, Buzios and Libra fields. Also, Rota 3 is interconnected to export gas pipeline Rota 2 in a loop to permit gas exportation through Maricá and Cabiúnas. This paper addresses the pipeline design optimizations based on standard DNV-0S-F101 and on several consulting to national and international pipe suppliers. Full scale qualifications tests were performed in accordance with DNV-0S-F101 to permit the use of the alfafab factor identical to one for the supplied 20-in UOE pipes. All qualification process was witnessed by DNV. Additional simplifications were introduced aiming to costs reduction and in order to improve attractiveness of EPCI (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation) contract. Installation contractors were invited to suggest simplifications to the project. Lessons learned during the design, BID process and installation phase of the project are also envisaged. © 2018, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Marginal Oilfields are refered to as those oilfields that are hardly developed efficiently with current technical and ecomonical conditions, characterized as high costs of development and low profit margins. However, under certain economical and technical circumstances, marginal oilfields may be transferred to be conventional ones. Since Petrobras developed the first ever offshore deep reservoir (Lula) by scale in 2006, Brazil has been conducting a progressive campaign targeting hydrocarbons buried under deep water, which contributes to discovery of Lula, Carioca, Jupiter, Buzios, Libra and other giant presalt reservoirs in Santos Basin. CNPC signed a cooperation contract with Petrobras in 2013, taking 10% of the total shares. How to efficiently develop the oilfield has been a challenging issue. Technologies of smart water injection in Shengli Oilfield have been studied, while the field development and environment (deep water) of Libra Oilfield have been analyzed, in order that the smart water injection technologies may be modified to develop the marginal oilfield more efficiently. Different from conventional zonal water injection technologies, the remote wireless control water injection technologies take advantages of packers that are connected with each other via preset cables, which achieves downhole testing and water injection simultaneously. Being run via tubing, the water injection string locates a nozzle for each reservoir that is isolated by a packer. All nozzles are connected with packers via the preset cables that work as power lines for the whole string, so that downhole data such as pressures, flows and temperatures are all transferred to the processing computer on the surface. The computer program is used to convert pressure and formation signals into curves that are transferred to Company via WIFI or mobile 2G/3G/4G webs, in order that technicians there may understand and learn about downhole pressures, temperatures, flows and nozzle conditions in real time. They are able to open and close the nozzles totally or partially by giving orders that are transferred as signals via cables. In order to cope with offshore environment of Libra Oilfield in Santos Basin, pre-set cable packers have been modified accordingly, so that highly deviated wells may be developed with the smart water injection technologies. A field trial deployed in BM-C-33 Block Libra Oilfield shows that the modified smart water injection technologies are feasible for Libra Oilfield, as a novel solution to inject water in highly-deviated and horizontal wells in offshore oilfields. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Petrobras announced a ""giant"" discovery in the northern part of Campos Basin, of at least an estimated recoverable 0.6 billion bbl of heavy oil. The reservoir, about 80 km offshore, was initially discovered in January 2001. The country's last major find, the 3 billion bbl, ultra-deep-water Roncador field, was made by Petrobras in 1996."
"In 1939, the Lobito oil field, Brazil's first, was discovered. During the 1950's, 15 significant fields were discovered. In 1975, the exclusion of private capital in Brazilian oil operations came to an abrupt end. Petrobras was authorized to seek service contracts with foreign oil companies in regions not under exploration. The Campos basin is the most productive oil province in Brazil, accounting for about 62% of current production. The Campos basin is an Atlantic-type basin, typical of a passive continental margin."
"This work aims to present a review of dielectric logging, including physical principles, petrophysical evaluation, and applications. In addition, we will present a history of its use in Petrobras oilfields. The dielectric properties are generated by the charge alignment created by an excitation provided by an electric field. In this sense, polar characteristics of water molecules allow quantification of volume of water present in the reservoir, independently of salinity. Owing to the shallow depths of investigation, dielectric tools are useful in evaluating residual oil in high uncertainty salinity conditions, especially in mature fields, where uncertainties occur due to injection of water and/or steam. Although this logging tool has a long history of use in the petroleum industry, it was rarely used in Petrobras oilfields due to the high specificity, limitations of the technique, and/or high cost. Considering high frequencies used and proximity between electrodes, the tool provides very shallow measurements, which makes it impossible to evaluate the virgin zone in most reservoirs. Due to these characteristics, the tool was widely employed in low mobility hydrocarbon formations, where mud filtrate invasion tends to be smaller. The dielectric tool was used in Petrobras to evaluate reservoirs with very high viscosity and fresh water, in which it showed good results in the quantification of water saturation and hydrocarbon mobility. Additionally, the tool was used in Pre-salt in order to evaluate residual oil saturation to diminish the uncertain of microresistivity logs. Besides evaluating water saturation, many works have shown other applications for dielectric logging, such as to determine conductivity, salinity, wettability, Archie's ""m"" and ""n"" electric parameters, CEC, and evaluation of laminated reservoirs. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Forty-four companies competed for 23 blocks - 13 offshore and 10 onshore - in Brazil's second bid round in June 2000. That 21 of the 23 blocks on offer were licensed shows that the country remains a big draw among E&P firms. The top bidders include a consortium between Santa Fe Snyder (operator, 45%) and Construtora Norberto Odebrecht (15%), which paid 12.025 million real ($6.68 million) for Block BM-C-8 in the Campos basin; Shell, which offered 65.16 million real for the hotly contested Campos Block BM-C-10, for which it was the sole bidder; and Petrobras, with eight winning bids."
"Petrobras increased its oil production capacity by 100,000 bpd following the start-up of operations at the Marlim Sul floating production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO), at the Marlim Sul field, in the Campos basin. Petrobras has leased the FPSO from the US' Single Buoy Moorings since January 2003. The new platform should start production at 20,000-25,000 bpd and reach full capacity by the end of 2004. Total output in the Campos basin averaged 1.2 million bpd of oil and NGL in the first 4 mo of 2004, equivalent to ? 80% of the country's production. The FPSO is 110-km offshore Rio de Janeiro state and operates at water depths of 1160 m. Production from Marlim Sul averaged 151,000 bpd in 2003. Another platform, the 180,000-bpd P-51, is also planned for the Marlim Sul field and is due on stream in 2008."
"Hamworthy has supplied its first onboard LNG regasification plant - the first of four such installations due delivery from the supplier. Hamworthy delivered an onboard vaporizer system to be installed on the 145,000 cu m LNG shuttle regasification vessel (SRV) Suez Neptune. SRV are designed to transport and store LNG, and then vaporize it into natural gas that can be sent ashore by subsea pipeline. Hamworthy is supplying three regasification skids per ship. Each shipset will have a regasification capacity of 210 ton/hr of LNG with a send-out pressure of 115 bar. The firm's second project comprises plant for a 138,000 cu m LNG floating storage and regasification unit, Golar Winter. The vessel will be chartered by Petrobras in an LNG import project located in Guanabara Bay, Brazil, where gas will be sent from the vessel to an onshore gas grid."
"Faced with the latest experiences on Brazilian oil spill incidents, Petrobras has been trying to overcome many challenges in environmental management and operational safety, aiming to prevent environmental risks. This paper presents the oil characterizations and monitoring studies in affected ecosystems such as the hot spots on soils affected by the Iguassu River oil spill (occurred in July 2000, due to a pipeline rupture in the scraper area of REPAR, a Petrobras refinery located in the state of Parana), by the Vessel Vergina II oil spill in São Sebastião channel (located in the state of São Paulo, occurred in November 2000) and lastly, the Guanabara Bay oil spill (a pipeline rupture that occurred in January 2000, due to a pipeline rupture between oil terminal and REDUC, a Petrobras refinery located in the state of Rio de Janeiro). Chemical analysis were performed in different sample matrixes including many parameters such as total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), aliphatic compounds (n-alkanes), unresolved complex mixtures (UCM), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), terpanes and steranes, that are the parameters usually monitored after a spill oil. Visual inspections were also performed mainly in Guanabara Bay in order to identify the affected ecosystems by the spilled oil and to plot maps of classified regions based on the level of visual oil contamination. The acute toxicity was evaluated in water soluble fraction (WSF) of the spilled oils using ecotoxicological tests."
"Petrobras has awarded Excelerate Energy a 15-yr time charter for which Excelerate will provide an advanced floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to be named by Petrobras VT3. Capable of storing 173,400 cu m, the vessel will deliver 20 million cu m/day of natural gas to southeastern Brazil. In addition, from July 2013 until the arrival of the VT3 newbuilding, Petrobras' Guanabara Bay LNG terminal will use Excelerate's Exquisite FSRU with an increased regasification plant, expanding the terminal's delivery capacity from 14 million to 20 million cu m/day. The VT3 newbuilding design is based on Excelerate's existing fleet and Petrobras requirements. Capable of operating as both an FSRU and a fully tradable LNG carrier, the vessel is to enter service in May 2014."
"Petrobras has utilized different types of units in Marlim Field development. From converted Semi-Submersibles to turret-equipped FPSOs, many different options were made. This paper describes the main reasons for choosing the different types of production units, the conversion approach, and the process plant automation and control system - showing the evolution from one unit to another. The paper also presents the actual performance of each production unit, analyzing the operational results- opex- the main causes of production losses and the efficiency levels reached by the wells and also the process plants. Finally, the paper shows a host of new technologies applied in this development and describes the future units that are on their way to Marlim Field."
"The Santos Basin Pre-salt reservoirs are located in deepwater offshore Brazil and although the oil has a good quality, their CO2 concentrations are higher than those generally found in other Brazilian fields. PETROBRAS and its partners established that they will not vent the CO 2 produced in the Pre-salt layer to the atmosphere so a CO 2 injection scenario is a potential alternative to improve the oil recovery. An extensive monitoring program is being considered in order to ensure the Carbon Capture and Geological Storage (CCGS) projects efficiency. However, there are several challenges to be confronted concerning the CO2 monitoring in such adverse conditions as the Presalt reservoirs. Among the existing techniques for monitoring offshore storage sites, some of them have already technological maturity and applicability to the Pre-salt environment but other methods must rely on some development or methodology adaptation to the specific features of these fields and they will be initiatives of the PRO-CO2 technological program of PETROBRAS Research Center. This paper addresses the main technological challenges for PETROBRAS and its partners related to the methods applicability for the CO2 storage monitoring in the Santos Basin Pre-salt Cluster and also exposes the strategies found to solve the problems. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd."
"Manganese (Mn) is an abundant element in terrestrial and coastal ecosystems and an essential micronutrient in the metabolic processes of plants and animals. Mn is generally not considered a potentially toxic element due to its low content in both soil and water. However, in coastal ecosystems, the Mn dynamic (commonly associated with the Fe cycle) is mostly controlled by redox processes. Here, we assessed the potential contamination of the Rio Doce estuary (SE Brazil) by Mn after the world's largest mine tailings dam collapse, potentially resulting in chronic exposure to local wildlife and humans. Estuarine soils, water, and fish were collected and analyzed seven days after the arrival of the tailings in 2015 and again two years after the dam collapse in 2017. Using a suite of solid-phase analyses including X-ray absorption spectroscopy and sequential extractions, our results indicated that a large quantity of MnII arrived in the estuary in 2015 bound to Fe oxyhydroxides. Over time, dissolved Mn and Fe were released from soils when FeIII oxyhydroxides underwent reductive dissolution. Due to seasonal redox oscillations, both Fe and Mn were then re-oxidized to FeIII, MnIII, and MnIV and re-precipitated as poorly crystalline Fe oxyhydroxides and poorly crystalline Mn oxides. In 2017, redox conditions (Eh: ?47 ± 83 mV; pH: 6.7 ± 0.5) favorable to both Fe and Mn reduction led to an increase (~880%) of dissolved Mn (average for 2015: 66 ± 130 µg L-1; 2017: 582 ± 626 µg L-1) in water and a decrease (~75%, 2015: 547 ± 498 mg kg?1; 2017: 135 ± 80 mg kg?1) in the total Mn content in soils. The crystalline Fe oxyhydroxides content significantly decreased while the fraction of poorly ordered Fe oxides increased in the soils limiting the role of Fe in Mn retention. The high concentration of dissolved Mn found within the estuary two years after the arrival of mine tailings indicates a possible chronic contamination scenario, which is supported by the high levels of Mn in two species of fish living in the estuary. Our work suggests a high risk to estuarine biota and human health due to the rapid Fe and Mn biogeochemical dynamic within the impacted estuary. © 2020"
"Deep-water exploration in Brazil has continued to increase in complexity, requiring new technology to not only meet the ever increasing demands of the challenging environments but also the increase in costs. These have been incurred from the continuous increase and upgrades in safety regulations and the costs associated with exploration into new environments. In this scenario, operators are welcoming any cost-effective methods to evaluate well profitability without sacrificing safety. In a newly discovered potential oil block, it is necessary to obtain downhole data such as pressure, temperature under specific conditions (flow and build-up periods) as well as obtain pressure-compensated fluid samples and produced volume across time. To obtain these data, it is necessary to perform Drill-Stem Tests (DSTs). Using the type of data that can be derived from DSTs, it is possible to estimate the volume of the reservoir, its layers inside the tested field, and other characteristics that are necessary for planning completion. If performed offshore, testing requires safety equipment placed inside the blowout preventer (BOP) stack to keep the well under control, prevent undesired flow, and protect the environment and personnel. Recent discoveries in Brazil indicate that there is a large hydrocarbon potential in the pre-salt area. That area extends in a track that includes 800 kilometers from the northeast to the southern regions, is 200 kilometers wide away from the coast, and has reservoirs that are 3,000 meters deep. The initial estimation of hydrocarbon production for the Brazilian pre-salt area was approximately 60 billion barrels, but other research has shown different results that are estimated to be from 120 to 200 billion barrels. The importance of this information has more than justified the need to perform DST operations to obtain reliable data. According to Petrobras, Brazilian production has increased steadily, and production has been 300 thousand barrels/day since 2008, when pre-salt production in Brazil commenced; the company wants to reach 1 million barrels/day by 2017. To achieve those numbers, it will be necessary to guarantee that the reservoir will respond as originally predicted. This will require acquisition of reliable data to estimate the current resources, which the DST provides. After the DST, if the operator determines that the production from the formation has not performed according to their expectation or their desired production rate, then the operator may choose to fracture the well. This process is performed by injecting large amounts of a specific, proppant-laden fluid into the reservoir at a high pressures and high pump rates, in order to attempt to increase the reservoir's expected production. With the traditionally used equipment, after completing the fracturing process, the equipment must be pulled out of the hole (POOH) and tripped in again to perform the actual drill-stem testing operation. Several trips were required, because the safety equipment available for the oil industry was not certified to work in extreme environments with solids being pumped at high rates and pressures. If the trips were to be consolidated, a specially-designed downhole equipment package would have to be developed. A major engineering/service company has now developed new subsea safety-tree equipment to be placed inside the BOP stack; with this new equipment, the fracturing operation and the drill-stem testing can be performed in the same trip, since the safety valve system has the capability to maintain integrity when functioning in heavy proppant, high pressure, and high pump-rate conditions. This new equipment was qualified for the conditions to which it was expected to be subjected by testing the material behavior under fracturing pressures of up to 13000 psi with 23 bbl/min pumping rate with slurry that had 6 lbm of sand per gallon. After over 350,000 lbm of sand proppant fluid was flowed through the subsea safety tree, and it was closed for 5 minutes at full sand-concentration slurry. Afterwards, the pressure was increased to 15000 psi for 10 minutes with no leakage across the tree. After being disassembled, the new subsea safety tree was inspected; the inspection showed minimal damage and erosion on the inside walls of the tool, indicating that the equipment would qualify for this type of offshore operation. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Marine mining is the ocean's new exploration frontier. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is the region over which the respective coastal states hold sovereign rights for exploration, exploitation, conservation and management of natural, living or non-living, resources. The Brazilian EEZ has a rough oceanic area of 4.5 million square kilometers and is consecrated by the word ""Blue Amazon"", an area adjacent to the Brazilian mainland, which corresponds to 52% of the country's land area. Knowing the resources of such a large area is a strategic issue concerning the country's development. This work aims to determine the physical and geoacoustic properties (Vp, density, acoustic impedance) of polymetallic crusts from different areas along the Brazilian coast and to correlate with its chemical analysis. The first were measured in two different directions, parallel and orthogonal to the layering of the samples, in order to determine anisotropic effects related to the sample's framework. The correlation of the data will allow the analysis of the acoustic response of the samples to different frequencies indicating how the sample's chemical composition affects its acoustic response. Since the investigation of the seafloor is basically conducted using acoustic geophysical methods, the results of this research will allow deciding for the best procedure and technique to be used for future exploration of this resource. © 2015 IEEE."
"Based on a vast set of in situ data, a first comprehensive overview of the oceanographic characteristics of Baía de Todos os Santos (BTS) is provided. BTS is the second largest coastal bay in Brazil (maximum area of 1223 km2 and average depth of 9,8 m), and is located in the northeast Brazil, In the vicinity of Salvador city. The circulation inside the bay is mostly tidally driven and does not vary significantly throughout the year. On the other hand, the wet (winter) and dry (summer) seasons does alter significantly the distribution of water properties inside the BTS. During summer, the waters Inside the bay have oceanic characteristics, with Tropical Water (TW) penetrating along the whole region, except for the mouth of Rio Paraguaçu, The water temperature inside the bay is higher than in the coastal zone, and variations can be up to 3°C, reaching a maximum of nearly 30°C, During winter, with the increase of freshwater Inflow, salinity variations of about 4 are observed between the innermost stations Inside BTS and the adjacent coastal region, Salinity values inside the bay can be as low as 32.3, inhibiting the penetration of TW into the BTS, which Is totally occupied by a locally formed Coastal Water (CW). An evaluation of the flushing time is also provided and shows that during summer, a 60-fold increase can be observed compared to winter (38 days). While the circulation does not vary seasonally Inside the bay, the associated inner shelf is characterized by two different scenarios. During summer, the upwelling favorable easterlies drive a southwestward flow, while during winter the more frequent occurrence of cold fronts (southerly winds) tend to reverse the circulation. © 2007 Sociedade Brasileira de Geofísica."
"As new oil fields are discovered downslope on the largest Brazilian oil region, Campos Basin, situated on the shelf break and continental slope of eastern South America, new oceanographic challenges are continuously encountered by oceanographers and engineers involved in the design, installation and production of oil field ranging from water depths between 500 to 2000 m. The surface flow in the region is dominated by the Brazil Current, the counterpart of the Gulf Stream as the western boundary current of the South Atlantic gyre. The deep water flow is very complex with different layers of counter currents associated with the rich structure of water masses on this region. This paper discusses the attempts made by PETROBRAS to study the complex flow in the region and produce oil under the harsh environment of deep continental slope regions. Results of oceanographic measurements are presented to build a reliable metocean design basis for this region of the South Atlantic Ocean where there is a lack of long term data measurements."
"Here palynological assemblages are presented from channel surface sediment samples from the Caceribu, Guaraí and Guapimirim-Macacú rivers located in an important area of the Brazilian coast (Guanabara Bay, State of Rio de Janeiro), in order to provide information relevant for the interpretation of palaeoecological records. The data indicate the predominance of pollen types from the Atlantic Forest in all samples and a relatively low representation of mangrove pollen, suggesting distant (regional) fluvial transport. Avicennia and Rhizophora were represented in those samples closer to the intertidal zone, Rhizophora being the most important. It was possible to verify a marked difference in pollen concentration/deposition among the three rivers, probably related to the different hydrodynamic pattern of each river. A low concentration of palynomorphs occurred in the Macacú-Guapimirim River, resulting from its higher flow, and there was a high deposition of palynomorphs in the sediments of Guaraí River, in response to its isolation from the hydrographic Guanabara Bay basin. It was possible to verify other interesting data, such as low palynomorph concentration in samples from near the mouth and an increase of palynomorphs in the upstream samples, mainly due to the more active action of the tidal currents. Meanwhile, the increase in the total concentration of the palynomorphs in the upstream samples coincides with the maximum reach of the saline waters and their meeting with the internal flow of the rivers. © 2019, © 2019 AASP–The Palynological Society."
"Purpose: In order to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities on carbon and nutrient accumulation, total organic carbon (TOC), nitrogen (TN), and phosphorus (TP) accumulation rates were examined in a 210Pb-dated mangrove sediment core from Sepetiba Bay, Brazil, a coastal region impacted by multiple environmental changes during the previous century. Materials and methods: A 50-cm length sediment core was collected from a mangrove forest in Sepetiba Bay. Sediment subsamples were analyzed to measure TOC, TN, ?13C, and ?15N using an elemental analyzer attached to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer Thermo Finnigan Model Delta Plus XP, whereas colorimetric analysis were used to measure TP. For 210Pbex analyses, gamma-ray measurements were performed in a semiplanar intrinsic germanium high purity coaxial detector, coupled to a multichannel analyzer, whereas the sediment accumulation rate (SAR) was calculated according to the constant initial concentration (CIC) method. Also, carbon and nutrient fluxes were calculated using SAR and TOC, TN, and TP contents, whereas statistical differences were evaluated by ANOVA + Tukey HSD analysis with previous data normalization. Results and discussion: The calculated sedimentation rate (~ 8.1 mm year?1) since the early 1900s was up to threefold higher than the global mean determined for mangrove forests (~ 2.8 mm year?1) and the regional sea level rise (~ 3.2 mm year?1). Significantly higher TOC, TN, and TP fluxes, up to nearly 1000, 90, and 15 g m?2 year?1, respectively, were observed after the water diversion from a nearby drainage basin in the 1950s and an increase in sewage effluent input, which increased in the early 1990s. After this period, lighter ?13C values (~ ? 25‰) indicate an increased importance of the terrestrial organic matter source, while lower TOC:TN ratios (~ 11) and heavier ?15N values (~ + 9‰) suggest an increased influence of anthropogenic fertilization on inorganic nitrogen accumulation. Conclusions: The significantly higher accumulation rates during the last decades evidenced the role of mangrove sediments as sinks for anthropogenically enhanced inputs of carbon and nutrients. Also, studies on carbon and nutrient accumulation evidenced the need for further research in eutrophic coastal areas. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"Meteorological data collected using ocean buoys are very important for weather forecasting. In addition, they provide valuable information on ocean–atmosphere interaction processes that have not yet been explored. Accordingly, data collection using ocean buoys is well established around the world. In Brazil, ocean buoy data are obtained by the Brazilian Navy through a monitoring network on the Brazilian coast, which has high potential for wind power generation. In this context, the present study aimed to analyze the scaling behavior of wind speed on the Brazilian coast (continental shelf), South Atlantic Ocean and coast of Africa in order to determine long-range correlations and acquire more information on the crossover phenomenon at various scales. For this purpose, the detrended fluctuation analysis technique and numerical simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting mesoscale model were used. The results from buoys show that wind speed exhibits a scaling behavior, but without the crossover phenomenon in the Brazilian coast, South Atlantic Ocean and coast of Africa, indicating the dependence of the phenomenon by the terrestrial surface, suggesting influence on the wind power generation. Buoy data from the South Atlantic Ocean and coast Africa showed a subdiffusive behavior (??1), whereas those from the Brazilian coast indicated persistence (0.5<?<1), except for the confluence region of Porto Seguro, which indicated anti-persistence (?=0.48). The numerical simulations using the WRF mesoscale model showed a subdiffusive behavior on the Brazilian coast, and no persistence was reproduced in most coastal buoys. The findings support deeper understanding of the wind regime and its associated properties, with particular attention to the Brazilian continental shelf, suggesting that the methodology is useful for assessing the potential of offshore wind power generation. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"This study was conducted in the Itajaí-Açu river lower estuary in Southern Brazil, in which we aimed to: (1) analyze spatiotemporal variations on the macrofauna; (2) search for relationships between environmental variables and the assembly and (3) evaluate the influence of capital dredging upon the assembly. Two hundred twenty eight samples were performed in four stations, two of which affected by dredging. Sediment (sand, silt and clay, organic matter and carbonate) and water column´s variables (temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity) were also assessed. We applied Principal Component Analysis for environmental variables and Hierarchical Clustering for biotic data. Correlations between environmental and biotic matrices were tested by Canonical Analysis of Principal Coordinates. Spatiotemporal variations in the assembly were tested by Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance. From the 21.839 organisms sampled, 97% was represented by the gastropod Heleobia australis. Despite the influence of the river discharge on the ecosystem, dredging was deleterious to the assembly, favoring opportunistic organisms such as H. australis. © 2016, Universidade de Sao Paulo. All rights reserved."
"The economy of Brazil has the potential to further develop its existing maritime cabotage services by promoting a modal shift from the road to the sea. The road represents the biggest share in the Brazilian transport matrix, but the larger waterborne participation represents lower logistics costs and greater environmental benefits. This paper investigates cabotage users' perception and priorities in integrating cabotage into their multimodal transport systems. It analyses the cabotage and transport choice body of literature, the outcome of which was applied to 326 potential domestic cabotage users through an email survey questionnaire made up of open and closed questions, which resulted in 30 answers suitable for analysis by univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. The 59 service attributes identified were grouped into 13 factors, which explained 89.6% of the modal choice. The conclusions show that cabotage users aim to enhance the integration of logistics between transport modes and to adopt modal shift strategies if better services could be provided, including a real-time information system, shorter transit times and freight offered on a door-to-door basis. Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd."
"Petrobras and the UK's BG Group are studying the possibility of installing floating gas-liquefaction plants at the large offshore oil and gas discoveries in the Campos basin's pre-salt areas. The proposed 14 million cu m/day LNG plant would be moored 300 km offshore and would collect gas from various fields in the area, including the giant Tupi discovery. LNG would be delivered to domestic terminals during the country's dry season when, gas-fired power generation supplements hydropower, and exported at other times."
"The SCR (Steel Catenary Riser) was adopted by Petrobras as a cost-effective alternative for oil and gas export lines on deepwater fields, where large diameter flexible risers present technical and economic limitations. The SCR structures are subjected to several types of loads during their service life. These loads may be static or dynamic. When installed, the action of environmental phenomena like wind, current and sea waves on the floating unit, induces motions that will be transferred to the riser top connection. The random time domain dynamic analysis approach is considered to be more suitable to represent the loads and also die structural response due to the capability to represent existing non-linearities in the model. The sea-state spectra are treated by a time-simulation method, so fluid load non-linearity and fluid-structure interaction are well represented. Structural non-linearity, drag forces, fluid-structure relative velocity, and sea surface level variations are also taken into account. The fatigue damage calculation is directly related with stresses ranges composed along the whole structure service life. The load sets used in such analysis should be complete enough to represent all possible significant situations. This procedure results in a high computer time consuming necessary for several time-domain analyses, that is not compatible with a typical design schedule. Therefore, the load cases have to be reduced without lack of accuracy or safety. This paper presents the approach and methodology adopted in Petrobras to verify the SCR fatigue damage. The analysis performed and presented used the Petrobras's in-house computer codes ANFLEX and POSFAL, which were specially upgraded for this purpose."
"Petrobras' Barracuda and Caratinga Project consists in an offshore deep-water oil fields production development, located at the Campos Basin, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for which Petrobras is the concessionaire. The fields cover an area of 493 square kilometers at water depths of 600 to 1,100 meters for Barracuda and 850 to 1,350 meters for Caratinga, with reserves of approximately 1,1 billion oil barrels and 12,5 billion cubic meters of gas. The Project is being developed through a major turnkey EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) Contract of over US$ 2.6 billion, signed on July, 2000, with KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root), the Engineering and Construction Company of the Halliburton Group, making Barracuda and Caratinga one of the largest offshore development projects in the upstream segment. The EPC Contract Scope of Work consists of the conversion of two VLCC vessels into Floating Production Storage and Offloading units (the P-43 and P-48 FPSOs) capable of processing 150,000 barrels of oil per day each, drilling and completion of fifty four wells and the development of all associated subsea system. As a result of the magnitude of the Contract, a complex financial structure was designed and a Special Purpose Company (SPC) was created to enable an off-balance and off-budget execution, through the establishment of a Project Finance. Petrobras, as Owner Representative, is responsible for the management and acceptance of the work accomplished through the EPC Contract, as well as, for the future operation of the production facilities, on behalf of the SPC. This paper aims at presenting an overview of the Project, along with the major challenges experienced, the means found to overcome them and the resulting contributions for the offshore energy industry. © 2005, Offshore Technology Conference."
"© 2020 Elsevier Ltd and INQUAIn the northernmost of Rio Grande do Sul coastal plain, southern Brazil, the first comparative palynological study of the sedimentary profiles of two present-day Atlantic rainforests was conducted in Torres municipality: Pirataba forest (29°15? S, 49°51? W), 17 km from the coastline, and Faxinal forest (29°21? S, 49°45? W), 2 km from the coastline. Ten radiocarbon dates and additional grain influx diagrams allowed for a more accurate analysis. The results suggested that regional and local events affected the northern coastal plain vegetation. The inner coastal plain of the Pirataba site was characterized by a cold, dry regional climate and a small number of pioneer forest species at the end of the last glacial stage (24,000–10,000 BP); a regionally variable temperature increase with slightly humid and dry phases in the early/mid-Holocene (10,000–6700 BP); and regional high temperature and humidity, and expanding Atlantic rainforests, in the mid-Holocene (6700 BP onwards). Near the coastline in the Faxinal site, the following were detected: marine transgression and damage to herbaceous marsh plants, and elevated temperature in the mid-Holocene (7000–6700 BP); regional marine regression, gradual soil desalination and scarce herbaceous marsh in the mid/late Holocene (6700–3500 BP); and regional high temperature and humidity, with forest expansion over the desalinated herbaceous marsh in the late Holocene (3500 BP onwards). The Pirataba and Faxinal forests expanded because of the high temperatures, an even greater increase in regional rainfall, and improved soil conditions at the end of the late Holocene (1500 BP onwards). The hydrosere occurring due to a water reservoir in Faxinal highlights the importance of preserving the lacustrine bodies of the region as generators of coastal forests."
"© 2019, Instytut Technologii Drewna. All rights reserved.The assemblage and functional structure of the fish fauna of the Maracaípe River, municipality of Ipojuca-PE, was characterized by monthly beach trawls carried out from March of 2012 to February of 2013. A beach trawl net (picaré) was used at three different points of the estuary (EST 1, EST 2 and EST 3) during day and night trawls. The captured specimens were measured and weighed in the laboratory, identified and separated into use and trophic guilds using appropriate literature. Abiotic variables (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and chlorophyll-a) were analyzed as for differences between day periods (night and day) and seasons (dry and rainy), and correlated to fish abundance. No difference was detected between day periods (p>0.07 for all variables), but they differed between seasons for most variables (p?0.02), and between sampling points only for dissolved oxygen (p=0.03). In one year of collection, 11,513 specimens were captured, belonging to 92 species, 38 families and 15 orders. Gerreidae, Atherinopsidae, Clupeidae, Gobiidae and Hemiramphidae were responsible for 82.99% of the total abundance. The estuary of the Maracaípe River presents a rich ichthyofauna, but with the quantitative predominance of seven species (Atherinella brasiliensis, Eucinostomus argenteus, E. melanopterus, Ulaema lefroyi, Lile piquitinga, Ctenogobius boleosoma and Hyporhamphus unifasciatus). In the estuary, six species classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Endangered Species List were reported. The estuary presents a high diversity of species, most of them marine, carnivorous, and opportunistic, showing the high resilience of this environment. The predominance of juvenile fish underscores the importance of the Maracaípe River estuary for the maintenance of population stocks of coastal species, demonstrating the urgent demand of management of this environment."
":With the application of new technologies for processing and interpreting seismic data, PETROBRAS, in recent years, has achieved great success in the discovery of giant oil fields underlying thick layers of rock salt. Due to the mechanical behavior of these rocks, subject to the creep phenomenon, it was developed a large research and development project in order to determine the creep properties of these rocks and the application of computational simulations to predict the behavior of deep wells during the drilling of these layers. If on one hand the salt layers, with thicknesses ranging from 2000m to 5000 m, are a challenge in drilling activity, they can be considered in the logistic flow of gas and final destination of CO 2. The rock salt has negligible porosity when compared to other geomaterials, which guarantees excellent impermeability to most fluids and gases, even under high pressures. Another phenomenon associated with rock salt is the process of self-healing. Taking advantage of these physical-chemical and structural properties of rock salt, caverns opened by dissolution in salt domes have been used for storage of hydrocarbons and other products. Considering the large regional thicknesses and continuity of rock salt overlying the presalt reservoirs, PETROBRAS is studying the strategy and technical and economic feasibility for the use of underground storage of natural gas and CO 2 in salt caverns. Despite being a technology already dominated worldwide is unprecedented, the offshore application in deep and ultra-deep water. © 2012 Taylor &amp; Francis Group, London."
"The discovery and production, by Petrobras, of over 50 billion barrels in place of pre-salt oil in Brazil's offshore South Atlantic Santos and Campos basins has drawn worldwide attention to its km-thick Cretaceous salt seal since 2007. However, the depth of the pre-salt reservoir in these basins make prohibitive the costs of continuous coring or even extensive logging of the salt. The salt seal of the Santos and Campos basins forms part of the Cretaceous South Atlantic salt giant, the largest in the world, now divided between Brazil and southwestern Africa. Although our petrographic study is concentrated north of the Santos and Campos basins, we nevertheless discuss the age, facies, tectonic-paleogeographic controls and evolution of the entire Brazilian salt giant. Offshore Brazil, salt extends for 2.200 km from the Sergipe Basin in the northeast to the Santos Basin in the southwest. The Sergipe Basin at its NE end displays the full spectrum of evaporite cycles, spanning from carbonates, anhydrites and halites to the highly soluble hydrated Mg-chlorides carnallite, bischoffite and tachyhydrite, as does the Santos Basin in the SW part of the salt giant. The deposition of Mg-chlorides was terminated in Sergipe by an intra-salt unconformity at the carnallite/sylvinite contact, dated as 110.64 ± 0.34 Ma. In the intervening Espírito Santo and Campos basins, these highly soluble salts have not yet been found. Onshore Sergipe and Espírito Santo basins the entire salt sequence has been cored in several wells, including the highly soluble Mg–K–Ca chlorides. Here, we analyze the petrography and chemistry of cores in Sergipe and Espírito Santo. We prove the presence of tachyhydrite beds at both ends of the salt giant, in the Sergipe and Santos basins, but, at least for the time being, not in between the two basins. By comparing the presence of tachyhydrite beds in Brazil with similar evaporite sequences of similar age in Thailand, we defend that the high Ca/Mg and Ca/SO4 ratios in Cretaceous seawater was the de facto cause for tachyhydrite deposition in both regions. Ca/Mg and Ca/SO4 ratios of global seawater were raised by hydrothermal activity over basalts produced at exceptionally high rates in the Aptian along new mid-oceanic ridges and in oceanic plateaus such as Ontong-Java. The heat loss caused by this exceptionally high igneous activity may have been instrumental to the change of the thermochemical conditions across the core-mantle boundary that stabilized the Cretaceous Normal Superchron for nearly 40 Ma, from 123.4 to 121.2 Ma (2?) to 83.07 ± 0.15 Ma (2?) Ma. Aptian volcanic activity in the South Atlantic formed the Rio Grande Rise - Walvis Ridge that was the southern barrier of the salt basin, lava flows on the São Paulo Plateau, and basalts along the developing South Atlantic Ridge. Evaporite facies reflect cyclic changes on all scales when concentrating the depositing brines. We therefore analyze the effect of increases in brine concentration on the formation of salt crystals throughout multiple depositional cycles. In the later stages of the Brazilian salt basins, increased inflow of seawater from the Central Atlantic Ocean along the Equatorial pull-apart rift basins enlarged and deepened the existent brine lake while its salinity, and especially its Ca and Mg contents, dropped. Flooding by this less concentrated brine created an unconformity, leaching Mg and Ca from the carnallite and tachyhydrite previously deposited, and replacing them with secondary sylvinite. Our results can be applied to the essentially uncored salt sequence of the Campos and Santos basins, where igneous and hydrothermal activity provided additional sources of calcium. The Ca excess may have been increased still further by serpentinization of lithospheric mantle beneath hyperextended crust and by percolation of seawater through mafic rocks of the proto-Rio Grande Rise – Walvis Ridge that formed the southern barrier of the salt basin. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"Petroleum exploration along the West African and South American Equatorial Margin has led to important oil discoveries along both margins. Similar geochemical characteristics of these finds suggest analogous petroleum systems with enormous potential in the conjugate margin sedimentary basins. The Jubilee giant oil discovery offshore Ghana has an estimated recoverable reserve of about 600 million barrels. In the area that was once connected to the equatorial West African margin, but is now separated by the Atlantic Ocean, two discoveries have recently been announced. Tullow Oil announced the Zaedyus discovery offshore French Guinea, with 72m net oil pay in turbidite sandstones. Petrobras and BP announced the Pecem discovery in the northern Brazilian margin, with 140m of net pay in 2,129m water depth in the Ceara Basin. These discoveries appear to have a very similar geologic evolution, source rock facies, and oil types suggesting similar petroleum systems. Additionally, the integration of high resolution geochemical data from oils recovered from boreholes offshore the other basins along the South Atlantic Equatorial Margin has revealed four separate source rock systems: 1- an Aptian/Barremian calcareous black shale associated with a lacustrine brackish to saline anoxic environment; 2- a Late Aptian calcareous shale deposited in transitional environments, as indicated by oils found in the Ceará and Potiguar basins; 3- an Albian/Cenomanian/ Turonian marine shale corresponding to an anoxic event widespread in the West African salt basins, particularly in the deep water settings of the Ghana and Angola continental margins. Similar oils have also been registered in the Foz do Amazonas Pará-Maranhão basins and in five ultra-deep water accumulations discovered recently (2011-2012) in the Sergipe Basin; 4- Paleocene-Eocene shales deposited in deltaic environments in the Niger Delta, the Amazon Cone, and Pará-Maranhão Basin. This work aims to restore these basins to their previous pre-breakup locations and to support new exploration efforts. Despite similarities shown above, simply matching discoveries in the conjugate margin basins, for example the Tano Basin offshore Ghana, with the Ceará Basin in northern Brazil, does not necessarily yield the entire story that may lead to a successful end. There is a great deal of contrasting sedimentary and structural development peculiarities from basin to basin and margin to margin. The application of a high-resolution petroleum system approach can lead to better exploration models for these basins and provide clues on the best strategy for drilling the new prospects that have been identified in the ultradeepwater regions of the South Atlantic Equatorial Margin. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"In 2004, after a cycle of 11 yr in which the annual increase in crude oil production was 8.6% avg, the production decreased 3%, according to Petrobras. In 2003, the production was 1.54 million bpd avg. The decline in production was due to delays in construction and the arrival of two Floating Production Storage Offloading vessels, the P-43 and P-48. The P-43 began to process crude oil on 12/22/2004. When the P-48 enters service, Petrobras will be able to increase its production of crude oil by 500,000 bpd. The P-43 is stationed in the Barracuda field, bay of Campos, offshore the state of Rio de Janeiro, in 800 m of water. Initial oil yield is 10,380 bpd of 25° gravity. Platform P-48, the twin of P-43, is part of the Barracuda-Caratinga project that will increase Petrobras crude oil production by 300,000 bpd. This platform will enter service in January 2005. With the new capacity, the production of crude oil by Petrobras is expected to reach 1.9 million bpd by the end of 2005. Other floating installations will contribute as well when they enter service, the P-50 and P-34. Petrobras is to invest $26,200 million until 2010 for E&P. Between 2005 and 2008, 17 installations will enter service allowing annual increases of 5.9% in production of crude oil and NGL, achieving self sufficiency in 2006. Petrobras has invested heavily in improved recovery that in the last 10 yr in the Marlim oilfield has yielded an additional increment of 3000 million bbl of crude oil. In November 2004 Petrobras gave a $47 million contract to the Western Geco company to make a three dimensional seismic study of the Marlim basin to identify reserves there. Discovery of an additional 290 million bbl of crude oil in Marlim is expected. On dry land, improved recovery enabled an increment of 200,000 bpd in production from the fields in the states of Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe in 2004. In 2006-2007, the company expects to substitute for imports of light crude oil its own production to start in the oilfield offshore the state of Espírito Santo. This is lighter crude oil than that from the bay of Campos where the company now obtains 80% of its oil production. The Brazilian oilfields produce mainly heavy crude oil that has to be mixed with lighter imported crude oil to produce quality gasoline. However, Brazil increases its exports of heavy crude oil. The company is involved in new areas of exploration. They are discussed. The Brazilian Petroleum Authority, Agencia Nacional de Petroleo, will likely hold the 7th hydrocarbon licensing round for concessions in crude oil E&P in October 2005."
"As the operator of several exploratory blocks in ultradeep waters, Petrobras was responsible for many presalt oil discoveries in Santos Basin such as Tupi, Carioca, Guará, and Iara. In partnership with the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP), Petrobras drilled well 2-ANP-2A, which resulted in the Libra discovery. In 2013, Libra was offered in the first bidding round executed by the Brazilian government under the new Production Sharing Contract for presalt areas. The winning consortium is comprised of Petrobras (operator), Shell, Total, CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation), CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation), and PPSA (Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A.). The Libra discovery is sitting over a structural trap of about 550 km2 (212 mi2) closure at the Aptian top reservoirs level presenting a maximum oil column that can reach up to 900 m (2953 ft). The main reservoirs are lacustrine carbonates, deposited from the Neobarremian until the Aptian. Preliminary estimates indicate a volume of oil in place between 8 and 12 billion BOE. The development proposed for Libra started with Phase 0, in 2014, and is focused on information gathering, including appraisal wells, extended well tests (EWT), early production systems (EPS), and a pilot project. Phase 1 encompasses the definitive production systems and is expected to start in 2022 and finish in 2030. Copyright ©2017 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists."
"© 2020, Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia. All rights reserved.The determination of the period of parturition and identification of nursery areas are fundamental for the management and conservation of a fishing resource. Through combination of monthly abundance, length measurements, and development time of embryos we inferred about parturition time of the Blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus, from Southwestern Atlantic. Specimens of C. limbatus were caught from 2002 and 2008 by artisanal fleets from three different locations along the Brazilian coast using gillnets (mesh width ranging between 30 and 120 mm between opposite knots and operating from 9 to 120 m in depth), handlines (19 to 140 m depth) and longlines (6 to 90 m depth). Through a comparative analysis of fisheries landing data collected, we have verified neonatal (< 90 cm) catch peaks at specific times of the year in different locations and, matching with birth prediction of embryos, propose that C. limbatus presents a well-defined parturition time in late spring-early summer in Southwestern Atlantic. Moreover, we indicate supposed nursery grounds for the species along the Brazilian coast. This information will be crucial for stock assessments of the species and may serve as a basis for determining fisheries management measures."
"Brazil's oil development continues its remarkable progress; latest figures show crude oil output averaged 160,000 bpd, strong 8% increase over 1967; largest producer became Miranga field, discovered only in 1965 (see Engineering Index 1967 p 1699), where 120 wells have been drilled, and average total output amounted to 39,000 bpd; extensive drilling program has contributed to proven reserves of Petrobras, calculated at end of 1967 at 800 million bbl and 24. 5 billion cu m or around 850 billion cu ft of gas; offshore development is considered most promising, as sedimentary section of about 6000 m thickness has been indicated by previous geophysical and seismic surveys on Continental Shelf."
"The discovery of large oil accumulations in the rift and sag Pre-Salt sections of the Campos and Santos Basins has revived interest in the exploration of the lacustrine carbonate reservoirs in the Brazilian and African marginal basins. More than half of Brazilian oil production originates from the Pre-Salt reservoirs of these offshore basins. A study integrating systematic petrography, cathodoluminescence, scanning electron microscopy, microprobe and X-ray diffraction was performed on seven wells in the northern Campos Basin. This study highlights the major primary, diagenetic and hydrothermal features of the Pre-Salt succession, with the aim to improve our understanding of the factors that influence the porosity and permeability distribution in these important lacustrine carbonate reservoirs. The Pre-Salt deposits correspond to bioclastic grainstones and rudstones, syngenetic crusts of fascicular calcite, and intraclastic grainstones and rudstones of reworked crust fragments and calcite spherulites. Magnesian silicates are frequently associated with carbonate deposits. In the sag phase, stevensitic laminations constitute the substrate for the precipitation of calcite crusts and spherulites, which displace and replace the syngenetic magnesian clay deposits. In the rift section, stevensitic ooids are mixed with bioclasts or form ooidal arenites. Pre-Salt carbonate reservoirs have undergone a complex and heterogeneous diagenetic evolution. Eodiagenetic processes include the dissolution, neomorphism and cementation of bivalve bioclasts in the rift, as well as the dissolution of magnesian silicates and their replacement by calcite spherulites, silica and dolomite in the sag section. Burial alterations are commonly associated with hydrothermal fluids carried through faults and fracture systems. These fluids promote dolomitization, silicification, and dissolution at varying degrees and intensities. Eodiagenetic precipitation and dissolution owing to variations in the lake water chemistry and the episodic flow of hydrothermal fluids under burial conditions control the creation, redistribution, and obliteration of porosity in the Pre-Salt reservoirs. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"This work discusses the regional geological and geophysical datasets (potential field data coupled with seismic lines) available across the Eastern Brazilian Continental Margin and addresses tectonic models that have been applied to the geological interpretation of the Vitória-Trindade Chain (VTC). New magnetic data acquired in the Trindade Island is combined with compiled petrological data and geological maps to propose a stratigraphic column with radiometric control for the volcanic sequences. The gravity and magnetic anomaly maps were integrated with regional seismic profiles extending from the continental platform towards the oceanic crust, showing the geomorphology of the Abrolhos Volcanic Complex (AVC) and the VTC. A detailed geological mapping of the Trindade Island was complemented by magnetometric profiles acquired on the island. The magmatic episodes identified in the Trindade Island within different volcano-stratigraphic sequences are, geochronologically, dated by 40Ar/39Ar method as Late Neogene to Quaternary (Pliocene/Upper Pleistocene) and indicate intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks formed on the Mesozoic (Cretaceous) oceanic crust. Models for the emplacement of these volcanic rocks on much older oceanic crust include hotspots and leaking fracture zones. The presence of flat tops as observed in the volcanic banks and seamounts along the Vitória-Trindade volcanic chain indicate abrasion of much higher volcanic edifices that now form the isolated islands in the Trindade-Martin Vaz Archipelago. Geological mapping and detailed magnetometric surveys suggest different rock properties for distinct volcanic episodes that formed the Trindade Island. The remarkable pattern of magnetic anomalies trending NE-SW in the deep-water region of the Espírito Santo Basin, eastwards of the AVC, suggests that the linear chain of volcanic edifices in the VTC may be associated with mantle anomalies caused by a hotspot or plume that was influenced by the E-W direction of leaking transform fracture zones. Abbreviation: Abrolhos Volcanic Complex (AVC); Vitória-Trindade Chain (VTC). © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group."
"The Atlantic Ocean coast region of southeast Brazil contains two coast-parallel mountain ranges (the Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira) generated by tectonic activity pulses tens of millions years after the main continental rift event occurred around 120 Ma. Although the short-term erosion rates for the region are established, the relative importance of the factors controlling erosion is poorly constrained. We combine new and published catchment-averaged erosion rates (n = 48) using in situ-produced 10 Be concentrations in quartz from river sediments to establish the regional erosion pattern. The river catchments are (i) escarpment topography, (ii) high-altitude low-relief and (iii) mixed topography, which record how escarpment fronts are migrating inland. Ocean-facing coastal escarpment catchments of the Serra do Mar (? = 18–53 m/Ma) can be eroded approximately twice as fast as continent-facing escarpment catchments in the Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira (? = 7–24 m/Ma). The correlation between the normalized channel steepness index (k sn ) and slope angle indicates that river incision and hillslope erosion processes combine to maintain the high relief. The Serra do Mar catchments define a mean slope angle threshold indicating that landslides are the dominant erosional process when slope angles in excess of ~30°. Tectonic activity is low and plays no significant role in driving erosion. A first-order relationship between erosion rate and precipitation-temperature across the region implies that climate plays a key role in soil production, river incision and in triggering erosional processes. Although the high topographic relief is a pre-condition for the occurrence of significant erosion, the climatic condition is the outlining factor of the regional variation in erosion rates. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"Analyses of living (L) and dead (D) foraminifera assemblages associated to environmental parameters were applied at the Almada River Estuary, aiming for assessments concerning local biodiversity, hydrodynamic sector and environmental quality. A total of 27 species were identified in the living assemblage and 35 in the dead, with the predominance of Ammonia tepida and Cribroelphium excavatum. A DCA for the living fauna demonstrated that C. excavatum Adelosina milletti, Elphidium discoidade, Rosalina bradyi and Triloculina oblonga were associated to shallow areas with muddy sediment and under marine influence in the estuary. Laryngosigma lactea and Pyrgo oblonga were associated to deep areas with sandy sediment under marine influence. All agglutinated species and the calcareous D. nitida and Miliolinella subrotunda were associated with organic matter and high chlorophyll levels from mangrove areas. A cluster analysis performed for L and D revealed five estuary regions: I - composed predominantly by D transported from the inner shelf; II - composed by L marine species; III - composed by D transported from region II and the inner shelf; IV - composed by living agglutinated species that delimit the beginning of the upper estuary area; and V - composed by transported agglutinated foraminifera and some calcareous species transported during storm episodes The present study was efficient in the environmental characterization of the Almada River Estuary and can be used as a baseline to understand natural or anthropic impacts in this ecosystem. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"Study Region: Porous aquifer system of Northeastern Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Study Focus: The present work aimed to comprehend the geochemical processes responsible for the considerable range of salinity (48 to 5651 ?S. cm ?1 ) through chemical composition of groundwater (hydrogeochemical modeling through PHREEQC) allied to chemical ratios (Cl/Br ratio) and stable isotopes data (? 18 O and ? 2 H). New hydrological insights for the region: The PHREEQC modeling showed that high pH and low pe values conditioning the main processes controlling the hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in that region. The salinity origins should be explained by 4 hypotheses: 1) a group related to recharge zones, close to the basin headboard or connected to the fractured aquifers from the basement rocks (low Cl/Br ratio and predominance of light ? 18 O and ? 2 H isotopes; 2) a group formed by groundwater with high Cl/Br ratio and predominance of heavy ? 18 O and ? 2 H isotopes, associated to dissolution processes of Tertiary brackish water environment sediments; 3) a group formed by groundwater with low Cl/Br ratio, high Cl ? concentrations and low ? 18 O and ? 2 H, related to groundwater under influence of Caceribu River (high content of domestic effluents); and 4) a group composed by groundwater with high salinity, high Cl ? concentrations and enrichment of ? 18 O and ? 2 H, located at a mangrove area, where the influence of seawater intrusion in the aquifer is recognized. © 2019"
"This study presents results of a sediment core located in Coroa de Boi Bay, a not dredged cove within Patos Estuary, Southern Brazil. The distribution of metals (Hg, Cu, Pb) and U in the sediment profile records several contamination events since pre-colonial times to present days. A joint assessment of the distribution of these parameters and the consultation to historical documents allowed us to establish causal links between concentrations anomalies in the sediments and ancient anthropogenic contamination in the area. During the industrial period, sedimentation rates in the bay ranged from 3.4 to 5.5 mm year ?1 . Applying a sedimentation rate previously calculated for undisturbed sediments in the Patos Estuary, we trace the beginning of Hg contamination as having started in the colonial period in Southern Brazil, soon after a Hispanic–Lusitanian conflict situation in South America. The most probable source of Hg contamination during this period was carroting technology used in fur processing. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG."
"Brazilian Environmental Authority (IBAMA) adopted EPA rules for discharging drill cuttings from O&amp;G operations. EPA method describes procedures to evaluate toxicity using Leptocheirus plumulosus. Despite being an exotic species, Brazilian laboratories keep L. plumulosus cultures. Otherwise, Grandidierella bonnieroides is widely distributed in Brazilian estuaries is successfully cultured and sensitive to many toxicants. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of three non-aqueous drilling fluids (NAF) and two synthetic based drilling muds (SBM) spiked to natural sediment on the amphipods. Reference toxicant experiments were also performed using C16C18 internal olefin or a C16C18 internal olefin SBM of similar density. Sediment was collected in Jabaquara beach, RJ and transferred to the laboratory in chilly bins. After sieving, it was kept at 4 ± 2 °C until spiking for no longer than 60 days. Spiking procedures and whole-sediment tests were set up following the methods described in EPA method 1644 and Brazilian Standards. Amphipods were exposed to 5 concentrations of SBM and NAF spiked sediment plus controls for 4 and 10 days, respectively, in static system. In NAF tests using G. bonnieroides the average LC50 obtained were 3.53 g.kg-1dw (n= 7; SD=1.63; CV= 46.07%), 1.33 g.kg-1dw (n= 6; SD=0.69; CV= 52.15%) and 0.56 g.kg-1dw (n= 7; SD=0.24; CV= 42.69%) for olefin, ester and paraffin, respectively, while L. plumulosus showed an average LC50 of 1.66 g.kg-1dw (n= 6; SD=1.30; CV= 78.10%), 0.60 g.kg-1dw (n= 5; SD=0.22; CV=35.81%) and 0.26 g.kg-1dw (n= 6; SD=0.13; CV= 50.50%), respectively. The average LC50 obtained in SBM 1 (11.6 ppg) tests using G. bonnieroides was 139.78 mL.kg-1dw (n= 3; SD= 69.47; CV= 49.70%) and for SBM 2 (9.9 ppg) the LC50 was 132.97 mL.kg-1dw, while L. plumulosus showed an average LC50 of 94.79 mL.kg-1dw (n= 2; SD= 92.33; CV= 97.41%) LC50 of 34.82 mL.kg-1dw, respectively, for SBM1 and SBM2. In olefin tests using L. plumulosus, SBM 2 test using G. bonnieroides and SBM 1 tests using both species, STR = 1 were obtained, meeting the EPA criteria for drilling cuttings discharge. Although G. bonnieroides has shown to be less sensitive than L. plumulosus to the NAF and SBM, the method using G. bonnieroides as test species demonstrated to be suitable for this purpose and presented similar variability than the same method using L. plumulosus. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The effect of previous structures inheritance is known to be important in the development of tectonic rifts. A series of overlapping structures generally can be represented by lineaments marking the successive tectonic events. We studied the NNE structural lineaments corridor in the central region of the Ribeira Belt. We used a digital elevation model (DEM) and new and previous fieldwork data to investigate the structural control of such lineaments and their relevance for the Brazilian continental margin. Our results suggest that the NNE direction is a crustal weakness zone characterising corridors of intense ductile and brittle deformation which was recurrently reactivated. Aligned NNE Neoproterozoic-Ordovician ductile and brittle structures as foliations, shear zones, lithological boundaries, and fractures filled by pegmatitic veins coincide with the lineaments. During the Cretaceous rift, a transtensional sinistral regime generated NNE T-fractures filled by mafic dykes. In the Cenozoic, the NNE direction is represented by transfer and domino faults developed within a mega accommodation zone in an intracontinental rift system. Our results suggest that the NNE direction was active in this region throughout the Phanerozoic and has high relevance for the structural development of the continental margin of southeastern Brazil. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd"
"A deposit dated from 40 cal ka bp is interpreted as a remnant of a spodic B horizon exposed on the seabed adjacent to Guanabara Bay at an average depth of 22 m. Bathymetric data, side scan sonar imagery, and underwater images were used to map the expressive feature, never informed before. It is a semi-consolidated muddy-sand deposit with an escarpment up to 4 m and 2.5 km in length (E-W) and 1.5 km in width (N-S). Grain size and geochemical analyses were carried out, and the hypothesis of being formed by podzolization was confirmed. The paleo sea level at the time of the pedogenesis was estimated to be above the maximum height of the global eustatic curves related to Marine Isotopic Stage 3. The feature exhibits a quartzose-sand constitution, defined as an erosion surface exposed at ca. 12 ka bp. The coastal retrogradation of upper unconsolidated sediment during the last transgression contributed to the settlement of a sandbank at the bay mouth. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"This long-term study, performed during the years 2003-2005 and 2008-2009, investigated the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) contents of the phyto-and zooplankton communities and the nutrient regime of Cabo Frio Bay, SE Brazil. The information intends to serve as baseline of the plankton C, N, and P stoichiometry for the calibration of biogeochemical and ecological models in support to future findings related to the local and regional phenomena of climatic change. Cabo Frio Bay is a small semienclosed system set adjacent to a region subject to sporadic coastal upwelling. Zooplankton exhibited average annual C, N, and P contents of 11.6 ± 6.9 %, 2.8 ± 1.8 %, and 0.18 ± 0.08 %, and phytoplankton (>20 ?m) 6.8 ± 6.0 %, 1.6 ± 1.5 %, and 0.09 ± 0.08 %, respectively. The C/N/P ratios correspond to the lowest already found to date for a marine environment. The low C contents must have been brought about by a predominance of gelatinous zooplankton, like Doliolids/Salps and also Pteropods. Average annual nutrient concentrations in the water were 0.21 ± 0.1 ?M for phosphate, 0.08 ± 0.1 ?M for nitrite, 0.74 ± 1.6 ?M for nitrate, and 1.27 ± 1.1 ?M for ammonium. N/P ratios were around 8:1 during the first study period and 12:1 during the second. The plankton C/N/P and N/P nutrient ratios and elemental concentrations suggest that the system was oligotrophic and nitrogen limited. The sporadic intrusions of upwelling waters during the first study period had no marked effect upon the systems metabolism, likely due to dilution effects and the short residence times of water of the bay. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht."
"Blubber samples from three delphinid species (false killer whale, Guiana and rough-toothed dolphin), as well as liver samples from franciscana dolphins were analyzed for dioxins and related compounds (DRCs). Samples were collected from 35 cetaceans stranded or incidentally captured in a highly industrialized and urbanized area (Southeast and Southern Brazilian regions). Dioxin-like PCBs accounted for over 83% of the total TEQ for all cetaceans. Non-ortho coplanar PCBs, for franciscanas (82%), and mono-ortho PCBs (up to 80%), for delphinids, constituted the groups of highest contribution to total TEQ. Regarding franciscana dolphins, significant negative correlations were found between total length (TL) and three variables, ?TEQ-DRCs, ?TEQ-PCDF and ?TEQ non-ortho PCB. An increasing efficiency of the detoxifying activity with the growth of the animal may be a plausible explanation for these findings. This hypothesis is reinforced by the significant negative correlation found between TL and PCB126/PCB169 concentration ratio. DRC concentrations (ng/g. lipids) varied from 36 to 3006, for franciscana dolphins, as well as from 356 to 30,776, for delphinids. The sum of dioxin-like and indicator PCBs varied from 34,662 to 279,407. ng/g. lipids, for Guiana dolphins from Rio de Janeiro state, which are among the highest PCB concentrations ever reported for cetaceans. The high concentrations found in our study raise concern not only on the conservation of Brazilian coastal cetaceans, but also on the possibility of human health problem due to consumption of fish from Brazilian estuaries. © 2013 Elsevier B.V."
"This study describes the characteristics of large-scale vertical velocity, apparent heating source (Q1) and apparent moisture sink (Q2) profiles associated with seasonal and diurnal variations of convective systems observed during the two intensive operational periods (IOPs) that were conducted from 15 February to 26 March 2014 (wet season) and from 1 September to 10 October 2014 (dry season) near Manaus, Brazil, during the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment. The derived large-scale fields have large diurnal variations according to convective activity in the GoAmazon region and the morning profiles show distinct differences between the dry and wet seasons. In the wet season, propagating convective systems originating far from the GoAmazon region are often seen in the early morning, while in the dry season they are rarely observed. Afternoon convective systems due to solar heating are frequently seen in both seasons. Accordingly, in the morning, there is strong upward motion and associated heating and drying throughout the entire troposphere in the wet season, which is limited to lower levels in the dry season. In the afternoon, both seasons exhibit weak heating and strong moistening in the boundary layer related to the vertical convergence of eddy fluxes. A set of case studies of three typical types of convective systems occurring in Amazonia-i.e., locally occurring systems, coastal-occurring systems and basin-occurring systems-is also conducted to investigate the variability of the large-scale environment with different types of convective systems. © 2016 Author(s)."
"Deep-sea fans have been proposed to act as carbon sinks, rapid deposition driving shallow methanogenesis to favor net storage within the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). Here, we present new evidence of widespread gas venting from the GHSZ on the upper Amazon deep-sea fan, together with analyses of the first samples of gas hydrates recovered offshore NE Brazil. Multibeam water column and seafloor imagery over an 18,000-km2 area of the upper Amazon fan reveal 53 water column gas plumes, rising from venting features in water depths of 650–2600 m. Most gas vents (60%) are located along seafloor faults that record the ongoing gravitational collapse of the fan above deep décollements, while others (40%) are located in water depths of 650–715 m within the upper edge of the GHSZ. Gas compositions from hydrates recovered in vents at three locations on and north of the fan indicate biogenic sources (dominantly methane with 2–15% of CO2; ?13C from ? 81.1 to ? 77.3‰), whereas samples from vents adjacent to the fan proper include possible thermogenic contributions (methane 95%, CO2 4%, and ethane 1%; ?13C – 59.2‰). These results concur with previous findings that the upper edge of the GHSZ may be sensitive to temporal changes in water temperatures, but further point to the importance of gas escape from within areas of gas hydrate stability. Our results suggest the role of fluid migration along pathways created by faulting within rapidly deposited passive margin depocenters, which are increasingly recognized to undergo gravitational collapse above décollements. Our findings add to evidence that gas can escape from sediments to the sea in areas where gas hydrates are stable on passive margins, and suggest the need of further studies of the dynamics of deep-sea depocenters in relation to carbon cycling. © 2018, The Author(s)."
"Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP) has a solid wall construction constituted from a single polymer material with embedded (melt-fused) fibre reinforcements. It is a disruptive technology where all the advantages for ultra-deep water developments come together: high strength, light weight, corrosion free, low CAPEX, etc. TCP is therefore one of the most promising solutions to overcome the recent failures found on pre-salt fields related to corrosion under high concentrations of H2S and CO2. However, introducing a new technology on very challenging applications such as deep water production risers, requires careful consideration and mitigation of all technical and project execution risks. This paper starts presenting a historical review of some of the new technologies applied offshore Brazil over the last 20 years making a parallel with the increasing acceptance of Thermoplastic Composite Pipe in the Brazilian market. Following the historical review, TCP technology is presented and strategy to enable free hanging catenary systems for ultra-deep water environments discussed. The basis of the study is a typical offshore Brazil pre-salt field and feasibility of 6"" and 8"" free hanging TCP risers were assessed. Study was performed in close cooperation with a major operator and an installation contractor in Brazil. Global, installation and local analyses of the TCP Riser system have shown the feasibility of installation as well as operations in a free hanging catenary configuration throughout the 30 years' service life. In 2017, this pre-FEED study was used as basis for a FMECA (Failure mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis). The FMECA exercise was carried out together with a third-party certification body and two major Oil &amp; Gas companies very active in Brazil. A detailed business case study was performed in order to quantify the potential CAPEX savings that TCP technology can bring compared to the low lazy wave systems currently installed in pre-salt fields, offshore Brazil. Result is that if TCP is adopted as primary technology for Risers&amp;Flowlines, significant savings are expected. Savings comes both from pipe and ancillary's procurement costs since TCP technology enables free hanging catenary configuration, avoiding purchase of expensive buoyancy modules. The outcome of this work lead to a qualification program currently being sponsored by one major operator active in Brazil. Technology Roadmap was established in phases being the ultimate goal the qualification of pre-salt 8.0in production lines. Reasons for adopting this qualification strategy is presented. The qualification is driven by DNV-ST-F-119, a dedicated standard for TCP design and qualification. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Given the importance of copepods in pelagic food webs, short- and medium-scale temporal variation in the distribution and abundance of copepods of the genus Pseudodiaptomus was investigated in an oligo-mesohaline estuary (Paracauari) in northern Brazil. This system is characterized by high local hydrodynamics and nutrient input from the Paracauari River and Marajó Bay, and marked seasonal variation in rainfall levels. The temporal variation in the abundance of copepods was analyzed in the context of some hydrological variablestide height, salinity, temperature, pH, and concentrations of suspended particulate material, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a. Samples were collected in 2009 at a fixed station (00°44?15.4?S, 48°31?07.5?W) every 3 hours during a nycthemeral cycle in the neap and spring tides of February, May, June, August, November, and December. Zooplankton samples were collected using horizontal hauls of plankton nets with a 120 ?m mesh. Following identification, the abundance and density of Pseudodiaptomus copepods were determined. Data were analyzed using an ANOVA (to assess the significance of diurnal, fortnightly and seasonal variations), PCA, and Bray-Curtis similarity. Four species were identified: Pseudodiaptomus richardi, Pseudodiaptomus marshi, Pseudodiaptomus gracilis, and Pseudodiaptomus acutus. The results indicate that variation in composition and density of the Pseudodiaptomidae copepods in the Paracauari estuary is determined by the interactive effect of the freshwater influx from Marajó Bay, tides, and the rainfall regimen, which modulate local salinity. The absence of diurnal variation in species composition and density was determined by the high local hydrodynamics, which provoke the constant mixing of the estuary's water. © Coastal Education & Research Foundation 2013."
"The distribution of lchthyoplankton is directly related to the hydrodynamics of a region. ln this study we aim to map the privileged zones of highest occurrence of lchthyoplankton from the densities observed in situ in São Marcos Bay (Brazil), that has one of the highest amplitudes of tides of Brazil. lchthyoplankton was collected using horizontal drag technique in the surface layer (layer 0 to 0.5 m), using a conic roller net with mesh of 300 micrometers which was coupled a flow meter to estimate the volume of filtered water. The density was calculated from the ratio between the total number of eggs and larvae in each sample and the filtered water volume. For spatial interpolation we used the technique of Voronoi polygon. Results showed that in the two sampling periods of the year (rainy season and dry season) were collected 4,934 eggs and fish larvae, and 60% were recorded in the dry season. The location of the largest lchthyoplankton densities vary with the highest concentrations closer to the south-east channel of the CESM in the dry season, moving to the center in the rainy season. The South-East channel of the CESM is therefore a nursery area for many species of fish, requiring priority actions for environmental protection. © 2019 Author(s)."
"© 2020Rare-earth elements have gained significant attention as they are currently widely used in high tech, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Here we used the fiddler crabs Leptuca leptodactyla as bioindicators to verify the presence of rare-earth elements in two mangrove areas of the Ubatuba, northern littoral of São Paulo state, Brazil. The specimens were collected in the mangrove areas of the Tavares River and Quiririm-Puruba river system, separated by season (dry and rainy). A total of 243 individuals were collected and analyzed. For determination and quantification of the elements we used the instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) technique. In both the dry and rainy season, the elements La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb and Sc were detected in samples of both mangroves, with La and Ce presenting higher concentrations. Samples from Tavares River mangrove had higher concentration levels of rare-earth elements than those of the Quiririm-Puruba river system. That is probably due to the central geographic position of the Tavares River in Ubatuba, which crosses a large portion of the city and receives a great amount of sewage. On the other hand, the Quiririm-Puruba river system has less anthropogenic inputs, thus, it receives much fewer rare-earth elements when compared to the Tavares River."
"Turbulent air–sea heat fluxes were computed from in situ high-frequency micrometeorological data during two research cruises performed in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWAO) occurring in June 2012 and October 2014. Two different and dynamical areas were covered by the cruises: the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC) and the Southern Brazilian Continental Shelf (SBCS). The eddy covariance (EC) method was used to estimate the air–sea sensible- and latent-heat fluxes. This article compares these novel high-frequency estimates of heat fluxes with bulk parametrizations made at the same location and time from independent measurements taken on board the ships. When comparing the EC and bulk-estimated time series of sensible-heat fluxes, we found a good agreement both in their magnitude and variability, with small bias (generally &lt;20 W·m?2) between the datasets from the two study areas in the SWAO. However, the EC and bulk latent-heat flux comparisons show large biases ranging from 75 W·m?2 to 100 W·m?2 in the SBCS and BMC, respectively. These biases were always associated with short-term, high-frequency environmental perturbations occurring either in the atmosphere or in the ocean with the majority related to strong wind burst events and large air–sea temperature gradients. The short period changes in atmospheric conditions were mostly related to the passage of transient synoptic systems over the two study areas. The large air–sea temperature gradients were mostly linked to the surface characteristics of the BMC and SBCS regions, where sharp oceanographic fronts are located. Our results are able to contribute to improving weather and climate simulations of the mid- to high latitudes of South America, a region largely influenced by the sea-surface temperature patterns of the SWAO in combination with the frequent propagation of transient atmospheric systems. © 2020 Royal Meteorological Society"
" John Wiley & Sons LtdAim: The disjunct distributions of freshwater organisms along coastal drainages are usually explained by palaeodrainages formed during sea-level retreats that connected currently isolated basins, or by river capture from tectonic adjustments between adjoining watersheds. We evaluate the relative importance of these events on the genetic variation of freshwater fishes inhabiting the Serra do Mar in eastern Brazil, a region with steep mountains and pronounced bays. Location: Coastal river drainages in southeastern Brazil. Taxon: Catfishes of the Trichomycterus alternatus group. Methods: We tested the effects of palaeolandscape connections (GIS-reconstructed palaeodrainages and putative river captures) on the genetic structure (mitochondrial and nuclear markers) of T. alternatus from 15 drainages using phylogenetic reconstructions, lineage delimitation methods and analyses of molecular variance. Results: Trichomycterus alternatus is monophyletic and comprised of three main lineages: two restricted to the basin at its northernmost distribution and another broadly distributed to the south. In the latter, seven major cytb clades were geographically compatible with the eight palaeodrainages, with three incongruences matching river captures previously described for the Guanabara Bay (GB). Shared haplotypes among isolated rivers flowing into GB provide the first molecular evidence of the ‘Rio de Janeiro’ palaeoriver. Main conclusions: Dispersal via palaeorivers is an important process, but it is not enough to recover the most recent dispersive events. Therefore, integrating both palaeo-riverine configuration (GIS-based) and localized river captures (geological studies) is crucial to reveal the role of past geological and climatic events on the distribution of freshwater organisms. Taken together, these two factors significantly explained a high portion T. alternatus genetic structure along coastal drainages, revealing a palaeolandscape scenario that may have been used by other freshwater Atlantic Forest taxa."
"Petrobras signed letters of intent with Modec Inc to supply a floating production, storage, and offloading platform (FPSO) and a floating storage, and offloading (FSO) vessel in the offshore Campos basin. Modec will operate the FPSO in Espadarte Sul field and the FSO will receive stabilized crude oil from Marlin Sul, Roncador, and Marlin Leste fields. Both vessels are expected to be in place by yearend 2006. The FPSO will be able to process 100,000 bpd of oil, compress 87 million cu ft/day of gas, inject 113,000 bpd of water, and store 1.6 million bbl of oil. Modec will lease and operate the FPSO for 8 yr with an additional four 1-yr option periods. The FSO will be able to receive ? 630,000 bpd of oil and store 2.2 million bbl of oil."
"© 2020 American Fisheries SocietyThe Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus can be found along the northern and northeastern coasts of Brazil. Previous studies on the clinical biochemistry of these animals were conducted in North America and the Caribbean, whereas little is known regarding these parameters in South American manatee populations. Accordingly, the objective of the present study was to examine the hematology and clinical biochemistry of Antillean manatees of different sexes and from different environments in northeast Brazil. Whole-blood and serum samples were obtained from healthy individuals. The hemogram analysis was performed and the levels of blood biochemical components were determined using an automated platform. The only statistically significant difference observed in the hemogram was a higher number of heterophils in manatees that were screened during the dry season of the year. Clinical biochemistry profiling revealed that free-ranging manatees presented lower levels of creatinine. Albumin was detected in higher concentrations in animals from rehabilitation captivity, and amylase presented higher levels in manatees that were kept in acclimation captivity. Free-ranging manatees showed higher serum aspartate aminotransferase levels than manatees in rehabilitation captivity. These results can aid veterinarians and conservation professionals in the development of better captive management procedures and in the clinical approach to manatees."
"© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The Southern Brazilian Coast is highly susceptible to storm surges that often lead to coastal flooding and erosive processes, significantly impacting coastal communities. In addition, climate change is expected to result in expressive increases in wave heights due to more intense and frequent storms, which, in conjunction with sea-level rise (SLR), has the potential to exacerbate the impact of storm surges on coastal communities. The ability to predict and simulate such events provides a powerful tool for coastal risk reduction and adaptation. In this context, this study aims to investigate how accurately storm surge events can be simulated in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean employing the coupled ADCIRC+SWAN hydrodynamic and phase-averaged wave numerical modeling framework given the significant data scarcity constraints of the region. The model’s total water level (TWL) and significant wave height (Hs) outputs, driven by different sources of meteorological forcing, i.e., the Fifth Generation of ECMWF Atmospheric Reanalysis (ERA 5), the Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2), and the Global Forecast System (GFS), were validated for three recent storm events that affected the coast (2016, 2017, and 2019). In order to assess the potentially increasing storm surge impacts due to sea-level rise, a case study was implemented to locally evaluate the modeling approach using the most accurate model setup for two 2100 SLR projections (RCP 4.5 and 8.5). Despite a TWL underestimation in all sets of simulations, the CFSv2 model stood out as the most consistent meteorological forcing for the hindcasting of the storm surge and waves in the numerical model, with an RMSE range varying from 0.19 m to 0.37 m, and an RMSE of 0.56 m for Hs during the most significant event. ERA5 was highlighted as the second most accurate meteorological forcing, while adequately simulating the peak timings. The SLR study case demonstrated a possible increase of up to 82% in the TWL during the same event. Despite the limitations imposed by the lack of continuous and densely distributed observational data, as well as up to date topobathymetric datasets, the proposed framework was capable of expanding TWL and Hs information, previously available for a handful of gauge stations, to a spatially distributed and temporally unlimited scale. This more comprehensive understanding of such extreme events represents valuable knowledge for the potential implementation of more adequate coastal management and engineering practices for the Brazilian coastal zone, especially under changing climate conditions."
"© 2020, Eduem - Editora da Universidade Estadual de Maringa. All rights reserved.Fish fauna was studied in five sites of the shallow infralittoral of the Paranaguá Bay during the period from October 1999 to September 2000. At each sampling site, fish were sampled with other trawls, salinity and temperature were measured, water samples were taken from the bottom of the water column for determination of dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate. The spatial and temporal behavior of the environmental variables was analyzed by a Principal Component Analysis; Cluster Analysis was used to gather the sampling sites, and Factorial Correspondence Analysis was applied to the most abundant species. Temperature was the most important variable for the distribution of the months, allowing the division of the study period into hot and cold months. The temporal variation in the fish fauna composition was indicated by cluster analysis, with highest percentages of dissimilarity between the sampling sites during hot months. The variation in dissimilarity between the sites occurred due to differences in the number of individuals and species of the catches. The high frequencies of occurrence of Anisotremus surinamensis, Etropus crossotus, Genidens genidens, Micropogonias furnieri and Sphoeroides greeleyi were related to high temperatures. The greatest number of fish and species observed in hot months may be related to the life cycle of many species, which reproduce in warmer months, and whose offspring use estuaries as breeding areas."
"Shipyards impact on estuarine environments because of the use of antifouling paints and petroleum products, which release trace metals that may remain in their bioavailable or labile form. Regardless of its importance, the relation between continuous input of trace metals (hotspot area) and their availability in the water column has been scarcely studied. This study evaluated seasonal variations in the concentrations of labile fractions of metals in shipyards located in estuarine areas on the Brazilian subtropical coast. These fractions were determined by the Diffuse Gradients in Thin Films (DGT) technique. Maximum labile fraction concentrations of Cr (0.3 ?g L?1), Ni (2.2 ?g L?1) and V (2.0 ?g L?1) are directly related to (i) their specific source: antifouling paints (for Cr), metal and steel alloys (for Cr and Ni) and petroleum products (for V), besides (ii) periods of intensive traffic and vessel repair. Additionally, variations in labile fractions of Ni and V in the Patos Lagoon estuary were influenced by salinity, which is known to affect metal desorption from surface sediments in resuspension events. Even though Cr is affected by the same processes, it is available as Cr(III) and does not represent any ecological risk in the study areas. Although the areas under study are affected by variations in physical and chemical conditions, shipyards were effectively hotspots of trace metals in their labile fraction in various estuarine systems in southeastern and southern Brazil. Thus, they represent areas where Ecological Risk Assessment, mainly of V, should be carried out."
"Bathymetry surveys are the first step for every conservation effort on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Maps depicting depth and bottom geomorphology are used to generate hillshades, that later become basemaps for other themes, such as fish distribution, bottom types, and water quality. Bathymetry map availability is limited or non-existent at the scales that are necessary for MPA management plans. Survey costs by traditional sounding methods or new technologies, such as LIDAR, are prohibitive for most MPA budgets. Remote Sensing bathymetry is yet unreliable, except for crystal clear waters. A low-cost technique, based on commercially available GPS-echosounder units was applied to obtain detailed bathymetry of two MPAs in coastal Brazil: at the Parque Municipal Marinho da Coroa Alta (PMMCA), located in the coastal reefs of Santa Cruz de Cabralia, State of Bahia, and Monumento Natural das Ilhas Cagarras (MNIC), off Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. Equipment consisted of a Simrad NSS-7 chartplotter mounted permanently on Iamany, a 7 m-long, fiberglass-hull, twin-engine boat for PMMCA, and a Garmin GPSMap 521 chartplotter mounted on Caçaõ, an inflatable, 6 m-long, single-engine boat hired for MNIC. Survey frequencies for the echosounders were set at 50 kHz. Cross-shelf, East-West lines spaced 100m apart with readings every second (1-3 m, depending on boat speed) were obtained for PMMCA over 30 days of 4-6 hours of navigation around the highest tide (ranging from 1.3 to 2.0 m above mean sea-level). At MNIC, radial lines surrounding each of the islands were placed 50 m apart at their outer limits, and readings were obtained every 10 seconds (?10 m) in 7 days of 3-4 hours of navigation around the highest tides (ranging from 0.8 to 1.2 m above mean sea-level). In the shallow coral reefs of Bahia, 62 km2 were surveyed, with depths varying from 0 to 20m, while at the sandy bottom around the granite-gneiss islands of Rio de Janeiro, 6 km2 were surveyed, with depths varying from 0 to 40m. Data in the echosounders proprietary format, were saved on Micro-SD or SD memory cards, converted to XYZ format (.csv) and migrated to GIS, where a linear tide correction was applied. Interpolation methods such as Radial Basis Functions and ANUDEM generated maps with 10 m pixels for PMMCA (presented at 1:10.000 and 1:25.000) and 5 m pixels for MNIC (presented at 1:3.000 and 1:10.000). Average survey costs are estimated at R$ 500-650/day or R$ 1.000/km2 (?US$ 250/day or ?US$ 400/km2), depending on boat ownership vs. rental cost. This represents less than 1/10 of the official traditional survey costs, and even less when compared to LIDAR bathymetry. Precision obtained is an order of magnitude higher than previously available, and enough for environmental assessment for conservation management of the MPAs involved. Surveys were conducted at PMMCA under the auspices of Projeto Coral Vivo and at MNIC under Projeto Ilhas do Rio, both Petrobras Ambiental programmes. © 2015 IEEE."
"This paper provides the first field report of maternal care in a Neotropical centipede. Nine females of Otostigmus scabricauda were found taking care of eggs or first instar nymphs at Sao Sebastiao Island, southeastern Brazil. Brood-guarding females were found in the leaf litter or under fallen trunks. The mean clutch size was 29.1 ± 15.7 and no egg was observed to be infected with fungi. The nymphs are non-pigmented and hatch with 21 segments. Egg-laying in O. scabricauda probably takes place in the beginning of the wet-warm season (October), and the reproductive season lasts until February. Predation pressure in the leaf litter and the high risk of infection due to fungi may have favored the evolution of maternal care in many arthropods living on the soil, such as centipedes."
"Apart from representing the vast majority (71%) of South Africa's 258 functional estuaries, temporarily open/closed estuaries (TOCEs) are common in Australia, on the southeastern coasts of Brazil and Uruguay, the southwestern coasts of India and Sri Lanka, but are poorly represented in North America, Europe and much of Asia. The regular change between open and closed mouth phases makes their physico-chemical dynamics more variable and complicated than that of permanently open estuaries. Mouth states are driven mainly by interplay between wave or tide driven sediment transport and river inflow. Mouth closure cuts off tidal exchanges with the ocean, resulting in prolonged periods of lagoonal conditions during which salinity and temperature stratification may develop, along with oxygen and nutrient depletion. Mouth breaching occurs when water levels overtop the frontal berm, usually during high river flow, and may be accompanied by scouring of estuarine sediment and an increased silt load and turbidity during the outflow phase. Microalgae are key primary producers in TOCEs, and while phytoplankton biomass in these systems is usually lower than in permanently open estuaries, microphytobenthic biomass is often much higher in TOCEs than in permanently open systems. During the closed phase, the absence of tidal currents, clearer water and greater light penetration can result in the proliferation of submerged macrophytes. Loss of tidal action and high water levels, however, also result in the absence or disappearance of mangroves and have adverse effects on salt marsh vegetation. Zooplankton are primary consumers both in the water-column and within the upper sediment, due to diel migrations. A prolonged period of TOCE mouth closure leads to poor levels of zooplankton diversity, but also to the biomass build-up of a few dominant species. Benthic meiofaunal abundance is usually greater during closed phases and is generally dominated by nematodes. Macrobenthic densities, and occasionally even biomass, in TOCEs are higher than in permanently open systems. The dominance of estuarine and estuarine-dependent marine fish species in TOCEs is an indication of the important nursery function of these systems. Marine juvenile fish recruit into TOCEs not only when the mouth opens, but also during marine overwash events when waves from the sea wash over the sand bar at the mouth. The birds that occur in TOCEs are mostly piscivorous, able to catch a variety of fish species either from the surface or by diving underwater. Waders are absent or uncommon because of the infrequent availability of intertidal feeding areas when the mouth is closed. Addressing the challenges facing the sustainable management of TOCEs is critical, as in some cases their ecological integrity, biodiversity and nursery function have already been compromised. © 2010 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved."
"The greenhouse effect and resulting increase in the Earth's temperature may accelerate the mean sea-level rise. The natural response of bays and estuaries to this rise, such as this case study of Santos Bay (Brazil), will include change in shoreline position, land flooding and wetlands impacts. The main impacts of this scenario were studied in a physical model built in the Coastal and Harbour Division of Hydraulic Laboratory, University of São Paulo, and the main conclusions are presented in this paper. The model reproduces near 1,000 km2 of the study area, including Santos, São Vicente, Praia Grande, Cubatão, Guarujá and Bertioga cities. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007."
"Foraminifera have demonstrated to be a good proxy of climatic changes during the Cenozoic for their high preser-vation in the sediment and quick responses to environmental changes. The aim of this study is to identify climate changes and the variation of marine influence during the Late Holocene, in Piraquê-Açu River Estuary (ES, Brazil). The study was based on the characterization of benthic foraminifera assemblages, ?13C and ?18O data in Ammonia tepida tests and the PA05 (2411 B.P.) and PA20 (1632 B.P.) cores. A total of 16 benthic foraminiferal species were identified in the cores. Some of them are characteristic from continental shelf environment (e.g. Lagena spp., Spiroloculina eximia, Oolina spp., Pyrulina gutta, Cibicidoides variabilis) and four are typical estuarine species (Ammonia parkinsoniana, A. tepida, Cri-broelphidium excavatum and Bolivina striatula). The results allow us to identify four colder periods in the sedimentary record such as: the end of Iron Age (? 1000 B.C.), Greek Dark Ages (?450 B.C.-100 B.C.), Dark Ages (?250 A.D.-550 A.D.) and the Litter Ice Age (?1200 A.D. and 1850 AD.). In these periods the estuary showed an increase in confinement, which can be seen by the reduction in ecological indexes values and by the presence of only typically estuarine foramini-fera species. Four warming periods were recorded in the sedimentary sequence: Greek Warming Period (? 900 B.C.-450 B.C.), Roman Warming Period (? 50 A.D.-250 A.D.), Medieval Warming Period (?550 A.D.-1200 A.D.), and the fourth event represents the warming that started since the beginning of 19th Century. During warming events, the ecological indexes show higher values and species of marine habit were more constant in the sedimentary record. © 2020, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"© 2019, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation.The dynamics of estuarine systems is sensitive to changes in its forcing conditions, including the morphology of its inlets. Coastline retraction, which may be induced by climate change, can result in modifications of estuarine inlet morphology. Through the use of a validated numerical model, we evaluate the effects of the opening of a new inlet on a tide-dominated estuary (Caravelas estuary, Brazil). During the last decades, shoreline retraction and the breach of an internal drainage channel led to the formation of a new inlet that became the main estuarine channel. The morphological changes of the estuary resulted in changes to its estuarine processes, including the general increase in the influence of the tide on the system and changes to its asymmetry. Internal channels that interconnect adjacent estuaries present great changes caused by the morphological alterations, not only in the magnitude of the processes but also in the resulting net transport direction. The increase in the water flow caused by the opening of the channel leads to an increase in the amount of water and materials carried toward the estuary. The changes presented here for the Caravelas estuarine system and the possible implications for the functioning of such systems demonstrate the importance of evaluating morphological aspects in relation to their use and management."
"© 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbHLength–weight relationships (LWR) were determined for seven commercially important species of catfishes (Siluriformes, Ariidae) from the Amazon Coastal Zone (ACZ), Brazil. The analyses included 3628 specimens sampled in three trawling expeditions: dry season of 1996 (111 hauls), rainy season of 1997 (120 hauls), and dry season of 1997 (120 hauls). Bottom-trawl nets were utilized for sampling. Length-weight estimates for Amphiarius phrygiatus, Amphiarius rugispinis, Aspistor quadriscutis, Notarius grandicassis, Sciades couma, Sciades parkeri and Sciades proops."
"© 2015 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.Based on the knowledge of local artisanal fishermen and on direct observations, this study presents evidence that the giant manta ray Manta birostris uses the Paranaguá estuarine complex in south Brazil, south-western Atlantic Ocean, in a predictable seasonal pattern. Behavioural observations suggest that the estuary can act as a nursery ground for M. birostris during the summer."
"Petrobras has indulged in R&D programs and technology partnerships with key contractors, opening up offshore development opportunities within Brazil. One of the main contractors helping Petrobras to achieve its goals on Marlim is FMC Technologies Inc. The subsea separation, pumping, and water reinjection system will be installed in 899 m water depth to meet the challenge of increased water production. Petrobras has awarded FMC an additional subsea separation and boosting system contract for the brownfield Congro and Corvina development, also in the Campos basin. Petrobras has recently completed its successful Procap 3000 research program, which was a driver for many of the operator's deepwater advances. In the Future Vision Procap program, the company is laying emphasis on the pursuit of solutions that could significantly alter current standards for developing deepwater fields."
"BR Petrobras plans to spend $224 billion through 2014 to develop deepsea oil finds. Supplying equipment in a timely fashion will be key to its efforts to nearly double oil production in Brazil by 2020. Brazil's government wants the majority of the cash headed to local companies or local units of foreign multinationals and wants to develop the oil services sector, creating industry that could export goods and services around the world. Thus, gradually, the minimum local content requirements will increase up to 95% in 2017. Whoever wishes to have a major role in the E&P will have to establish significant local presence, in particular equipment suppliers (topsides, pipes, drilling packages, power packages for offshore units, etc.), who will likely need to build production facilities in Brazil. The issue is not only to install local manufacturing support, but also pre-sales technical support, a presence close to the shipyards and operators throughout the phase of integration, commissioning and operation, and a very strong and effective after-sale support. The paper will discuss the overall strategy needed to bring to Brazil the technical and manufacturing expertise to support the rapid growth of the shipbuilding industry and will examine the importance of providing local support to the yards and owners to reduce delays in technical proposal and during the construction phase of vessels. Honeywell has set up, in addition of its already existing operations, a Marine operation in Rio de Janeiro. This unit includes: • Front End Engineering Desing (FEED) • Customer Engineering Project Support • Technical sales support • Installation & Commissioning support. • Service Station • Local spare part inventory. Consideration will also be given to a study being run by Honeywell to implement an assembly line in Brazil to minimize logistics costs and delivery times. Copyright 2011, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Shallow and insufficient soil support may lead to upheavel buckling of heated pipelines in shores approach areas. This article presents a nume rical model to simulate the thermomechanical buckling of buried heated pipelines in shore approach areas. An analysis adopting geometrical, physical, and operational data is also carried out for a particular Petrobras project, taking in situ geophysical survey, geotechnical, and oceanographic information into account. The discussion also addresses the influence of the sediment transport after the opening of the trench and required backfilling with a heavier soil."
"This study refers to the palynological analysis of wells samples (cores) awarded by Petrobras and Eletronorte and has almost all stratigraphically positioned within the Trombetas Group, composed, from base to top by Autás-Mirim (Upper Ordovician neritic sandstones and shales); and Nhamundá (neritic sandstones of the glaciogenic deposits, of Llandovery and lower Wenlock) Formations; upper and lower Pitinga members, (upper and lower Llandovery marine Shales and diamictites and lower Ludlow); and Manacapuru Formation (neritic sandstones and pelitic rocks of upper Pridoli to Lochkovian). Three short glacial episodes are recorded in this sedimentary sequence, during the Silurian, on the Nhamundá Formation (lower Aeronian, upper Aeronian to lower Telychian and upper Telychian to lower Wenlock). This study objective the register of the stratigraphical distribution of the diversity of Deunffia and Domasia genera Silurian acritarchs of the Pitinga Formation, Amazon Basin, as well as its importance as guide-fossils once they have been presented as excelent worldwide chronostratigraphic indicators for the Llandovery/Wenlock interval. Their wide geographical distribution and restrict time occurrence in the Silurian interval, provide worldwide sharp dating and correlation of marine sequences due to this organic composition microfossil are dominant in the Paleozoic. © 2018, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"After the formalization of the base of the Miocene in the Lemme-Carrosio section (Italy) at the base of Subchron C6Cn.2n, the calcareous plankton biostratigraphy was refined in several open ocean Deep Sea Drilling Project/Ocean Drilling Program sites. However, high-resolution quantitative biostratigraphic studies, integrating planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils, are still lacking for the time interval spanning the Oligocene–Miocene transition. Here, we present a reinvestigation of Deep Sea Drilling Project Hole 516F (Rio Grande Rise) and 4 oil wells drilled by Petróbras Brasileiro SA in the Campos Basin (SW Atlantic Ocean). We identified 12 planktonic foraminiferal and 18 calcareous nannofossil bioevents that have been integrated with an updated magnetostratigraphy of Hole 516F allowing the correlation with the GPTS and the identification of the Oligocene/Miocene boundary (base of Subchron C6Cn.2n) between the Top of Sphenolithus delphix and the Base of common Paragloborotalia kugleri. Furthermore, our results give new insights on the reliability of major calcareous plankton events across the Oligocene–Miocene transition: (a) the Sphenolithus ciperoensis Top, the S. delphix Base and Top, and the Sphenolithus cometa Base are reliable events at a global scale; (b) the Bases of Globoquadrina dehiscens and Sphenolithus disbelemnos > 4 ?m are correlatable events only within the study sector of the SW Atlantic Ocean; and (c) the Globoturborotalita ciperoensis Top, Globoturborotalita angulisuturalis Top, and Sphenolithus procerus Base are diachronous. Finally, previously unreported biostratigraphic data, such as the distribution range of S. disbelemnos < 4 ?m and Sphenolithus cf. S. pseudoheteromorphus, the Tenuitellinata praestainforthi acme interval, and the Top of common Globigerinoides primordius were identified in the Campos Basin. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd."
"A panoramic view of Petrobras activity offshore Brazil focusing on the Campos Basin's early and permanent production systems, the capability of Brazilian engineering and industry to overcome the challenge of producing oil and gas from the sea, as well as forecasting the performance of the Brazilian state oil company. -Author"
"As offshore oil fields are being developed towards deeper and deeper waters, new technologies are required to curb capital expenditures. In Brazil, where oil consumption is increasing and huge oil fields lie in high water depths, the issue is particularly pressing. Earlier and higher oil production from those oil fields could be attained by the use of Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESP), so far restricted to dry completions. Also longer distances from well to platform would be made practical. For the initial phase of this development, Petrobras worked together with Tronic, Reda, Pirelli, Lasalle, Sade-Vigesa and Cooper. As a result, first-in-the-world ESP installation in a subsea well has been successfully achieved on October/1994 in RJS-221, located at Carapeba Field, Campos Basin, Brazil. © 1995, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The deepwater E&P technology used in Brazil for deepwater drilling which has made them a world leader in this area is discussed. The history and development of operations of Petrobrás and its various offshore operations are also presented. New strategies, recent discoveries, development of oil fields, production and other technical aspects are also discussed. The importance of recovery factors, well productivity and reduction of drilling costs are also investigated."
"Several gas-influx events occurred while drilling an exploratory well in 4,219 ft of water offshore the southeast coast of Brazil. The 9 5/8-in. casting was set at 12,480 ft before drilling the final 8 1/2-in. phase of the program. A sequence of gas-influx events adversely affected drilling operations. Water-based mud (WBM) mixed with the gas influx formed hydrates in the choke and kill lines in the low-temperature environment close to the seafloor. The full-length paper contains a table that reports in detail events during the 13 days following the first gas influx."
"Brazil's government has requested the construction of 28 new offshore drilling units to be built in country by Brazilian contractors under the 'Build in Brazil Initiative'. The government awarded contracts for the first seven rigs to Brazil-based Sete, a company associated with Petrobras. Petrobras is the frontrunner for new activity as Brazil's national oil company, but Brazil has proven very receptive to allowing other oil companies into its waters. Brazil-based OGX is currently working offshore, and a number of multinational companies have been invited to participate, including Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, BG, Anadarko, and Amerada Hess. Ensco, one of the leading contractors in Brazil, has expanded fleet, which include seven ultra-deepwater drillships, 13 dynamically positioned semisubmersibles, seven moored semisubmersibles, and 48 premium jack-ups."
"This work presents a column generation baaed heuristic algorithm for the problem of planning the flights of helicopters to attend transport requests among airports in the continent and offshore platforms on the Campos basin for the Brazilian State Oil Company (Petrobras). We start from a previous MIP based heuristic for this Helicopter Routing Problem and add column generation procedures that improve the solution quality. This is done by extending the earlier formulation and providing an algorithm to find optimal passenger allocation to fixed helicopter routes. A post optimization procedure completes the resulting algorithm, which is more stable and allows consistently finding solutions that improve the safety and the cost of the one done by the oil company experts. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006."
"In the 90's, after success in drilling wells deeper than 5,000 meters with high production rates between 80 to 120 MMSCFD of production, Petrobras decided to continuously measure pressure on their high productivity wells (7"" production tubing) because of the difficulty they experienced when running gauges in the production mode after the wells were completed. Therefore, the decision was made to use permanent electronic gauges to obtain downhole pressure as it was a proven technology and optical sensing technology (fiber optics) was new to the industry. At that time, four wells in the San Antonio and San Alberto fields were completed with electronic gauges with different results....one did not work, one failed at the beginning, one failed months later, and one worked intermittently. Petrobras' objective to have real time downhole pressure did not change, and they planned for the next workovers of their wells to use optical sensing technology instead of electronic gauges. These specifications were required on their next bid, and the four wells were assigned to Weatherford International. Since that time, this technology is working in the four wells in the San Antonio and San Alberto fields, and there have only been small problems on surface equipment connections, which were corrected promptly. Because of this success, Petrobras decided last year to implement optical sensing technology in all of their new wells because it was the only proven technology that could support the high vibration, produced by the 7'' tubing wells, and high temperature. The decision was taken one step further to install fiber optic downhole flowmeters on the intelligent completion wells. The use of this technology, complemented with the online PanSystem™ well test analysis software, enables real time well testing. Copyright 2010, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"The offshore O&G production has been increasing considerably in the last five years. Therefore, to guarantee the safety of their operations, the O&G companies are being pushed by regulators agencies to establish a robust and efficient safety management system, particularly in Brazil, where the Petroleum National Agency published, in 2015, the SGSS (Technical Regulation of the Subsea Systems Operational Safety Management System). The new regulation forced Brazilian Operators, such as Petrobras, to promote a couple of initiatives, in order to increase the safety of their offshore operations. One of these initiatives has its focus into eliminate or minimize the risks in operational phase, maximizing the potential to avoid them during engineering design phase, where the ability to influence safety is higher than another project phase. One of the challenges of this approach is related to the fact that, in general, and regarding operational safety, the engineering design works in a passive way, in other words, the safety improvements in the new projects only are applied if a strong operational safety issues feedback process is established. Operators have been noted that this operational feedback to design engineers is not the only way to achieve a high level of safety in their operations and facilities. There is a consensus that the engineering design shall work in an active way, being more predictive than corrective, in order to avoid operational issues. The objective of this paper is present a new approach regarding the operational safety focused on engineering design phase, establishing new process, methodologies, actions and closing the gaps between design and operational teams to enhance operational safety. © 2020, Offshore Technology Conference."
"PRAVAP 2 (Petrobras' strategic project for reservoir characterization) aims mainly technology acquisition and development in reservoir characterization. The project is based on a multidisciplinary approach, and the synergism between operational and research teams. New technologies are put together with others already consolidated. This paper presents some of the developments acquired and how they impact the field development and oil production. © 1997, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc."
"Improved sustainability performance in increasingly complex business environments is a challenging task for organizations operating in many different industries. In the offshore oil and gas industry, the use of potentially hazardous materials and operation under progressively hostile environments increases the risk of major accidents. Regulators have been trying to catch up on the design of regulatory frameworks that prevent these types of events, aiming to protect people, assets, and the environment. Although there are some recommended practices that companies have been using as the basis for their process safety management systems (PSMS), lack of uniformity and inefficient enforcement remain as two fundamental problems. This paper explores these two problems and takes some first steps toward a broader discussion about these important issues. We draw from the literature on sustainable operations to develop a descriptive case study of the offshore oil and gas industry by employing document analysis and an analysis of the Health, Safety and Environment Management System (HSEMS) of Petrobras, a world leader energy company. By employing multiple primary and secondary data collection strategies, including a number of formal expert interviews, we map, explore and compare major recommended practices for PSMS, identify a series of gaps in policy and practice, and offer a number of recommendations and implications for practice, policy, and research. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd"
"Most of Brazilian oil and gas reserves are located in offshore deep waters. In this scenario, high well productivity is essential. Artificial lift will certainly play an important role in the exploitation of those deep water fields. This paper describes the most important artificial lift methods, their main characteristics and application niches. It also shows what Petrobras is currently doing in order to make them available for subsea use. The following methods are analyzed: gas lift; electrical submersible pump; hydraulic jet pump; progressing cavity pump; multiphase pump; subsea separation system."
"Brazilian offshore scenario requires innovative solutions in order to increase the efficiency of operations, while still keeping the safety and the economical constraints. The global market and naval industry cannot meet the demand of the growing exploration activities, related to the recent discovery of new oil fields. Furthermore, they are located at a large distance from the shore (approximately 300km) and the environmental conditions are severe. These facts impose more logistics problems for materials and persons transportations. The retrofitting of vessels is an alternative for increasing their operability and this option has been studied by Transpetro, subsidiary of Petrobras responsible for the Ducts, Terminals, Maritime Transport and Natural Gas segments. This paper presents two real cases of retrofitting related to the application of new technologies for positioning, including Dynamic Positioning (DP) Systems or manually operated thrusters. In the first case, a conventional tanker will be converted to a DP2 tanker, in order to operate close to drill ships and to transfer fluids during the drilling operation. The second case is related to an offshore delivering vessel used for bunkering operation. This vessel is moored at a monobuoy, and up to 2 receiving vessels may be connected to it. An aft-azimuth thruster will be installed in the vessel, increasing its capacity to change heading in harsh environmental conditions and to keep a safe distance from the monobuoy during fast variations of environmental conditions. Both cases require the application of a comprehensive design methodology for thruster dimensioning. The retrofitting imposes tight constraints to the layout and positioning of the thrusters. Also, the proximity to others vessels and the harsh environmental conditions in the offshore fields requires a combination of static and dynamic calculation in order to evaluate power consumption and drift motions of the vessels. Copyright © 2013 by ASME."
"The project and the construction of the secondary Mooring Berth intended for petroleum by-products which forms part of the system of the Petrobras Almirante Tamandate Maritime Terminal (Tegua) in Guanabara Bay, and permits 18 simultaneous operations of two 35,000 dwt tankers. The total length of the mooring berth is 314. 50 m, and it has a depth of water of 13. 00 m below low water level. The central platform has eight '%'Chick-San'%' devices, with corresponding suspension arms to maneuvre the ship connection hoses."
"Foreseeing near future opportunities for oil and gas fields, Petrobras created a corporate program dedicated to study, develop, and implement Digital Integrated Field Management (GeDIg) among its production assets. Over the last three years, Petrobras has been developing a pilot strategy based on multiple scenarios to evaluate the technology level of digital oilfields. Six assets were chosen, taking into account the diversity of production processes (heavy oil, offshore, onshore, brown, and green fields) found all over the Brazilian fields. Two different approaches were implemented: in-house development and partnership with integrated companies. Petrobras program is supported by three fundamental elements: people, process, and technology. Humanware, workflow processes, and change management are the key factors for new technologies implementation such as collaboration centers, intelligent completion, and fast loop artificial lift optimization. After the pilots first year of operation, lessons learned will be gathered to guide the expansion of the digital oilfield concept for other Petrobras assets. The objective of this work is to describe the methodology applied in the six pilots and how Petrobras is going to improve its digital way of work and add value to its assets with Digital Integrated Oil and Gas Field Management. Copyright 2008, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"The delimitation of favourable zones for the fishing of three tuna species in the waters southeast and south of Brazil with oceanographic and satellite data was studied. Oceanographic data of surface temperature and fish catch (CPUE) data were correlated. Surface temperature intervals corresponding to larger fish catch for each species were determined. -from STAR, 21(9), 1983"
"© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.Morphological features on low-latitude continental shelves have recorded past sea level fluctuations. This study aims to recognize and interrogate, on the Rio Grande do Norte (RN, NE Brazil) outer shelves, specific seabed morphologies that could have been produced by the punctuated relative sea level rise of the last deglaciation. These sea floor morphologies, imaged by single-beam bathymetric data from two areas of the North and East outer Shelves, ~ 160 km apart, reveal terraces, submerged paleo-shorelines, reefs, and incised valleys, which act as regional archives of past sea levels. The North and East outer shelves, covered by carbonate sediments, display steep gradients (~ 0.5°), variable widths (up to 13 km), and are bound between a well-defined shelf break at 75 m water depth and a beachrock ridge at 25 m. A steep step on the sea floor occurs between depths of 60 and 70 m in both areas. Though interrupted by the Açu Incised Valley, two distinct continuous terraces, 3 and 4 km in width, at depths of 49 m (± 5 m) (T1n) and 33 m (±3 m) (T2n), respectively, extend for 60 km along the North Shelf. Three nearly continuous terraces occur along the East Shelf on either the north or south sides of the Natal Canyon. A first, 6 km wide, lower terrace occurs at a depth of 54 m (± 4 m) (T1e). A second terrace, 2 km wide, at 40 m (± 2 m) (T2e), and a third 2 km wide upper terrace at 30 m (±2 m) (T3e) are also found. Patch reefs scattered over the terraces rise in average to 3 m in height. Based upon their depth occurrences, the established limited neotectonics in the study areas, and correlations with well-established archives from other morphological features of similar outer shelves, we hypothesize that these reefs and terraces were likely formed during the last deglacial interval spanning from the end of the MWP-1A (70–60 m), through the MWP-1B (50–40 m), and to subsequent punctuated millennial sea level rise events (30–25 m) occurring prior to the 8.2 kyr cooling event."
"The rupture of a pipeline transporting hydrocarbons at high temperature caused the spill of 1,300 m3 of fuel oil near the Guanabara Bay shoreline, on January 18, 2000. Immediately after the accident, an emergency effort was undertaken to obtain satellite images in order to monitor the spill's location and movement. One Landsat-5/TM (Thematic Mapper) and 15 Radarsat-1 images were acquired. This paper describes the results obtained with the interpretation of the first three images acquired after the spill. The low frequency of acquisition and the prevailing cloud cover limited the use of visible and infrared spaceborne sensors. Image processing techniques were applied to highlight oil-covered areas on the water surface. Ambiguities in the oil detection were resolved with the aid of ancillary information such as location of knows sources of pollution; aerial inspection information and OPS controlled aerial photos taken from helicopters. The RADARSAT-1 images show clearly the area affected by the spill accident allowing the differentiation of oil-free water areas, fluvial discharge or effluents areas, and oil-covered water areas. One limitation to oil detection using the Landsat-5/TM image was the presence of clouds and haze near the spilled area. In order to improve the visual discrimination of patterns on the water surface related to oil, many RGB combinations of the seven TM bands were evaluated. A supervised classification procedure was applied resulting in the following classes: oil-free water, fluvial discharge, bay areas affected by haze and oil-covered water. The CIS integration of the classification results with ancillary information, such as location of knows sources of pollution; aerial inspection information and GPS controlled aerial photos acquired simultaneously with image acquisition, allowed the final selection of oil-covered areas. The results obtained helped PETROBRAS to optimize the emergency response procedures and subsequent cleaning efforts."
"This paper aims to report the production management of domestic shipyards, with the inclusion of the national fleet renewal program. The study addresses how domestic production may or may not leverage its business and promote sustainable growth of the national shipbuilding industry. The largest national power generation company, Petrobras, began a program in 2008 to renew the fleet of marine support. This program included the construction of 146 offshore support vessels in Brazilian shipyards. With this, the Brazilian government promoted the revitalization of the national shipbuilding industry by introducing this segment in its Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and decided that shipbuilding should have local content in its production. © 2014 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC."
"A discussion covers the new oil and natural gas discoveries by Petrobras from August 2005 to August 2008. The discovery of oil and natural gas by Petrobras in the presalt of the Santos basin, especially Tupi, has come to the attention of the global petroleum industry. Localized in reservoirs that vary from 5,300 to 7,000 m depth (including the water and marine subsoil layers) followed by a salt layer, the new exploratory frontier provides Brazil with the opportunity to become one of the countries with large reserves. The discoveries will add to the present Brazilian reserves of 14 billion bbl. From 2005 to the first half of 2008 discoveries were made in the Santos basin at five exploratory blocks. In one of them, Tupi, 5-8 billion boe were discovered. In the 1980's, Petrobras pioneered in drilling in deep waters in the Campos basin where now oil and gas are produced at 1,886 m of water depth and where technology has been developed to drill up to 3,000 m depth. Following the exploratory success in the Campos basin, exploratory attention in the basins of Santos and Espirito Santo led Petrobras to discover presalt petroleum at a cost of $(US)1 billion. Twenty wells were drilled that yielded light petroleum at 28° API and a large quantity of associated natural gas. In the Santos basin, Petrobras developed new drilling projects through 2,000 m of salt. The first well cost $(US)240 million but today such a well can be drilled for $(US)60 million. The pilot project of Tupi of Petrobras operated with BG (25%) and Galp Energia (10%) lasting until 2010 has an initial production of 100,000 bpd of petroleum and about 3.5 million cu m/day of natural gas. Since its founding, Petrobras has discovered in Brazilian reserves 25 billion bbl of petroleum and natural gas that have produced 11 billion bbl. Most of this petroleum and gas is enclosed by a salt layer with 80% in the Campos basin with mainly heavy oil."
"The following paper had its development on the continental shelf of Sergipe and southern Alagoas aiming the regional mapping of geomorphological features and sedimentary cover through the study of high-resolution shallow seismic imaging, combined with bathymetry and sedimentology data on the platform. This mapping is pioneer at this region and was part of Águas Rasas Norte Project, conducted by research lab GeoRioeMar of Universidade Federal de Sergipe in partnership with PETROBRAS/CENPES, in the context of MARSEAL Project - Environmental Characterization of Sergipe and Alagoas Basin. The seismic profiles were performed by the sub-bottom profiler Edgetech 3200-XS associated with the control of collected samples. Although the interpretation of geophysical profiles have been carried out with the data without post-processing, it was possible to identify distinct reflectors and features such as reefs, carbonate banks, channels and canyons, beyond the thickness and variance of the acoustic response of distinct near-surface sediments. This preliminary characterization makes more viable seismic studies in detail about the several features and refinement of boundaries between near-surface sediments of the continental shelf of Sergipe-Alagoas. It also gives support to the interpretation of the sedimentary evolution and the possibility to expand its application to other areas such as environmental, sedimentological and geotechnical studies. © 2013 IEEE."
"Oil production in ultra-deep waters places some new challenges for floating units. As an FPSO is one of most common types of production units adopted by Petrobras, its behavior in extreme conditions has to be fully tested and verified. During extreme sea storms, ship type floating structures may be subjected to water on deck events (green water). In order to allow a detailed structural analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques may be used to investigate detailed loads due to water on deck propagation, especially in beam sea conditions, which are not traditionally covered by maritime rules. Based on model test results, water ingress and water on deck propagation are simulated through CFD analysis. The methodology adopted consists of two different approaches: (i) The influence of a riser balcony lateral extent is analyzed based on a 2D wave propagation model and; (ii) the complex flow behavior through topside equipment is discussed by using a 3D simulation of a restricted deck area, including some strategies for impact protection. The results of the simulations allow investigation of the complex flow behavior depending on the riser balcony extent and topside configuration, as well as the resulting loads on critical structures. For a side hull balcony, its protective effect against wave run-up in beam waves is only effective with a lateral extent of 8m. By performing water on deck simulations, the benefits of ""V"" type protections are quantified leading to 20% loading reduction when compared to flat plates. The simulations reveal CFD as a very powerful tool to assess detailed transient pressure distributions for optimized structural design. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The world's first subsea, deepwater, all-electric intelligent completion system installed in the 8MLS-67HA-RJS well in 3,540 feet of water at Marlim Sul Field, Brazil was discussed. The 8-MLS-67HA-RJS well was a single-string, dual-zone injector well in a water-driven reservoir. The intelligent completion was subjected to extensive, rigorous testing at all phases of development. The technology used in the system allows proper injection proper water allocation, maintains production levels from the producer well, and prevents premature injection water break from the lower zone."
"Parque das Conchas is an ultra-deepwater heavy oil development located in the northern Campos basin offshore Brazil. The project is a joint venture between Shell, Petrobras, and ONGC. The first phase of the project is the development of 3 independent subsea fields tied back to the centrally located turret moored floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) host facility entitled the FPSO Espirito Santo. The phase 1 Abalone, Ostra, and Argonauta B west fields are small to medium in size, with low-pressured reservoirs, and range in oil gravities from 17° to 42° API. A fourth 16° API gravity heavy oil field requiring water flood, Argonauta O north, will be tied back as part of phase 2 and is planned to be ready for production in 2013. The phase 1 subsea infrastructure consists of 10 producing wells and 1 gas injection well connected via 140 kilometers of pipelines and flowlines ranging in size from 6? to 12?, 15 flowline sleds, 2 production manifolds, 2 artificial lift manifolds housing a total of 6 vertical subsea separation caissons with 1500 hp ESP's, 25 jumpers, all of which are serviced by 30 kilometers of high voltage multi-circuit electro/hydraulic umbilicals and 20 kilometers of static electro-hydraulic umbilicals. The FPSO Espirito Santo is a converted 1975 VLCC moored in 1,780 meters of water and equipped to process 100,000 bopd, 50 MMscfpd, with 1.4 million barrels of oil storage capacity. The Parque das Conchas development is the result of a 9-year effort to understand the complex geology, identify sufficient reserves to support a development, identify an economic development concept, and to design, mature and apply the significant new technologies required to safely execute the project during an extremely volatile market period. This paper provides an overview of the development and execution of the project, highlights new technologies that have been developed and implemented and introduces the key challenges, achievements, and learning's in various parts of the project and the tight integration between all disciplines required to successfully deliver the Parque das Conchas project. Additional details can be found in the dedicated support papers have been generated and listed in the Reference section of this paper. Copyright 2010, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Some deepwater Offshore reservoir contain fluids with high Gas-Oil Ratio (GOR) and CO2 content, presenting also a high productivity index (PI) like the ones found in Brazilian Presalt area. All these leads to large production facilities with complex gas processing section, thus constraining the oil processing and storage capacities. In these scenarios, the application of the HISEPTM, a high pressure, dense phase separation technology patented by PETROBRAS enhances production by promptly enabling the separation and reinjection of a major fraction of this CO2-rich associated gas on the seabed as a dense fluid, hence reducing the need for large gas processing plant in the topside, which in turn extends the oil production plateau and accelerates the production. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Due to advances in the development of technology for distributed or small-scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology, a much more flexible and economical option for capturing associated gas, both on- and offshore - in the form of modular GTL technologies - is approaching. These systems are designed to operate efficiently and economically when producing ? 500 bpd. UK-based company CompactGTL plc and Velocys are developing modular solutions that combine steam methane reforming (SMR) and Fischer Tropsch (FT), and both have found ways to reduce the size of the hardware. In the integrated two-stage system developed by CompactGTL, which is designed to incorporate modules weighing < 25 ton and producing 200 bpd of liquids per module, the SMR and FT reactions are carried out in a series of mini-channels. In contrast, the Velocys combined SMR/FT system for offshore GTL takes advantage of microchannel reactor technology to shrink the hardware and intensify the processes even further. Both the CompactGTL and Velocys technologies have reached the trial stage. CompactGTL entered into a joint development testing agreement in 2006 with Petrobras to deliver a 20 bpd pilot plant to be tested onshore at the Petrobras Aracaju site in Brazil. While, in March 2010, Velocys entered into a joint demonstration and testing agreement with offshore facility developer Modec, Toyo Engineering, and Petrobras, to build and operate a 5-10 bpd microchannel GTL demonstration plant at the Petrobras facility in Fortaleza, Brazil. The trials being undertaken by CompactGTL and Velocys suggest that it may well be possible to reap the advantages of small-scale GTL sooner rather than later."
"Significant volumes of heavy and high viscosity oil have been discovered in the Campos and Santos Basins, offshore Brazil, and its economical production is a challenge for the oil industry. New production technologies are required for the economic development of offshore heavy oil reservoirs. Long horizontal or multilateral wells, produced with high power ESPs, hydraulic pumps or submarine multiphase pumps, could partially compensate the decrease in productivity caused by the high oil viscosity. The flow assurance could be improved with insulated or heated flowlines or, alternatively, with the use of water as the continuous phase. The heavy oil processing in a Floating Production Unit is not straightforward, and new separation technologies, as well as the feasibility of the heavy oil transportation with emulsified water, should be investigated. The existence of light oil reserves in neighboring reservoirs, even in small volumes, would be an important issue for the commercial feasibility of the heavy oil area. The Petrobras experience with offshore heavy oil fields in the Campos Basin shows that some can be economically produced. However, the economic feasibility is controlled by factors such as: reservoir characteristics; water depth; possibility of blend with light oil; oil acidity and contaminants; price scenario; fiscal regime; availability of new production technologies; transportation, refining and marketability of the heavy oil. The recently created Petrobras Heavy Oil Technological Program - PROPES - is in charge of the development, together with universities, service companies and the industry, of new technologies for the offshore heavy oil fields. The main objective of all this work is to set the basis for the economical development of the significant volumes of heavy oil already discovered offshore Brazil. This paper presents the main research and development topics of the Petrobras Heavy Oil Program, as well as the key production technologies for the target fields. Additionally, the results of some well tests and Extended Well Tests (EWT) in heavy oil reservoirs in the Campos Basin are presented and discussed. © 2003, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The economic consequences of increased trade and foreign investment, as a result of greater economic integration between countries, are on the global agenda. The interaction between coastal environment and the external sector is one of the most challenging topics. The convergence of these themes has being provoking a heated debate among people which are favorable and contrary to the thesis of the incompatibility between increased trade and maintaining a pattern of economic development and sustainable environment. Thesis expanded to the possible incompatibility between the movement of international financial capital and foreign direct investment and sustainability. Categorically, this applies to exploration and production (E & P) of oil in the Brazilian Pre-Salt formation. Brazil must inspect and monitor any process of exploration, mainly offshore, in the coastal territory of its jurisdiction. In this respect, it is noteworthy that PETROBRAS (the lead oil company in the country) has become the technology leader in deep and ultra-deep waters, which guarantees to Brazil at the time, the control of its maritime rich resources relating to exploration and exploitation of oil and natural gas. Thus, we recognize the issue of technological competition as a determinant for the productive internalization process. This process, especially among developed countries, should be understood as the result of technological capability, which multinational companies are able to appropriate due to the existence of ""overflows"" from the system. Therefore, we intend to clarify the extent to which Brazilian law ""protects"" the exploitation of natural resources, especially hydrocarbons, from a coastal environment approach. © 2014 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved."
"This paper shows work performed through a Joint Industry Project (JIP), aimed to enable repairs made from composite materials to be applied to metallic structural components of offshore platforms in general and FPSOs in particular. The basic motivation was to provide a repair methodology that would cause a reduced impact to platform operations, particularly in classified areas. The focus on FPSOs derived from the fact that most of them are converted tankers, originally designed for overhauling in suitable docks from time to time. That is no longer possible once they are deployed as floating platforms, intended to stay in place for twenty years or more. An important prerequisite was that the repair procedure had necessarily to have the approval of the Classification Society of the platform. The project was conducted in three phases. The objective of the first phase was to develop a qualification procedure for the repair of relevant defects with adhesive patches and to demonstrate its feasibility with simple examples. Along phase two a Project Recommended Practice for Patch Repair was issued and more qualification tests were performed. Phase three consisted of a practical application of the Recommended Practice, accomplished within Petrobras by a repair at a ballast tank of the production semisubmersible platform P-20, in operation at Campos basin. The repair was accomplished by means of carbon fiber reinforcements within a vinylester matrix. This paper describes the P-20 repair case and the design of the bonded repair. A brief overview is presented of the installation of the repair, quality assurance issues and needs for future follow-up. The experimental and theoretical studies performed in support of the repair trial are briefly described. The successful repair trial demonstrates the utility of bonded repairs in managing the integrity of offshore steel structure assets. Copyright 2010, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The collaboration between Petrobras and Westinghouse has resulted in the development of a conceptual design for a subsea multiphase-flow pumping system. The system, called SBMS-500, features 500 m3/hr total flow rate, up to 6 Mpa of pressure increase, up to 95% gas-void fraction (GVF) at the suction, and about 1.2 MW of power on the shaft. Concurrently with the system's development, Petrobras created a new program named Procap-2000 aimed at technological innovation for deepwater exploitation systems. Procap has led to the development of the subsea multiphase flow pumping system (SMFPS) based on the SBMS-500 prototype. The SMFPS features several subsystems that incorporate electrical motors and ancillary equipment."
"The ""pseudo-sticking and pull"", also nicknamed ""blocky effect"" (because of its general aspect), is a common acquisition artifact that reduces considerably the quality of wireline acoustic and microresistive image logs, even though it is not well known among image log interpreters, well-site geologists and engineers. This artifact is generated by heave motion influence when the wave movement is not minimized enough by the compensation systems during offshore wireline operations. In fact, it is well known that the linear or rotary compensator systems reduce the heave variance between 52-80% and, sometimes, other factors such as string weight and fluid density can affect, significantly, wireline logs quality by the heave variance not well compensated. In this case, mainly the wireline stationary tools and the ones that need lower acquisition speed, present depth uncertainties that may cause relevant problems. The image logs are largely used in pre-salt reservoirs for geomechanics, petrophysics, structural, sedimentological and stratigraphic studies due to their great contrast responses on carbonates. However, because acoustic image logs run at speeds around 425 ft/h (against 3600 ft/h from basic logs) and acquire between 180 and 250 samples data each 0,2 inches depth, this log becomes more affected by this artifact than the microresistive one (over 1500 ft/h). The residual heave affects directly the image quality by creating ""pseudo-sticking and pull"" at each wave period, distorting the image log significantly. Besides the artifact that immediately appears on the image during the logging, the residual heave can also be confirmed by observing when cable tension and vector Z accelerometer variation have the same frequency as the period of ocean waves, monitored by the meteo-oceanographic daily reports. Even though this artifact can be minimized with processing (better than true sticking and pull corrections), the loss of quality should be considered. Petrobras experience has also shown that interventions directly on the source by adjusting compensators and changing steering towards can be effective to handle this problem. In order to help the interested community in acquiring better data with minimum costs, this work shows some examples of this artifact on acoustic image logs from pre-salt wells. It can also show the results with processing, the differences reached after adjusting compensators and demands for future works. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The Santos Basin Pre-Salt Cluster (SBPSC), Offshore Southeast Brazil, is a unique scenario, posing great development challenges. The microbial carbonate reservoir is unusual regarding its origin and petrophysical properties; the fluids have a variable CO2 content; the few analogue reservoirs around the world do not compare in terms of volumes, water depth and distance to the coast; and there are also flow assurance issues. Considering the importance of these reserves for the Brazilian economy and the opportunity to accelerate cash flow, Petrobras and its partners have opted for a fast track development, including extended well tests (EWTs) and production pilots. The current Petrobras Business Plan (2011-15) foresees mat the SBPSC areas alone will produce over 500,000 boe/d in 2015 and over 1,100,000 boe/d in 2020. These numbers refer only to Petrobras share and do not include me transfer of rights with economic compensation from the Brazilian government to Petrobras. Therefore, the initial development phase will have to cope with several uncertainties, mainly the subsurface ones. Some of the most relevant are the quality and the heterogeneity degree of each reservoir zone; the compositional grading of the fluids; the performance of different EOR methods; and the presence of fractures affecting the flow. How to specify and anticipate the acquisition of expensive equipment, such as FPSOs and subsea devices, with uncertainties to be clarified? When is it worth to invest in more data acquisition, such as EWTs, core and fluid sampling, extensive lab analysis or even more appraisal wells? The timing and the uncertainty reduction foreseen for each initiative must be taken into account. On the other hand, when is it better to pay for extra flexibilities, accepting the inevitable CAPEX increase? Some examples would be: smart completions and possibility to inject different chemical products in the wells; gas and water separated lines for each satellite injector; flexible subsea layout, allowing multiples strategies and the addition of more wells; FPSO plants designed to inject desulphated water, or to export, import or reinject me gas, and also to separate variable CO2 contents in the produced fluids. This paper aims to discuss the influence of the main subsurface uncertainties in the selection of alternatives to develop the giant fields in the SBPSC, in a fast track way. Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"On December 23, 1982, only 30 days after the 18,600-ton Cherne II jacket was launched. Micoperi completed grouting in all of the 24 pile sleeves. This established a record for the Brazilian state oil company in jacket installation. The structure is located in 142-m water in Campos Basin. In establishing this record, the piles were driven to maximum penetration of 110 m. The jacket, designed by Interconsult (Micoperi), presented a new concept for steel jackets using vertical external skirt piles. The concept eliminated the need for pile guides and enabled the 160-m-long piles to be installed and driven in a single piece. This permitted fast installation in an area of the open South Atlantic subject to severe seas of long period swells almost the entire year. The concept also reduces both overall weight and fabrication time."
"Petrobras relies on a fleet of over 300 vessels to support the exploration and production of oil in Brazilian territorial waters. The fleet consists of vessels of various sizes, from Tug Supply vessels to Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Support vessels. These support vessels are designed to aid E&P rigs in wide range of activities, from simple refueling units to specialized units responsible for oil well stimulation and seismic studies, diving vessels, ROV vessels, oil spill response vessels and anchor handling tug vessels. The entire fleet provides services to Petrobras through chartering contracts between shipping companies and Petrobras' operational sectors. In 2012 these vessels were involved in 95 recorded accidents that did not fall under the category of occupational accidents, such as crashes, collisions, chemical spills (including oil and oil denvates), floods, fires and strandings. Aiming to reduce the occurrence of these events, Petrobras has established a group, formed from the operational sectors of the Health, Safety and the Environment (HSE), to implant the concepts of safety within those shipping companies providing support services to Petrobras. The application of these concepts on support vessels has required some adjustment, primarily in the classification of accidents. © (2013) by AIChE."
"The paper presents an overview of the evolution of Petrobras open hole gravel packing operational practices after the 200th well has been successfully completed with this technique in Campos Basin (CB): a milestone in the history of Petrobras completion practices in deep and ultra-deepwaters. The paper also presents a comprehensive description of the main steps taken to improve our horizontal open-hole gravel packing (HOHGP) practices towards a best-in-class status in unconsolidated oil-bearing turbidites. Since the first HOHGP job done in 1988 we had to move progressively from shallow to ultra-deepwater completion scenarios. Along this path a series of innovations has been incorporated to our sand face completion practices due to the ever-growing-complexity of the wells geometry, longer intervals to be completed, heavier oil reserves to be developed, rock mechanics restraints (ever-lowering fracture gradients) and the necessity of damage-free-, high-performance-wells to cope with the skyrocketing capital expenditures which is a general rule for offshore ultra-deepwaters nowadays. Petrobras strategy conceived to continuously enhance its HOHGP completion efficiency index encompasses, the following interrelated subjects: -a comprehensive long-term plan to deal with the problem, -a multi-disciplinary teamwork approach, -a strong cooperation with gravel packing tools &amp; screens suppliers, -improvement of operational procedures and guidelines against which to measure well performance and -research &amp; investment in cutting-edge technologies. Discussions on the challenges envisioned for HOHGP operations in ultra-deepwaters in the years to come are also presented. Copyright 2007, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Steel catenary risers (SCRs) have been successfully deployed on the Shell Auger TLP in the Gulf of Mexico and will also be deployed on the Shell Mars TLP. There is considerable interest in using SCRs for other applications, in particular for semi-sub based FPS systems. Petrobras is developing an SCR for installation on the P-XVIII platform, located in the Marlim Field, Campos Basin, in a water depth of 910 meters. The riser will be a dead-ended prototype which will be monitored for a period of up to one year. Subsequently, it will be connected via flexible piping to the P-XXVI platform, located approximately 5 kilometres from P-XVIII. This paper describes the design, materials, components, specification and installation of the Petrobras P-XVIII SCR. The static/dynamic design, VIV analysis and fatigue analysis methodologies are discussed in detail and results are presented. Important aspects of the flex joint design and specification are discussed. This project represents the first application of SCRs to semi-sub based FPS systems. In addition, it is the first use of SCRs outside of the Gulf of Mexico."
"This paper describes the application of remote sensing data for oil spill monitoring in the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the emergency, Landsat-5/TM (Thematic Mapper) and Radarsat-1 data were acquired to monitor the location of the spill and its movement. Image classification procedures have been utilized to highlight oil-covered areas on the water surface. Ambiguities in the oil detection were resolved with the aid of ancillary information in a GIS (Geographic Information System) environment. The results obtained helped PETROBRAS to optimize the emergency response procedures and subsequent cleaning efforts."
"Giant deepwater oilfields had been discovered in Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, through the eighties. After overcoming initial problems while drilling the exploratory wells, appraisal wells were drilled under regular performance standards, comparing to shallow water previous data. At that time, Albacora and Marlim field development plans were considering improved performances to occur due to the expected learning effects. The combination of the simultaneous use of dynamic positioned and deep anchored rigs with the technical improvements in well operations resulted in an outstanding overall drilling performance for the development campaign of those fields. The drilling program was concluded well ahead of schedule, establishing guidelines for future deepwater field exploitation. This paper describes Petrobras experience of planning and drilling deepwater development wells, showing the principal measures and factors that led to an update of our operational standards. Also, the ultra deepwater drilling R&D projects carried out at the moment are briefly introduced, being their aims to keep or even improve our performance and safety records as water depths up to 2,000 m are considered for oifield developments offshore Brazil in the future. © 1995, Offshore Technology Conference."
"A discussion covers the three consecutive PROCAP programs. They are the engineering programs that the state owned Petrobras developed with respect to exploitation in ultra deep waters. Five factors that have been decisive for success in the exploitation of petroleum in deep and ultra deep waters in the Campos basin of Brazil are addressed. The present configuration of the program with some details of the program systemics is described. Three of the most difficult technologies to perfect in deep water are considered. The topics relate to the potential of the resources of oil and gas in the deep waters of Brazil; the motivation and focus on the deep waters to extract oil and gas with the success of Petróbras in doing so; the success of Petróbras in deep water exploration as due to its association with industry to resolve all engineering obstacles; the principal achievements of PROCAP as involving the acquisition of FPSO and semi-submersibles technology; PROCAP-3000, launched in June 2000 to discover and exploit fields at 3000 m depth; sub sea system of warm-up of piping and electric pumps; sub sea system to separate water from oil and gas; and conclusions. PROCAP1000, active in 1986-1991, dealt with exploitation at depths of 1000 m. PROCAP-2000, active in 1992-1999, dealt with exploitation in waters of 2000 m depth. The PROCAP-3000 program is active in the period 2000-2005 at depths of 3000 m. The Petróbras installation of the world's first intelligent submarine system, entirely electric, InCharge, installed by Baker Oil Tools is described. Petróbras uses the InCode software of Baker Oil Tools to control well equipment. The installation of InCharge in deep water is the culmination of a 5-yr development project with participation of Baker Oil Tools, Baker Atlas, Petróbras, and QuantX. In December 2002 Petróbras had 11,000 million boe in proven reserves according to SPE methodology. The reserves on land are only 11% of this total. Of the rest, 76% are in waters over 400 m deep and 46% of Petróbas reserves are at depths > 1000 m. The forecast and statistical examination of the production of oil and gas by Petróbras is provided graphically from 1982 to 2002 for flow rates of oil in barrels per day; mixture of production on dry land and at various depths of water in barrels per day of oil since 3/14/2003; and tabulation of the total production of hydrocarbons in various areas of Brazil of LNG, oil, and natural gas from 2000 to 2003."
"Petrobras has launched the 38-in., 179-km Cabiunas-Reduc III (Gasduc III) gas pipeline, which is capable of carrying 40 million cu m/day. Gasduc III enhances regional transportation capacity to 40 million from 16 million cu m/day. The line can transport gas produced in the Campos and Espirito Santo basins, as well as gas imported from Bolivia and from the Guanabara Bay LNG Regasification Terminal. Gasduc III also will be able to receive gas coming from the Santos Basin, once the Caraguatatuba-Taubate gas pipeline has been completed in later 2010. Gasduc III interconnects Brazil's main natural gas processing pole, the Cabiúnas Terminal, to natural gas Hub 2, in Duque de Caxias. According to Petrobras, in addition to the Paulinia-Jacutinga gas pipeline, the transportation network that supplies the state of Minas Gerais will be further reinforced in May 2010 when the 267-km Gasbel II line is scheduled to begin operating. With the Paulinia-Jacutinga and Gasbel II gas pipelines, Petrobras will boost its natural gas transportation capacity to Minas Gerais fourfold, rising to 13.2 million from 3.2 million cu m/day."
"In a scenario of huge investments in the quest for new oil and natural gas discoveries, the oil industry has reached a consensus: no easy fields to be developed remain undiscovered, especially in offshore environments. New and old challenges on well drilling such as drilled extensions over 6000 m, sub-salt drilling, very narrow operational windows, operational problems like lost of circulation, stuck pipe, and kicks are aggravated when drilling in high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) environments. In the world's exploratory context, the occurrence of HPHT areas is an increasing trend. It is the materialization of the worst case scenario for well drilling and safety, formed by great challenges and operational, environmental, and economic risks. Field experience has shown that the economical risks have been overshadowed by the great premium target: increments on reserves. However, if the well safety aspect is dealt with the conventional approach, the oil industry is at risk of losing its investments, causing great impacts to the environment and also to the company's image. Since HPHT well construction costs are so much higher than those of traditional wells, the scope of knowledge and science on well safety, once limited to kick prevention and well control contingencies, are now an integral part of the technical and economic feasibility of well construction. Within this context, this work surveys the best HPHT techniques and procedures practiced by the oil industry, presents the new researches and trends and shares some valuable lessons learned on Petrobras' operations in Brazil and throughout the world. Copyright 2009, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition."
"Offshore logistical operations can be complicated. Companies need to keep tabs on all equipment and products necessary to keep exploration and production moving. Operators and service companies such as Brazil's Petrobras and Schlumberger are contemplating ways in which to simplify the process of tracking assets locally and around the globe. Swerdlow told the panel that RFID cannot replace barcodes and enterprise systems such as SAP and Oracle, but RFID tags can centralize control of physical processes with little localized realtime process visibility, monitoring, and decision making. RFID & RTLS (real-time locating system) can provide an effective and proven real-time bridge and report actual process events as they happen. Nathalia da Silva Sena, technical consultant, Petrobras, presented some of the challenges Petrobras has to deal with in terms of meeting E&P demands. With continued growth in both the Santos and Campos basins, Petrobras has to meet both long-distance and infrastructure challenges, all the while deciding how to best utilize the equipment the national player already has."
"In 1998, Petrobras installed the first steel catenary riser on a P-18 semi-submersible platform, in Marlim Field, at 910 m water depth. It was decided to install a monitoring system to check the riser design methodology, including Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) Analysis. For VIV monitoring, the riser was instrumented with bottles with sophisticated accelerometers in different points, to measure accelerations at a rate of 2 Hz for 300 seconds every 3 hours. The other monitoring systems installed are the oceanographic buoy, to measure waves (height, period and direction), surface current (value and direction), wind, pressures, etc. and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiles (ADCP) to measure instantaneously the current (velocity and direction) along the water column. There is a positioning system (PETRONAV) consisting of GPS receiver with phase correction blended with inertial sensors by a Kalman Filter to measure platform precise absolute positions and movements. All these systems are synchronized to acquire data at the same period of time, to make possible the reanalysis with more reality. This paper describes the VIV monitoring system, including some eletronical system description and the methodology used to define the water depth of each bottle."
Petrobras has almost 30yr experience of developing oil and gas resources offshore Brazil. Most important is the company's success in developing technologies for deepwater production systems in the Campos Basin. These technological challenges and developments are described together with specific development programmes for the deepwater Albacora and Marlim oilfields. (J.M.M.)
"Guara BV, an affiliate of Petrobras, has signed a letter of intent to charter a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel for use on Block BM-S-9 in the Santos basin offshore Brazil. The platform will have a processing capacity of ? 100,000 bpd of oil and 5 million cu m/day of natural gas. The FPSO will be provided and operated by Modec Inc and Schahin Petroleo e Gas SA for the BM-S-9 consortium for a 20-yr period. Delivery is expected in June 2016, and production is expected to begin 2 mo after the delivery. The consortium is planning to connect at least 8 wells, 4 as producing wells and 4 for injection, to the vessel from the presalt layer in the Carioca area."
"This paper describes the history, challenges, solutions and evolution of the Floating Production Units in Brazil. The first floating unit was on stream in 1977 at Campos Basin in Brazil. It produced from a single well with a drilling riser and dry-X-tmas tree to a MODU converted into a floating production unit and exporting to a spread-moored shuttle-tanker by a floating hose. Now, more than 40 years later, over 2,400 meters of water depth at Santos Basin are moored several floating production and storage units (FPSOs). It houses over 40 thousand metric tons of complex topsides exploiting ultra-deep wells from the pre-salt prospects. Along the evolution of the FPSOs, one major stepping-stone was the implementation of lessons learned as a feedback to create a strong foundation. This paper will depict field demands and solutions adopted to deal with the differing climates and environments as well as other particularities to develop FPSOs in Brazil. To face the technological challenges to efficiently and safely produce from ultra-deep water complex pre-salt reservoirs required the consolidated use of the expertise and experience from past projects. Initially Petrobras was well known worldwide as a Semi-Submersible company, with a unique proficiency to develop converted Semi-submersibles and other new constructions. This expertise is still present to this day, but the company has since pioneered and consolidated the use of FPSOs worldwide, leading the industry in this concept. Petrobras led the industry effort to approve FPSO international standards, local regulations with agencies and regulatory bodies by the end of '80s to early '90s. This paper will focus on the evolution of this industry, highlighting the achievements, and address the new developments and opportunities for the future. © 2020, Offshore Technology Conference."
"In late July 2011, Petrobas released its 2011-2015 business plan, listing total energy investments at US $224.7 billion, the largest business plan in the oil and gas industry and represents the largest investment by a single company. In 2010 Petrobras invested $2.2 billion in international business which is a substantial drop from the previous year. The company's focus has changed, as it is aimed to deal with others that do not compete with the activities in Brazil instead of meeting technological challenges overseas. On March 17, 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) granted Petrobras a permit to operate the BW Pioneer floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel in US waters, the first such permit in the GoM. Petrobras expects to find more reserves of light oil offshore, similar to those discovered on the African continent, in line with the corporate strategy of seeking opportunities in deep and ultra-deep waters in the region."
"Petrobras has postponed until the end of the first half of 2006 the start of production at the offshore Peroa-Cangoa gasfields in the Espirito Santo basin because of lack of transport capacity for the fuel. The development project includes a fixed unmanned platform on Peroa and a 50-km subsea pipeline from the platform to the gas-processing plant onshore at the town of Cacimbas in Espirito Santo state. The pipeline causing the delay is the 128-km Vitoria-Cacimbas gas pipeline that Petrobras started building, but stopped construction in the fourth quarter of 2005 because the contractors abandoned the project, claiming adverse financial conditions. This is the shortest stretch of the 1400-km strategic Gasene gas pipeline project Petrobras is planning to build to link the gas-rich SE region of the country with the NE."
"This is the year in which Petrobras consolidates its position in the international LNG market starting with the implementation of the LNG terminals in the Bay of Guanabara, state of Rio de Janeiro, and the port of Pecém, in the state of Ceará. These terminals integrate the Petrobras LNG system and are considered to be the best technical and economic solution to make the supply of gas flexible for the markets of thermal and non-thermal generation of energy. The supply of LNG permits modulating the purchase according to demand. The Brazilian natural gas market has the potential to expand and is characterized by a flexible demand associated with generation of electricity and by a stable demand represented by industry, transport, and residential uses. In the Brazilian national electrical energy grid, thermo-electrical energy complements hydropower. About 11% of installed capacity in Brazil is supplied by thermo-electrical plants moved by natural gas and 80% by hydropower. The Petrobras LNG project will be supplied by the international market and the dry season in Brazil in which the demand for LNG increases coincides with a lesser demand in the countries in the Northern Hemisphere, benefiting the country. The use of natural gas in Brazil has increased at 4%/yr avg in recent years and represents 10.46% of the Brazilian energy matrix. Petrobras estimates place the use of natural gas in Brazil in 2011 at 12%. The flexible LNG terminals were designed starting with an unpublished concept, namely, a floating wharf with the capability to receive a supply ship on one side and a regasification ship on the other side. The LNG will arrive by the supply ship, be processed in the regasification ship, and injected into the gas pipeline that connects to the Duque de Caxias (Reduc) refinery to be distributed to the transmission grid. At Pecém, the wharf is connected to an extension of the Gasfor that will connect the gas from the terminal to the state grid. Petrobras has leased two ships to operate with the flexible terminals, the Golar Spirit, with 129,000 cu m of LNG and regasification at 7 million cu m/day, and the Golar Winter, that carries 138,000 cu m of LNG and that can regasify 14 million cu m/day. There is not yet a definite site for the third terminal. The goal is to be able to supply by 2012 LNG of up to 31 million cu m/day, corresponding to what Petrobras imports from Bolivia today."
"The unwanted gas produced during offshore oil drilling could be reused as an energy source using a technology developed by a consortium of firms including an Oxford Catalysts Group subsidiary. Velocys, the group's US subsidiary, is providing microchannel reactors for use in an offshore gas to liquids (GTL) facility. The technology relies on unwanted gas that is produced along with oil. Such gas is usually disposed of by flaring - a wasteful and environmentally unfriendly process that is increasingly subject to regulation or by re-injection back into the reservoir at considerable expense. Velocys and offshore facility developers MODEC, the global engineering firm Toyo Engineering and the Brazilian State oil company Petrobras are building a microchannel GTL demonstration facility that could possibly bring the prospect of offshore GTL a step closer to reality."
"Norsk Hydro has congratulated Baker Oil Tools for its installation of the InForce Intelligent Well System in the Snorre field in the North Sea, which is the first ever installation of the system in the area. The installation will help Hydro reduce rig cost, as well as facilitate production from the P-30 well. The installation allows each zone of the well to be accessed or closed remotely in less than 5 min. Baker has previously installed other, equally successful hydraulic intelligent well systems in the Middle East and Far East. Meanwhjile, Baker's InCharge Intelligent Well System has been licensed by Petrobras for its ultra-deepwater exploration of the Roncador field."
"The Oil and Gas industry is currently investigating innovative solutions in order to develop new fields in deep-water, remote areas and to increase the recovery of mature fields. Subsea separation solutions enhance production while better managing hydrates (gas/liquid separation) or allow the debottlenecking of topside water treatment (water/hydrocarbon separation and subsea water re-injection). SAIPEM is currently developing several subsea separation systems made of pipes working in parallel: The MULTIPIPE for the subsea gas/liquid separation and the SPOOLSEP for subsea water/hydrocarbon separation. For each technology, the design is relying on flow split and operation of pipes in parallel. Extensive qualification tests were undertaken focusing on the symmetry of the system and its operability for subsea application. These separators with reduced wall thicknesses, compared to single large diameter vessels, are especially well suited to deep water and /or high pressure applications. Moreover these solutions are reliable as they rely on gravity separation and allow for standard manufacturing and installation procedures as well as conventional installation and maintenance vessels. The gas/liquid Multipipe separator has been qualified through several test campaigns, including a first JIP with tests with real crude under pressure to simulate subsea operation showing its versatility for deepwater application. A second JIP with Petrobras, Total and ENI has been completed early 2013. It has covered the qualification of the whole subsea station and the performance of additional flow performance tests. Further qualification actions including tests have been identified in view of some recent high pressure application cases. Following the positive results on the Multipipe Saipem has initiated the development of the water/hydrocarbon SpoolSep separator. The paper presents the results of the first qualification tests on separation performance which started early this year as well as the way forward which includes a JIP for the performance of tests with real crude. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Petrobras has brought online two fields, updated its files on the Tupi field and decided to dedicate its exploration efforts along its shores. The FPSO can produce 10mmcm/d of natural gas and 35,000b/d of oil and condensate and store up to 740,000 barrels of oil. The development plan for the field foresees four horizontal oil wells and five gas producer wells, which will be connected directly to the FPSO. The consortium expects to declare commerciality at Tupi in December 2010. Acergy recently won a four-year, $220-million contract for flexible lay services in water depths to 2000m offshore Brazil for Petrobras. The revised 2020 target does not include any production from the new pre-salt regulatory framework. Petrobras aims to produce 3.9 million boe/d by 2014. The lump sum Petrobras intends to invest is 20% higher than the amount set out in the previous business plan."
"Exploration for oil under the salt layer is concentrated in the basins of Santos, Campos, and Espiritu Santo, Brazil. Hopefully it extends to the eastern margin of the Jequitinhonha and Camamu-Almada basins. These basins have been unexplored under the salt layer with respect to the present objectives. One Petrobras estimate is that there may be thousands of millions bbl of reserves of light petroleum under the salt in the Campos basin. Because of the urgency to import light oil to mix with heavy crude oil that is the major part of Brazilian production in the old Petrobras refineries and as a result of the immense oil discoveries of Tertiary/Cretaceous in the 1970's and 1980's and the first half of the 1990's, Brazilian exploration concentrates mainly in the reserves of the Tertiary and Cretaceous Superior of the Campos basin. Exploration under the salt layer in Campos and other basins has been sporadic. It is difficult to calculate the cost of developing the fields under the salt layer in Brazil but the costs could exceed any borne to date. If the layer under the salt becomes an object of commercial exploration, the development of the fields could reach $2,000 to $4,000 million or more. In the last 5 yr heavy lacustrian petroleum and gas accumulations have been found in the reservoirs of Tertiary and Cretaceous Superior in the Campos basin. These are formed mainly by biodegradation. As a result of this, giant deposits of petroleum/gas are expected under the Tertiary Superior and the Cretaceous of Marlim, Albacora, Roncador, Barracuda, Jubarte, Cachalote, Golfinho, and the petroleum accumulation BSS-69 and elsewhere. A number of historic and current oil and gas production figures are given for various Petrobras fields. In the Espírito Santobasin the potential reserves of light oil are about 600 MM boe, most of which in deep waters. Petrobras produces light oil in 87 fields 12 of which are maritime (as of 2005). Brazil produces up to 1.76 MM bpd of petroleum of which about 70% is heavy oil. The average production of gas has been 43.9 MM cu m/day as of September 2006. Probable reserves in Brazil are 11.36 B bbl of oil and 297 B cu m of gas."
"Drilling salt zones, especially in deep and ultra-deep waters, presents several challenges to be overcome. One of the main problems faced by drilling engineers while designing and executing a section in salt zones, is the formation flow to the wellbore. Temperature and pressure exerted by the rocks above the salt formation make it have a plastic behavior that tend to flow, and close the wellbore caliper as the bit drills it. The deeper the salt formation, the higher the temperature and pressure above it and, consequently, the higher the tendency to flow to the well, causing several problems, such as high torque, drag and stuckpipes. In order to avoid these problems and to keep the wellbore stable, the drilling fluid must exert a minimum hydrostatic pressure on the formation. Thus, the mud weight is a very important parameter that needs to be determined with a good precision. Since there are no reliable tools to help drilling designers to predict the mud weight based on the wellbore information and its lithology, this is a very difficult task. Nowadays, the prediction of mud weights for pre-salt wells is made based on the designer experience and it's updated during the drilling job as the engineers analyze the wellbore behavior. The lack of precision on estimating the correct mud weight causes several operational problems, currently related to high nonproductive times. Petrobras is developing software to predict adequate mud weight in order to avoid salt fluency based on the lithology of the well and a big historic of wells drilled in pre-salt zones. Initial tests show that the software is able to predict the mud weight with a very good precision. This article shows the development of the software and initial results obtained. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), a state-owned oil company utilizes its floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) P-50 vessel to 16 production wells at the Albacora Laste field in Campos basin. FPSO symbolizes Brazil's plans to reach oil self-sufficiency by mid-2006. The FPSO will process oil pumped from the field 150 km off Rio de Janeiro and each peak production of 180,000 b/d by August, which represents around 10% of Brazil's crude oil output. The P-50 will also be able to handle 6M cu m/day of natural gas. The P-50 and P-34, also an FPSO, are to begin processing 20,000 b/d of oil at Jubarte field. They will raise national production to 1.9M b/d in 2006, surpassing domestic needs and making Brazil reach oil self-sufficiency."
"The coastal zone, where most of the Brazilian population lives, plays a central role for discussing vulnerability and adaptation strategies to climate change. Besides saltmarshes, mangroves and coral reefs, this region also presents seagrass beds, macroalgae and rhodolith beds, forming underwater forests, which are key habitats for services such as biodiversity conservation, O2 production, and absorption of part of the CO2 from the atmosphere. Science endorses that ocean warming and acidification, sea level rise, biological invasions and their interactions with pollution, overfishing, and other stressors undermine the structure and functioning of these ecosystems, thus increasing the region's socio-environmental vulnerability. Ecosystem conservation, management and potential bioremediation/restoration using science-based solutions must be prioritized in order to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities and the ocean. © 2020 Universidade de Brasilia. All rights reserved."
"Renewable energies as an additional source have become vital in modern societies. The search for alternative energy sources has led the scientific community to the oceans, demanding a shift in energetic policies, which must be redefined to favor the development of renewable energy technologies at sea. The goal is to generate electric energy while producing less pollutants or even while using the outputs of human anthropic activities as input for the generation of energy, food, products and for the mitigation of climate change impacts. The present study focus on the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology, which presents the greatest potential for energy exploitation from the oceans and which generates a range of by-products. The South Atlantic Ocean presents the potential to support OTEC plants, with emphasis on the region called Brazilian Ocean Thermal Energy Park, with a total coverage area of 1,893,000.00 km2 and an operating potential of up to 376 OTEC plants. Results of this work indicate that the park operation in maximum capacity can generate energy at a nominal power of 41.36 GW, and remove 60.16 GW or 60.16 GJ/s of ocean heat and 8.13 kg/s or 256.37 Tg/year of atmospheric CO2. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"In what is being called the first oil and gas sustainable commissioning project, composite abrasives are being used to help conserve precious resources. The core of this sustainable solution includes composite abrasives and an innovative Pipeline Inspection Gauge/Gadget (or pig) system, which were first field tested and then used in Petrobras Refinaria Abreu de Lima, also known as Refinaria do Nordeste (RNEST), in Brazil. This paper focuses on the commissioning of two atmospheric distillation units (ADUs) at RNEST; ADU 11 and ADU 12. During the commissioning process, residual products in pipelines are removed (1) to assure efficient flow though refinery systems and (2) to protect operating equipment. Traditional methods of pipeline cleaning during commissioning typically include cleaning with water, chemical cleaning or steam cleaning. Each of these methods use a high volume of water, produce a high volume of wastewater discharge to be treated, and some have inherent risks to commissioning personnel and/or the environment. Because no water was used during the composite abrasive blasting at RNEST, all water-related steps (e.g. conditioning, drying, special treatment, disposal and storage/disposal) were eliminated. Thus, the number of steps in the cleaning process dropped to four: (1) abrasive blasting pipe internals and (2) applying the appropriate treatment via pig, (3) hydrostatic testing and (4) water treatment/recycling. Using data from the RNEST sustainable commissioning process, this paper will compare common cleaning operations to the new sustasinable commisioning method. Results convey that sustainable commissioning at RNEST used 300,000 liters of reusable water per atmospheric distillation unit versus more than 30 million liters per unit that would have been used with tradtional methods. (This value is estimated based on the RNEST project). In addition to conserving water, sustainable commissioning at RNEST also significantly reduced the time and monetary impact of the commissioning process. The positive environmental and economic results of sustainable commissioning can carry over to similar offshore applications during the commissioning and maintenance of internal piping systems. Copyright 2014, Offshore Technology Conference."
"In 1992, Brazilian Navy and PETROBRAS carried out a geophysical survey along the continental margin off northeastern Brazil, as part of a governmental plan to delineate the ""Legal Continental Shelf’ according to the international Law of the Sea. This data set is leading to a better understanding of the crustal transition processes and on the evolution of the oceanic crust over that part of the Brazilian continental margin. On our seismic transects, we show a rifted marginal plateau (Pernambuco Plateau) where crustal extension was controlled by detachment faulting, possibly in a non-volcanic margin setting. Farther north, dealing with the ocean-continent transition nearby a major transform margin, we found a normal passive margin-style transition zone instead of transform-related structures. With the support of multichannel seismic profiles and gravity data derived from GEOSAT altimetry, several well-known oceanic fracture zones and structural lineaments were properly located and correlated. The relationship of these structures with volcanic ridges and extensional, compressive and strike-slip tectonic reactivations suggests that fracture zones at this area behaved either as zones of weakness or as locked transform fault scars. Striking lithospheric flexural deformation is also related to FZs in this region. In the surroundings of the Fernando de Noronha Ridge, lithospheric flexure represents an isostatic response to volcanic loading, while bending across Ascension FZ is likely to have been caused by differential subsidence in crustal segments of contrasting ages. We also correlate some other deformation of the oceanic crust with changes in spreading directions that possibly took place at the Upper Cretaceous. © 2000 by the American Geophysical Union."
"Acoustic monitoring in oceans has grown greatly for several purposes. To meet the needs of an acoustic monitoring program of Petrobras, a Brazilian oil exploration company, an acoustic recorder was developed, called SAASS, an autonomous system for the acquisition of submarine signals. This development had as main goal, the development period and its cost, besides of course, technical requirements for that application. This work has become a very promising experience since it also allowed researches in the area of hydrophone development and acoustic signal analysis methodology. This article will describe the most relevant aspects of the development of SAASS and main strategies adopted to achieve the established objectives of Petrobras program. © 2018 IEEE."
"The Exploration and Production Department of Petrobras asked the R&D Center the development of a production system for 1800 m water depth, in Campos Basin, which would allow the installation of Steel Caterany Risers (SCR) in the starboard side of a production platform. The subsurface buoy concept was chosen as one of the alternatives. This concept has being developed since the preliminary studies conducted in the first phase of JIP Deepstar. This concept has an advantage of uncoupling the movements of the platform from the risers, reducing the loads due to the risers in the platform and allowing the installation of this system before the installation of the production vessel, anticipating the production of the field. This article shows the main characteristics of the buoy, its sizes, results of structural analyses and installation procedures for a buoy which sustains 14 SCR and 5 umbilicals in one side and 14 flexible jumpers and the same 5 umblicals in the opposite side. This concept was tested in two model test tanks, where it was verified that this concept is feasible. Also, information related to a field trial with a prototype installed in Brazilian waters will be presented. © 2005, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"These last years the conversion of VLCC (Very Large crude Carrier) in FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading) unit has been used by Petrobras in Brazil offshore to work in the exploitation of oil in deep, what is a consequence of the necessity of large storage unit with the capability to transfer the oil to shuttle ships. A group of VLCC hulls was converted to FPSO, with the installation of oil process plants, turrets and so on. The internal conversion solves the questions about the processing, the storage and the oil offloading, but the external hull was not properly designed to respond to the waves, currents and the wind as a stationary unit. Many studies have been more recently developed to discuss the stability of this kind of system, the use of spreading mooring system with different tensions on the lines, the use and the position of a turret, the use of stabilization devices, as doubled rudder, propeller, tugs, etc... Sphaier, Fernandes and Correa (2000a) developed a maneuvering model and a procedure to study the stability of the FPSO and the FPSO and a shuttle during the offloading operation. Looking for the even increasing oil exploration activities and discover of new oil fields in deep water the paper presents a way to establish the main dimensions of a new FPSO in the preliminary design based on stability criteria for the motion in the horizontal plane. The stability problem is formulated in a similar approach as in Sphaier, Fernandes and Correa (1999 and 2000b). But, instead of verifying the stability of the system from known hydrodynamic coefficients, the analytical expression for the eigenvalues is developed as a function of the main dimensions of the floating unit. Due to the complexity of the analytical treatment of the problem the symbolic processor capability of the Mathematica package was explored. The use of additional stabilization devices is also addressed."
"Campos Basin, during the last 40 years, has been the stage where the technology development has played its main game in terms of pushing the offshore oil and gas production to overcome its challenges to go deeper and deeper in WDs never experienced before. Incremental, innovative, enabler or even disruptive technologies, supported by a strong commitment to success and the capability and drive for field test new ideas have made such a difference. Structured actions based on technology programs specific created for reaching defined targets, such as Petrobras Deep and Ultra Deep Water Technology Program named PROCAP, in its four sequential ""versions"" for over 28 years, resulted in two OTC Awards, in 92 and 2001, and helped Petrobras to achieve an important position worldwide in offshore production. A focused projection of the future in terms of the next generation under development to overcame challenges related to revitalization of Campos Basin mature fields, such as life extension methodologies, heavy oil processing, oil and gas contaminants treatment, subsea boosting and separation systems, power distribution and transmission, that are part of Petrobras technologies ""gold list"" are being developed and they will be available in the next couple of years. Additionally, an internal program, named Subsea Operational Technologies, has been developed to promote a full integration among suppliers, R&D and operation teams to reduce OPEX and enhance oil and gas production in Campos Basin. Also, associated to that, a strong and efficient integrated operation control has promoted the required offshore field management drive and safety. This paper will present a retrospective of the most significant Subsea system, Well Drilling and Completion, as well as Topsides technologies developed and deployed in the Campos Basin for more than 80 production systems in more than 30 oil and gas fields development. © 2018, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Two of the biggest drivers in Middle East oil & gas operations today are the continued development and upgrade of existing facilities (Brownfield Projects) and the challenges involved in developing high pressure, high temperature (HP/HT) fields. These developments come with very different piping and pipeline challenges. In the case of Brownfield projects, it is the ageing piping installations with increased corrosion and leaks, and the need to carry out piping modifications while continuing production. And in the case of HP/HT developments, the challenges include the need to develop robust and effective instrumentation, reliable connections, reduce subsea intervention costs, and operate around existing infrastructure. This paper will look at how cold-work piping connection solutions can accommodate the challenges involved in Brownfield projects and HP/HT applications, as well as alleviating concerns over traditional methods, such as welding. Such concerns include time, cost, resources, and safety implications. Referring to the experience gained from installing over 3,000 cold-work connections worldwide, this paper will examine how cold-work solutions generate a simple mechanical connection; the technology of using hydraulic pipes to flange expansion in developing leak-free connections; the importance of no gasket, seals or moving parts in the connection; and the flexibility needed to handle a range of piping diameters. The paper will provide an example of a recent topside cold-work installation offshore Abu Dhabi - on a field in production for more than 40 years, where the cold-work piping technology was found to significantly reduce the traditional work scope. It will also provide an overview of the choices in taking the technology subsea and applications for critical, high pressure applications through recent testing with Petrobras in Brazil The paper will provide an important technical contribution to Middle Eastern operators in the form of i) a low impact and flexible piping solution that reduces production shut-down time; ii) increased safety; and iii) introduce significant financial savings. Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Brazil is entering the age of decommissioning, with aging offshore fields that have been in operation for more than 25 years. Brazil has migrated from an operator's monopolistic environment (with the state owned oil company, Petrobras) to a new reality in which many companies, national and international operate in Brazilian waters. As part of this new reality, Brazil has established government organizations whose aim is to coordinate the exploitation of Brazil's natural resources with the intent of optimizing activities while protecting the environment in an ever increasingly complex eco-system management. Traditionally, offshore projects follow basic phases such as conceptual, front end engineering and design (FEED), detail design, construction and commissioning. Cost allocation and schedules for these phases are all associated with production estimates and return on investment estimates. In many instances, internationally, planning for decommissioning has been deferred to an unforeseen future. Finally that far off horizon has become a reality, and domestic and foreign operators in Brazil are going through a new decommissioning awareness phase. It is the author's opinion that operators wish to comply with a well-defined frame of Brazilian and international regulations. In general, this paper aims at examining the existing regulatory environment and make recommendations on a path forward for: • Clear-cut requirements so that the permitting process flows with a minimized review cycle; • A clear set of rules, defining what abandonment options exist (e.g. complete removal vs. partial removal, on-site abandonment rules for topsides and subsea infrastructure); • A clear set of rules defining fines and sanctions for environmental violations The objectives of this paper are to 1) Gather basic information on the current status of the Brazilian Rules and Regulations, 2) Help non-government entities work together to accomplish the goals set forth by Brazilian lawmakers and officials, and 3) Develop a roadmap for convergence of the environmental agency and project stakeholders. Laws, rules and regulations, and international treaties of which Brazil is signatory are part of this environment. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Campos Basin, the main production province in Brazil, was discovered in 1974. It is located on the North coast of the Rio de Janeiro State and comprises an area of around 115,000 km2 (28,400 acres), as shown in Figure 1. The producing oil fields are between 70 and 150 km (43 to 93 miles) far from the seashore. It started its production on August 13th, 1977 with 10,000 bopd (barrels of oil per day) from the well 1-EN-01-RJS, which produced to a semi-submersible platform; this well has produced nearly 35 million barrels of oil until February 1998, when it was shutdown for economical reasons. Today, after more than twenty-five years of continuous operation, the overall production system comprises 13 fixed platforms and 24 Floating Systems distributed among 42 oil fields, which account for the production of 1.21 million bopd - which corresponds to more than 80% of Petrobras oil production, plus 18.9 million m3 of gas per day - or 43% of the gas production (as of December 2002). Such an evolution was supported by investments in exploration and production development, in deepwater technology developments and in continuous management improvement. This paper describes the main driving forces to exploit Campos Basin - especially its deep and ultra-deepwaters fields, the technological and production developments performed, the experience accumulated by Petrobras along these 25 years of operations as well as its contribution to the global oil industry. © 2003, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Bijupirà & Salema field is located in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil in water depths ranging from 600 to 800 meters. A consortium led by Enterprise Oil and its partners, Odebrecht and Petrobras, is developing the fields. The two fields will be developed as subsea tiebacks to an FPSO with offset distances ranging from 2 to 3 km. The system comprises subsea manifolds, flowlines and risers with capability for round trip pigging. The paper will provide a brief overview of the main flow assurance challenges. Two of the flow assurance challenges highlighted include hydrates management and liquid slugging. During various production operations, produced fluids can potentially be cooled by the surrounding cold water, resulting in gas hydrates. Such blockages can plug the bore of the subsea tree, tree piping, well jumper, manifolds, flowlines and risers, causing loss of production and inability to open or close subsea valves. The hydrate management philosophy for this project considered the following: Use a combination of chemical injection using either ethanol or methanol and thermal insulation. Thermal insulation on subsea production system to provide sufficient cool down time without operator action. For long-term unplanned shut down, flowlines and risers can be depressurized and displaced. Circulate ""dry"" hot oil in the flowlines and risers prior to re-start. Hydrate inhibitor injection into the subsea system during start up and shut down. Liquid slug behavior is another important consideration in the design of the production system. Large liquid slugs arriving at the FPSO can cause several problems, such as exceeding the capacity of the topsides separators, impact loads on topsides piping and swivels, vibration of risers, and erratic well flow behavior. Severe slugging is likely in the Salema flowlines due to the combination of downhill profile from the manifold towards the riser base and the potentially low flow rates expected. This paper will present an overview of the selection and design process adopted to manage hydrates and liquid slugging for this field development considering system thermal and hydraulic performance, cost and ease of field installation and production operations."
"When Petrobras' Garoupa Field production tower collapsed last September 7, the company replaced it with a provisional early production system designed to restore production until permanent platforms and pipe lines could be installed. This provisional system uses the seafloor pipe line, meter, loading tower and processing ship (Presidente Prudente Moraes) remaining from the original production system. These holdovers were combined with a 208-ton, 12-m-dia. monobuoy, an electronics control ship (Star Offshore Services marine's Star Hercules and a specially designed pipe line and manifold. This contingency system handled more than 30,000 bopd production from Garoupa and Namorado Fields while Garoupa's permanent platform was readied."
"The experience gained by PETROBRAS over eleven years operating several floating production systems based on extensive use of flexible pipes, indicated that such a concept was a reliable alternative for deep water exploitation. To properly predict the behavior of flexible pipes in deeper water applications, more sophisticated analysis tools are naturally required. For such a reason, TUBFLEX, a P.C. program was recently developed in cooperation with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. TUBFLEX takes into consideration two distinct mathematical models for pipes with either bonded or unbonded layers. Basically the input data consist in the following: mechanical characteristics of the layers (geometry and material properties), loading condition (internal and external pressure, tension, torsion, bending moment or imposed bending radius) and boundary conditions. Pipe global strains, ultimate stress conditions and pipe stiffness are typical output data. Both mathematical models are described and examples of practical applications are presented. Different concepts of pipe design are analyzed and output results are compared. Finally, some important points where PETROBRAS is making efforts to optimize the use of flexible pipes are presented. Copyright © 1990 by The International Society of Offshoie and Polai Engineers."
"As a solution for sand production problems associated with the production of hydrocarbons from sandstone reservoirs, the gravel packing technique (GPT) has been used by Petrobras since the early seventies when some small offshore fields in northeast Brazil were completed with this technique. More recently Petrobras has made important discoveries in unconsolidated to friable turbidite sandstones in Campos Basin area, offshore Rio de Janeiro (fig.1). Carapeba, Vermelho and Pargo fields, the so called Northeastern Pole fields (NP fields); and Albacora and Marlim giants fields, located in deep waters, are among these important discoveries. The GPT has been elected as the only sand control technique suitable to those wells. The paper describes Petrobras search for improvement of GPT to suitably complete NP, Albacora and Marlim wells with this technique. The use of the GPT for Albacora and Marlim is unique and is one of Petrobras challenges to deepwater production. Copyright 1989, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The 3 million bpd of crude oil produced globally in deep waters represent only 4% of the total explored volume by the petroleum industry. However, the expectation of a large increase in demand for energy in the coming decades is attracting new investments by oil companies. Although a matter that dominates the scene in Brazil, E&P in deep waters has marginal international participation and encounters unexplored frontiers. The global oil industry has discovered about 60,000 million bbl of petroleum in deep waters, half of which since 1995 has occurred in Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, and Western Africa, according to one study. In a study by the Total company, 90% of the global reserves of petroleum in deep waters of about 50,000 million bbl, are to be found in the ""Golden Triangle"" of the petroleum industry, namely, Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, and Western Africa. There is a consensus that the high prices for petroleum are an indication that exploration for petroleum in deep waters off Latin America may significantly increase the reserves of the region. The world consumes about 75,000 million bpd of crude oil and 6.5 MMM cu m/day of natural gas. Hardly some 3 MM bpd of crude oil are produced in deep waters or 4% of the total volume explored. In the coming three decades the demand for energy is expected to increase by two thirds and between now and 2015 the production in deep waters could triple reaching over 8 MM bpd. In the Offshore Magazine study on FPSO, of the 106 FPSO now operating in 23 countries, 16 are in Brazil. Of the 106 FPSO, 13 operate in waters at greater than 1,000 m depth. Of these 13, 7 are in Brazil, 4 in Angola, and 2 in Nigeria. In 2006, 21 FPSO are being built or being converted in the world and 56 FPSO are being bid for, will be bid for, or are in the final stage of conception and design. The large part of these projects is Brazilian. From now to 2010, 2,011 new underwater production projects will be initiated in Brazil that will include about 20 new platforms. In addition to offshore Brazil, Petrobras is active offshore Argentina and Colombia and has joined with large companies to explore in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico."
"In the Santos basin off Brazil, Petrobras ran numerical simulations to evaluate the creep behavior of salt rocks (halite, carnallite, and tachyhydrite) at high differential stress and high temperature, using finite-element codes developed in-house. The results were used to predict the evolution of the well closure over time for various drilling fluids, and scientists analyzed several alternatives for a drilling strategy. A casing design was accomplished with several failure scenarios that involved cementing the casing and borehole annulus through the salt and retaining drilling fluid in the annulus to determine the nonuniform loading and timing of salt loading on well casing deformation or ovalization. The casing was designed to support the high creep rates of carnallite and tachyhydrite."
"The establishment of policies relevant to the oceanic area in Brazil aims to guide the rational planning of resources of marine space (Blue Amazon), ensuring the quality of coastal population life and the effective protection of ecosystems and resources within it. Therefore, it appears as a major factor in the formalization of coastal and marine policies and, especially, in the training of human resources to work in the area. The concern of political regulation of the Brazilian government with the use of marine resources and coastal areas emerged in the 1970s, parallel to the emergence of an environmental viewpoint in state planning held in the country. The Special Department of Environment of the Presidency was created in 1973, which was a significant milestone in its institutional history. A year later, the Inter-Ministerial Commission of Sea Resources was created, aimed at coordinating issues that would lead to a national policy for the coastal region of Brazil. However, only with the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil ratified in 1988, and with the ratification of the country to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1994, did the legal issues related to marine environment areas take form and effect. © 2014 The Author(s). Published by Routledge."
"The Papa Terra oil field is located on the BC-20 Block in the Campos Basin - Brazil (110 kilometers away from Rio de Janeiro state coast) in a water depth of 1,200 meters. The field is operated by Petrobras having Chevron as non-operator partner. Papa Terra has a crude oil with an API index between 14 and 17 degrees. The field is among one of the most complex subsea developments ever executed in Brazil with its first oil performed in 2013 and the production subsea facilities installation completed in 2014. The proposed design for the subsea production system was the use of an Electrically Trace Heated Integrated Production Bundle (ETH-IPB), the 3rd generation of this field proven technology, which was successfully designed, manufactured and installed by Technip on previous West African projects. A total of 27 km of ETH-IPB riser and flowline as well as its own electrical and monitoring module have been designed, manufactured, installed and successfully commissioned for the Papa Terra project. The core of the ETH-IPB is a 6 ID flexible pipe dedicated to production fluid. Around the core, the following components are distributed into a bundle layer: Heat tracing cables designed to provide active heating of the production fluid during warm up or after a shut-down. A Distributed Temperature Sensor (DTS) fiber optic system, deployed offshore into a stainless steel tube loop in order to provide temperature monitoring along the length of the riser and flowline system. Spacers, designed to protect the electrical cables and fiber optic tubes from mechanical loadings during installation and manufacturing. The main aim of this paper is to describe the design of this production system, that was used for the first time in Brazil and which present a lot of innovations in several domains, due to overall length, thermal requirements, heating control and riser to flowline electrical connection on the seabed. Some results of the qualification program will be presented, in particular mechanical, bundle components, fatigue and thermal performance tests. Finally, results of the field performance tests and operational feedback by Petrobras will be presented and discussed. Copyright 2015, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The application of the recent technique of creating lateral tunnels by acid jetting into the formation has been a topic of discussion in Petrobras because it is a reliable, fast an economic way to increase the well productivity index in complex geology carbonate reservoirs. In order to evaluate this technology, a pioneer intervention was carried out in the Garoupa field on a typical offshore well in Brazil. The objective was to simultaneously increase oil production and decrease water cut, by creating lateral tunnels at specific points in the well open hole section. The number of tunnels created as well as their positions were defined as a function of both, oil and water saturation profiles. Also mineralogical and geomechanical analysis were conducted as well as rock dissolution on different hydrochloric acid concentrations, in order to determine tunnel perforation rate and hole stability, The application of this technology has generated important incomes to the oil operator and the same technique could be also applied on other different scenarios. This paper illustrates the process from selecting the well candidate, premilary laboratory tests, treatment designs and field operation to after treatment well production results. Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Cottonwood is the first field development in deepwater Gulf of Mexico operated by Petrobras. It consists of three subsea wells in water depths of 670m (2,200 ft). Two wells presently produce gas-condensate, with high wax deposition potential. The wells are connected to a fixed platform in East Cameron 373 Block, 27.2 km (17 miles) away, through a piggable loop with flowlines of 15.2 cm (6?) nominal and 12.2 cm (4.8?) ID. During a pigging procedure in December 2007, a rigid, 12.9 cm (5.1?) elastomer pig got trapped halfway in the East segment of the loop, after traveling through the West segment. In front of the pig a slug of paraffin was formed and impeded its passage. During two years the production continued through the still open West segment of the production flowline. A wax mitigation plan was implemented, consisting of continuous paraffin dispersant injection. Meanwhile, low-cost, advanced technology-based methods to remove the obstruction were pursued, as an alternative to the high-cost whole or partial East flowline substitution. The procedures attempted were, first, the controlled pressurization of the flowline, second, the application of associated vibration and pressurization. These methods, along with paraffin solvent soaking procedures, helped to release the pig in February 2010, making both segments available for production. However, a layer of wax was formed inside the flowline loop and pig fragments might still be present in the East segment. A cleaning operation was performed to further clean both flowline segments. The operation consisted of injecting sea water mixed with a dispersant, an approach, to our best knowledge, not attempted before in such a long subsea tie-back. The formulations used were thoroughly laboratory tested. The operation demanded noticeable logistics planning and execution, due to the flowline volume (4000 bbl) and the number of volumes circulated (circa of 10). The operation was a success, thereby allowing the restoration of production with full flowline diameter availability and the resumption of routine pigging of the loop. Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"In the deep waters off Brazil, Petrobras and Frontier Drilling do Brasil have carried out early production of heavy crude since October 2002 at Jubarte field, offshore Espirito Santo state. The Seillean, a dynamically positioned vessel on contract to Petrobras, was used as the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. To prepare for production, the development team needed to evaluate the requirements for an FPSO vessel and develop the limits required by the processing system. Petrobras chose the Seillean as the central vessel in the life-of-field production system. FPSO equipped for test and early production operations in ? 2000-m water depth. The FPSO is self-contained with a full-size derrick to handle the rigid production riser and subsea equipment. Produced crude is offloaded to a shuttle tanker with a flexible floating hose connected between the two vessels. A DP Class 1 shuttle tanker is required in Brazilian waters for export of crude for operations in environments with significant wave heights ? 5.5 m. A mooring hawser connects the DP FPSO and the DP shuttle tanker, allowing a flexible, floating hose system to offload crude to a shuttle tanker. Before the Seillean could start Jubarte production, several upgrades were required to the vessel. The crude oil heaters and coolers onboard the FPSO needed augmentation. The FPSO's cargo tanks were not fitted with heating coils, yet offloading to a shuttle tanker occurred every 10-14 days. This created a concern about long-term heat loss and crude transportability."
"The acoustic patterns variation can be used to understand the sediment distribution extrapolating the information to places where is not possible to take any sample. Many authors already use this integrated method to investigate interest areas in, both, commercial and scientific aspect. In this direction the current study initiated in 2009 in the frame of the Geochemistry Network PETROBRAS/CENPES, aims to track the quaternary evolution of a muddy bank situated at the coastal western boundary upwelling system (WBUS) off Cabo Frio (23oS) in the Atlantic Ocean. The WBUS is located at the north coast of the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Here the coastline orientation differs from the default East-West direction of the Brazilian coast, concomitant with the boundary of the Campos and Santos Basins, the most important oil and gas basins of the country. The upwelling phenomenon occurs due to constant northeast winds. The same winds combined with the Northeast-Southwest coastline orientation also promote a curl confluence making the environment even more complex. Seismic data was acquired in cruises on board the RV Ocean Survey. Altogether 680 km was covered by a 3.5 KHz sub-bottom using the Geopulse Geoacustic System. Further, four piston cores were collected to be scan and described in physic parameters and sedimentological content, respectively. The scan was performed using a Geotek Multi Sensor Core Logger (MSCL), which measure and register the Vp, gamma density and porosity of the core. After the scan, the cores were sample and analyzed on sedimentological grain size distribution determined by a Cilas 1064 laser analyzer. The results were integrated in order to identify common trends. Three major echo-characters were described in seismic records. Grain size analysis presented a good relationship with these echos. Echo A) Transparent, represented by a sharp bottom reflector with no sub-bottom reflectors scatter of a transparent layer mapped in seismic records. The grain size distribution is more balanced with a slight higher content of sands (55 %) in the correspondent core. Echo B) Stratified described as a series of parallel sub-bottom horizons, its percentage of clays is the highest of the three cores (77 %). The last echo, C) Reflexive, is a prolonged echo with one or none sub-bottom reflector. This echo is related to the highest percentage of sands of the three cores (61%). The sediment analysis was extrapolated all over the echo-characters extension to understand the transport regime over the area. This criteria, allied to isopach map, made possible to recognize three distinct zones inside the muddy accumulation. © 2013 IEEE."
"The current global financial crisis and other issues have split Brazilian officials regarding the impact of the crisis on exploration and production. However, there have been impacts, as Petroleo Brasilerio SA (Petrobras) now is postponing to 2009 its construction tenders for 28 deep-sea drilling rigs. However, according to energy minister Edison Lobao, the ongoing global financial crisis will not cause delays to the development of the subsalt oil reserves. Another disagreements pertained to the review of the country's oil law, where Lobao said changes will be designed in a way to maintain the interest of foreign investors in the country. However, delays have impacted real cooperation regarding how to maximize development of Brazil's subsalt oil deposits."
"On July 16, 2000 a major oil spill occurred at the side of the Araucaria refinery of Petrobras. A total of4,000 m3 of a light crude oil (41° API) ran down along a small two kilometers creek referred to as Arroio Saldanha, crossing and contaminating a series of four wetlands. The oil discharged into the Barigüi River, a tributary of the Iguassu River. It's estimated that twenty per cent of all the oil spilled volatilized. After running along the creek and its wetlands, the oil contaminated 6 kilometers of the Barigiii River and 60 kilometers of the Iguassu River. A comprehensive oil recovery emergency response operation was immediately engaged to clean the impacted area and the rivers. Some 3000 persons worked around the clock during the peak of the operations. Helicopters, trucks, oil recovering boats, light boats, mechanical excavators, dredgers and 3,200 meters of retention booms were used. Roads and accesses were reformed or built. The overall emergency response effort proved to be successful; in nine days, all of the free oil was removed from the rivers. The cleaning of the riverbanks and inundation areas was completed in three months. The Saldanha Creek and the four wetlands areas upgradient of the Bangui River retained approximately 70 per cent of all of the oil spilled, all superficial oil was removed until it could not move superficially, the remaining oil impregnated in the upper soil profiles. Since then, various remediation techniques were implemented to remediate both, soil surface water and groundwater. The upper portion of the soil profile is remediated with bioremediation, using natural indigenous microorganism. This technique consists in cultivating the soil with mechanical agricultural equipment or manuallv where accessibility does not allow the use of mechanical equipment. Nutrients and other amendments can be added when required. In some cases soil are bioaugmented with microorganisms of the ""landfarming"" cells of the refinery. This technique is a variant of the landfarming technique that has been studied at the Repar (Refinaria Presidente Getúlio Vargas) refinery for more than ten years. Such technique has proven to be more efficient than traditional landfarming. The soil below 40 centimeters cannot be remediated with this technique. Soils at such depth are being recovered through a series of drainage and injection trenches. Water injected in the injection trench forces the free and trapped oil to move laterally to the recovery trenches. The largest contaminated swamp was transformed in a treatment wetland and its recovery is being monitored and adjusted to quicken the recovering, thus minimizing interference with the natural ecosystem."
"The development of pre-salt fields in the Santos Basin has presented a plenty of technological challenges, which include the production of fluids with high values of GOR (Gas Oil Ratio) and high values of WAT (Wax Appearance Temperature). To avoid the wax deposition, it is absolutely imperative handling the temperature by insulation and/or heating. If in one hand the production system thermal insulation minimizes the heat losses to the environment, on the other hand the cooling due the thermodynamic effect of gas expansion is inevitable, mainly in fields with high GOR values. To mitigate the problem of temperature drop, mainly in the risers where the expansion effects are pronounced, various heating systems for subsea pipelines have been studied by PETROBRAS. In parallel to these studies, it was noted that the design philosophy of the offshore production units for the presalt fields have indicated the use of turbo-generators to supply electrical power to the production unit, leading to the opportunity of using the generated super heated gases, originally discharged into the atmosphere, in order to feed the riser heating systems based on heated fluids circulation. Studies of heat exchange performed indicated a great potential for the risers heating by the flow of heated water through the annular of a Pipe-in-Pipe riser, by using a WHRU (Waste Heat Recovery Unit) to recover the power discharged into the atmosphere from the turbo-generators. It was identified the possibility of heating Pipe-in-Pipe risers by circulating heated fresh water in a closed loop with water return to the production unit, or by coupling the riser heating system with the water injection system, using all the facilities for treatment and pumping of water injection. This paper aims to describe the methodology considered in the development of a conceptual design of a heating system for a Pipe-in-Pipe riser, by the flow of heated water in the annular, in a Free Standing Hybrid Riser configuration. The paper will also present the characteristics associated with the two possibilities of heated water circuit, as well as advantages and disadvantages of each system, and the aspects related to subsea production layout. Copyright © 2013 by ASME."
"After the boom of converted floating, production, storage and offloading systems, based on the old VLCC design, many engineering institutes started thinking about optimum dimension for new units. However, these new FPSOs designs carried out worldwide concerns about good seakeeping behavior when considering general weather conditions, in order to apply their project to different locations around the globe. Analyzing the Brazilian specific conditions, it was verified that, considering waves, current and wind characteristics, the dimension proportions found in the projected units were not the best options, mostly because of the swell waves influence. Thus, in a cooperative project between University of Sao Paulo and PETROBRAS, the best dimensions for a specific case were studied, based on real premises from Campos Basin. During the study, the roll motion, which usually creates operational limits during hard environmental conditions, was focused. It was possible not only to evaluate the best breath and draught relations, but also the inclusion of a structured skirt in the ship bilge. The influence of different shapes in the ship's bow and stern were also evaluated, showing interesting results regarding the forces applied on the vessel. All the analyses were conducted considering numerical analysis, and the final dimensions were applied to a scaled model, which allowed to verify the real behavior of the projected unit in a test basin. As a conclusion, it was possible to define an optimized hull for the PETROBRAS premises, giving them a real design to be used in future explorations. Copyright © 2005 by ASME."
"Brazil has suffered water contamination caused by oil spills, which has caused both short-and long-Term environmental damages. Human error and mechanical problems in offshore equipment during the production, transportation and storage of petroleum constitute the main causes of oil spill. Due to this fact and to emphasize Petrobras' commitment in maintaining and preserving the environment, the company developed strategies and ways to prevent oil spills, as well as methods for controlling them. The result was the construction of Petrobras' Operations Center, which was considered by the president of the company to be an ambitious, innovative and transformative system that enabled Petrobras to make better informed and more efficient operational decisions. This paper aims to share a practical experience on how ICT technologies and digital governance can help both public and private companies to maximize efficiency and profitability in a sustainable way by creating public value and environment-friendly policies. © 2020 ACM."
"Sevan Marine has let a contract to a unit of John Wood Group plc for the operation and management of the Sevan Stabilized Platform (SSP) Piranema, a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The FPSO will be operated for Petrobras in Piranema oil field off northeastern Brazil. The vessel will be the first implementation worldwide of Sevan Marine's SSP cylindrical monohull design. Piranema's design includes 30,000 bpd of oil process plant capacity, a gas injection plant with 3.6 million cu m/day of compression capacity, and 300,000 bbl of oil storage capacity. Piranema also can accommodate as many as 21 risers."
"Partnerships and JV are quite common in the Oil and Gas industry. In the offshore activity, in order to reduce the risks of capital intensive projects oil companies used cooperate entering into JV agreements. In addition, local content requirements and entry barriers in new markets, are some reasons to create partnerships between international and domestic companies. Brazil is not different. It is a market that has some challenges in which the cooperation with a local partner could reduce the risks for a foreign investor. In the oil companies' side, Petrobras is the target partner for an international oil company, because of its technical reputation and successful implementation of ultra-deep operations. In other segments, Petrobras, can be the main client, sole supplier or big competitor. Petrobras is subject also to laws and regulations to hire contractors, there are local content requirements regulations, industry-specific tax, fiscal and customs regimes, among other risks and opportunities in which the cooperation with a domestic company could help to solve in a more efficient way. The author of this paper describes the advantages of the partnership for international and domestic companies which want to invest in Brazil in the several perspectives along the oil and gas supply chain. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"This article reports the main R&D efforts on wellbore construction hydraulics which facilitated the technological development of major Brazilian offshore fields in challenging scenarios. These include: deep and ultra deepwater exploratory campaigns, inclined, horizontal and complex trajectory development wells, extended reach wells, long horizontal section wells and drilling through sensitive formations (heavy oil reservoirs, salt zones and fractured carbonates). The relevant scenarios, technical aspects, project development strategies, the history of wellbore hydraulics in the main Petrobras R&D programs, as well as the contribution of Brazilian universities are detailed."
"On January 18, 2000, approximately 340,000 gallons (1,300 m3) of marine fuel (MF-380) spilled into Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The spill originated from a leak in the pipeline from the PETROBRAS refinery to the oil terminal. This paper presents the results for the water column and sediment monitoring 10 days after the spill, including n-alkanes, unresolved complex mixture (UCM), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and toxicological essays. Chemical and toxicological monitoring of the water column was performed at 14 sampling stations throughout the impacted area in Guanabara Bay. The chemical analysis of PAHs by ultraviolet fluorescence showed results from &lt;0.04-11.56 ?g/L-1 in chrysene equivalents. The toxicological essays for three species (Artemia sp., Mysidium gracile, and Vibrio fisheri, Microtox) indicate no acute effects for the water samples studied. To monitor sediments, 57 samples were collected from intertidal and subtidal sites. For the 30 intertidal sediments, 73% contained PAHs (GC-MS) below 2 ?g/g -1, 20% were in the range 2-5 ?g/g-1, and only two stations (7%), located in the vicinity of the spill point, contained levels up to 20 ?g/g-1. For the 27 subtidal sediments, results were in the range of 0.2-9.6 ?g/g-1 for PAHs, 0.7-43.3 ?/g/g-1 for n-alkanes, and 17.8-1,250 ?g/g-1 for UCM. The toxicological study for the sediments based on Vibrio fisheri (Microtox) indicated no acute toxicity effects. When comparing the post-spill results with previous hydrocarbon data, no significant impact was observed in sediments and water column because of the oil spill. There is, however, a significant background of chronic anthropogenic inputs to Guanabara Bay."
"Lankhorst Ropes will supply a synthetic high modulus polyethylene (HMPE) mooring rope, the Gama 98 rope construction, to Brazilian oil and gas producer Petrobras, which is developed by the company specifically for deepwater mooring and used on a number of major deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). This will be the first time the 630-metric-ton minimum breaking load (MBL) rope with Dyneema, comprising 12 sub-ropes of SK78 yarn, has been used for mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) mooring. HMPE is a stiffer yarn than polyester and so its elasticity is significantly less, making it more riser friendly. Although HMPE's creep performance prevents its use for permanent deepwater mooring, it is believed that a polyester/HMPE hybrid mooring system offers the best permanent mooring solution beyond 6,500 ft. The principle benefit of hybrid PE/HMPE ropes is the ability for the mooring system designer to engineer the mooring line's stiffness and use the lengths of polyester and HMPE segments to provide the stiffness needed to handle peak loads during station-keeping."
"Drilling and completion in Campos Basin have been in constant evolution, from the first subsea wells and fixed platforms to latest horizontal wells in deepwater. This paper will first present the lessons learned with drilling and completion in shallow water to latest wells drilled and completed in Roncador in the range of 1,800 meters of water depth. Exploratory drilling will be also addressed. The main points to be presented are: well design, horizontal and multi lateral wells, well head design, well control, operations with dynamic positioning vessels, completion and sand control techniques and their evolution. Second, this paper will address some challenges presenting the problems as PETROBRAS see them, what are the solutions that we are adopting and what do we expect from the industry. The issues that will be presented are: well design for production of heavy oil, dual gradient drilling, intelligent completion systems for monitoring and controlling multiple zones, production or injection from or into a single well, isolation inside horizontal gravel-packed wells, gravel packing long horizontal sections under very low formation fracture gradient. © 2003, Offshore Technology Conference"
"This paper addresses the results from a monitoring inspection as part of Petrobras regular plane of inspection of rigid pipelines (PIDR) and numerical Finite Element analysis (FEA) of two parallel HP/HT subsea pipelines operating in Brazilian deepwater subjected to lateral buckling and walking behaviors. The results obtained from inspection and numerical reanalysis furnishes important feedback for the integrity management of the two pipelines, reducing potential risks and lessons learned for future projects. Deepwater pipelines submitted to high pressures and temperatures (HP/HT) are susceptible to global buckling due to axial compressive load. To guarantee pipeline and equipment’s integrity frequently is necessary to relieve high stresses and strains at buckle apex as well as to mitigate end expansion. Thus, the two parallel HP/HT pipelines were designed with single and double sleepers to trigger buckles at pre-determined locations and an anchoring system to prevent pipeline walking. Another important design aspect was to avoid undesirable buckles at the several crossings along the pipeline route applying a special device with stoppers to lock lateral displacements. During a programmed inspection as part of regular Petrobras pipeline integrity program of rigid pipelines (PIDR), it has been verified that some double sleepers didn’t work as foreseen in design. Otherwise, some unplanned buckles on soil have been formed along the two pipelines changing the buckle apex stress levels and end expansions foreseen in detailed design. In order to understand buckle formation behavior and guarantee long-term integrity of the HP/HT pipelines a Multi-Beam Echosounder Survey (MBES) was conducted in 2016 to build a representative Finite Element (FE) model. The temperature and pressure gradients from steady state and transient conditions were obtained from flow assurance simulations based on monitored platform operational historic data. The FE model was calibrated with buckle shapes and end displacements to assess pipeline behavior and its long-term integrity for load scenarios different from original design. Copyright © 2019 ASME"
"The first intelligent completion was achieved in 1997, and since then reliability assurance is regarded as one of the most important themes for market implementation of this technology. Currently, intelligent completion can be found in most global oil and gas production areas, from mature land to ultra-deepwater wells like those in the Pre-Salt region, offshore Brazil. Intelligent completion technology has been applied to improve the return on investment over the life of the field. This is achieved by oil recovery enhancement, consequently increasing net present value (NPV) through selective or comingled production, efficient water or gas sweep, reduced interventions and ultimate reservoir control. Until recently, almost all intelligent completion installations in the world were fitted with remotely actuated hydraulic systems. However, there are other kinds of systems, such as electric-hydraulic and all-electric systems. The world's first all-electric intelligent completion installation was carried out in Brazil in May 2001, in the land well 8-VRG-7D-RN (Petrobras) in Mossoro (Rio Grande do Norte State) for a trial period ending in April 2002. Following this first onshore installation, a subsea deepwater well installation was carried out in August 2003 in the well 8-MLS-67HA-RJS in a water depth of 1180 m in the MarlimSul field, about 100 Km offshore Campos (Campos Basin), Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The installation is still operational until the present day, almost ten years after its deployment. Consequently, it is difficult to understand why the electrical technology is yet to be widely applied around the world, differently from what has already happened in several other industries, like automotive and aviation. This paper does a brief comparison among hydraulic, electric-hydraulic and all-electric systems, focusing on the advantages of each system. An explanation is offered for the apparent suspicion towards all-electric technology, and a review is made on the prognosis for this system after the first installation in the world5. Copyright © 2014, Offshore Technology Conference."
"ABS has secured the industry's first contract for an integrated, risk-based inspection (RBI) program for an offshore floating structure. The contract comes from Petrobras for its P35 floating production/offloading and storage facility (FPSO) operating in the Campos Basin. ABS will execute the project in phases."
"Improvement in crude oil prices amid signs of an economic recovery throughout the world has led to an increase in the global drilling market. Schlumberger Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Gould said he was hopeful that oil producers might increase spending in 2010 if they feel oil prices will stay at $80/bbl. Parker Drilling runs 29 land rigs and a fleet of barge rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Parker Drilling's Operations and Maintenance division witnessed increasing demand for its customized drilling packages in which the contractor run customer-owned rigs. The newbuild ultradeepwater drill-ship Petrobras 10000 has started operations off Angola under a 10-year drilling contract. Transocean Ltd. of Zug, Switzerland, has contracted with the P&M Drilling International BV joint venture of Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Mitsui to buy the rig under a 20-year capital lease contract."
"In any new drilling project, the main objective is always to maximize return on investment. New technologies continue to be developed and used in an effort to enhance production and reservoir recovery. In this context, multilateral systems is one of the technologies that has experience significant development and application in onshore and offshore oil drilling projects in recent years. In multilateral systems, two or more horizontal wellbores are drilled from single parent wellbore, enabling drainage of multiple reservoir targets. Many are the benefits from the application of multilateral technology such as production of non-explored reserves located near existing wells and efficient reservoir drainage. Although the obvious advantages, multilateral systems are still a technology in development stage and as such have limitations. One of the critical problems directly impacting risk and the economical viability of a project is the reliability of equipments, operations, and the human performance and interaction with multilateral systems. Petrobras, the Brazilian oil company, has been progressively adopting multilateral technology for onshore and offshore drilling projects. Aware of the criticality of reliability aspects to the risk of drilling operations in terms of possible loss of the main wellbore due to drilling problems, an intensive research work has been undertaken in that direction. In this paper, we present and discuss a methodology for probability assessment of the construction process of multilateral wells. The methodology is hybrid in nature, i.e., it combines the use of event and fault trees with Bayesian belief networks. The construction process of multilateral wells is characterized by the use of sophisticated equipments, complex operations, and human-machine interaction. As such, the construction process is initially broken down into twenty three main phases and then analyzed by means of Hierarchical Task Analysis in order to characterize the human-human and human-machine interactions. Next, event sequence diagrams are developed where the pivotal events correspond to equipment failures as well as human errors. In order to overcome typical limitations of second generation human reliability models such as unrealistic independence assumption among events, the hybrid methodology employs a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) approach to model and quantify the probability of human error in performing multilateral related activities. The resulting BBN models not only depict the cause and effect relationship among human operators, but also the relevant performance shaping factors as well as related equipment failure for a given multilateral operation. © 2006 by ASME."
"BG Group recently produced a new estimate on the Tupi oil discovery in the Santos basin, stating that the field contains 12-30 billion boe or more. On the one hand, Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) did not comment on the revised production estimate. It can be remembered that Petrobras reported the discovery to be 8 billion bbl of light crude in 2007. Meanwhile, BG claim have been produced in a statement regarding the company's long-term growth strategy, released ahead of the presentation of its fourth-quarter results."
"In order to comply with ANP / INMETRO No. 1 regulations, Petrobras undertook a project to install fiscal flow meters on its gas pipelines located on its Marlin Asset platforms in the Campos Basin. However, meter installation required 15 days of shutdown on each platform, which would reduce production rates. A technology was needed to minimize shutdown time and maximize revenues; Petrobras selected Hot Tapping and Plugging with a Bypass arrangement. Hot Tapping and Plugging with Bypass procedures isolates a section of the pipe through the installation of temporary STOPPLES that are inserted into the pipe through hot taps made on in-line welded fittings. Using distinct fittings upstream and downstream of the section, it was possible to install a by-pass that allows the normal pipeline flow to remain uninterupted. This procedure allowed the installation of the flow meters on the gas lines and flare lines of 6 Marlin asset platforms on the Campos Basin with no shutdown between February and October 2006. The project lasted for a full year and included planning, engineering design, preliminary inspection, fittings in-line welding, hot tapping and plugging and the installation of 27 flow meters. No production time was lost. A technology taskforce was formed to develop and approve the STOPPLE procedure, since no previous Petrobras standard existed prior to this project. All safety and technical issues were studied and developed to comply with Petrobras safety and quality standards. Through the use of Hot Tapping and Plugging with Bypass technology Petrobras reduced planned shutdown on 6 platforms by 35 days. © 2009 Offshore Mediterranean Conference. All rights reserved."
"In the presence of the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the BrasFels S/A shipyard launched to the sea the $(US)1 billion P-51, the first semi-submersible platform built entirely in Brazil. Ordered by Petrobras, the unit is programmed to operate in the Marlim Sul field, Campos basin, state of Rio de Janeiro with 75% of the goods and services applied to the construction provided by Brazilian companies. In 2010, the P-51 will reach its maximum operating capacity of 180,000 bpd of petroleum and 6 million cu m/day of gas. The P-51 will provide about 8% of the national petroleum production. The P-51 will be strategic with respect to increasing the supply of gas to Brazil under Plangás (Plano de Antecipação da Produçäo de Gás Natural). The P-51 is also part of the PDET (Plano Diretor de Escoamento e Tratamento) of the Cuenca basin. Of the 6 million cu m/day of gas produced, a part will be for internal consumption in the P-51 such as fuel to generate electricity and the rest will be sent to dry land. Brazil wants a naval construction base that will supply the needs of Brazil and the entire world. The P-51 will be anchored in the Marlim Sul field of 1,255 m depth 150 km offshore and will be connected to 19 wells (10 producing oil and gas and 9 injecting water) and will produce 22° API. The 9 water injection wells will inject 282,000 bpd of water. Energy use will be 100 Mw, enough energy to light a city of 300,000 persons. The patroness of the P-51 platform was the First Lady of Brazil, Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva."
"This case focuses on the challenges regarding capacity building required to meet the huge increase of manpower demand by the offshore and shipbuilding sectors in Brazil and Rio Grande do Sul state. This arises from four key factors: end of monopoly of exploration and production of oil and gas in 1997, expanding the Brazilian offshore market; the Local Content policy adopted since 1999; national programs to stimulate the maritime industry such as the Fleet Modernization and Expansion Program created in 2004 to renew the fleet of Transpetro, a Petrobras subsidiary; and the expansion of Petrobras investments, partly due to the discovery of giant oil reserves in the Pre-salt layer in Brazil, in 2006. Since 2010, annual investments from Petrobras have reached US$ 40 billion/year, more than ten times the yearly investment in the 1997-2001 period. Consequently, offshore clusters have been developed in the country to build platforms, drilling ships and supply vessels, demanding massive training. In Rio Grande do Sul, three big shipyards and modules producers have installed. In this context, government created in 2003 the National Oil and Natural Gas Industry Mobilization Program (Prominp) and the National Plan of Professional Qualification (Pnqp) in 2006. Until 2013, circa US$ 120 million were invested to train nearly 100.000 people in 185 trades at several levels. In the state, training has been provided mainly by SENAI-RS, the state branch of the National Service of Industrial Apprenticeship, linked to the Federation of the Industries of Rio Grande do Sul. The large-scale actions undertaken for training have not been efficacious enough to meet the needs. Studies and discussions have raised factors that impact on shipyards' productivity and competitiveness. We consider alternatives to develop talents to accelerate the learning curve, anchored in the following axes: SENAI methodology for professional training; pre-selection of people according to specific abilities; the concept of a ""Living Lab"" training environment; familiarizing workers with productiveness indicators; efficient management paradigm; workers training aligned with the project repeatability principle. The local industry must be internationally competitive when the local content policy ends and labour productivity plays a crucial role in this aspect. © Copyright 2015, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Well integrity has always been a major concern during the well design phase. But after some of the recent events in the oil industry, Macondo being the one still fresh in everyone's mind, it has turned into a critical concern. The need for monitoring well integrity, from the construction through its lifetime, became unavoidable. In particular, for Petrobras Pre-Salt fields, these concerns are boosted by the uncertainties in the salt layer geomechanical properties and its interaction with the cement and casing. Wells in the Pre-salt are designed for a 30 year lifespan, with a minimum number of interventions during their lifespan. Indeed, the expected interval between interventions is not shorter than 10 years, even for recompletion, making traditional cement or casing logging tools less useful. Continuous monitoring may provide not only the current status of the casing or cementing but also the evolution of the parameters, allowing a condition based (predictive) intervention to be planned. A research and development project is being conducted to investigate, design and evaluate continuous monitoring tools to verify and ensure the integrity of the cement sheath and of the casing. The first and more obvious challenge is to install sensors in the casing annulus: there are severe restrictions in footprint of the components; there is also the problem of getting the data to the surface without compromising well safety barriers. The required metrology need to be investigated in order to determine the best sensing technology for each parameter, and even those must be determined to achieve the best correlation with well integrity status. This paper discusses the current perspectives on the monitoring of well integrity. Parameters already identified and some alternatives to monitor them will also be presented. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The views of engineering executives of six major international oil companies on the role of new technology in helping offshore operating companies meet demanding technical and economic challenges are presented. The companies are BP, Chevron, Elf Aquitaine, Mobil, Petrobras and Shell. The top ten technical advances of the 1980s are listed. Companies' views on the future needs of offshore operations are also summarized. (D.W.T.)"
"The main tectonic, stratigraphic and sedimentological aspects of the Aptian Stage along the Brazilian Eastern Basins were analyzed based on data from 28 wells drilled by Petrobras, including the description of 750 meters of cores. The Aptian along the Eastern Margin (from Santos to Camamu-Almada basins) can be subdivided into 2 main packages with specific tectonic and sedimentological characteristics. The Lower Aptian (upper part of Jiquiá to lower part of Alagoas local stages) is characterized by continental sedimentation under rift tectonics. Scarce marine incursions were recognized in this package. Sedimentation occurred mainly in grabens located in the central portions of the rift and in scattered grabens located in proximal areas. This caused subaerial exposure of large proximal areas generating a regional unconformity called ""pre-Upper Aptian Unconformity"". The Upper Aptian (Upper Alagoas local stage) package was deposited under stable tectonic conditions in a sag basin. The lower portion of this unit is characterized by a fluvio-alluvial sedimentation with a widespread occurrence throughout the proximal areas of all marginal basins. Distal sediments however were deposited under shallow marine conditions. At the end of the Aptian a strong period of aridity and the presence of a volcanic barrier, the São Paulo High, allowed the deposition of a very thick evaporitic package (""Ibura Event""). These evaporites are estimated to be deposited in about 600,000 years."
"Petrobras has been successfully dealing with deep water floating production systems using flexible pipes since 1977. During the completion of Marlim South 3 well in 1977, Petrobras was surprised by the occurrence of two birdcage type failures. At that time, Marlim South 3, in a water depth of 1709 m was the deepest offshore production well in operation. Since then. Petrobras has been testing flexible pipes using a field test known as DIP test. In a DIP test, an empty end capped sample of a flexible pipe, about 150m long, is partially-supported by the sea bottom and connected to a lay vessel by a pipe follower or a wire rope. The flexible pipe has to withstand a 4 hour period of cyclic bending due to the motions of the lay vessel. The DIP test has provided Petrobras with information on a new failure mode: lateral buckling in the armor wire. Although a birdcage failure is equally undesirable, lateral buckling of the armor wires implies more danger because it can go unnoticed. In 2001, a research project was set up by the Research and Development Center of Petrobras that was aimed at reproducing the flexible pipe failure modes under laboratory conditions. The purpose was to obtain a better understanding of the failure process, as well as to develop testing alternatives to avoid the significant costs related to DIP tests. In order to assess the effect of cyclic bending as a major factor in degrading the longitudinal compressive strength of flexible pipes 15 destructive tests were performed on 4-inch diameter flexible pipe samples. Two test rigs that accommodated three types of test and a number of test procedures were developed in the project. The number of bending cycles to failure for each sample was determined when subjected to compressive action corresponding to its operational depth. Tests to evaluate the effect of pre-existing damage were also conducted. Special attention was devoted to the effect of layer arrangement on compressive failure. The test results clearly identified the basic failure modes under investigation (i. e. birdcaging and lateral buckling of the armor wires). Suggestions regarding simplified testing procedures and corresponding performance criteria are also presented."
"The practicability of estimating directional wave spectra based on a vessel 1s t order response has been recently addressed by several researchers. The interest is justified since on-board estimations would only require only a simple set of accelerometers and rate-gyros connected to an ordinary PC. The on-board wave inference based on 1st order motions is therefore an uncomplicated and inexpensive choice for wave estimation if compared to wave buoys and radar systems. The latest works in the field indicate that it is indeed possible to obtain accurate estimations and a Bayesian inference model seems to be the preferable method adopted for performing this task. Nevertheless, most of the previous analysis has been based exclusively on numerical simulations. At Polytechnic School, an extensive research program supported by Petrobras has been conducted since 2000, aiming to evaluate the possibility of estimating wave spectrum on-board offshore systems, like FPSO platforms. In this context, a series of small-scale tests has been performed at the LabOceano wave basin, comprising long and short crested seas. A possible candidate for on-board wave estimation has been recently studied: a crane barge (BGL) used for launching ducts offshore Brazil. The 1:48 model has been subjected to bow and quartering seas with different wave heights and periods and also different levels of directional spreading. A Bayesian inference method was adopted for evaluating the wave spectra based on the time-series of motions and the results were directly compared to the wave spectra measured in the basin by means of an array of wave probes. Very good estimations of the statistical parameters (significant wave height, peak period and mean wave direction) were obtained and, in most cases, even the directional spreading could be properly predicted. Inversion of the mean direction (180° shift), mentioned by some authors as a possible drawback of the Bayesian inference method, was not observed in any case. Sensitivity analysis on errors in the input parameters, such as the vessel inertial characteristics, has also been performed and attested that the method is robust enough to cope well with practical uncertainties. Overall results once again indicate a good performance of the inference method, providing an important additional validation supported by a large set of model tests. Copyright © 2008 by ASME."
"A discussion covers the South American activities of about a dozen companies in brief. Enventure Global Technology has installed the first solid expansible tubular system (SET) in a well in Campeche sound for Pemex. Enventure Global Technology and Halliburton Energy Services have installed a 270 ft 4.5 in. FlexClad system to insulate drilling a well. The FlexClad system adapts SET technology to high temperature and pressure. Petrobank Energy & Resources of Canada has entered into agreements with the state owned petroleum companies in Brazil and Colombia that use its exclusive technology to evaluate heavy crude oils. THAI technology drills an air injection well in combination with a horizontal well to recover heavy oil. Empresa Columbiana de Petróleos and Petróleo Brasileiro SA evaluate the technology. Petrobank expects to initiate negotiations with Petróleos de Venezuela SA and Petroecuador for use of this evaluation technology. Petrobras Energía, the Argentine subsidiary of Petrobras, has completed a $78 million order of 297 km of piping from the manufacturer TenarisConfab. Part of the piping was supplied by the Argentine manufacturer Siat. TenarisConfab is the subsidiary of Tenaris of Italy, a leading world supplier of piping. Sevan Marine do Brasil Ltda has received a letter of intention from Petrobras for a contract relating to its FPSO SSP 300 Piranema being installed in the Piranema oilfield off the north coast of Brazil. The facilities are built at the Yantai Raffles shipyard in China. The $399 million contract is to run for 11 yr. The FPSO will be able to process 30,000 bpd of crude oil, inject 3.6 million cu m/day of natural gas, and store 300,000 bbl of crude oil. Sevan Marine is a subsidiary of Sevan Marine ASA of Norway-Etesco Construção e Comércio Ltda will have 25% interest in the installations. Saab Transponder Tech has installed aerial security R4A in 17 helicopters that Aeroservicios Especializados (Asesa) operates for Pemex in petroleum field work in the Bay of Campeche. Mitsubishi Corp and Marubeni Corp have formed a joint company to transport crude oil from the Bay of Campos to Brazilian refineries. The company, PDET Offshore SA, will build a marine terminal to receive offloading tankers to handle up to 630,000 bpd of crude oil. JGC Corp will provide managerial services. The project will require $900 million in loans. Drillers Technology de México, a joint company of Drillers Technology Corp and Dowell Schlumberger, has initiated work relating to drilling at least 265 wells in the Burgos gas field. The Brazilian Petroenge Petróleo Engenharia Ltda with headquarters in Macaé, has contracted to provide Petrobras with repairs, maintenance, and equipment testing relating to cargo activity."
"Petrobras has been developing its 4D seismic technological programme since 1998, focused on the Brazilian deep-water fields in the Campos Basin, and considering the technical, operational and economic challenges involved in the development plan and reservoir management in this environment. The first step was to align the objectives of the project with the company goals for the following 15 years, in terms of earnings growth, production growth and reserves replacement. This information guided how the 4D reservoir management should be employed: As hedging technology to ensure that production targets would be achieved in several key fields at once, or as a direct technology investment to increase the production of individual, independent fields. The mission of reservoir management for each field involved was understood and new deep-water seismic technologies were developed to face the global operational and economic targets. 3D seismic reservoir monitoring, or 4D seismic study, was defined as an 'integration of multidisciplinary technologies that includes the time-lapse monitoring of the drainage efficiency, using cores, well logs, seismic data, production history and pressure management'. Water injection is the preferable recovery method for the deep-water reservoirs in Brazil. Therefore, seismic monitoring should be able to distinguish contrasts of both fluids - injected water and remaining oil - that normally produce small seismic impedance values. This characteristic has brought the first technical challenge: the use of the 3D P-wave surface legacy data from the 1980s and 1990s, when the major fields started production, as 4D base-volumes to be correlated with future recommended 3D seismic data (surface or ocean bottom systems) as 4D monitor-volumes. In addition to all developed seismic technologies for data processing, a general 4D work flow was designed and the concept of the integrated reservoir model was adapted to relate all such technologies to the reservoir engineering needs and to the field economics, generating reliable 4D images for each reservoir study. This paper summarizes the multidisciplinary technical integration, including geological and seismic modelling, petrophysical simulations, seismic processing and interpretation, and reservoir simulation. A 4D methodology was implemented to integrate all such technical development and economic analysis, identifying where, when and how seismic monitoring can contribute to the reservoir management. This methodology has been applied to the Campos Basin deep-water reservoir, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil."
"This paper summarizes the geologic knowledge of the Foz do Amazonas basin in Northern Brazil, which has been investigated by Petrobras through geophysics and exploratory drilling. The basin covers an area of about 200,000 km 2 , including the present coastal zone, continental shelf, and Amazon submarine fan. This potentially prospective basin has been filled from Albian to Recent; may contain 14 km of sediments along the present-day shelf edge; and consists of a central deep basin flanked by two marginal platforms. The basin has passed through three tectonic stages since its beginning in the Albian; its main structural trends are related to fracture zones and ridges of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. © Copyright 1978, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The problem of optimal location and sizing of offshore platforms for oil exploration can be formulated as follows: given a set of oil wells to be drilled and a set of possible locations for platforms of standard sizes, determine the location and capacity of the platforms to be built as well as the assignment of wells to platforms from which they will be drilled in order to minimize investment costs. This problem is formulated as a multicapacitated plant location problem and both its exact and its approximate solution (by MIP/MPSX and by a Tabu Search heuristic) are discussed. Current and planned use of the program implementing this approach at PETROBRAS (the Brazilian state-owned company in charge of oil prospection, exploitation and distribution) is discussed. © 1992."
"The Albacora field, located in Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, was discovered by PETROBRÁS in 1984. Following the discovery, a 7000Km 3-D survey was recorded, in the search for a better understanding of the field. At least three distinct families of reservoirs were identified in the area, ranging in age from Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) to Miocene. The reservoirs are turbidites of two basic types: loose sands with a complex areal distribution, in the Tertiary accumulations; and more cemented sandstones, with a simpler distribution, in the Cretaceous accumulation. In a great part of the area, the reservoirs are interbedded with higher acoustic impedance rocks. The clear 3-D seismic definition of the reservoirs, as a rule, allows a detailed stratigraphic (as well as structural) interpretation. For the Oligocene and Miocene pools, seismic amplitude mapping, carried out in an interactive workstation, provided a surprisingly good picture of the turbidites distribution, considering the target depths (236D-2645m). Most well locations in the field, after the 3-D interpretation, were chosen with the help of the seismic amplitude maps. Special geologic features, such as channel facies and lobe-type deposits, were identified on the amplitude maps, and later confirmed by core and well log data interpretation. © 1996-2018 Society of Exploration Geophysicists. All Rights Reserved."
"In order to develop new deep water fields using FPSO's, Petrobras has introduced several innovations to install 34 flexible risers individually connected to the Barracuda FPSO project. This paper provides an overview of design of the pull in and pull out operations. It also deals with I tube dimensions considering studies of interference during the risers transference from the chain table up to the risers connection deck. Additionally, new concepts have been proposed to solve the problem of Chain Table Interface to the pull in of flexible risers to floating production systems. The following advantages of this system which have been considered: Standardization of I tube inner diameters; Standardization of Bell mouth dimensions; Standardization of riser hang off systems; Standardization of flexible riser end fittings; Development of new philosophy of pull in and pull out operations; Considerable reduction in time of diver operations; Considerable reduction in time to change pull in main sheaves."
"In general, Oil Companies need a contract with the government to have legal rights to carry out Exploration and Production (E&P) projects. In this work, we discuss contractual and economic issues in (E&P) sector in Brazil and the dynamics of uncertainties throughout the stages of an E&P project. This study uses Petroleum Resource Management System - PRMS (SPE, et al., 2007) concepts, its reserve categorization and indicators to measure uncertainty in oil and gas projects. First, we analyze complexities resulting from different contractual regimes and their limits - time, area and cumulative production - as well as the impact on the management of Field Development Plans (FDP). Under these limits, not all production and resources are included in the contract, affecting volume amount, property rights and fiscal regime. Time limits affect decisions about the remaining reserves after the end of contract, while area issues occur when reservoirs extend beyond the geographical boundary of an exploratory block. Cumulative production limit appears in the Transfer of Rights Agreement (TRA), which authorized the Brazilian Government to assign 5 billion barrels of oil equivalent to Petrobras in 2010. The National Agency of Petroleum (ANP) promoted technical studies that indicated the recoverable volume in the area of TRA exceeds the limits originally agreed. In the second part, we use the 12-step integrated decision analysis methodology by Schiozer, et al. (2015) and PRMS reserve indicators to describe the dynamics of uncertainties throughout exploration, development and production phases. Through reservoir simulation and the optimization of a production strategy, we measured the key reserve indicators in different phases of a project. The increment of developed reserves due to the introduction of wells, in the development, and the reclassification of resources, in the management phase, are assessed probabilistically. The novel information of this work is the use of the PRMS international standard and the 12-step methodology to not only calculate reserves, but also describe the dynamics of uncertainties throughout a Development Project and to qualify complex contractual and economic issues. © 2018, Offshore Technology Conference."
"PETROBRÁS’s exploration and production operations in Campos Basin, is the biggest offshore activity supported by helicopter in the Brazilizan coast. With the increment of the activities, the number of platform, rigs and drilling ships are increasing and it is necessary a great number of helicopters to accomodate all passengers. Quality and safety are the most important aspects of this mean of transportation and PETROBRÁS works hard to maintain them. To obtain the expected results PETROBRÁS has: ·Safety flight policy: ·Periodical meetings among PETROBRÁS and Flight Companies; ·Regular inspections in all aircrafts; ·Database containing all informations concerning flight safety; ·Daily analysis of each anomalous situation. This paper has the objective to show some data and information about offshore activity in Campos Basin and PETROBRÁS flight safety policy. Copyright 1998, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc."
"Brazilian carbonate reservoirs contain huge oil-in-place volumes and are likely to have an important economic impact in global oil industry. Such carbonate reservoirs, both Albian and Aptian, are located offshore in deep water, which has an important role in development costs. In siliciclastic plays it is standard practice to use time-lapse (4D) seismic to locate wells in unswept areas, maximizing the recovery factor. However, in carbonate plays, time-lapse seismic monitoring remains challenging, with few cases of success published around the world. Carbonates differ from siliciclastic rocks in many aspects. With a varied chemical composition and complex pore connectivity, carbonates bring on a large diversity of facies, each one showing a specific seismic response. Moreover, the usually high incompressibility of the carbonate matrix reduces sensitivity to pressure and saturation changes, which are the main effects expected on a hydrocarbon field undergoing production. Considering both the economic relevance and the difficulties of using time-lapse seismic to monitor carbonate reservoirs, Petrobras created a strategic program to face this challenge, a time-lapse seismic (S4D) study of an Albian carbonate reservoir located in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. Three legacy data were available: streamer-1987, streamer-2002, and ocean-bottom cable-2010. Extensive feasibility studies are performed as well as a meticulous prestack 4D simultaneous inversion based on the seismic data, preliminary cross-equalized to partially overcome the initial low repeatability. A multidisciplinary interpretation conducted by a team of geophysicists, geologists, and reservoir engineers finally lead to results overcoming expectations. Saturation and pressure changes are detected using P-and S-impedance attributes, consistent with production data. Results are opening perspectives for further monitoring other carbonate reservoirs, especially with new presalt Brazilian discoveries in the Campos and Santos Basins, which might have a huge economic impact. © 2014 © 2014 by The Society of Exploration Geophysicists."
"As part of the ultra-deepwater field development of the Santos Basin, 300km offshore the Brazilian coast, the Sapinhoa and Lula NE pioneering riser system was successfully installed by Subsea 7, acting as a contractor for Petrobras and partners (BG E&P Brasil and Repsol Sinopec Brasil, in Sapinhoa Field, BG E&P Brasil and Petrogal Brasil, in Lula NE Field). The full Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commissioning (EPIC) project scope comprises the design, fabrication and installation of 4 buoys of 2800 tons moored 250m subsurface, of which 2 connect to the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading unit (FPSO) Cidade de Sao Paulo and 2 to the FPSO Cidade de Paraty; 27 Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) with 3.9km each, 27 Pipeline End Terminations (PLETs) and anchorage suction piles at 2140m water depth. This Buoy Supporting Risers (BSR) system concept presents several advantages to overcome the challenges of installing SCRs on ultra-deep waters, such as, allowing decoupling between installation of risers and the production unit, reducing payload on the unit, reduced risks associated with clashes and very small dynamics transmitted from production unit to the risers, resulting in significant less fatigue issues. Due to sour and C02 service requirements for the production and water injection risers, it was decided to use mechanically lined pipe for the entire line, with the exception of the top and touch down sections, where metallurgical clad (metclad) pipe was used. Consequently, a significant amount of qualification, testing and inspection associated to welding lined and metclad pipes was required. In order to install Corrosion Resistant Alloys (CRA) lined pipes with a Reel-Lay vessel, a novel methodology for water pressurized spooling and pipelay was developed to mitigate the risk of liner damage during installation. Full-scale pressurized spooling trials were done ahead of the pipelay campaign for testing and validation of this methodology. In addition, analyses were performed to evaluate the BSR system behaviour during SCRs installation and to minimize buoy de-ballasting interventions. This paper describes the faced challenges and solutions engineered in the steel catenary risers' fabrication and installation scopes. Copyright © (2015) by the Offshore Technology Conference All rights reserved."
"US subsea engineer Global Industries has received a letter of intent from Petrobras to install the 24-in. Camarupim gas pipeline in the Espirito Santo Basin offshore Brazil. The project, valued at ? $165 million, includes project planning, detailed engineering, and installation of 52 km of pipeline, and fabrication and installation of the pipeline-end manifold and tie-in spool. The offshore installation will be performed by Global's pipelay barge Iroquois."
"This paper describes the site installation of a turret moored Floating Production, Storage and Offloading System - FPSO - in 780 meters of water in Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. The FPSO, a 270,000 dwt converted tanker, is the first of a series of two ordered by Petrobras for development of the Marlim Field. An internal bow mounted Turret system, anchored to the seafloor by 8 chain-wire rope-chain combined mooring legs, is used to permanently moor the FPSO in the location while allowing the vessel to freely weathervane. Thirty-five flexible risers, laid in a free-hanging catenary configuration, provide the flow path between the FPSO and the various subsea equipment on the seafloor. This paper describes the installation equipment and procedures employed."
"The increase of oil exploration and production in a given ocean area may put new requirements on the design of mooring systems for the floating units. It is necessary to simplify the underwater layout through the reduction of the lines horizontal span and to allow smaller distance between the production units. In this context the utilisation of taut-leg mooring system seems to be very attractive. The main object of the this paper is to present a comparison between taut-leg and conventional mooring systems in terms of total unit offset and horizontal span. It is presented, initially, the main lines of a synthesis procedure that the authors have developed to select the best configuration for the mooring system, in order to accelerate the search of the solution. In order to make the comparison between the taut-leg and the conventional mooring systems, the synthesis procedure is applied to PETROBRAS semisubmersible platforms SS-20 operating at a water depth varying from 600 to 1000 meters. The results obtained in the analysis show the great advantages of the taut-leg configuration with respect to the total offset and horizontal span."
"Built in China for 2006 startup, the SSP30 FPSO offshore platform is the first circular platform built in the world. It has been sent to Brazil to operate in the Piranema field, 37 km from the city of Aracaju, Sergipe state, northeastern Brazil. It can extract up to 30,000 bbl/day of 43-44 degree API light crude oil and can store 300,000 bbl. It will operate in 1,000-1,600 m of water. The circular geometry, known as mono-column, has a double casing. It was developed by the Centro de Investigaciones y Desarrollo de Petrobras (Cenpes) within an Agreement of Technological Cooperation. This agreement searches for alternatives in the development of double hull projects for larger platforms for its various projects in Brazil and elsewhere. The advantage of this structure is the flexibility that its operation affords. It can be withdrawn and used on other small fields and used to make tests of long duration. The platforms of low transport charges, like the SSP300, are a good option to reduce the cost of development of small accumulations of crude oil in deep water. The double hull was built at the Yantai-Raffles shipyard in China, then transported to The Netherlands, where a processing and production plant for crude oil and gas was installed. This FPSO belongs to the Norwegian company Sevan Production AS. The FPSO is expected to reach Brazil at the end of October 2006 and in 2007 to connect to six wells of maximum 1,450 m depth. The Piranema project is strategic to Petrobras to increase production of Brazilian light crude oil as an objective of the company business plan to create a primary pole of production in deep water in the Brazilian northeast. To develop the Aracaju field will require $(US)/750 million. Thanks to its new field of exploration, Brazil saves about 2 million bbl/yr of light crude oil that otherwise would have to be imported."
"Various companies have adopted new production practices in drilling industry. Cengroup Petroleum has signed a contract with the Azeri government to begin the oil-gathering process. A new gas pipeline, called Nabucco pipeline, is being planned to access the reserves at the Caspian basin that produces plenty of oil. It will head north from the path of the new Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. began oil production from Lobito Field, in deepwater Block 14, offshore Angola. Roc Oil Co. began production from CliffHead oil field in the Perth Basin, offshore Western Australia. Chevron Frade Ltd. is also planning to develop Frade field, offshore Brazil, with Petrobras and Frade Japao Petroleo Ltd. The partners have signed construction and installation contracts for the major facilities. The project will cost about $2.4 billion."
"During the exploratory phase, Petrobras traditionally performs extended well tests (EWT) in deepwater reservoirs. In offshore environments these extended well tests (EWT) are performed by ships that are able to store the produced oil in cargo tanks for subsequent offloading. In pursuit of a more environmentally friendly alternative, PETROBRAS has researched gas to liquid (GTL) technology, which converts natural gas into synthetic crude oil that can be mixed with the produced oil for storage and offloading. Numerical simulations were carried out taking into account a pre-reforming, steam methane reforming and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis section via a steady state refining process simulator called PETROX developed by Petrobras. Two single trains of natural gas feed containing CO2 were considered. CO2 was consumed in the steam methane reactor to form CO as a consequence of equilibrium change in the steam methane and water-gas-shift reactions. Nevertheless, the GTL overall process cannot be considered a CO2 sequestration process yet, since the net CO2 process balance is positive. The results show that there are optimization opportunities to develop pre-reformer catalysts less selective to CO2 production and reformer catalysts capable of increasing the dry reforming reaction extension with no coke formation. In addition, changes in the process can be done to replace natural gas by hydrogen in the reformer combustion to increase the overall carbon efficiency and reduce the CO2 emission. The observed reduction in the overall syncrude production with high CO2 content is acceptable to the EWT scenario. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 25th World Gas Conference (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 6/4-8/2012)."
"The use of uncertainty analysis as a tool in reservoir studies is becoming more and more common inside Petrobras and all around the world. However, in fields with production history, traditional uncertainty analysis, combining possible values of uncertainty variables, can lead to models that poorly represent the reservoir and to results that do not respect the available dynamic data. During uncertainty analysis process, history matching evaluation can considerably reduce the existing uncertainties. The methodology used in this work is based on experimental design and response surfaces. Besides the cumulative production response surface, another one is generated to represent the quality of the history matching. Only cases with a good history matching are selected as input to the Montecarlo simulation. With this technique, it is possible to evaluate the initially defined probability distributions and, if necessary, to redefine shape or limits for the probability density curve. The methodology was applied in a real study in Petrobras. There are uncertainties related to faults, absolute permeability and also related to the existing fluid properties. Although there are other wells in the same block, the studied area is located in a sea-bottom slope region, where water depth varies considerably within the block, possibly influencing the oil quality. Since there are two wells operating in the studied region, one producer and one injector, the developed analysis took the existing dynamic data into account, reducing model uncertainties. Copyright 2010, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"The vortex-induced vibrations - VIV have been studied for several fields of engineering due to its occurrence in different structures, such as electrical cables, industries chimneys and offshore risers. Although available an extensive literature describing its fundamental issues, these vortex-induced phenomena still deserve investigation, particularly in the offshore platforms installed in regions with high current speed. Recently, the Vortex-Induced Motions - VIM, a particular case of vortex-induced vibration with high magnitude of response amplitude, have been observed in SPAR platforms installed in Gulf of Mexico - GoM, opening a new investigation field. For those motions, aspects such as asymmetric mooring restoring stiffness and the probable three-dimensionality of the flow turn the problem even more complex. Since 2003, in partnership with University of Sao Paulo and consultant companies, PETROBRAS has been studying the use of monocolumn floaters for oil production in Campos Basin and GoM. Considering the environmental conditions in these areas and assuming that monocolumn floaters can exhibit similar VIM behavior of SPAR platforms, it was started an experimental investigation focusing on VIM responses of small-scale monocolumn floaters in towing tank. Although based on the state of art procedures used for SPAR platforms, the monocolumn experiments considered the different geometry of this concept and the larger susceptibility to the three-dimensional effects, due to the smaller relation draft/beam. Special attention was given to the ratio roughness/beam in order to guarantee similarity between the experiments and its respective real cases. Additionally, different heading conditions were also tested. Thus, the present work presents a set of preliminary results and discussions concerning VIM of monocolumn floaters and its impact on the mooring line design and riser specification. Copyright © 2006 by ASME."
"This paper presents the importance of deep water scenario for Brazil, the PETROBRAS Deep and Ultra-Deep Water R&D Program (PROCAP-2000) and the candidate fields for the deployment of subsea innovative boosting technologies (ESPS - electrical submersible pump in subsea wells, SSS - subsea separation systems and SBMS - subsea multiphase flow pumping system) as well as the problems associated with the flow assurance in such conditions. The impact of those innovative systems, their technological stage and remaining demands to make them available for deployment in offshore subsea areas, mainly in giant deepwater fields, are discussed and predicted. © 1995, Offshore Technology Conference."
"© 2017 John Wiley & Sons LtdLoliginid squids constitute marine resources of increasing importance in shelf ecosystems off the coast of South Brazil. However, the existing information and knowledge about the occurrence of early-life stages and causes of distributional patterns are insufficient. Here, we have revisited Brazilian historical plankton samples obtained from 11 oceanographic surveys to identify paralarvae and their abundances over time. The study area and time period cover the region between Cabo de São Tomé (22°S) and Cananéia (25°S) at depths down to 200 m from 1991 to 2005. Of the 246 paralarvae quantified, ~50% were identified to the genus or species level, including Doryteuthis spp. (D. sanpaulensis and D. plei), Lolliguncula brevis and a single specimen of Pickfordiateuthis pulchella. Paralarval occurrence and abundance peaked in different areas and were associated with distinct oceanographic conditions: D. sanpaulensis occurred in the northern region associated with cold waters and upwelling events, D. plei occurred primarily in the southern region of the study area and in warmer waters, and L. brevis was found in shallow and low salinity waters in the estuarine region off the coast of Santos. Overall, the highest abundance of paralarvae occurred in the nearshore, northernmost areas during summer, and this can be associated with the observed retention mechanisms caused by local circulation, seasonal upwelling, the intrusion of nutrient-rich waters, and spawning peaks. The present study provides new information and evidence for loliginid patterns in the area that may potentially be useful for better understanding the recruitment patterns and fishery assessments of squid populations."
"The world's largest semi-submersible crane vessel, the Micoperi 7000, was completed in September 1987. After sea trials, it was delivered to owner/operator Micoperi S. p. A. of Milan in December, and immediately left for its first construction job in Petrobras' Campos basin, offshore Brazil. In its first six months of operation, the vessel has completed its assigned tasks of platform jacket and integrated deck transport and installation as expected, including a record lift for a single revolving crane of 5700 metric tons. And it has met an unexpected challenge in helping Petrobras control the April 24 blowout and fire on Enchova platform. This article documents the history, construction, testing and first application of this amazing vessel as well as plans for its use in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea yet this year and in 1989. The M-7000's principal advantage is the heavy lift capability offered by the bow-mounted twin cranes designed by American Hoist and Derrick Co. Each crane can lift 7000 mt at a 41. 5-m radius, or 7000 mt revolving at 40-m radius."
"An Integrated Operations initiative is on going at Santos Basin in order to face the new challenges of Pre-Salt greenfields. This initiative is being conducted at Petrobras through a corporative plan called GIOp (Integrated Operations Management) and, to potentialize lessons learnt, the company is deploying a pilot in Santos (city located at São Paulo State - Brazil). Petrobras has already tried to apply the smart field concept in previous experiences. The company selected the 20 most interesting processes to be redesigned following the IO concept to run a Pilot in Santos Basin, aiming to test this concept, exercise the collaborative way of working, and acquire experience. This phase used some key available features as tools, temporary collaborative environments and resident professionals. The focus was to obtain early results with a quick wins strategy. Therefore, well and process plant surveillances were implemented for all units of the Santos Basin, followed by a 24/7 Operational Support, which is directly connected to the production units and offshore operations. This paper describes the implementation and execution of the production surveillance activities in Santos Basin, pointing to practical cases of application, across related processes. Many improvement opportunities have been exercised in several disciplines and production assets, in order to incorporate the lessons learnt to the process mapping and bring valuable information for the following phases of the GIOp implementation in Brazil. Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Brazilian company Petrobras has discovered various new deepwater pre-salt reservoirs and plans to devote 17% of its E&P capital during the 2009-2013 plan for the development of these resources. According to Petrobras' 2009-2013 Strategic Plan, pre-salt output could be the biggest source of domestic production growth, adding 1.24 million bpd between 2013 and 2020. Brazil's offshore basins, Santos, Campos, and Espirito Santo, contain 85% of the country's oil reserves, and development of the Santos Basin subsalt will drive long term oil production growth. The company has made various efforts to identify the potential of Tupi well area and conducted a large deepwater seismic acquisition program in this direction. Petrobras also announced a light oil discovery in the pre-salt layer in the Marlim Field production concession in the Campos Basin in 648 m of water."
"An overview covers ongoing offshore E&P developments in Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, and Argentina and the interest of policy in the sub-salt. Information on E&P activity in Latin America begins in Brazil and includes discussions on discoveries in the pre-salt/sub-salt in deep water. Discoveries are being made in the Santos and Campos basins offshore Brazil by BG Group, OGX, Petrobras, and Chevron. Contracts Petrobras is making with companies to supply subsea equipment are cited. A map illustrates the location of the Brazilian offshore basins that include those of Santos, Campos, Espiritu Santo, and Camamu-Almada. Frame agreements are cited such as one between Petrobras and FMC Technologies with a term of 4 yr to manufacture up to 107 trees and equipment for subsea use in Brazil at water depths of 2,000 m. Legislation has been proposed in Brazil to create production sharing contracts with Petrobras of all the petroleum and gas in the subsalt strata in ""strategic areas"". The idea is to use the profits from the sub-salt hydrocarbons for social and economic development without infringing on the rights of private companies now active in the offshore. ION Geophysical has acquired 28,000 km additional of regional seismic data that cover the south of the basins of Santos, Pelotas, and northeast of the Equatorial basin. In agreement with the company, BrasilSPAN that contains 42,000 km offers the first collection of the contiguous Brazilian coast. The activities of BPZ Resources and Gold Oil in the Peruvian E&P are cited. Cardon IV SA, a joint operating company of Eni and Repsol, has discovered gas at the Perla IX well in Venezuela at 240 m indicating the field has reserves of over 6 tcf (1 Bboe). During production tests, high quality gas has been produced with 600,000 cu m/day and 500 bbl/day of condensate. In Argentina, ION Geophysical has completed the processing and interpretation of data relating to the seismic ArgentineSPAN that contains ?11,800 km of new regional data of the southern Atlantic Argentine border from the Argentina-Uruguay international frontier to the Argentinian southern point in the Tierra del Fuego. The program offers high resolution images in all the ocean basins in Argentina."
"Since May 2001 PETROBRAS is using spacebome multi-sensor remote sensing for its sea surface monitoring program at the Campos, Santos and Espirito Santo Basins, southeastern Brazilian coast. Ocean color (SeaWiFS and MODIS), thermal infrared (NOAA/AVHRR), scatterometer (QuikSCAT) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (RADARSAT-1 and ENVISAT) data were integrated in order to detect and characterize different sorts of marine pollution and meteo-oceanographic phenomena. The near real time processing and delivery of the SAR data allowed the timely in-situ verification and sampling of the remotely detected events. Satellite sensors operating in the visible part of the spectrum are used to monitor ocean color variations and associated biomass changes. Thermal infrared radiometers are ideal to monitor features like oceanic fronts and upwelling plumes. However, the major limitation for both types of sensors is the extensive and persistent presence of clouds in the monitored area. Fortunately, microwave sensors such imaging spaceborne SAR permit the acquisition of oceanic scenes, regardless cloud coverage. With the spaceborne SAR systems available it is possible to have almost a daily synoptic view of large areas with suitable spatial resolution for the detection of different natural and men-made events. The integrated analysis of these dataset presents an important decision tool for emergencies, as well for the elaboration of contingency plans and evaluation of the oil industry activity impacts. Copyright 2006, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Considering demands for internal Brazilian market and international crude oil trade, PETROBRAS has taken the decision to concentrate a significantly part of the future of crude oil production from three deep-water fields; Roncador, Marlim Sul and Marlim Leste, all of which are in Campos Basin, with one off-shore terminal. The name of this project is PDET. This project comprises of a fixed central pumping station, PRA-1, a large FSO (2,1 million barrels storage capacity), and two calm buoys systems, at a depth of 100 m. The start-up of this project involves the crude oil from three producing platform; P-52, P-51 and P-53, which are all currently under advanced construction. In the future PDET will receive the production of crude oil from two additional new platforms. Each producing platform will have its own export pipeline, direct to PRA-1. The peak production of this system will achieve 600,000 bbl/day. PRA-1 will have special requirements to pump crude oil either to FSO or to the calm buoys systems. Based on a steel jacket structure the capacity of power generation will be 75 MW, up to 34 inches pigging capacity and many diverse pipings. The FSO has special specifications such as the electrical power and optical swivels, both are at a high level of technology and capacity. To achieve system's targeted reliability extensive studies were done. Integrity protection system, leak detection system, offloading time, sub-sea layout and flow rates were taken into consideration. Environmental risks were fully mitigated. The final configuration, which achieved high standard integrity assurance, produced a valuable project. This paper describes the logistics of this project focusing PRA-1 pumping, the export system through calm buyos, sub-sea facilities and the FSO. Also it will be highlighted some management programs used to implement this project. This work reviewed the major aspects of implementing this important infrastructure offshore facility to transport crude oil. Several technical and managerial challenges were surpassed through introduction of new technologies, tools and techniques. Copyright 2007, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Large volume semi-submersible units may present significant wave induced resonant motions in heave, roll and pitch. Evaluating the slow motions of such systems is important from the initial stages of their designs and therefore requires a model that is both accurate and expedite enough. In the present article, different options for modeling the second-order hydrodynamic forces and induced motions are discussed using as a case-study the PETROBRAS 52 unit - P-52. Computations of the low frequency forces are performed in the frequency domain by means of a commercial Boundary Element Method (BEM) code. Different hydrodynamic approximations are tested and evaluated by directly comparing the predicted responses with those measured in small-scale tests performed in a wave-basin. From the results obtained in theses comparisons, a methodology based on a white-noise approach of the force spectrum is proposed. The validity of such approximation is attributable to the typically low damping levels in heave, roll and pitch motions. Furthermore, results also indicate that the second order forces may be calculated disregarding the free-surface forcing components, an option that helps to reduce the computational burden even more, rendering the procedure suitable for preliminary design calculations. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."
"This paper presents the experimental results obtained from the model tests performed at the IPT (State of São Paulo Technological Research Institute) towing tank, located in São Paulo, Brazil. The model used was the semi-submersible ITTCSR192, at a scale 1:105. The main focus of this study is the analysis of the risers influence on the floating unit dynamics, taking into account damping effects caused by the lines. In order to establish basis of comparison the tests were performed with and without risers. These were modeled as a group of large diameter hoses that are able to provide a significant increment in the damping of the system. By such approach, it was possible to evaluate the changes on the dynamic behavior of the unit induced by the presence of risers. As an additional investigation tool, these results were analyzed with the aid of the software Numerical Offshore Tank (Tanque de Provas Numérico - TPN), which is a dynamic simulator of offshore systems based on parallel-processing developed by means of a partnership between the University of São Paulo, Petrobras and other Brazilian research institutions. By means of the comparisons between the model tests results with and without risers and of the results from the numerical tool, TPN, the dynamic behavior of the floating unit was investigated in terms of the effects caused by the presence of risers, which is a very relevant subject as offshore industry walks towards ultra-depth waters. Copyright © 2010 by ASME."
"Recently, Aker Solutions delivered a movable chain jack system to Petrobras's P58/P62 FPSOs and a movable windlass system to ENI's Goliat FPSO. This paper highlights the main differences between the two systems and when it is beneficial to employ movable systems. There are many parameters to consider in determining which system to use - also a traditional system involving a single winch or chain jack per mooring line may in many cases be preferred. The movable chain jack concept is designed to operate multiple mooring lines within the same cluster. A single chain jack is lifted by a skidding gantry and moved to the next mooring line and so forth. Installation and messenger chains are moved using a large sliding chain locker allowing for later offloading of the surplus chain. The movable windlass system is also designed to operate multiple mooring lines within the same cluster. However, in this case the winch is rotary and can operate via electric or hydraulic power. One of the main considerations is to move the windlass and keep the mooring lines intact without cutting them. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"This paper presents an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model developed to predict extreme sea level variation in Santos basin on the Southeast region of Brazil, related to the passage of frontal systems associated with cyclones. A methodology was developed and applied to Petrobras water deep data set. Hourly time series of water level were used in a deep point of 415 meters. 6-hourly series of atmospheric pressure and wind components from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data set were also used from ten points over the oceanic area. Correlations and spectral analyse were verified to define the time lag between the meteorological variables and the coastal sea level response to the occurrences of the extreme atmospheric systems. These correlations and time lags were used as input variables of the ANN model. This model was compared with multiple linear regression (MLR) and presented the best performance, generalizing the effect of the atmospheric interactions on extreme sea level variations. © 2010 IEEE."
"The logistics of research on deep-sea organisms imposes restrictions on studies that require repetitive long-term collections. Studies on the reproduction of deep-water corals have commonly been made without appropriate temporal series. This study included Madrepora oculata, Solenosmilia variabilis, Lophelia pertusa, and Enallopsammia rostrata, which are among the primary deep-sea reef building corals off Brazil. Samples were collected during 13 consecutive months by the Campos Basin Deep-Sea Corals Assessment Project (R&D Center of the Brazilian Energy Company, Petrobras) in Campos Basin (CB) off Rio de Janeiro State through a remotely-operated-vehicle at approximately 600. m depth. Of every monthly sampling campaign, an average of four to five colonies of all four species were investigated histologically. Colonies of both sexes were observed, indicating that all four species are gonochoric. For now, this appears to be the predominant reproductive pattern observed in corals in the area, as well as in deep-sea corals in general, where 80% of coral species are gonochoric. Although considered functionally gonochoric, M. oculata and L. pertusa presented a few colonies with different hermaphroditism patterns. E. rostrata and M. oculata presented continuous reproduction. Although fertile year-round, S. variabilis presents a reproductive peak between April and September (Autumn-Spring) in contrast with the seasonal reproduction recorded in the southwestern Pacific. L. pertusa had a seasonal reproductive peak, confirming previous observations of periodic reproduction in this species in the northeastern Atlantic. The possible spawning season of L. pertusa from CB concentrates between May and July (high frequency of mature gametes), while spawning occurs between January and March in the North Atlantic and between September and November in the Gulf of Mexico. Our results suggest that the studied species are broadcast spawners because no embryos or larvae were observed in any examined sample. This study, based on long-term sampling, provides the most complete data to date on the gametogenesis and temporal patterns of reproduction of four key deep-sea coral reef builder species. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd."
"We discuss a depth imaging solution that uses primaries and all orders of multiple reflections to image seismic data from seabed acquisitions. The processing sequence starts by separating the up-going (P-UP) and down-going (P-DWN) wavefields from the seabed hydrophone and geophone measurements. The data are then organized into receiver gathers and the P-UP and P-DWN wavefields are migrated independently. By using the primaries and all orders of multiples in the migration, we greatly improve the resolution of the image and significantly expand the areal illumination of the survey. The improvements are not limited to the stack image; our imaging solution produces finely sampled angle gathers that could be further utilized for velocity model building or image enhancement post migration. We present a successful application of the technology to an Ocean Bottom Cable (OBC) recording system deployed for the Petrobras Permanent Reservoir Monitoring (PRM) pilot over the Jubarte field in the Campos basin offshore Brazil."
"Exploration in the Cear basin, on the south-western part of the Equatorial Margin of Brazil, commenced in the early 1970s. Several moderate size fields such as Xar u, Curim , Atum, and Espada fields, with URR volume of around 200 MM BOE, were discovered on the shelf and are producing to this day. Exploration in the deep water part of the basin has been sparse (only 5 wells in water depth greater than 1000 m to date) with some success but, most importantly, de-risked the working petroleum system. With significant part of the deep water acreage licensed to operators in the 11th bid round in 2013, the basin is now embarking on a new exciting phase of exploration. Cear basin sedimentary fill is divided into three mega-sequences: syn-rift, transitional and drift. The basin is blessed with world-class source rocks of Aptian to Turonian age developed within all three main megasequences. The Transitional megasequence contains both the source rocks and the reservoirs. This play was tested by the Pecem discovery in 2012 by Petrobras on the flank of a large structural high. Reservoir quality and connectivity remain the main uncertainty for this play. Other plays include a structural play with reservoirs in the syn-rift sandstones (Munda formation), and the Upper Cretaceous turbidite slope channel/canyons. In addition, in the outboard blocks onlap wedge plays in the Transitional early lower part of the drift megasequence have been identified. These plays could be analogous to the successfully tested plays on the conjugate margin in West Africa. Premier Oil plc (Premier) and partner CEPSA have won two exploration licenses (Blocks CE-M-717 and CE-M-665) in the 11th bid round and are now the dominant acreage holders in Cear basin. The Premier JV has reprocessed two existing 3D surveys resulting in an improved definition of both the syn-rift and drift section and imaging of new prospects and leads. A multi-client 3D survey using broadband technology is planned for 2015 which is expected to result in a superior seismic image in time for impacting the exploration drilling programme in 2017. Copyright 2015, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Terry Knott visited the newbuild Skandi Aker to find out what makes this vessel stand out from the pack. Hailed by operator Aker Oilfield Services (AOS) as the largest monohull subsea well intervention unit yet built, Skandi Aker is targeted primarily at the deepwater well intervention market and will compete directly with more costly mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) - semisubmersible drilling rigs and drillships. The move to build the vessel is part of a wider strategy by AOS parent company Aker Solutions to create a comprehensive offshore intervention and oilfield services capability. At the end of last year, AOS took delivery of the Skandi Santos, which is now on a five-year contract with Petrobras installing subsea trees, and later this year the Aker Wayfarer will join the AOS trio, ready to be outfitted for construction work."
"The meteorological monitoring program for the coastal zone of Brazil was established in cooperation with public and private institutions: Navy Hydrographic Center, Brazilian Institute of Natural Resources, National Space Agency, South Santa Catarina University, Paraná Federal State University, Rio Grande do Sul Federal University, Rio Grande Federal University, Port of Itajai, Petrobras Transportation Company (Transpetro) and Santa Catarina Water and Sanitation Company (Casan). This program is carried out on 13 selected points from 33c°44'S to 20c°45'S. Each point is instrumented with air temperature, air humidity, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, precipitation wind probes sensors. Two observing sites also measure the sea level. Telemetric systems are based on phone, cellular phone, satellite, Internet, and UHF radio. The acquisition, archival, quality control and distribution systems were developed and automated on Oracle database, and these systems update the data on an every hour basis. The web visualization was developed using a Java Platform with direct access to the database. The monitoring system is basically a public investment (92% of the stations). The private sector contributes with provisions for innovations in technology, improvement of the infrastructures and maintenance of the network. Public and private institutions have quick access to real-time information provided by a friendly software for input in their decisions in the operational activities. Time-series data support programs and research and development projects inside the universities."
"On July 16, 2000, a crude oil spill occurred at the PETROBRAS refinery Refinaria Presidente Getúlio Vargas-REPAR, located in Araucária, PR, Brazil A significant quantity of oil was retained within an area known as Ponto 0, between the spill site and Rio Barigüi, contaminating the banks of a small stream (Arroio Saldanha), the soil adjacent to the stream, and the soil of four small wetlands, over a distance of 2 km. This paper presents an overview of the remediation program for Ponto 0, and draws preliminary conclusions regarding the efficacy of different remediation technologies. The major remediation technologies are: 1) injection and recovery trenches for free-product recovery in the sector adjacent to the spill site; 2) in situ bioremediation along the floodplain of Arroio Saldanha; and 3) a treatment wetland near the discharge of Arroio Saldanha into Rio Barigüi. The trenches appear to have removed most of the free product from the sector adjacent to the spill site. There is preliminary evidence, based on soil monitoring data, for the efficacy of in situ bioremediation, but further data will be required before a firm conclusion can be drawn. The treatment wetland was successful in restoring wetland vegetation (an essential component of this technology), and appears to be capable of removing hydrocarbons from groundwater. Data of the groundwater monitoring program indicates a general decline in TPH concentrations, over the October 2000, August 2001 and April 2002 sampling campaigns. BTEX concentrations are generally below the method detection limit."
"The objective of this paper is to present how Petrobras is successfully managing production losses due to mineral scale formation in subsea production wells from its biggest offshore field1. Marlim Field, discovered in 1985 with a STOIIP estimated at 1,012 million STD m3 (6,369 million STB) and a field area of 146 km2 is located in water depths ranging from 600 m to 1100 m.Current Marlim Field production, around 446,754 bpd is supported by injecting 761,971 bpd of sea water. The water production is 217,150 bpd (water cut = 32%) and GOR is 82 STDm3/STDm3. A total of 117 wells are on operation, with 73 producers and 44 water injectors. The field was developed using subsea completion through the vertical, deviated and horizontal wells, equipped with cased hole and open hole gravel packed screens. Scale formation has occurred as a consequence of the incompatibility between the barium and strontium present in formation water and the high amount of sulfate in the injected seawater. To avoid production losses a plan of water management was implemented, including frequent produced water chemical analyses to investigate the convenience for applying a chemical bullhead treatment to remove scale in the production wells (tubing, screen, gravel pack and near well bore)2,3,4. This paper presents results from dissolver treatments performed in the field and also from a special investigation using a rig in a horizontal well. Valuable information was obtained in this intervention, clearing up the scaling occurrence phenomena in this scenario, allowing therefore an improvement on productivity recovery of the wells. Copyright 2006, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"The lastest discoveries of oil and gas reserves in the Brazilian offshore area present new challenges on gas transportation due to their location, far away from the coast. For these new scenarios, Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) units may be a good solution for a natural gas volume production around 2.5 MTPA. It is worth saying that this technology hasn't been proved yet. So, there are many challenges to overcome to turn the FLNG into an economically and technically feasible solution for these new scenarios. One of the main challenges for establishing a LNG (liquefied natural gas) offshore unit is the definition of the liquefaction process technology to be used. Characteristics such as motion effects, footprint, robustness, operational flexibility and asiness, safety, maintenance and availability must be considered when the main differences between the processes are being identified. Depending on the capacity to be attended, liquefaction processes may use hydrocarbon refrigerant mixtures or inert refrigerant fluids. Due to the environmental conditions in Brazilian waters, side-by-side offloading operations are not possible, as the operational availability would not be large enough. Therefore, LNG offloading would only be achieved through the tandem operational mode. Since the technology available for this kind of operation uses aerial hoses, it will be necessary to provide a bow loading system (BLS) installed on the LNG carrier and also a dynamic positioning system (DP) may be needed for an accurate control of the positioning and maintenance of a relative heading. The study indicates that the cargo containment system (CCS) should fulfill some constraints: let free upper deck area for topsides facilities; withstand any partial filling condition (sloshing impacts); have a good track record; and its configuration should allow inspection and maintenance in the offshore environment. This paper reports the Petrobras findings on the evaluating of the FLNG technology. Petrobras considers the FLNG unit an attractive option for its scenario, although many sub-systems still present important challenges in order to achieve a good overall performance. The choice of the best technology for each sub-system is still on-going, aiming the largest reliability and the minimum cost possible. Copynght 2010, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Following the major pre-salt reservoirs discovery in Santos Basin by Petrobras in 2006, a large number of exploratory and development wells have been drilled in the area. More recently, some of those wells have been drilled in large wellbore configurations, mostly due to deeper pre-salt layers and geological uncertainties. This paper presents a case study on drilling a deep 16 1/2? vertical section at a deepwater location, where a turbine and an impregnated bit were used because of an extremely tough drilling scenario. This specific run achieved TD at more than 5000m, marking the first record ever of successfully running an impregnated bit of this size offshore. The basic well design data is shown, as well as the drilling program and offset well and other 16 1/2? bit records. The challenges that were found on drilling deep post-salt 16 1/2? sections in other locations and on the previous BHA runs with PDC bits on this section are highlighted and analyzed with drilling parameters. The impregnated bit specifications and the turbine characteristics are outlined taking operational recommendations into account. Available power at the bit was taken into consideration and the concern with its impact on drilling performance is explained through a comparison with other bit diameters which are widely used. The bit records, drilling parameters and UCS analysis of the section made clear that the turbine with impregnated bit was the most appropriate and effective drilling system for the scenario at the end of the section. A drilling time and cost comparison with other deep hard-formation-16 1/2? sections drilled in other locations shows that the use of this system may yield significant reduction in the total cost by shortening the overall rig time, making it the preferred option in some future challenging drilling projects. Lastly, further turbodrilling and impregnated bit improvements are suggested, theoretically analyzed and justified considering drilling performance maximization and drilling tools and rig equipment limitations. Copyright 2015, SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition."
"The continuous discoveries of oil fields in deep and ultra-deep Brazilian waters and the excessive wide fluctuations on the rig rates were the reasons for PETROBRAS to enhance the capability of one of its owned semi-submersible drilling rig. This paper aims to present an overview of the main technical aspects of the design and yardwork for the upgrading of semi-submersible drilling rig P-10 unit capacity from 500 m to 1200 m water depth. The upcoming ultra-deep waters scenario in Brazilian offshore, that includes East Albacora, Roncador Phase 2, South Marlim Phase 2 and East Marlin oil fields, demands a further step. Then, preliminary studies were carried out to probe the water depth limit, without hull upgrading, just applying the technologies, that it had in mind since the beginning of this upgrading project, but still needed further tests to bridge the gap until safety utilization. Now, the deep water technologies of taut-leg mooring with polyester rope and risers for slender wells may already be considered applicable. A new pile anchor installation concept was developed, field tested and certified. Altogether, they allow one to predict the feasibility of a new upgrading for P-10 with very limited budget, keeping alive the utilization of this anchor moored drilling unit at waters possibly up to 2000 meters, a new scenario it was initially thought that could be efficiently reached only by means of dyanamic positioning units."
"The production of several wells from the Albacora ield (Campos Basin, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is being togressively lowered due to a paraffin deposition roc ess in the subsea production flowlines. The subsea low temperature is considered to be the leading factor in the paraffin deposition or waxing process of deep water flowlines. The PETROBRÁS Production Department at Campos and it's Research Center are developing techniques to adapt the Nitrogen Generating System (NGS) to operations designed to clean the subsea flowlines of the Campos Basin, mainly those serving the Albacora Field. This process comprises the irreversible fluidization of the paraffin deposit through combined thermal, chemical and mechanical effects obtained in situ by the controlled generation of nitrogen gas, according to the chemical reaction: effective internal volume of the stretch to be treated and numerical simulation of the process. The various dewaxing operations effected at the Albacora field have confirmed the good performance of the NGS process, the benefits of which comprise preservation of the environment, since there is no discharge of by-products to land or sea; also, the increase in oil production, which is of the order of 32%, representing USD 200,000 a day. © 1994, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015.We report, for the first time, the occurrence of the muzzled blenny, Omobranchus punctatus, on the coast of São Paulo, South-Eastern Brazil, partially filling a record gap within the species' expected distribution in Brazil. One individual was found on 16 June 2014 in a sand-bottom tide pool of a tidal flat ecosystem, adjacent to the port of São Sebastião."
"The P50 system is a Floating Production Storage and Offloading System under construction for future operation at Brazil's Campos Basin, in a water depth of approximately 1200 m. The system is based on a VLCC vessel, moored in DICAS (Differential Compliance Anchoring) system and presents a reasonably large riser porch on the portside for 77 lines. In this paper the dynamic behavior of the offshore system is evaluated using Dynasim, a time-domain simulation code for moored offshore systems, developed by the University of São Paulo and Petrobras. Simulations are compared with experimental results. Two kinds of tests were performed: ""Calibration"" tests were carried out in order to obtain static coefficients of the hull under isolated current and wind loads. ""Validation"" tests were conducted to evaluate the dynamic behavior under extreme environmental conditions combining current and wave excitation. First and second-order motions were measured as well as mooring line tensions for three different drafts of the ship. A generally good agreement was observed between numerical simulations and experimental results, reassuring the reliability of the numerical code."
"© Author(s) 2016.Recent Southern Hemisphere (SH) atmospheric circulation, predominantly driven by stratospheric ozone depletion over Antarctica, has caused changes in climate across the extratropics. Here, we present evidence that the Brazilian coast (southwestern Atlantic) may have been impacted from both wind and sea-surface temperature changes derived from this process. Skeleton analysis of massive coral species living in shallow waters off Brazil are very sensitive to air-sea interactions, and seem to record this impact. Growth rates of Brazilian corals show a trend reversal that fits the ozone depletion evolution, confirming that ozone impacts are far reaching and potentially affect coastal ecosystems in tropical environments."
"The finite element method was applied for the driving simulation of special offshore piles with a conic shape toe. The FEM solution developed allowed realistic modelling of the several aspects involved, such as the geometric characteristics of the pile, the surrounding soil including stratification, the pile soil interface as well as the hammer blow. This novel computational procedure was applied in a pile driving design and the numerical results predicted fitted with the results observed in an actual offshore installation carried out by PETROBRAS."
"The carrageenophyte Kappaphycus alvarezii was introduced in 1995 and vegetatively propagated in Ubatuba, São Paulo State, Brazil, for the purpose of commercial cultivation. This species produces tetraspores mainly in the austral summer and fall. Tetraspore germination and survival were studied under different conditions of temperature, photon flux density, and photoperiod in the laboratory. Field experiments were also carried out. Although tetraspores of K. alvarezii germinated, they had low survival rates, most dying after 20 days. Recruitment of K. alvarezii tetraspores did not occur in experiments conducted in the field. The results indicated that the establishment of K. alvarezii via spore production in the natural environment of the south-east coast of Brazil is rather remote. © 2008 Japanese Society of Phycology."
"Petrobras produced 1.98 million boe/day in January 2004, 1.9% less than in January 2003 and 1.4% less than in December 2003. Domestic output of 1.73 million boe/day was down by 1.3% on December 2003 because of outages on the P-40 platform at the Marlim Sul field, as well as on four wells in the Marlim and Voador fields. Domestic crude output was 1.47 million bpd in January, 1.7% less than December. Offshore output accounted for 1.22 million bpd and onshore 250,000 bpd. Domestic gas output was 40.8 million cu m/day, of which 21.3 million cu m/day was produced offshore and 19.5 million cu m/day onshore. Foreign oil output amounted to 165,000 bpd, of which 153,000 bpd was from onshore wells and the rest offshore."
"The fast pace of the development of Brazil's offshore oil resources show few signs of slowing down, despite surging costs and daunting technical problems. Petrobras has not stepped back from its ambitious target of raising its Brazilian crude production from 1.637 million to 2.3 million bpd by 2010. However, maintaining this pace of development forced the firm to announce a 63% increase in its upstream budget in late August 2005, as it tried to accommodate the soaring prices for steel, cement, drilling rigs, and offshore services, as the appreciation of the Brazilian real has raised the real cost of local services and labor. A discussion covers the three major projects being developed by foreign operators, with emphasis on the difficulty of bringing the very heavy oil to market; speeding up some of the developments; meeting production targets; mitigating the increasing strain placed on the ever-longer risers; new designs for risers; and forecast on domestic gas demand."
"Copyright 2015, Society of Petroleum Engineers.The ""Pre-salt application"" offers some unique and challenging difficulties for producers and the service companies who support their operations. The carbonate reservoirs which occur in Brazilian deepwater fields provide unique challenges that relate to high temperatures, the high H2S content, as well as severe saline and scaling conditions. It is quite common to find oil and gas fields with estimated H2S level in the produced gas between 100 and 200 ppmv and salinity approximately 230,000 mg/L. Hydrogen sulfide is a poisonous gas, very harmful to life, and removal is essential to comply with sulfur emissions, as well as to ensure system and pipeline integrity."
"Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment in estuaries induces high phytoplankton production, contributing to coastal eutrophication. Abundant natural banks of filter feeders, such as bivalves, in downstream areas may contribute to reducing symptoms of eutrophication by decreasing phytoplankton biomass and amount of material subjected to microbial regeneration. The current concern is to what extent bivalves can control water quality and how environmental parameters can influence the filtration process and vice versa. In the present study Crassostrea rhizophorae (Guilding, 1818) grazing ability on suspended particles in their natural environment was determined in situ, using the biodeposition method and uniquely constructed sediment traps. Additionally the effect of body size on effective clearance rate (ECR) was examined using three different size groups. The experiment was conducted in the Piraquê-açu/ Piraquê-mirim estuary system, (Aracruz, ES, Brazil) during the second week of June 2012 (dry season). Environmental parameters were measured together with total particulate matter (TPM, mg L-1) and chlorophyll a analysis (CHL, ?g L-1) at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. Average values recorded for TPM and CHL were 5.79 mg L-1 and 2.55 ?g L-1 respectively with very high organic seston fraction (80%). The reported effective clearance rate (ECR, in litres per hour) was 17.99 L h-1g-1 dry weight (DW), one of the highest reported in literature and can be associated with a high detritus content and different feeding strategies in comparison to bivalves residing in temperate environments. Weight and length (height) relationship were closely correlated (r = 0.73) however, clearance rate (ECR) standardized to 1 g dry tissue weight did not vary significantly among different size classes. High ECR at high particulate organic matter (POM, %) supports the belief that bivalves can exhibit ECR flexibility according to food quality."
"Mapping and monitoring mangrove ecosystems is a crucial objective for tropical countries, particularly where human disturbance occurs and because of uncertainties associated with sea level and climatic fluctuation. In many tropical regions, such efforts have focused largely on the use of optical data despite low capture rates because of persistent cloud cover. Recognizing the ability of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for providing cloud-free observations, this study investigated the use of JERS-1 SAR and ALOS PALSAR data, acquired in 1996 and 2008 respectively, for mapping the extent of mangroves along the Brazilian coastline, from east of the Amazon River mouth, Pará State, to the Bay of São José in Maranhão. For each year, an object-orientated classification of major land covers (mangrove, secondary vegetation, gallery and swamp forest, open water, intermittent lakes and bare areas) was performed with the resulting maps then compared to quantify change. Comparison with available ground truth data indicated a general accuracy in the 2008 image classification of all land covers of 96% (kappa = 90.6%, tau = 92.6%). Over the 12 year period, the area of mangrove increased by 718.6 km2 from 6705 m2 to 7423.60 km2, with 1931.0 km2; of expansion and 1213 km2 of erosion noted; 5493 km2 remained unchanged in extent. The general accuracy relating to changes in mangroves was 83.3% (Kappa 66.1%; tau 66.7%). The study confirmed that these mangroves constituted the largest continuous belt globally and were experiencing significant change because of the dynamic coastal environment and the influence of sedimentation from the Amazon River along the shoreline. The study recommends continued observations using combinations of SAR and optical data to establish trends in mangrove distributions and implications for provision of ecosystem services (e.g., fish/invertebrate nurseries, carbon storage and coastal protection). © 2012 Elsevier Ltd."
"© 2020 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. All rights reserved.Background: Owing to the abundance, wide distribution, long life cycles and higher positions in the throfic levels, seabirds are considered sentinels of hazards and negative anthropogenic impacts to marine ecosystems. Gout is a common disease affecting birds, but also occurs in other taxa, including mammals and reptiles. The aim of this study was to elucidate the occurrence and pathological findings of gout cases in different species of seabirds, including biological and ecological factors that may contribute to disease. Cases: The urate crystals were observed in ten seabirds stranded, classified in eight species: four oceanic species - two Puffinus puffinus, one Macronectis giganteus, one Thalassarche melanophris, one Calonectris sp. and four coastal species - one Fregata magnifiscens, two Sula leucogaster, one Phalacrocorax brasilianus and one Rynchops niger. A total of seven animals were stranded alive and three were found dead; four animals were male and six were female; six were juveniles and four were mature. The nutritional condition was cachectic in four animals, poor in five and fair in one. The main clinical sign in alive animals was dehydration (7/7; 100%). The treatment consisted of standard support including fluid therapy and temperature stabilization; in addition, vitamins, amino acids, minerals and antibiotics (sulfonamide or enrofloxacin) were given, but the animals died between 1 and 13 days after rehabilitation entrance. Gout was associated with cachectic condition and autumn stranding (in comparison with summer stranding). The main macroscopic findings were observed in the kidneys, which were whitish and enlarged and all had microscopic evidence of multifocal, mild to marked renal crystal urate deposition. In two cases, urates deposition were observed in multiple organs, including liver, spleen, lung, epicardium and kidney, indicating severe visceral gout. The gout was considered the ultimate cause of death in three cases, and in the remaining cases, the main lesion associated with death was trauma (n = 2), infectious enteritis (n = 2), systemic infection (n = 1), myocardial necrosis (n = 1) and cachexia syndrome. The contributing factors for urate deposition were metabolic imbalances, chronic dehydration and overdoses of protein supplements. Discussion: The ten cases described above constitute a rare report of visceral gout in free-living and in rehabilitation seabirds and contributes towards understanding the prevalence and pathogeny of gout in stranded oceanic and coastal animals off southern Brazil. Similar prevalence of gout was observed among free-ranging birds of other reports, but it was considered lower when compared to 21.5% and 23.3% affecting captive/broilers. The difference observed may be influenced by the population analysed, but also by the gout pathogeny and environmental conditions. Among the possible causes of gout, dehydration was observed in all gout-affetected animals stranded alive, a change usually observed in debilitated/stranded animals that probably has contributed to the disease. Additionally, the poor/cachectic condition noticed in the majority of seabirds indicates a nutritional disorder, also a cause promoting visceral gout. In the present study, accumulation of urate crystals was predominantly limited to the kidneys and associated with inflammatory infiltrate, suggesting a chronic process. The results of this study support the hypothesis that visceral gout is a complex consequence of multiple factors affecting both free-living and rehabilitated seabirds. Therefore, further investigation of the other possible causes, frequency and consequences for coastal and oceanic species is indispensable."
"If breakwaters, which are exposed to large wave forces, have to be placed on sites with weak foundation soils, it is customary to dredge the poor layers and replace them with sand. In connection with projects for offshore breakwaters in Brazil some new types of breakwaters have been developed. This paper discusses the geotechnical stability of various types of breakwaters and, in particular, the risk of liquefaction due to shaking by earthquakes or waves. (A)"
"A mixed metal oxy hydroxide (MMH-type) system, which exhibits under flow and gelation characteristics, was used to successfully drill an ultra deepwater well offshore Brazil. Subsequently rheological studies of laboratory-prepared and field fluids were conducted under temperature and pressure conditions similar to those encountered on the subject well. The development and applications of the MMH fluid that is a real alternative for the operator in deepwater applications where narrow pressure window circumstances have to be addressed were presented. There is a need to identify or develop products such as shale hydration inhibitors and lubricants that can increase the utility of the fluid while retaining its unique characteristics."
"Spatial distributions of percent of normal monthly precipitation are presented for the months immediately prior to and during the 1982 rainy season in NE Brazil. A qualitative evaluation of several methods proposed for precipitation forecasting for the northeast has been made. The methods considered are: 1) teleconnections with cyclonic activity in the region of Newfoundland/Greenland; 2) relationship to Atlantic Ocean surface temperature anomalies; 3) preseason rainfall; and 4) time series extrapolation by harmonic analysis.-from STAR, 21(13), 1983"
New equipment developed for employing underbalanced drilling techniques on a floating drilling rig were presented. Field trials of the equipment are being conducted on a semi-submersible vessel in the Albacora Field of the Campos Basin in offshore Brazil. The test is being conducted in a partially depleted formation with a pore pressure of ? 7 lb/gal. A nitrogen generation system capable of delivering 1500 scf/min of 4000 psi nitrogen was used to provide the gas phase during the lightweight drilling fluid fields on Petrobras-17. The nitrogen will be injected into the standpipe manifold at ? 3000 psi. A discussion covers background information on lightweight fluids; limitations of deepwater drilling with lightweight fluids; essential equipment required for deepwater drilling with lightweight fluids; and future applications.
"In 2005, Petrobras created a corporate program named GeDIg, designed to guide and implement Digital Integrated Field Management among its production assets. The Barracuda and Caratinga (BRC) asset was chosen as one of Rio de Janeiro Business Unit pilots. This asset is composed of two offshore deep-water oil fields, where two twin FPSOs, P-43 and P-48, produce a total of approximately 200,000 bpd of oil, with an average density of 24° API. Management and technical teams from BRC are geographically dispersed among four different locations: the asset's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, the logistics and operations base in Macae, a city located 190 km (118 miles) Northeast of Rio de Janeiro, and the two offshore production units, located about 160 km (100 miles) East of Macae. Collaborative environments (CE) were implemented in each site to connect and integrate those teams. The GeDIg-BRC pilot project, initiated in October 2006, was divided in five different areas: real time production operations monitoring, integrated planning, process design, change management, and collaborative environment design and construction. Also, during the earlier stages of the project, a business case was generated to identify, quantify and validate the expected benefits of the project. A major challenge faced during the implementation of the GeDIg-BRC solution, was making the whole integration proposed by the collaborative environments become a reality. The asset started using its collaborative environments in mid 2007, when process optimization initiatives and IT solutions development were still in progress, supported by a change management and communications program. Although several technical components and processes were planned to support managers and engineers on their daily operational activities, there wasn't any specific support tool for optimizing the collaborative environments utilization. That gap motivated the development of a customized solution, specifically designed to support some key processes, which run inside the asset's collaborative environments. The solution was named Collaborative Portal. This paper's objective is to describe the challenges faced by the asset's team and the lessons learned during the process of designing and effectively implementing the asset's Collaborative Environment and its customized support tool, the Collaborative Portal. This tool is successfully running since August 2008. It supports processes like the daily production monitoring meetings, gathering the asset manager and his key staff to efficiently and quickly monitor and control production status (KPIs), production losses, threats and opportunities, as well as defining, planning and following-up on preventive and corrective actions. It also supports other processes like anomalies prevention, customized meetings, visualization of offshore CCTV video cameras and manages the content of the asset's internal TV. Copyright 2009, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Successful implementation of the Pre-Salt DP&P projects in Brazilian ultra-deep waters, where huge capital investments are a major issue, depends much on the robustness and confidence of the available static and dynamic reservoir models. The first discovery of these large oil and gas reserves found along the southeastern coast of Brazil was made in 2006, and represented a new chapter in the global oil history. Since then, Petrobras has been facing major technological challenges in a broad suite of areas and disciplines, from Reservoirs to Logistics, including Subsea and Well technology, Completion and Stimulation, and many others areas, with massive investments in R&D and working in collaboration with partners, suppliers, universities, and research centers to make it technologically and economically feasible to produce oil and gas in the Pre-Salt. © 2018 80th EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2018 Workshop Programme."
"© 2017, Universidade Estadual de Campinas UNICAMP. All rights reserved.Fifty-nine length-weight (LWR) and length-length (LLR) relationships were estimated for 18 fish species, belonging to 10 families. The fish specimens were captured in rockpools of 21 sites along a stretch of 4,900 km of the Brazilian coast, between latitudes 00° and 22°S, in 2012. This study represents the first reference available for five fish species (Gobiesox barbatulus, Bathygobius geminatus, Labrisomus nuchipinnis, Malacoctenus delalandii, Lutjanus alexandrei) in LLR and six (Gobiesox barbatulus, Bathygobius geminatus, Hypleurochilus fissicornis, Omobranchus punctatus, Entomacrodus vomerinus, Diplodus argenteus) in LWR."
"The energy sector has been global before globalization became a household word. At least since 1901, major oil and gas companies have ventured abroad searching for commercially viable resources that are open to development. In 2011, the investment flows traceable to coal, oil, and natural gas investments alone represented $105 billion of FDI. That does not count the trade and investment activity that follows in their wake, supplying goods and services to the E & P firms. Globalization has changed the sector, however. In recent years, national oil companies - always a feature of the landscape - have increasingly taken a major role in projects in their own countries and sometimes even overseas. Statoil of Norway, Petrobras of Brazil, Sonangol of Angola, China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), and others throughout the developed and developing world, many espousing strong resource nationalism policies, have made their policy voices heard. Their ability to control the resources in their own jurisdiction, to dictate the terms of concessions and production sharing contracts, to mandate increasing local benefits (indigenization) and government 'take,' have significant implications for the terms of transactions and the financial benefits flowing from these projects. The discovery of deepwater offshore deposits (for example, off the west coast of Africa, and the 'pre-salt' deposits in Brazil), have required more capital and know-how to effectively access and develop those resources. © The Editor and Contributors severally 2014. All rights reserved."
"The consortium operating Block BMS11 offshore Brazil has opened the 10 million cu m/day LulaMexilhao natural gas pipeline. The consortium is comprised of operator Petroleo Brasileiro SA 65%, BG Group 25%, and Petrogal Brasil SAGalp Energia 10%. The system connects the presalt Lula field to the Mexilhao platform in the Santos basin's shallow waters. The 18-in. OD LulaMexilhao pipeline, operating at 250 bar, extends 216 km, starting 2145 m below sea level at the Cidade de Angra dos Reis floating production, storage, and offloading vessel, and ending at the Mexilhao platform, at a depth of 172 m. Mexilhao is the largest fixed production unit in Brazil and the new pipeline as the deepest and longest undersea pipeline ever laid in Brazil. The new pipeline will also transport natural gas from other fields developed as part of Phase 1 of Santos basin presalt operations, with connections to the FPSO developing each, two in the Tupi field, one in Guara."
"Along moderate to high-energy sandy coasts of the world, periods of accretion are often punctuated by episodes of erosion and retreat. However documenting the legacy of such events in sand-dominated sequences remains a challenge. The present-day moderate-relief coastlines of Camboriú Peninsula (CP) and the adjacent Navegantes coastal plain in Santa Catarina, Brazil, exhibit a variety of geological features related to recent intense storms, such as the Santa Catarina cyclone of record (March 2004) and subsequent events. These systems offer an opportunity to assess the use of modern indicators of storm erosion as a guide to reconstructing their counterparts from the sedimentary record. The 0.5-2.0-km-long, headland-segmented, coarse-grained, reflective beaches of the Camboriú Peninsula contrast with a 10-km-long, fine-grained, dissipative beach of the Navegantes plain. Morphological indicators of erosion include steep dune and berm scarps, as well as ephemeral washout channels produced by rainfall-induced runoff. Where modified by subsequent deposition, these features can still be identified by their diagnostic reflection geometries and variable-angle truncations (disconformities) in highresolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) images. In addition to morphological indicators of erosion, coastal sedimentary sequences contain distinct lithological anomalies. Heavy-mineral concentrations (HMCs) are easily identifiable in sediment cores and trenches and produce strong reflections on GPR images. Along Estaleiro Beach (CP), a buried disconformity was identified in GPR images beneath a road, approximately 25 m landward of the November 2004 storm scarp. Its geometry is similar to the recent scarp and its strong geophysical signal return is due to a magnetite-enriched horizon at a depth of 2.6 m. At the Navegantes strandplain, patchy thin layers enriched in fine-grained heavy minerals are common on a gently sloping intertidal beach and near the base of foredunes. Moreover, in the landward portion of the plain that developed during the past 2,000 years, the presence of truncated tangential-oblique reflections in GPR records and HMCs reaching 10-30 cm in thickness indicates past reworking of beach and dune sediments by a series of intense erosional episodes. Low-field magnetic susceptibility measurements of vibracores indicate values from thick HMC layers exceeding 1,000 (*10 -5 SI) in contrast to 0-15 (*10 -5 SI) for background quartz-rich sands. Given the relatively constant background fraction of heavy minerals in beach sands, the thickness and degree of concentration in HMCs can be used as proxies for the relative impact of high-energy events, including their duration and magnitude. Despite the apparent low preservation potential of these features on high-energy coasts, post-storm accretion and rapid progradation increase their chances of being removed from wave action."
"The hylid frog Hypsiboas exastis has recently been described and is only known from few locations along the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil. This work reports this species in an Atlantic rainforest fragment north of the São Francisco River, the Coimbra forest, in the state of Alagoas. The new record expands the geographical distribution of H. exastis approximately 70 km to the northeast. © 2010 Check List and Authors."
"© Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2020.Pereira, L.C.C.; Trindade, W.; Nascimento, A.T.; Vila Concejo, A., and Jimenez, J.A., 2020. Morphodynamic studies in sandy Amazonian environments. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 403-407. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The present study evaluated the different morphodynamic scenarios that arise under varying tidal and wave conditions on a sandy beach (Ajuruteua) and an exposed tidal flat (Vila dos Pescadores) on the Amazon coast of northern Brazil. For this, four field campaigns were conducted, covering a full annual cycle, for the collection of nearshore data (tides, waves, rainfall, topographic changes, and sediment characteristics). These data were complemented with meteorological (rainfall), fluvial discharge and offshore (wave and wind) data obtained from the stations of official agencies. Ajuruteua beach has very fine sand (2.1-2.7 ?) with a typical profile characterized by a narrow high-tide zone (<10 m) and intertidal zone with a low-gradient (1°-2°) and varying width, ranging from 250 m (neap tide) to 350 m (spring tide). At that beach, tidal flat conditions occur primarily during the equinoctial period, when tidal asymmetry is strongest (ebb tide longer than 7 h). At Vila dos Pescadores, the sand is also fine (more than 70% of grain 2.0-3.0 ?) and the migration of the main tidal channel is delimited by a low, broad terrace. In this area, the transition between tide-dominated, tide-modified, and wave-dominated conditions occurs during the high tide, primarily during the dry season, when the highest Hs values (up to 1.3 m) are recorded on the tidal flat. In the study region, the unregulated construction of buildings has resulted in increasing impacts from erosive processes, which has partially or totally destroyed the existing beachfront infrastructure. The results of the present study provide important insights for the development of more effective management strategies for the local environments."
"Oncholaimus cobbi was described from the Brazilian coast. The area studied, Coroa Grande, is located in Sepetiba Bay, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sampling was carried out monthly, from May 1998 through April 1999. Most of the population was represented by adults, of which non-ovigerous females were the most abundant category. The species reached its highest population density during the warmest months, and the highest densities of males and ovigerous females were seen in February 1999."
"Rhinoclemmys punctularia punctularia is a semi-aquatic chelonian found in Northern South America. We analyzed the habitat use, size structure and sex ratio of the species on Algodoal-Maiandeua Island, a protected area on the Northeastern coast of the Brazilian state of Pará. Four distinct habitats (coastal plain lake, flooded forest ""igapó"
"Fourteen years (September 2002 to August 2016) of high-resolution satellite observations of sea surface temperature (SST) data are used to describe the frontal pattern and frontogenesis on the southeastern continental shelf of Brazil. The daily SST fronts are obtained using an edge-detection algorithm, and the monthly frontal probability (FP) is subsequently calculated. High SST FPs are mainly distributed along the coast and decrease with distance from the coastline. The results from empirical orthogonal function (EOF) decompositions reveal strong seasonal variability of the coastal SST FP with maximum (minimum) in the astral summer (winter). Wind plays an important role in driving the frontal activities, and high FPs are accompanied by strong alongshore wind stress and wind stress curl. This is particularly true during the summer, when the total transport induced by the alongshore component of upwelling-favorable winds and the wind stress curl reaches the annual maximum. The fronts are influenced by multiple factors other than wind forcing, such as the orientation of the coastline, the seafloor topography, and the meandering of the Brazil Current. As a result, there is a slight difference between the seasonality of the SST fronts and the wind, and their relationship was varying with spatial locations. The impact of the air-sea interaction is further investigated in the frontal zone, and large coupling coefficients are found between the crosswind (downwind) SST gradients and the wind stress curl (divergence). The analysis of the SST fronts and wind leads to a better understanding of the dynamics and frontogenesis off the southeastern continental shelf of Brazil, and the results can be used to further understand the air-sea coupling process at regional level. © 2019, The Author(s)."
"SpaceData International (SDI) and WesternGeco have successfully launched the first operational high speed satellite transmission of seismic data (SDT), from a vessel offshore Brazil to WesternGeco's Houston processing center, using SDI's SeismicStar system. The SeismicStar service is a complete turnkey service, consisting of all equipment, maintenance, licenses, fiber connectivity, training, and 24 hour help line necessary to deliver raw uncompressed marine 3-D seismic data to a land processing center located anywhere in the world. SeismicStar is designed to be completely autonomous with little or no involvement by the shipboard crew. © 2001 Society of Exploration Geophysicists. All rights reserved."
"Aim: To investigate how reef fish trophic structure responds to latitudinal changes, using a simple model: the extensive Brazilian coast. Location: Six Brazilian tropical and subtropical coral and rocky coastal reefs, and the oceanic island of Atol das Rocas, between latitudes 0° and 27° S. Methods: Underwater visual census data collected by the authors (five locations) or obtained from the literature (two locations) were used to estimate the relative abundance of 123 fish species belonging to 33 reef-associated families. Cryptic species were excluded from the analysis. Fishes were grouped in eight trophic categories: roving herbivores, territorial herbivores, mobile invertebrate feeders, sessile invertebrate feeders, omnivores, planktivores, piscivores and carnivores. After a series of detailed predictions based on phylogeny, physiological constraints and anthropogenic impacts was established, the community trophic structure was analysed along a latitudinal gradient and among coastal, mid-shore and oceanic sites. Results: The trophic structure of Brazilian reef fish assemblages clearly changed with latitude. Roving herbivores such as scarids and acanthurids were proportionally more abundant at low latitudes. The browsing herbivores kyphosids followed an opposite latitudinal pattern. The parrotfish genus Sparisoma, more plastic in its feeding habits than Scarus, presented wider distribution. The relative abundance of territorial herbivores did not decrease towards higher latitudes. Mobile invertebrate feeders were the most important (in low latitudes) or the second most important trophic guild (in high latitudes) at all coastal sites. Sessile invertebrate feeders did not show any clear latitudinal trend, despite an expected increase in abundance towards low latitudes. Omnivores dominated high latitude reefs (27° S) and planktivores the oceanic island Atol das Rocas. Piscivores and carnivores were proportionally better represented in high latitudes. Main conclusions: Latitudinal patterns seem to be influenced by phylogeny, physiological constraints (mainly related to temperature), and also by anthropogenic impacts. Grazing scarids and acanthurids are largely restricted to tropical reefs and show an abrupt decline beyond 23° S. This does not reflect the amount of algae present, but probably temperature-dependent physiological constraints. Other herbivores seem to overcome this through symbiotic microbial digestive processes (kyphosids), manipulating the structure of algal turfs or increasing animal protein from within the territory (pomacentrids). Omnivores dominate the southern sites Arraial do Cabo and Arvoredo, being more adapted to environment constraints related to seasonal and/or stochastic shifts. Large carnivores (including piscivores) extend farther into high-latitude habitats, apparently not constrained by thermal thresholds that limit the herbivores. Overfishing and/or ornamental harvesting certainly has been modifying local fish communities, but could not be detected properly at the large-scale patterns found in this study. The data presented put in evidence for the first time how reef fish trophic structure behave in the extensive south-western Atlantic latitudinal gradient."
"This article presents the development of a computational tool to guide horizontal gravel pack design for long horizontal offshore wells. Mechanistic model formulation, experimentation at a large scale flow loop and software development are detailed. The computer simulation results are then compared with field data collected in Campos Basin operations, offshore Brazil. A discussion on design alternatives for long horizontal well at low frac gradient formations is presented. This discussion includes a sensibility analysis on screen eccentricity, open and closed BOP configurations and alpha vs alpha plus beta wave displacement options."
"In January 2000, Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro experienced a major oil spilling caused by a break down in one PETROBRAS oil pipeline. Over than 1.3 tons of fuel oil escaped into the bay water in the northern region. Studies of foraminiferal taphonomic assemblages in sediment samples collected on three periods in the same stations, before and after the spilling, were important for the pollution impact evaluation during eight years. In 2005, in the north region, TOC values were higher than in 1999. It was observed the increase of test abnormalities, corrosion and dwarfism. Abundance and species richness reduced in 2005 and increased in 2008 but they did not reach the 1999 levels. Trends of dominant species confirmed the increase of pollution values in 2005: Abundance of A. tepida increased while B. elegantissima reduced. In 2008 there was an increase in the species richness with the occurrence of agglutinated species. © 2017, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"Zeuxo coralensis – Anatanais ohlini (sensu Silva Brum 1973) is considered to be synonymous to this species—it is recorded for the first time from the coast of Brazil at Lazaro Beach, Ubatuba, Sao Paulo. The following aspects were also treated: description of postmarsupial stages; relationship between female body length and number of eggs contained in “ovisacs”, and seasonal distribution of the sexes. The most important characters for determination are figured. © 1980, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved."
"© 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbHLength-weight and length-length relationships were determined for nine fish species of Rocas Atoll, Fernando de Noronha and Trindade Island. Samples were conducted in 2014 (Rocas) and 2015 (Noronha and Trindade) in tidepools using anaesthetic clove oil and hand nets to collect fish fauna. Four species (Stegastes rocasensis, Scartella itajobi, Starksia multilepis and Bathygobius brasiliensis) are endemic from the Noronha-Rocas ridge, two are endemic from the Trindade-Martin Vaz insular complex (Scartella poiti and Malacoctenus brunoi), and three species have a widespread distribution. All relationships are novel for science."
"In August 2019, an oil spill incident washed the coast in Brazil affecting some of the country's most visited and preserved beaches in Northeast and Southeast. This paper argues that the influence of power disconnects delayed the proper actions. Power disconnects occur when the victims of environmental harm (residents of northeastern and southeastern Brazil) lack power to prevent it or, conversely, when those who do have the power to protect the environment (the Brazilian government and the international community) do not experience the costs of degradation. Although Brazil has emerged as an environmental leader in the international arena in the past, it has fallen behind on the improvements that are needed to prevent spills like this from affecting coastal communities and biodiversity in the future. Ultimately, as long as political injustices persist, ecological disasters will continue, and Governance will not improve. © 2020. All Rights Reserved."
"Currently, the Port of Santos is the largest in Latin America, and its access channel is in the process of deepening, intending to reach 17 m DHN as an ultimate goal. Specifically for the maritime bar section, which is now maintained only by dredging, a significant increase in the volume of maintenance dredging is expected. The current study applied the physical modelling to evaluate the effectiveness of two curved jetties in the maintenance of depth along the inlet entrance of Santos channel, its impact on the dispersion of the plume of effluents from the existing outfall and its influence on the beach adjacent to the proposed right jetty. As a result, the jetties’ layout could maintain the access channel’s depth with a much lower volume of dredging than the current maintenance requires. It was found that the increase of 1.2 km on the outfall’s original length would not only reduce the influence of the jetties’ presence, but also improve significantly the dispersion of effluents in comparison to the original situation. Moreover, the presence of the jetties induces a marine accretion that tends to protect the region adjacent to the inlet, which is currently suffering a severe erosion process. Finally, the study shows that it is completely feasible to adopt the curved jetties to transpose the Port of Santos’ maritime bar, which may be configured as an economic and attractive option to maintain depths of 17 m DHN. © 2018 Associação Brasileira de Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental."
"This study aimed to assess spatial and temporal ecosystem health variability of coral reefs in the Tamandaré open embayment, located in Northeast Brazil, Southwest Atlantic Ocean, using water and sediment parameters and benthic foraminifera as bioindicators. Sediment samples were collected during the summer and winter of 2005 at the reef base, generally built over beachrock structures. The FORAM index (FI, a foraminiferal functional group, community-based water quality assessment), and the FORAM Stress Index (FSI, which is more related to ecological affinities than to functional groups and assesses sediment or substrata quality) together with geochemical data were interpreted using uni- and multi-variate analysis. This is the first application of FSI outside of Mediterranean waters. The dominance of the Quinqueloculina and Textularia, along with negligible numbers of living specimens, low counts of symbiont-bearing foraminifera (and thus low FI), high turbidity and high phosphorus concentrations confirm the anthropogenic influence of river inputs. All parameters suggest that the water and sediment of the Tamandaré embayment are marginal for coral population settlement, although the FSI, which presents higher values at unpolluted ecosystems, suggests more sustainable conditions during summer than winter, as found for FI. The FI indication of marginal environmental health is not in agreement with the FSI and the currently stable coral population found over the underlying beachrock, especially at the established no-take zone where good conditions have been described. The central transect, influenced by the no-take zone, presents the most favorable sedimentary sector for conservation initiatives, as indicated by foraminifera and other variables, preferentially on the summer season due to low river discharge of sediments. Local scientific- and community-based coral conservation initiatives have improved ecosystem health. © 2016 Elsevier B.V."
"The Southern Brazilian Continental Shelf (SBCS) is one of the more productive areas for fisheries in Brazilian waters. The water masses and the dynamical processes of the region present a very seasonal behavior that imprint strong effects in the ecosystem and the weather of the area and its vicinity. This paper makes use of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) for studying the water mass distribution and circulation variability in the SBCS during the year of 2012. Model outputs were compared to in situ, historical observations and to satellite data. The model was able to reproduce the main thermohaline characteristics of the waters dominating the SBCS and the adjacent region. The mixing between the Subantarctic Shelf Water and the Subtropical Shelf Water, known as the Subtropical Shelf Front (STSF), presented a clear seasonal change in volume. As a consequence of the mixing and of the seasonal oscillation of the STSF position, the stability of the water column inside the SBCS also changes seasonally. Current velocities and associated transports estimated for the Brazil Current (BC) and for the Brazilian Coastal Current (BCC) agree with previous measurements and estimates, stressing the fact that the opposite flow of the BCC occurring during winter in the study region is about 2 orders of magnitude smaller than that of the BC. Seasonal maps of simulated Mean Kinetic Energy and Eddy Kinetic Energy demonstrate the known behavior of the BC and stressed the importance of the mean coastal flow off Argentina throughout the year. © 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved."
"Channel-bend expansion and downstream translation, as well as vertical movements by aggradation and incision, set the stratigraphic architecture of channelized depositional systems. Early work on submarine-channel evolution has suggested that downstream translation is rare. It is proposed here that downstream translation of bends might be common in deep-water salt-tectonic provinces, where complex topography can localize channel pathways that promote meander cutoffs and the generation of high-curvature bends. Three-dimensional seismic-reflection data from a region with salt-influenced topography in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, is used to characterize the structural geometry of a salt diapir and stratigraphic architecture of an adjacent submarine-channel system that extends for 18 km. The combined structural and stratigraphic evolution is interpreted, including meander-cutoff development near the salt diapir followed by ~10 km of downstream translation of a channel bend. The stratigraphic evolution is tested with a simple numerical model of channel meandering. This integrated subsurface characterization and stratigraphic modelling study sheds light on the processes and controls of submarine-channel downstream translation, which might be common in rapidly deforming settings, such as salt basins, that promote localized subsidence, meander cutoffs, and rapidly translating, high-curvature bends. © 2019 The Authors. The Depositional Record published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Sedimentologists."
"The objective of this article is to evaluate the spatial distribution and quantify the Permanent Preservation Areas in the outfall estuarine of the Apodi-Mossoró River, in Rio Grande do Norte (Northeastern Brazil), for the years 1965 and 2012 according to the environmental legislation. In this way, it was possible to compare projected zoning changes on land use/landcover, as well as implications for wetlands. The methodology involved the reconstruction of scenarios based on norms and evaluation of thematic maps generated from remote sensing products. Digital Image Processing techniques were used to map land use/land cover categories and to identify the boundaries of protected areas in each period. The largest change observed indicates loss of 1,907.09 ha of flooded areas of the fluvial-marine plain, almost totally occupied by salt evaporation tanks. In 1965, three categories of PPA were observed, accounting for 455.17 ha, but for law limitations only 83.45 ha were protected. In relation to 2012, six categories of PPA were detected, totaling 1,051.96 ha, as a consequence of the expansion of protective areas, but the previously consolidated areas reduced to 787.57 ha the size of protected areas in the last period. The brazilian estuarine environment is remarked by the lack of more specific legislation that best protects wetlands. Permanent Preservation Areas are unsufficient to guarantee environmental quality of the coastal region, especially in study area, where there´s flood risks and degraded ecosystems. © 2018, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"On the account of the absence of modern analogues, the interpretation of evaporite-bearing basins relies extensively on seismic and well data. Recent studies describe the intrasalt kinematic, geometries and compositions, relating the change of reflection patterns in seismic data to variations in evaporite sequences. However, these interpretations are only qualitative. This study describes a step further in proceeding from qualitative to quantitative interpretation of an evaporite-dominated interval. It integrates geophysical and geological foundations by combining rock physics, seismic inversion and statistical techniques to deliver seismic-driven facies volume of the evaporite sequence in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. Synthetic seismogram demonstrate the ambiguities and uncertainties in relating the seismic amplitude to salt types. Rock-physics analysis indicates that acoustic impedance is an effective differentiator of salt types in comparison to seismic amplitude. Therefore, we perform seismic inversion to transform interface property into layer property. The acoustic impedance volume mitigated significantly the risk of seismic interpretation in the salt sequence. The Bayesian classification integrates acoustic impedance and rock-physics analysis to deliver the seismic-driven facies volume, which categorizes bittern salts, halite and anhydrite. This enables the refinement of the seismic-stratigraphic interpretation of intrasalt sequences of the Ariri Formation based on the sedimentary cycles of evaporites. Additionally, we calculate proportion maps to evaluate the spatial variability of salt deposition. We observe an increase in bittern salts and anhydrite proportions from the bottom to the top of the sequence. The comparison between well-based and seismic-based proportions testifies to the quantitative potential of seismic data. The approach provides quantitative analysis of the evaporite sequence and can be applied to other salt-bearing basins. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"The distribution of planktonic foraminifera in box-core tops under the influence of a western boundary upwelling system along the southeastern Brazilian continental margin was examined to evaluate the similarity percentage (SIMPER) and to create a biofacies model for paleoenvironmental applications. Species associated with warm and oligotrophic water were distributed in the Rio de Janeiro sector of the Campos Basin, while productive water species were most abundant in the Rio de Janeiro sector of the Santos Basin, and cold-water species were most abundant in the Cabo Frio Upwelling System (CFUS). Four major biofacies are associated with the oceanographic setting of the CFUS: one from the Campos Basin (A - Brazil Current front), one from the Santos Basin (B - mixture of coastal and oceanic waters), and two associated with the Cabo Frio High in the northern biofacies (C) and southern biofacies (D). The distribution of biofacies C and D was associated with temperature differences. Biofacies C represents a mixture of upwelling and tropical waters, while biofacies D represents a mixture of cold, nutrient-rich and Santos Basin waters. These biofacies were also defined in core CF10-01B, in which six main paleoceanographic phases were characterized during the last 9 cal kyr, predominantly showing alternating dominance between biofacies C and D From 9.0 to 5.0 cal kyr before the present (BP), the system was dominated by biofacies C. Between 4.0 and 3.5 cal kyr BP, biofacies D was dominant. Between 3.5 and 2.5 cal kyr BP, a strong influence of coastal waters and weakened upwelling activity were indicated by the dominance of biofacies B + C + D. The last 2.5 cal kyr was dominated by biofacies D. The SST in this core was reconstructed using the Modern Analog Technique (MAT), which revealed 0.35. °C of variability, indicating no SST changes during the Holocene. The weak sensitivity of the MAT was due to the interplay among different oceanographic features. © 2013 Elsevier B.V."
"The current research was performed in the eastern portion of the Marlim oilfield to identify the hydrocarbon-generating potential of the Albian-Oligocene sequences (Macaé Group, Ubatuba and Carapebus formations) in the Campos Basin, Brazil. On the basis of petroleum geochemical proxies, an integrated approach was developed using source rock characterizations to establish the distribution of source rock properties, such as organic matter content, hydrocarbon-generating potential, thermal maturity and stratigraphic thickness. The outcomes of a comprehensive petroleum geochemical characterization were integrated with cuttings and core sample descriptions, biostratigraphic controls, well log analyses and 2-D/3-D seismic interpretations. Our results reveal that for the Albian-Oligocene deposits, the key geochemical properties required to develop hydrocarbon source kitchens converge in specific locations, demonstrating a variable hydrocarbon potential ranging from poor to excellent and suggesting the existence of local generation pods in the central and principally northern portions of the research area. The accumulation and preservation of the organic matter were influenced by the paleo-topography and tectonic controls, and the lowest concentrations of organic carbon were attributed to significant siliciclastic dilution taking place mostly toward the middle and southern portions of the Eastern Marlim oilfield. Lateral variations in both the lithofacies and organic facies are the main conditions controlling the behavior of the petroleum potential in the investigated sediments. Our results indicate that the Macaé Group has sufficient source-rock potential, maturation patterns, and hydrocarbon-generating potential to be considered as an active source rock in the Eastern Marlim oilfield, where the petroleum geochemical properties converge and are adequate to generate hydrocarbon compounds. In addition, the Ubatuba and Carapebus formations are also likely to generate oil and/or gas, but due to their relatively low maturity, it is difficult to establish that these rocks can be active source rocks in the study area. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd"
"Offshore oil development projects are complex and require high capital investment. The application of methodologies that seek optimization of economic parameters of projects became particularly important since 2014, when oil barrel prices plummeted. At that moment, some projects required modifications to regain economical attractivity. The recovery of project profitability depended on the break-even oil price criterion fulfillment (typically USD 40-45) among other requirements. This paper presents a methodology developed by Petrobras to increase the profitability of offshore projects in conceptual design phase while meeting the technical and safety minimum requirements. Successful solutions provided by the Petrobras team, enabled through this methodology, to make more than 15 projects economically viable are presented. The solutions include phased development, reuse of flexible lines from declining production wells, application of new technologies (including boosting and processing), use of innovative subsea architectures, procedures to increase ramp-up speed, long tie-backs, etc. This article is focused on subsea engineering solutions. Copyright © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Dinoflagellate cysts are commonly used to obtain the relative ages, correlations and paleoenvironmental interpretations of the Cretaceous and Paleogenic sections of the Brazilian continental margin. However, the micropaleontological data of the Pelotas Basin is mainly concerning to calcareous microfossils, which is not true for the sedimentary deposits of the Pelotas Basin, whose micropaleontological informations is mostly referring by calcareous microfossils. In this second contribution, we present the systematic and descriptive detailing of the dinoflagellates cysts of the Ptychodiscales and Gonyaulacales orders, from the analysis of 535 samples collected from two wells (BP-01 and BP-02) drilled by Petrobras S.A. in the offshore portion of the Pelotas Basin. The levels analyzed are rich and diverse, enabling the recognition of 137 species. In greater numbers, cysts belonging to the Order Gonyaulacales include 76 genera, 133 species, besides three sub-species. Two genera and four species were assigned to the Order Ptychodiscales. Among the described taxa, 72 are cited for the first time for the Brazilian basins. The recognized associations indicated ages between the Cretaceous and the Neogene, based on the occurrences of E. dettmanniae, D. acuminatum and O. indigena for the Cretaceous; D. californica, D. carposphaeropsis and E. reticulata for the Paleocene; B. longissimum, M. fimbriatum and M. perforatum for the Eocene; C. galea, C. aubryae and H. obscura for the Miocene. R. actinocoronata and A. andalousiensis recorded at the post-Miocene levels of the basin are indicative of younger ages, possibly positioned between the Pliocene and the Pleistocene. © 2018, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. All rights reserved."
"Volcanic rock facies characterization in subsurface log data have always being challenging. Even though considerable types of well logs are acquired, the results achieved on facies characterization with the conventional log suits are very limited. Conversely, high-resolution borehole image logs calibrated with side wall core samples can provide the necessary structural and textural information for facies definitions. In this case study, an integration of good quality acoustic image log data, side wall core petrography and geochemical analyses provided a good understanding of volcanic facies and stratigraphic relationships. Additionally, outcrop data from the analogous Serra Geral Formation and other Large Igneous Provinces were used for comparison. In the studied well, from Santos basin, Brazil, it was possible to identify several kinds of subaerial basaltic lava flow units, such as compound pahoehoe, sheet pahoehoe and rubbly pahoehoe lava flows. Vesicles, amygdales, vesicle cylinders, sub-horizontal vesicle sheets, autobreccias and entablature are some of the structures described in this study. As a result, 2 image catalogues of subaerial volcanic rocks were produced characterizing facies and flow units along with a stratigraphic model of the history of this volcanism. This is the first time that pahoehoe lava flow units could be characterized at an offshore Brazilian basin. The results achieved are important for the understanding of the Cretaceous volcanism events in the pre-salt layer and also provide support for the evaluation and geological modelling of the volcanic rocks in Santos Basin oil fields. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd"
"Lipid biomarkers [fatty acids (FAs), sterols and alcohols] and carbon stable isotopes (?13C values) in surface sediments from 9 cross shelf transects (25–3000 m water depth) from the Campos Basin, SE Brazilian continental margin were analyzed. The aim was to investigate the link between the prevailing regional specific oceanographic conditions (upwelling events, intrusion of cold and nutrient-rich water, low river input) and the nature and distribution of organic matter (OM) in the basin. A general predominance of OM from autochthonous processes, but with a relevant spatial gradient in the quality and quantity of the sedimentary OM, was observed. On the shelf (&lt;150 m), concentrations of lipids were usually low, except in areas influenced by upwelling, but the presence of labile compounds suggested the occurrence of fresh OM in the sediment. The export of continental OM was observed only in shelf sediments near the Paraíba do Sul River. The upper and middle slope (400–1300 m) exhibited the highest concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) and lipids, but lipid biomarkers suggested the presence of OM with a high degree of bacterial degradation. This may result from the export of material from shallow areas, possibly due to the action of eddies and meandering of the Brazil Current and bottom currents in the region. On the lower slope (1900–3000 m), only the more recalcitrant compounds were above detection limit. The presence of labile lipids in high amount in the shelf and slope suggests the presence of OM with a high potential for supplying the food requirements of heterotrophic organisms in the sediment, which may in turn have a major influence on the ecology of benthic communities. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd"
"The Statoil-operated Peregrino field, one of Brazil's most significant offshore producers, is a wealth of resources, including Norwegian-developed technology. Statoil places a heavy emphasis on increased oil recovery (OIL), mostly developed in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and deployed elsewhere, to boost production at the field. Statoil partnered with service companies to develop and patent a version of autonomous inflow control devices (AICD), already tested on the NCS in two Norwegian fields to reduce water production. AICD distinguishes between high-viscosity oil and low-viscosity water and gas to allow in only the high-viscosity oil. Produced water is combined with treated sea water and pumped back into the reservoir to maintain pressure, a method called produced water reinjection. Other ways Statoil combats the difficulties that heavy oil like Peregrino's brings is through water as a way to transport the crude from the wellhead platforms to the FPSO."
"Mangroves are productive ecosystems of tropical coastal landscapes, constituting habitat for many commercial fisheries, as the crab Ucides cordatus. In Brazil this crab holds a major socio-economic importance for artisanal fishery, but with obvious decline on their productivity. In this study we determined and mapped the more suitable mangrove areas for the conservation and fishery of this crab in the São Francisco River Estuary (Northeastern Brazil). We applied a Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) in a GIS environment. Ten criteria in total were used, including crab biotic parameters, land use/cover and social factors. Maps of each criterion were produced by GIS techniques with CBERS and SPOT images and by field data. Mangroves more suitable for the conservation of U. cordatus (9.4 km2) are near to the river mouth, due to high density and frequency of non-commercial size crabs (NCSC), low density of commercial size crabs (CSC), small crabs and low degree of use for fishery. On the other hand, the mangroves for the crab fishery occurred with a similar area (10.2 km2) located farther away from the river mouth, with a high density and frequency of CSC, low density of NCSC, big crabs, medium-high degree of use for fishery and near to the villages. These information and thematic maps can aid government agencies in delineating extractive and fishery exclusion areas, thus contributing to the management plan for this species. © Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2016."
"All published chronostratigraphic charts of the Espírito Santo basin, Brazil, show stratigraphic frameworks based on second-order depositional sequences. The absence of published high-resolution biostratigraphic analyses precludes the proposition of a higher order stratigraphic framework. This work breaks down the second-order depositional sequences, from Campanian to Maastrichtian succession in the drift phase of Espírito Santo offshore basin, in three third-order depositional sequences based upon seismic interpretation of a hierarchical scheme of channel on continental slope setting coupled with a correlation to a global sea-level curve. The resolution of the 2D seismic data analyzed allowed the identification of three levels of erosional surfaces and their subsequent filling, from smaller to higher: composite channels, channel complexes and channel complexes set. Channel complexes development is related to lowstand deposits on the continental slope. Also, the aspect ratio of the channel complexes analyzed are reverse to the expected for channel development on continental slope settings. Usually, the further down-dip the channels are located, the higher their aspect ratio, however, it does not happen in the study case. Most of down-dip channels show a lower aspect ratio. It is ascribed to the control of the seafloor topography by the halokinetics. The identification of the geometric pattern of the channels on seismic data allowed a proposition of an exportable depositional model to predict possible sandy deposits on the continental slope regarding the intensity of salt tectonics. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"We applied a combined approach of benthic terrain modelling with sediment type distribution, using regional available data sets in order to map the distribution of seabed physical habitats along the Espírito Santo Continental Shelf, Brazil. The Benthic Terrain Modeler (BTM) was used to define benthic terrain classes, which were combined with ground truth data (sediment samples and seabed images) to produce physical habitats (seascapes). Eight BTM classes were defined: flat bottom, rough, depression, valley flank, valley bottom, shelf break, crests, and deep crests. The combination of the BTM classes with sediment distribution produced 17 types of physical habitats. Analysis showed that shelf morphology controls the pattern of habitat distribution, combined with two major sedimentary processes: riverine sediment input and carbonate sedimentation. Seven types of physical habitats area associated with the flat bottom morphometric class, and five types of physical habitats are associated with rough/irregular morphometric classes. These are the two main broad categories observed along the shelf, when combined with the presence of rhodoliths. Shelf-incised valleys, combined with rhodolith beds, are the most conspicuous seascape along the ESCS. These seascapes add slope and roughness to the shelf seabed, producing great morphological complexity and potentially supporting diverse benthic communities. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"The aim of this work was to carry out a paleoenvironmental study of Holocene sedimentary deposits in the southern sector of Pernambuco's coast (northeastern Brazil). This work addresses an important aspect of Quaternary research that has implications for current climate debates, for instance, how does vegetation react to changing climate and rising sea levels. Thus, we provide a combined approach using sedimentological, palynological, geochemical analyses (stable isotopes i.e., ?13C, ?15N and C:N), in addition to AMS 14C dating from two surficial sediment cores i.e. T4 (up to 150 cm depth) and T5 (up to 136 cm depth) collected from the Formoso River estuarine system. Climatic oscillations show variation in precipitation and atmosphere humidity, marked by areas of expansion and/or retraction of herbaceous plain and forest vegetation. Variations in vegetation composition over the last 7168–7260 cal yr BP in the Formoso River estuary reflects the strong influence of sea-level variations, which were responsible for changes in coastal paleogeography and paleogeomorphology. Changes in vegetation composition indicate its close relationship with transgressive and regressive marine events and corresponding variation of the depositional environment like lakes to coastal lagoons, tidal channels, sandy strand-plain, and the modern estuary of the Formoso River. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA"
"In 2018, Brazil announced the designation of two new Large Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs), resulting in an increase in protection from 1.5% to 26.36% of the country’s maritime territory. We employ an agenda-setting theory to analyze the Brazilian LSMPAs as a causal case study, unpacking the factors that led to their creation, and providing insights about the process of reaching global targets. Drawing on a detailed literature analysis and interviews with key stakeholders, we argue that reaching an international goal is a political commitment which emerges within a ‘policy window.’ Additionally, we offer seven lessons that can improve the chances of reaching an international goal and shifting the agenda: (1) attract media attention; (2) make a formal commitment; (3) launch a movement or a campaign to attain the goal; (4) make the goals legally binding; (5) propose general international goals; (6) diffuse ideas and (7) form support groups. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group."
"This work discusses soil-structure interaction applied to thermal snaking of shallowly buried pipelines embedded in very soft clay. The main motivation of this research was the accident that occurred in January 2000 in Rio de Janeiro where more than 1 million liters of crude oil has been spilled into the Guanabara Bay. In that way, a set of comprehensive centrifuge tests has been undertaken in order to assess the lateral resistance of the soil. The results were compared with numerical simulations of the same centrifuge scenarios using a software developed by PETROBRAS. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group."
"The development of Brazil Offshore fields using flexible pipes took the advantage of the possibility to move around lines, anticipate the production and postpone the decision of where exactly the development phase wells should be placed, making the drilling campaign easier, cheaper and faster. For the Pre-Salt fields, mainly in Santos Basin, it is observed high concentrations of H2S and CO2, two major impact contaminants for the metallic layers of the flexible pipe. A new failure mode by SCC is the most concerning one and have several approaches either focused on the installed fleet or focused in the next pipes to be delivered. SCC is a condition that induces cracks in the pipes metallic layers and need three elements to happen: water, stress and susceptible material. If one of these three elements is suppressed, the phenomena is not to happen. This paper will cover and present a design of a seal tight end fitting also with capabilities to be seal tested from the shop during the factory acceptance test and further means to identify if the flexible pipe section is flooded or dry visually, using ROV. This information is key for the integrity management of the flexible pipes applied to pre salt fields to assure the most extent of the service life. Copyright © 2020 ASME."
"The knowledge of metal behavior in the aquatic environment is important for understanding its effects in estuarine zones and mangrove areas. These important and precious ecosystems are affected by many different factors that may vary temporally and spatially. The present study investigated the spatial and temporal variation of physicochemical parameters (pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, etc.) and metal concentrations (Zn, Fe, Ni, Cu) at three different locations along the Todos os Santos Bay, North East Brazil, by analyzing surface water, sediment and mangrove oysters (Cassostrea rhizophorae (Guildin, 1828)). Metal concentrations in surface waters and sediments differed between the three sampling times (March and August 2014; January 2015) and locations and were affected by fluctuating physicochemical parameters, which in this way also affected the metal bioconcentration in the oysters. The pH of the surface waters, for example, increased from the 1st to the 3rd sampling time while the concentrations of Zn and Fe decreased during the same period. The sediment concentrations of Zn and Fe were strongly correlated with organic matter content. These results suggests that seasonality as well as the different water and sediment properties along the bay directly affect metal concentration and bioavailability in the environment. © 2020, Universidade Estadual Paulista(UNESP). All rights reserved."
"This work propose research evaluation of the estuarine system in Vitória's port, Espírito Santo - Brazil, which is located on Vitória's bay, within the estuarine system comprising rivers Santa Maria da Vitória, Bubu, Itanguá and Aribiri, which are of economic importance for the local riverside community. The research proposed the evaluation of water quality and sediment used for physical, chemical, microbiological and bioassay analyses, thought evaluation anthropogenic impact derived of port implementation and expansion port process. The monitoring network created consisted of 21 sampling stations numbered from BVP1 to BVP7 and from BVC1 to BVC14. Among the Physico-chemical parameters to be assessed are pH, flow, depth of the vessel transition system, turbidity and salinity. Additionally, highly carcinogenic metals (arsenic, chromium, nickel, copper, lead and zinc), organic parameters and zoobenthos level research in port square thus quantification were important quantified through ecotoxicological tests, chemical analyses, and other organic parameters studies, however quantification total organic carbon (TOC), precipitated carbonate, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, redox potential and flow capacity, which were assessed to better understand the cause of their accumulation and to assess and purification capacitation at estuarine system. © 2020"
"Thermoplastic composite pipes (TCP) is a fully bonded pipe structure with a solid wall construction constituted from a single polymer material reinforced with embedded (melt-fused) fibre reinforcements. DNV GL published in December 2015, the new Recommended Practice DNVGL-RP-F119, intended for the design and qualification of Thermoplastic Composite Pipes in offshore applications. This paper describes Airborne Oil & Gas approach to qualifying its ultradeep water TCP products to the new standard. Because of its intrinsic properties, including being lightweight, spoolable, and collapse and corrosion resistant, TCP is very much suited for riser applications. After applications such as a 1"" high pressure methanol injection jumper in the North Sea, a 6"" flowline for hydrocarbon conveyance off the coast of Sarawak, Malaysia, and a 2"" gas lift line in the North Sea, Airborne Oil & Gas has now started the development of TCP for high pressure high temperature dynamic production riser applications. A typical offshore Brazil pre-salt field ultradeep water design premise has been used to assess the feasibility of 6"" and 8"" free hanging TCP Risers. This was done in close cooperation with a major operator in Brazil and SURF contractor. Global, installation and local analyses of the TCP Riser system have shown the feasibility of installation as well as operations in a free hanging catenary configuration throughout the 30 years' service life. After technical feasibility had been demonstrated, a detailed business case study was performed in order to quantify the potential CAPEX savings that TCP technology can bring compared to the low lazy wave systems currently installed in pre-salt fields, offshore Brazil. Considerable savings are expected, especially on pipe procurement costs. Further savings on OPEX are also expected and are related to corrosion and biocide inhibition operations. © 2018. Offshore Technology Conference."
"The Campos basin is a sedimentary basin located in offshore Brazil, between the north coast of Rio de Janeiro State and the south coast of Espírito Santo State, encompassing many oilfields. Most of the reservoirs in the basin are high-permeability sandstones containing low API gravity oil but are without strong water drives. Long horizontal producer wells are the best economic option for field development but require water injection to maintain reservoir pressure. Horizontal sections generally range from 1000 to 2000m, which demands gravel pack as a sand control method. Gravel packing such long wells is a challenge and requires thoughtful engineering to optimize pumping techniques and technology. Presented here are best practices to overcome several challenges faced in this field to achieve overall success. The challenge for extended-reach gravel packing is that the long horizontal section develops high friction during the alpha and beta wave propagation. Increasing the pumping pressure to overcome this friction increases the risk of fracturing the formation, consequently reducing the equivalent circulation rate downhole impairing the proppant transportation. In contrast, a reduced pump rate during alpha wave propagation can lead to a premature screenout due to the increase in dune height of over 85%. To overcome these issues and place gravel packs in these wells, careful engineering and simulation, lightweight proppants, friction reducers, and thorough job planning were used to successfully perform gravel packs in more than 40 horizontal wells completed in the Campos basin from 2011 up to 2017. The experience of pumping the longest gravel pack jobs in offshore Brazil (horizontal length more than 2,000m) offer insights into best practices for gravel packs in extended-reach horizontal wells: Design considerations, specific well challenges faced, technologies deployed, and operational planning requirements. Specifically, highlighting the benefits of using lightweight proppants and optimized fluid systems to minimize screen out risks and maximize pack efficiency. Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"The Camamu bay (BCM), located at central coast of Bahia, is a pristine region which has been the target of oil and gas activities that could put in jeopardy the whole ecosystem in the case of an oil spill. The present study provides a first overview of its oceanographic characteristics based on a comprehensive set of in situ data, which points to a significant temporal variability in the hydrology, a strong marine influence in the dry period and a pronounced runoff signature in the wet season. Depending on the combined effect of the freshwater input and tidal circulation, the main channels of BCM present distinct dynamics. The Maraú channel, in the southern section of the bay, behaves mainly as a partially mixed system, but with spatial variability of the mixing condition. Serinhaém channel, in the northern section of the bay, is well mixed during spring tides and partially mixed during neap tides. The bay mouth is well mixed throughout, both during spring and neap tides. The depuration capability of the bay is seasonally controlled, presenting 90 days and 30 days flushing times for the dry and wet season respectively. © 2015 Sociedade Brasileira de Geofísica."
"The growth of the activities of the Petroleum Industry in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin, reinforces the need for the environmental knowledge of the region, which will be potentially exposed to risks related to such activities. The environmental importance of this region evidences the need to deepen and systematize not only the knowledge about the environmental sensitivity of the region, but also about the characteristics that will exert influence over it. The Costa Norte Project can be identified with one of these initiatives. The project has as one of the main objectives to evaluate the efficiency of the use of marine hydrodynamic environmental computational modeling methods to represent the marine dynamics over that region. In this paper a regional ocean computational model was used to produce an inedited ten year hindcast simulation in order to represent the main aspects associated with mesoscale climatological ocean circulation at the Brazilian equatorial margin. This article aims to present the methodology and the results analysis and evaluation associated to the cited hydrodynamic computational simulation. The obtained results clearly demonstrated the ocean model potential to represent the most important ocean variables space and time distribution over the studied region. Comparative analysis with observed data demonstrated good agreement with temperature, salinity and sea surface height fields generated by the implemented model. The Costa Norte Project is carrying out under the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP) R&D levy as “Investment Commitment to Research and Development” and is financially supported by Enauta O&G company. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019."
"This work intends to understand how the Ponta do Mel carbonate platform was implanted, to characterize its depositional model and its evolution in the light of modern stratigraphy, as well as to understand the stratigraphic relations with beneath, overlapping and contemporary units, from wells and seismic data. The focus area of this study corresponds to a belt in the offshore portion of the Potiguar Basin, which runs parallel to the shoreline, about 40 km from it. The carbonate rocks of the Ponta do Mel Formation date from the Late Albian and, similar to what occurs in the other basins of the Brazilian continental margin, their deposition is related to the separation events of the African and South American continents. In the stratigraphic analysis of the wells (1D analysis), it was possible to characterize carbonate lithofacies, that are the predominant, as well as mixed and siliciclastic lithofacies. It was also possible to individualize shallowing upward cycles and cycle sets, which were associated with the identified systems tracts. In the seismic stratigraphic analysis, in the same way, four seismic facies were visualized, which, in general, are related to the tractive processes involved in the deposition of the carbonate, mixed and siliciclastic lithofacies, defined in the 1D analysis. The integration of the results from the well data analysis to the seismic stratigraphic analysis allowed to understand that the studied interval, which coincides, in lithostratigraphic terms, with the Ponta do Mel Formation, represents a complete depositional sequence, here referred to as the Albian-Cenomanian Sequence, formed by the Lowstand Systems Tract (LST), Transgressive Systems Tract (TST), and Highstand Systems Tract (HST). The sedimentation history of the Ponta do Mel unit started from the deposition of siliciclastic and carbonate facies in a shallow water platform environment. Then, with the increase in the accommodation space, in a transgressive phase, a thick interval of deeper water facies, represented mainly by calcilutites and pelitic rocks, was deposited. At the end of this interval, facies of coarser granulation, represented mainly by thick calcarenites layers, and sometimes calcirrudites, started to dominate the platform scenario, denoting a regressive phase and thus ending the Albian-Cenomanian Sequence. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"The analysis of hydrocarbons in terms of individual compounds is relevant to understand the origin and source of these substances, as well as its distribution in environmental compartments, including sediments and biota. Hydrocarbons concentrations were determined in sediments and in whole-body soft tissues of the tropical clam Anomalocardia flexuosa in sediment toxicity testing using samples of Mucuripe bay (Ceará State, NE Brazil) collected in 2011 during dredging events [1]. Data of target compounds included aliphatic (AHs) and aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs). AHs compounds were determined on gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID), while PAHs and LABs were determined on gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC/MS) in a selected ion mode (SIM). The potential of this dataset is baseline information on hydrocarbons contamination in sediments from a semi-arid region and the bioaccumulation of organic contaminants in marine organisms that can be used as models in ecotoxicological studies. © 2020 The Authors"
"The effects of the global climate change on oceans and coastal areas are manifested in many ways. In coastal environments, the climate change influence on coastal ecosystems is particularly worrisome, affecting their configuration and restricting the ecosystem services they produce and their benefits to nature and society. This possible loss of ecosystem services translates well the significance of the “environmental risk” that climate change can cause. An assessment of the environmental risk generated by climate threats in coastal ecosystems was carried out through a South American case study developed on the Southern coast of Brazil – Estuary of Patos Lagoon. The study involved the implementation of a model that estimates the risk of losing ecosystem services used by different stakeholder groups as a function of (1) the climate threat, (2) the value of the service defined by the stakeholder perception, and (3) the vulnerability of each group in relation to a possible service loss. Based on information generated by scenarios predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and from a significant database collected from interviews of several service users, the model was able to generate levels of risks for different conditions. The calculated risk values, standardized to values between zero and one, allow numerous possibilities of evaluation for ecosystems, user groups and climate variability indicators. Moreover, the model appears as a tool capable of generating comparative risk levels and can help to establish environmental management policies related to the climatic effects and the necessary adaptations. © 2017 Elsevier B.V."
"Brazil has a transport system with little presence of intermodality and use of Short-Sea Shipping. Nevertheless, these are goals for Brazilian waterborne transportation matrix, which is expected to exceed 13% going to 25% in 2025. Currently, Brazilian transportation matrix isn't balanced surpassing that of other countries in the use of the highway, where approximately 63% of the total cargo is transported. The aim of this paper is to make a diagnosis on the investigative potential use and improvement of Short-Sea Shipping in Brazil. To base this effect, we present a new concept of ""fast coastal terminals"", its conceptual model and potential gains in an intermodal transportation network. © 2012 Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK."
"Most subsurface rock models consider salt bodies as homogenous masses and set to evaporite minerals constant values of elastic properties such as density, compressional and shear velocities, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio. Lithological analyzes of outcrops and wells indicate that evaporites present large vertical and lateral heterogeneities. Recent studies have demonstrated that the knowledge of the elastic properties of rock salt can substantially benefit velocity modeling, seismic imaging, reservoir geomechanical analysis, prediction of wellbore stability and calculation of optimum fluid weight. However, few papers document the spatial estimation of elastic properties for salt formations. We propose an approach to characterize the internal structures of the salt bodies in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, using well and 3D seismic data. It starts with a rock-physics analysis at well-log scale, which reveals that the elastic properties of rock salt are highly correlated. Once the relationships of the elastic properties are established, we explore the functionality of the empirical equations as property predictors. We demonstrate that the elastic properties can be empirically estimated from compressional velocity. The comparison between the estimated and the measured well logs validates the estimation. Then, we perform the seismic inversion to generate the spatial distribution of the acoustic impedance. We derive compressional and shear velocities, density, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio volumes by applying the empirical equations to the acoustic impedance volume. The blind well points out that, through this workflow, the seismic data can successfully predict the elastic properties of the salt formation in undrilled portions. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"Objective/Scope: Applicability of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes is gaining interest among offshore operators in recent years. CO2/miscible gas injection and Water Alternating Gas injection (WAG) are the most attractive EOR methods being considered by most offshore operators. Due to limitations imposed by the surface facility, any process optimization done through standalone reservoir simulation could be unreliable as the facility constraints and its effects are neglected. In order to minimize risk and reduce uncertainty, successful modelling and optimization of such projects requires integration of subsurface modelling with surface facility model. In this work, field development and optimization of a complex offshore production system, from a Pre-Salt carbonate reservoir offshore of Brazil is studied. Different field development scenarios, including water flooding, miscible gas injection, and WAG injection, are considered. Compositional fluid model is used in order to correctly model the fluid mixing effects and miscibility. Pressure change and thermal effects are considered in all the facility equipment. The complexities of the surface network, including gas sweetening, compression, and fluid blending are included in the integrated model. A new multi-user, multi-disciplinary Integrated Production System Modelling (IPSM) tool is used to fully-implicitly couple reservoir simulation with surface facility model. Production from the offshore asset is optimized for different development scenarios. The provided IPSM approach optimized operational schemes that were consistent with the constraints of the offshore facility. Additionally, with this new approach, all users from different disciplines were able to collaborate seamlessly, and any possible inconsistencies and discontinuities that could occur due to use of multiple decision making tools were removed. The use of integrated production systems modelling for optimizing EOR schemes in offshore assets, particularly miscible WAG, is proved to provide more robust answers. The complexities and Uncertainties of such processes, for both reservoir and facility models, are successfully studied. © 2020, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Antifouling biocides, such as irgarol and diuron, are commonly used in antifouling paints. Recently, studies carried out in a Brazilian region of ecological concern have warned for extremely high levels of these biocides. So, this work focused on a 4-year (2015–2018) evaluation considering the occurrence, environmental fate, seasonal variations and ecological risk assessment of irgarol and diuron in water and sediment from São Marcos Bay, Brazil, which is an area of international relevance located in the Amazon region. The results showed the ubiquitous presence of antifouling biocides, as well as their wide distribution along the bay. The concentration range of irgarol was between &lt;0.8 and 89.4 ng L?1 in water and between &lt;0.5 and 9.2 ng g?1dw in sediments, whereas diuron showed a range between &lt;1.4 and 22.0 ng L?1 in water and between &lt;2.0 and 15.0 ng g?1dw in sediments. The distribution of the biocides was mainly related to the intense Bay hydrodynamics. The environmental risk assessment showed that irgarol and diuron posed “high risk” to the aquatic biota of São Marcos Bay, exceeding international Environmental Quality Guidelines. The results represent a robust study on the environmental fate of such biocides and intend to be a useful data source for eventual legislation since regulation concerning antifouling substances is necessary for Brazil. © 2020 Elsevier B.V."
"High concentrations of total arsenic (As), even above the Brazilian legislative threshold for marine sediments of 70 mg kg?1, were found in beach sands and near-shore surface sediments. Two mechanisms (anthropogenic activities and sedimentary processes in the coastal waters) are responsible for this contamination. The anthropogenic impact includes releases from metallurgical plants, phosphate fertilizer plants and gold and iron mining. In the coastal area sedimentary processes redistributed the As from the sediment into the porous structure of calcareous marine algae. These enriched calcareous algae are transported over time to the beach by wave action. As in the Brazilian coastal environment, increased As levels were also observed in other coastal environments of South America such as Rio Loa (Chile), Barbacoas Bay (Colombia) and the Southern Pampa region (Argentina). Finally, arsenic levels in fish from Brazilian coastal waters and North Sea, which is also an As-contaminated area, were compared. In both areas, short term health effects from fish consumption are not expected, but a lifetime cancer risk cannot be excluded. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"A better understanding of the sources – continental or marine – and distribution of organic matter (OM) in shelf sediments of areas under distinct natural and anthropogenic forces is essential to obtain a global view of the carbon cycle. In this study, we evaluated the influence of river discharge on the OM accumulation pattern in a portion of the NE Brazilian continental margin (10–15°S) by considering a suite of lipid biomarkers (sterols, n-alcohols, phytol and taraxerol) in surface sediments. A total of 36 samples were collected adjacent to river mouths representing drainage basins of varying size and representing different human intervention levels, namely the São Francisco, Vaza Barris, Sergipe and Piauí-Real rivers. The average concentration of the total quantified lipids was 3.77 ± 1.93 µg g?1, with the lowest values detected at the São Francisco River pro-delta. This result seems to reflect the reductions in the São Francisco river flow during the last decades caused by human interventions (diverse water use and urbanization, among others) and climate change (reduced precipitation) along its drainage basin, which seems to affect other smaller basins to a lesser extent. Our findings highlight that human interventions and climate change are relevant drivers for biogeochemical processes even in shelves receiving the flow from small to medium rivers in Brazil, which agree with other records worldwide. Finally, we hope the data presented herein contribute to the development of a management system based on a watershed-coastal ocean scaling and socio-environmental perspective for the Sergipe and Alagoas shelf. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"The ultimate effect that ocean acidification (OA) and warming will have on the physiology of calcifying algae is still largely uncertain. Responses depend on the complex interactions between seawater chemistry, global/local stressors and species-specific physiologies. There is a significant gap regarding the effect that metabolic interactions between coexisting species may have on local seawater chemistry and the concurrent effect of OA. Here, we manipulated CO2 and temperature to evaluate the physiological responses of two common photoautotrophs from shallow tropical marine coastal ecosystems in Brazil: the calcifying alga Halimeda cuneata, and the seagrass Halodule wrightii. We tested whether or not seagrass presence can influence the calcification rate of a widespread and abundant species of Halimeda under OA and warming. Our results demonstrate that under elevated CO2, the high photosynthetic rates of H. wrightii contribute to raise H. cuneata calcification more than two-fold and thus we suggest that H. cuneata populations coexisting with H. wrightii may have a higher resilience to OA conditions. This conclusion supports the more general hypothesis that, in coastal and shallow reef environments, the metabolic interactions between calcifying and non-calcifying organisms are instrumental in providing refuge against OA effects and increasing the resilience of the more OA-susceptible species. © 2019, The Author(s)."
"The Piúma lineament, located in the Southern Espírito Santo State, Brazil, is one of the most prominent linear morphostructural features of the northern Mantiqueira Province. The lineament stands out in satellite images and topographic maps, extending for about 70 km in a N50°W direction, between the towns of Iconha and Conceição do Castelo (Espírito Santo). In order to investigate the nature and role played by the Piúma lineament in the tectonic evolution of the Mantiqueira Province and adjacent Campos Basin, we carried out a detailed structural analysis based on fieldwork, as well as geophysical data processing and interpretation. The results we obtained indicate that the Piúma lineament is a brittle shear zone characterized by N50W-trending and SW-dipping shear fractures, faults and joints. These structures record two distinct and incompatible motions, thereby recording the operation of two tectonic regimes: NNE-SSW extension and E-W transtension. Comparing our results with the literature on the Southeastern Brazilian Continental Margin, we conclude that the Piúma lineament more likely developed after the Ediacaran Brasiliano orogenic event in response to an NNE-SSW extension, experiencing later a reactivation as normal dextral to dextral transtensional zone, probably in connection with the South Atlantic rifting in the Lower Cretaceous."
"Atlanta is a post-salt oil field located offshore Brazil in the Santos Basin, 150 km southeast of Rio de Janeiro. The combination of ultra-deep water (1550m), heavy and viscous oil (14 API), unconsolidated sandstones, low overburden (800m), faulted reservoir rock, etc., composes a unique and challenging scenario for which the remarkable solutions applied have been already detailed (Marsili et al. 2015; Pedroso et al. 2017; Monteiro et al. 2015; Pedroso et al. 2015; Rausis et al. 2015; Pedroso et al. 2015). The Atlanta field project was planned to be developed in two phases: the Early Production System (EPS) with three production wells, and the Definitive Production System (DPS) with up to nine wells. No injection wells have been planned. In 2013 and 2014 the first two wells, here called ATL-2 and ATL-3 (ATL-1 was a pilot well), were successfully drilled, completed, and tested as described in the above references. In May 2018, they started production. After almost one year and 5,000,000 bbl of produced oil, the third EPS well was constructed. The lessons learned in each phase of the well construction - drilling, lower completion, and upper completion - were applied in the third well, repeating the good operational performance. An analysis of this comparative performance is presented. Technology improvements were implemented, such as the use of autonomous inflow control devices (AICD), the use of micro-tortuosity logging to better position the electrical submersible pump (ESP), the use of an annulus diverter valve (ADV) to avoid the pressure drop across the ESP in case of failure, etc. The result was a well constructed ahead the planned time with a Productivity Index (PI) that exceeded expectations. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Many sedimentary basins host thick evaporite (salt) deposits. Some of these basins also host extensive igneous intrusion networks. It thus seems inevitable that, in some locations, magma will interact with salt. Yet how interaction between these materials may influence salt tectonics or magma emplacement, particularly at the basin-scale, remains poorly understood. We use 3D seismic reflection data from the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil to image 38 igneous intrusions spatially related to thick Aptian salt. Based on identified seismic–stratigraphic relationships, we suggest sill emplacement likely occurred during the late Albian-to-Santonian. We show intra-salt sills are geometrically similar to but laterally offset from supra-salt sills. We suggest ascending magma was arrested by the salt in some areas, but not others, perhaps due to differences in evaporite lithology. Our mapping also reveals most sills occur within and above the presalt Merluza Graben, an area characterized by Albian-to-Neogene, salt-detached extension. In adjacent areas, where there are few intrusions, salt deformation was driven by post-Santonian diapir rise. We suggest emplacement of hot magma within evaporites above the Merluza Graben enhanced Albian-to-Santonian salt movement, but that crystallization of the intrusion network restricted post-Santonian diapirism. Our work indicates salt–magma interaction can influence salt tectonics, as well as the distribution of magma plumbing systems, and thus could impact basin evolution. © 2021 The Authors. Basin Research published by International Association of Sedimentologists and European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers and John Wiley & Sons Ltd."
"While environmental drivers regulate the structure of mangrove microbial communities, their exact nature and the extent of their influence require further elucidation. By means of 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing, we determined the microbial taxonomic profiles of mangroves in the subtropical Paranaguá Bay, Brazil, considering as potential drivers: salinity, as represented by two sectors in the extremes of a salinity gradient (30 PSU); proximity to/absence of the prevailing plants, Avicennia schaueriana, Laguncularia racemosa, Rhizophora mangle, and Spartina alterniflora; and the chemical composition of the sediments. Salinity levels within the estuary had the strongest influence on microbial structure, and pH was important to separate two communities within the high salinity environment. About one fourth of the total variation in community structure resulted from covariation of salinity and the overall chemical composition, which might indicate that the chemical profile was also related to salinity. The most prevalent bacterial phyla associated with the mangrove soils analyzed included Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, and Cyanobacteria. Taxonomic and functional comparisons of our results for whole-genome sequencing with available data from other biomes showed that the studied microbiomes cluster first according to biome type, then to matrix type and salinity status. Metabolic functions were more conserved than organisms within mangroves and across all biomes, indicating that core functions are preserved in any of the given conditions regardless of the specific organisms harboring them. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"Old photos showing rocks with barnacles and oysters lines were compared with recent photos in 18 areas of 5 Brazilian states (Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, and Santa Catarina). They suggest that the sea level in the region has been stable since 1864, at least. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, photos of the same rocks were taken, considering the original distance and angle, to compare to the old ones, made between the years 1864 and 1950. The calculations were made comparing the lethal line (LL) produced by the crustacean Balanus and the mollusks Crassostrea brasiliana and Crassostrea rhizophorae. The results show identical situation in 13 research areas, from 18 in total. In 5 areas it was not possible to compare due to the lower quality data. If the sea level is going up, the upper lines created by the barnacles and oysters should be higher in the 18 areas, because those creatures respond fast, they can repopulate the rock surface in four months, only. Nevertheless, visible changes in the lethal lines were not seen during the last 165 years. The conclusion suggests two possibilities: the first one is that the sea is at a level similar to the one in 1864, it made no change; the second one is that the regional crust is lifting up quick in the same rate of a supposed sea level change. However, it goes against the geological models because the region is situated on a stable tectonic area. © 2020, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"The Itajaí-Açu estuarine region is one of the most important estuarine systems of south Brazil, due to the location of the Itajaí Harbor, which is the major route of international trading of the state and the largest national fishing pole landing. In addition, industries as well as urban and tourism activities are potential sources of pollution in this area. In the present study, sediment samples from 12 stations along the estuarine system were collected and extracted followed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis. Eight sterols were identified and quantified, indicating natural and anthropogenic sources. Coprostanol concentrations ranged from &lt;4 up to 8930ngg-1 of dry weight sediment with higher values being observed in the area next to the Itajaí Harbor and under influence of Itajaí-Mirim River flow, which receives wastewater from several cities. Concentrations and selected sterol ratios were useful tools used to distinguish anthropogenic and biogenic organic matter (OM) sources in the studied area, where coprostanol concentrations higher than 500ngg-1 were observed in 42% of the stations analyzed, indicating strong sewage contamination. Factor analysis with principal component analysis (FA/PCA) has distinguished two different groups of samples, with high and low total sterol concentrations. FA/PCA results revealed that the stations located in the estuary were separated by PC1 because they are clearly contaminated by sewage, also pointed by coprostanol/(coprostanol+cholestanol) and coprostanol/cholesterol ratios and by the higher concentrations of fecal sterols. © 2015 Elsevier B.V."
"Climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events with potential effects in coastal and estuarine ecosystems. During drought periods, higher salinity and temperature can directly impact estuarine benthic assemblages through physiological stress and alteration of sedimentary habitats, but these effects are poorly evaluated to date. Here we report a 14-month monitoring of benthic assemblages in a tropical estuary in the Eastern Brazil Marine Ecoregion during the severe drought period of 2015/2016. The drought in Eastern Brazil resulted in a decrease of estuarine mean sediment particle size and concurrent changes in macrofaunal benthic assemblages during the driest months. We also observed a 3-fold reduction on macrofaunal abundance with dominance of surface-dwelling Magelonid, Sternaspid, Capitellid and Oligochaeta annelids. The changes in macrofaunal structure during the severe drought also decreased the community bioturbation potential (BPc) by 5-fold, if compared to pre-drought periods. We argue that the projected increases in the frequency and severity of climatic events, such as observed during severe droughts worldwide, will greatly change the benthic fauna and their ecological functions in tropical estuarine ecosystems. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"This study focuses on modeling water quality in mangroves areas including the effects of wetting and drying processes on the biogeochemistry of the mangrove. To achieve it, we use a shallow water hydrodynamics model capable ofpredicting both water quality and wetting and drying, which uses a rough-porous layer approach based on the water level. To evaluate the capabilities of the model, we consider an estuary region in Brazil to evaluate the model’s capabilities. The simulations carried out show the hydrodynamic behaviors and effects related to the water quality parameters in a complex tidal system comprised of extensive mangrove flats. © 2020, The Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering."
"Petrobras is assessing the potential of the Santos basin presalt reservoirs offshore Brazil. Three integrated ultrafast-track projects were planned to start production of the giant presalt reservoirs in an area known as Tupi. The objective of the three projects is to obtain relevant reservoir and production data to support the design phase of the remaining production units of the full-field development. The main technical challenges addressed include drilling complex wells, use of intelligent completions, qualifying ultradeepwater risers, establishing flow assurance through long subsea flowlines, and CO 2 capture and sequestration."
"The Jandaíra Formation, a Turonian-Campanian carbonate platform in the Potiguar Basin, northeastern Brazil is the largest exposure of Phanerozoic carbonates in Brazil and presents well developed epigenic karst features, mostly of Quaternary age. In this work we used an integrated multidisciplinary approach in outcrops and core samples, which we combined Quickbird satellite imagery analysis, structural and sedimentary-facies mapping, and petrographic and petrophysical analyses. The studied area, in terms of facies, presents herein a variety, which includes mudstones to bioclastic, peloidal, intraclastic, and oolitic grainstones. Our results indicate that the main dissolution process occurred along N-S, NE-, and E-W-trending faults, which provided vertical leaching pathways of increased secondary porosity and permeability. In addition, dissolution mostly affected the dolomitized sedimentary facies in the form of vugular, moldic, interparticular, and intercrystalline porosity. Dissolution led to mechanical breakdown and collapse of carbonate blocks, which resulted in the infilling of clastic sediments and formation of collapse breccia in caves. It increased permeability in carbonate rocks from primary values of 0.0-0.94 mD to as much as 1370.11 mD. With the results obtained we conclude that karstified faults and fractures and preferential sedimentary facies form the karst system of the Jandaíra Formation, which makes the karst geometry predictable. We suggest that similar karst patterns may occur in paleokarst and fractured carbonate reservoirs in the Brazilian offshore continental margin. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The mechanism by which seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) are formed is a topic of debate. Two contrasting models exist for their formation, the volcanic-faulting model and the volcanic-loading model. Each of these models has important implications for the processes which control the structure and formation of magma-rich rifted continental margins. We have examined high-quality deep-seismic reflection data across the Pelotas Basin, offshore Brazil. These data reveal a remarkable set of SDRs, for which we have investigated the likely nature of their formation. The total package of SDRs has an across-strike width of ~200 km and a variable vertical thickness of ~10–17 km, previously interpreted as volcanic flows. Detailed observations, however, show changes in seismic character and geometry within the SDR package, which suggest a complex and varied evolution. We have used gravity anomaly inversion and seismic observations together to investigate the likely composition of the SDRs by determining the proportion of basaltic material to sedimentary/volcaniclastic material (basalt fraction) within the SDRs. This has been achieved by minimising the difference between the depth of the gravity Moho and seismic Moho in order to quantify the lateral variation in basalt fraction, taken to be proportional to the bulk density of the package. The density of the SDR package together with seismic interpretation is then used to infer the composition, depositional environment, source and time of formation relative to breakup. Our analysis suggests that the overall SDR basalt fraction and bulk density decrease oceanwards, possibly due a change in the type of volcanic deposits from predominantly subaerial to volcaniclastics, possibly deposited subaqueously. The SDRs can be split into three sub-packages. The two inner SDR packages are interpreted to consist of lava flows sourced from syn-tectonic, subaerial eruptions, associated with the onshore Paraná Large Igneous Province, flowing eastwards into an extensional basin. The outer SDR package shows reflector geometries that progressively offlap oceanwards, interpreted as extrusives sourced from an eastwards-migrating, newly formed ocean ridge. Our analysis suggests that both the volcanic-faulting and volcanic-loading models for SDR formation are applicable to the Pelotas rifted margin, recording distinct syn-rift and syn-breakup magmatic events. We show that both SDR formation models can be recognised in a naturally occurring example and can coexist on the same margin. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"This study analyzes the geographical distribution of 131 podocopid ostracod species recovered from the Brazilian continental shelf between Cabo de São Roque (lat. 05°30’S) and Cabo Frio (lat. 23oS). This very large area corresponds to the northeastern and eastern Brazilian marine regions. The 104 samples studied were collected in water depths ranging from 12 to 110 m as part of the legs 4 and 7 of the REMAC Project. The cosmopolitan species, as well as those shared with the Caribbean and/or Gulf of Mexico region, represent a small part of the ostracods herein studied and it is assumed that their dispersion was prompted by processes linked to events of relative sea level changes during the Neogene and Quaternary. The fossil record of some species spans to the Neogene, mostly from the Atlantic coast of North and Central America, while one species has Tethyan origin. Three species known from the Neogene of the Caribbean have been recorded as relicts in the study area. From the 131 species herein identified, 36.5% are more widespread in temperate waters south of Cabo Frio town, 46.5% of warm waters north of Cabo Frio town, 4% are present only in the studied area, and 11.5% are rare and probably restricted to the E region. A new province – the Brazilian Province – is herein proposed based on the species occurrence. © 2020, Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia. All rights reserved."
"The dynamic of gravity-driven turbidity currents is strongly influenced by the morphology of the seafloor, formed by topographic highs and lows on the margin along the depositional profile. This paper focuses on the methodology and the main results of a study on the palaeotopographic controls in a turbidite succession, with an application in an oilfield of the Brazilian offshore Campos Basin. This basin is located in the Brazilian passive margin, on which tectonics is partly controlled by halokinesis; the selected reservoirs are confined Turonian to Campanian siliciclastic turbidite systems. Six seismic-lithologic horizons of regional extension were mapped, from the Aptian salt to the Miocene as well as related faults. Four main reservoir-scale units were identified, stratigraphically comprised between two of the regional horizons, and their related surfaces were mapped. The complete ensemble of horizons and faults was used to build a multi-2D geological model. Individual surface restorations performed in every horizon allowed the structural coherence and the unfolding-unfaulting quality to be evaluated. Multi-surface restorations were then carried out in order to determine the related horizon palaeotopography of each reference depositional time. The results of the geological modeling and of the structural restorations indicate that the halokinesis-related listric faults regulated the distribution of the basal reservoirs. Additionally, at the top of the Albian carbonates, a canyon was identified, which, in association with the tectonic structures form the palaeotopographic constraints for the upper reservoir geometry. This work sheds light on the importance of structural restoration in understanding the tectonic-sedimentation interactions and the palaeotopography to the distribution of the studied turbidite reservoirs. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd."
"The performance of the coupled ocean-atmosphere component of the Brazilian Earth System Model version 2.5 (BESM-OA2.5) was evaluated in simulating the historical period 1850-2005. After a climate model validation procedure in which the main atmospheric and oceanic variabilities were evaluated against observed and reanalysis datasets, the evaluation specifically focused on the mean climate state and the most important large-scale climate variability patterns simulated in the historical run, which was forced by the observed greenhouse gas concentration. The most significant upgrades in the model's components are also briefly presented here. BESM-OA2.5 could reproduce the most important large-scale variabilities, particularly over the Atlantic Ocean (e.g., the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Atlantic Meridional Mode, and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation), and the extratropical modes that occur in both hemispheres. The model's ability to simulate such large-scale variabilities supports its usefulness for seasonal climate prediction and in climate change studies. © Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License."
"The Shell operated BC-10 field located in deepwater, 1650-1920m (5500 -6400 ), offshore Brazil produces heavy oil in the range of API 16-24. Due to the low reservoir energy and deep water environment, 100% of BC-10 production has artificial lift. Mudline caisson separators with ESPs (Electrical Submersible Pumps) are used to process fluids from multiple wells and boost them to the receiving FPSO. These caissons are 80-100m (260 -330 ) deep and each houses a 1600HP pump. The 4 distinct fields are located approximately 8-14km from the producing FPSO and there are significant flow assurance challenges in operating the asset. Over the past 5 years, production optimizations have been trialed and implemented some successful, some not. In this paper several examples will be given of production optimization which has resulted in increased throughput of the system without mechanical modifications, reduced OPEX on chemicals and taken advantage of natural changes in fluid properties as the field has aged. The optimizations included; caisson foam management to enhance flowline lift, subsea demulsifier injection for viscosity reduction and alterations to gas-liquid subsea separation to achieve high and low GOR operation. Through these optimizations, it is estimated that 2MM bbl additional volumes were produced in 2013-2014 together with a $4MM US/year reduction in chemical usage. The enabling factors for these optimizations will be examined in relation to system design and surveillance. Copyright 2015, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The fragmented and sectoral character of conservation as well as development policies has exacerbated the problems faced by small-scale fishers in developing countries. In Ilha Grande Bay (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), traditional small-scale fishers (“Caiçaras”) has struggled to respond to the contemporary challenges of overfishing and territory loss, which emerged, in part, as consequence of biodiversity conservation and development policies implemented over the last fifty years. In this paper, we aim to explore a sustainable territorial development approach to improve quality of life of fishing communities while conserving the land and seascape that they explore. We first look at the past phases of the development trajectory of Ilha Grande Bay in order to plan for the future. Data collection involved analysis of documentary sources, direct observation in decision-making arenas, and semi-structured interviews. We analyzed four periods from the development trajectory, focusing on small-scale fishing. Our findings show that the set of policies reviewed has strengthened the connections between biodiversity loss and poverty over the years. The viability of STD strategies depends on the recognition of the complexity of interactions among fisheries, environmental protection and tourism, and on the need to create a supply chain that adds value to fishery products which sustain livelihoods and has low environmental impact. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"With the expansion of oil exploration in deep waters, assessing the risks associated with offloading operations becomes essential in preventing accidents that may cause huge environmental disasters. In this paper, the system that composed of a turret-moored floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) connected to a conventional shuttle tanker, which is assisted by a tug boat to maintain its position during an offloading operation, will be studied. Using environmental data collected over a period of 6 years, from 2004 to 2009, from the Campos Basin in Brazil, the equilibrium positions of the system were calculated, considering its constraints (operational criteria defined by Petrobras) and verifying the stability of those equilibrium points. The hydrodynamic and aerodynamic static forces were calculated using models validated in the literature. Dynamic effects and oscillations are taken into account by adding safety margins to the operational sectors. With this analysis, we calculated the FPSO heading probabilities during an offloading operation and the expected downtime of operation in Campos Basin. We concluded that the downtime of the offloading operation with a conventional shuttle tanker is close to that with a dynamic positioned (DP) shuttle tanker (10% downtime). Furthermore, the results from the stability analysis were used to generate a simplified set of rules to classify the environmental conditions into four classes of operational risk by applying an unbiased decision tree. This method obtains practical rules based on measurements of wind, wave, and current, allowing the operator to quickly evaluate the risk level before starting the operation. Copyright © 2019 by ASME. All rights reserved."
"In Brazil, environmental laws define oil containment and collection as a primary strategy to oil spills originated by exploitation and production enterprises that reaches water bodies. Thus, it is foreseen a continuous equipment increase over the time, in a scaled response, always in accordance to accidental scenarios forecasted in the enterprise risk assessment. This way, minor spills, with higher probability to occur, require smaller resources, however made available in a smaller rage of time, whereas larger and less frequent spills must be attended to with strongest resources, in a larger period of time. At Brazilian maritime zones with higher exploitation and production activities the use of larger vessels, aiming to solve the worst cases, was prioritizred. Such vessels are also used to respond the small and medium discharges, which could be solved by less robust vessels. The use of smaller and fastest vessels and simpler equipment to be operated allows the fleet's rationalization and a quicker and more effective response to more frequent situations. This changing also fosters economic profits (by reducing the figures and the fees paid by vessels chartering) and environmental benefits (by reducing emissions and the fuel consumption). In order to represent this situation, this paper compares the compliance with requirements from regulatory agency using an exclusive fleet of traditional boats and a fleet of traditional boats and fast response. A case study will be presented, considering a high activity oilfield on Brazilian coast. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The paper details a modeling project to understand the uplift associated with a multicomponent towed streamer acquisition and processing workflow in the Espirito Santo basin offshore Brazil. A complex model was built representing many of the common geological features in the Espirito Santo basin including allochthonous salt bodies, post-salt anticlinal generated fractures, volcanic intrusions, and shallow meandering channels. Synthetic seismic data was generated for a number of geometries, both single and multicomponent, including a very densely sampled control measurement. The synthetic measurements were reconstructed/interpolated to a 12.5-m crossline surface receiver sampling interval. The various datasets were compared both pre- and post-migration. The results suggest that the multicomponent measurement in conjunction with multicomponent reconstruction better samples the complex waveforms. © 2014 SEG."
"Aquaculture production is continuously growing worldwide, and marine fish farming in Brazil is still in its infancy. Intensive farming conditions may cause physiological stress to the cultured organism, which can be evaluated by citogenotoxic biomarkers. The aim of this study was to assess the genotoxic effect of the rearing conditions in red blood cells of juvenile cobia Rachycentron canadum by using comet assay and micronucleus and other nuclear abnormalities assay. Juvenile cobia were reared for 13 weeks in indoor tank with open water circulation and in near shore cage. The comet assay and the nuclear abnormalities assay detected higher DNA damage and higher nuclear abnormalities frequency in erythrocytes of fish reared in the indoor tank. Results showed that two methods are complementary. Additionally, cobia were injected with ß-naphthoflavone (BNF) at concentrations of 2mgkg-1 and 10mgkg-1 in laboratory controlled conditions, and maintained for 7 days in separate tanks to better understand the response mechanisms of this species to a toxic substance. The comet assay did not detect any significant differences between BNF injected and control fish, whereas nuclear abnormalities assay showed significant differences between BNF injected and the control groups. The damages identified by the comet assay are repairable breaks in the DNA strands, whereas nuclear abnormalities may be permanent. Possibly the period of maintenance after injection was enough to clean BNF from the organisms and to repair the breaks in the DNA strands. As cobia seems to respond very well to genotoxic elements, comet assay and nuclear abnormalities assay would be useful tools to monitor farming conditions. © 2018, Universidade de Sao Paulo. All rights reserved."
"Based on the palynological record of core REG 972, this work aimed to reconstruct the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental history from 66.5 to 47 kyr BP at the south Brazilian continental margin, as well as to identify the influence of continental discharge in the southern portion of the Rio Grande Cone. Nineteen samples were processed following the standard methodology for palynological studies. Organic matter (OM) content was measured in the sediments. The age model was established according to 18O isotopes analyses in benthic foraminiferal tests. The studied interval corresponds to a glacial interval, divided in palynozones (PZs): PZIa (66.5-64.5 kyr), PZIb (64.5-53.5 kyr), and PZII (53.5-47 kyr). PZIa was characterized by drier conditions, with grassland and salt marsh taxa dominance (Cyperaceae and Amaranthaceae). During PZIb and PZII, the increase of Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Araucaria angustifolia, Arecaceae, and Alchornea triplinervia points to wetter and warmer conditions that may be related to the beginning of marine isotope stage 3 and later to the sea-level rise. In the oceanic environment, the presence of freshwater algae and marine indicators lead to the conclusion that marine conditions prevailed during Rio Grande Cone sedimentary formation, even under low sea-level conditions when terrigenous influence was stronger. The data on OM content, dinoflagellate taxa, and mean sea level changes point to a period of low productivity during PZI. In PZII, a period of higher productivity took place because of Subantarctic Shelf Water influence, bringing cold and nutrient-rich waters to the area. ©"
"The present study deals with bioavailability of trace metals in the Doce river continental shelf, southeast of Brazil. The bottom sediments of the study area were firstly sampled a few weeks before the biggest environmental disaster of Brazil, the collapse of the Fundão dam in November of 2015. The disaster released around 40 Mm3 of iron ore tailings into Doce river basin and an estimate of 10 Mm3 reached the river delta, having the adjacent continental shelf as the final destination. One year and a half later, on April of 2017, the continental shelf was sampled again. A total of 48 stations were evaluated concerning concentrations of trace metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr) and other ancillary variables before and after the accident. Trace metals were determined through fractionation in order to assess mobility and establish the ecological risk through RAC index. Before the accident, trace metals mobility was Pb &gt; Ni &gt; Cu &gt; Zn &gt; Cr, with Pb Cu, Ni and posing high ecological risk (RAC&gt;30%) in many stations. Differences in concentrations of metal from pre to post accident were significant, and the increase of trace metals was observed. The mobility order after the accident changed to: Cu &gt; Pb &gt; Ni &gt; Zn &gt; Cr. Metal fractionation showed remarkable changes after the accident, with elements such as Cu, Ni and Zn highly associated with reducible fractions originated from the tailings composition. Despite the decrease of RAC to medium risk after the accident in most stations, the bioavilability of Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn increased as show by their higher accumulation in the bioavailable fractions. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"In passive continental margins, the brittle reactivation of shear zones and their role in the deformation and deposition of sedimentary basins are still a matter of debate. In this research, we investigated the role of the brittle reactivation of Precambrian shear zones in the nucleation of rift and postrift faults in the onshore portion of the Sergipe-Alagoas and Pernambuco basins in northeastern Brazil. We combine and interpret a dataset of aeromagnetic and topographic data, associated with reflection seismic and borehole data, to analyze the evolution of a portion of the Atlantic continental margin of Brazil. Our results indicate that in the crystalline basement, the magnetic lineaments are correlated with ductile structures as shear zones, and the continuity of these lineaments in the Sergipe-Alagoas and Pernambuco basins is interpreted as the shear zones below the sedimentary cover of these basins. We document the following phases of the brittle reactivation of basement shear zones: (1) the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean in the Early Cretaceous under an extensional stress regime and (2) tectonic inversion induced by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge push and the Andean Cordillera rise in the Neogene-Quaternary under a predominantly strike-slip stress regime. During the rift phase, the brittle reactivation of the shear zones controlled the locations and architectures of the rifts. These structures acted as zones of weakness and were reactivated as normal faults. The brittle reactivation of shear zones was still active during the postrift phase and was responsible for the development of compressional structures. The reverse faulting and related folding pattern indicate tectonic inversion in the Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic. The structures formed during the postrift phase under a strike-slip regime are consistent with the present-day stress field, indicating that tectonic inversion is an active phase of the Brazilian margin. © 2018 Elsevier B.V."
"The Santa Catarina Plateau is a prominent undersea feature of the Brazilian Southern Margin with approximately 340,000 km2 that interrupts the lower continental slope between depths of 2900 and 3200 m. The plateau’s morphology and basement were unknown until new geophysical data were acquired for the Brazilian Continental Shelf Survey Program (LEPLAC). The multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profile, and mini-airgun data allowed the identification of important morphologic features, such as the Santa Catarina Drift and Pelotas Drift, and the study of their sedimentary processes, especially related to slope instabilities and mass movement. The seismic and gravimetric datase.ts allowed the study of the Torres High, an important structural feature that supports most of the Santa Catarina Plateau. With this new dataset, it was possible to develop different gravimetric models, controlled by the ultra-deep seismic information, to analyze the two competing hypotheses for the nature of Torres High: (1) thickened oceanic crust or (2) continental crust. The crustal and the Moho character below the Torres High, observed in strike- and dip-oriented ultra-deep seismic lines, and the results of the gravimetric model, support the interpretation of its continental nature. Additionally, the analysis of the basement depth and the interpretation of the Bouguer gravity map clearly show the Torres High as a continuous structural feature attached to the South American continent, in a northwest-southeast direction, constituting a continental promontory of the Brazilian land mass and part of the basement of the Santa Catarina Plateau. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"Marine mining is the ocean’s new exploration frontier, and polymetallic crusts (PMCs) and ferromanganese nodules are considered a strategic resource for the future. Acoustic geophysical methods are a valuable tool for oceanic research and have been employed for several decades in the exploration of marine resources and environmental evaluations. The main objective of this work was to investigate the correlation between the chemical composition of PMCs from three different areas along the Brazilian continental margin and their physico-acoustic attributes (P-wave velocity, density and acoustic impedance). The results show that the geoacoustic properties of PMCs are correlated to their chemical composition. Measurements showed positive and negative trends between acoustic impedance and studied elements (Fe, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, W and Ni) according to the direction of measurement, indicting high anisotropy levels. Our study sheds initial light on the correlation between acoustic properties and metal content of PMCs. The study facilitates assessments of the acoustic responses of PMCs allowing more efficient prospection and exploitation compared to ship-board geophysical techniques that are too qualitative to identify PMCs. The results can contribute to determining the best procedures and techniques for more efficient future exploration of this resource. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group."
"As an offshore oil well ages, it is common for the production system to face multiphase flow problems such as limit cycles. This phenomenon, known as slugging in the jargon of the oil industry, causes oscillations in the well's flowrate and pressure. Its main effects are reducing production and increasing the risk of operational discontinuity due to shut down. In this paper, an advanced control process (APC) strategy is presented to deal with the slugging problem in oil wells. The strategy uses a two-layer coupled control structure: a regulatory via a PID control, and a supervisory via a model-based predictive control (MPC). The structure proposed was applied to a real ultra-deepwater well in Petrobras that was partially restricted by the choke valve to avoid the propagation of oscillatory behavior to the production system. As a result, the well has achieved a 10% oil production increase while maintaining the flow free of severe slugging, which meant an increment of about 240 barrels a day for that specific well. © 2019"
"In the early years of the offshore industry, Early Production Systems or EPSs were extensively utilized to develop marginal and/or complex reservoirs in progressively deeper and more remote waters. Their signature attributes were low capital and operating costs, simple designs and accelerated schedules to first oil. Today, Operators are emphasizing capital efficiency, design simplicity, compressed discovery to first oil cycle times and de-risking subsurface uncertainty as deepwater projects compete for capital allocation with onshore shale projects. Discussing history and applications, the authors show, how an EPS can enable an Operator to sanction developments of marginal reservoirs, mid-size reservoirs with expansion capabilities to capture reservoir upsides and phased developments of giant reservoirs. This paper addresses major subsurface uncertainties impacting development decisions and strategies to gather relevant dynamic information to mitigate risk. It provides a brief history of EPSs deployed in the North Sea, Brazil and GoM including a database of EPS platforms based on an extensive literature review. A case history in each region to demonstrate the utility of an EPS to derisk and enable commercial production of marginal, mid-size and large fields. A discussion is presented for EPS platform selection based on the research of platforms deployed in the three major deepwater regions. This discussion will facilitate to develop a roadmap for the Operators and Development Planners with tools to rapidly deselect or retain options in the early development planning stage while there is a high degree of reservoir uncertainty and pressure to compress cycle time to first oil following a discovery. Copyright © 2020, The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers"
"We present the first evidence of Archean oceanic crust submitted to Proterozoic high-pressure (HP) metamorphism in the South American Platform. Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf isotopic data combined with U–Pb geochronological data from the Campo Grande area, Rio Grande do Norte domain, in the Northern Borborema Province, reflect a complex Archean (2.9 ?Ga and 2.6 ?Ga) and Paleoproterozoic (2.0 ?Ga) evolution, culminating in the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano/Pan-African orogeny (ca. 600 Ma). The preserved mafic rocks contain massive poikiloblastic garnet and granoblastic amphibole with variable proportions of plagioclase ?+ ?diopside in symplectitic texture, typical of high-pressure rocks. These clinopyroxene-garnet amphibolites and the more common garnet amphibolites from the Campo Grande area are exposed as rare lenses within an Archean migmatite complex. The amphibolite lenses represent 2.65 ?Ga juvenile tholeiitic magmatism derived from depleted mantle sources (positive ?Hf(t) values of +3.81 to +30.66) later enriched by mantle metasomatism (negative ?Nd(t) values of –7.97). Chondrite and Primitive Mantle-normalized REE of analyzed samples and discriminant diagrams define two different oceanic affinities, with E-MORB and OIB signature. Negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu? ?= ?0.75–0.95) indicate depletion of plagioclase in the source. Inherited zircon cores of 3.0–2.9 ?Ga in analyzed samples indicate that the Neoarchean tholeiitic magmatism was emplaced into 2923 ?± ?14 ?Ma old Mesoarchean crust (?Nd(t) ?= ?–2.58 and Nd TDM ?= ?3.2 ?Ga) of the Rio Grande do Norte domain. The age of retro-eclogite facies metamorphism is not yet completely understood. We suggest that two high-grade metamorphic events are recognized in the mafic rocks: the first at 2.0 ?Ga, recorded in some samples, and the second, at ca. 600 Ma, stronger and more pervasive and recorded in several of the mafic rock samples. The Neoproterozoic zircon grains are found in symplectite texture as inclusions in the garnet grains and represent the age of HP conditions in the area. These zircon grains show a younger cluster of concordant analyses between 623 ?± ?3 ?Ma and 592 ?± ?5 ?Ma with ?Hf(t) values of +0.74 to –65.88. Thus, the Campo Grande rock assemblage is composed of Archean units that were amalgamated to West Gondwana during Neoproterozoic Brasiliano orogeny continent-continent collision and crustal reworking. © 2020 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University"
"This study aims to characterize the physical vulnerability of the western coast of Santa Catarina Island by applying the Smartline methodology. Erosion and flooding processes can endanger the installed human infrastructure in the coastal zone, with the degree of vulnerability of a given site being dependent on its natural characteristics, or even due to changes induced by human action. The methodology applied in this research adopts a multiscale approach and considers, using coastline segmentation, the specificities of the analyzed coastal sectors. Each identified segment receives a classification regarding its physical vulnerability, resulting from the integration of several attributes, which must be selected according to the coastal hazard that one wishes to represent. In the analysis, three distinct levels of physical support and behavior of the coastal processes are considered. The first-order attributes are structural, and their characteristics are broad; the second-order ones are transitional between structural and dynamic and, the third-order attributes are dynamic, with specific characteristics. The methodology was applied on the west coast of Santa Catarina Island, a sector sheltered from oceanic waves, characterizing a low energy environment. Eight descriptors were selected for erosion and coastal flooding, these being: “geology” having two classes, distributed along 12 segments and “geomorphology”, three classes in eight segments, both of which were considered first-order variables. “Average astronomical tide current speed” (five classes in 15 segments), “average backshore height” (four classes in 20 segments), and “degree of exposure to wind waves” (five classes in 28 segments) compose the second order, while “backshore features” (seven classes in 28 segments), “grain size” (five classes in 26 segments) and “beach face slope” (three classes in 30 segments) describe third-order processes. By the integration of first-order attributes an Indicative Map of Vulnerability to Erosion and Flooding was generated, which classified the coast into “very Low”, “low”, “moderate”, and “high” vulnerability classes. As a final result of the analytical process the coastline, first-, second-, and third-order attributes were mathematically integrated by means of spatial analysis techniques, with the studied coastline represented as a segmented line according to the different classes of attributed physical vulnerability, highlighting the sectors with the most propensity to erosion and flooding. This Map of Physical Vulnerability to Erosion and Flood indicated that the west coast of Santa Catarina Island can be divided into sectors of low and moderate vulnerability in similar proportions, with occasional occurrences of high vulnerability in specific sectors. © 2018, Springer Nature B.V."
"In carbonate rock reservoirs, spatial distribution models and elastic properties are complex because of diagenetic processes and mineralogical composition, which together directly interfere with variations in pore shape and interconnectivity. The main objective of this paper is to propose a workflow to aid in three-dimensional quantitative carbonate reservoir characterization of the Quissamã Formation (Macaé Group) in the Pampo field of the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. Model-based seismic inversion, sequential Gaussian simulation with cokriging for porosity modeling, and truncated Gaussian simulation with trend for facies modeling were used to characterize the carbonate reservoirs. Our results show that the carbonate platform is located between the upper Aptian and lower Albian seismic surfaces. Interpretation of a new surface, called the intra-Albian, was possible via acoustic-impedance (AI) analysis. Our workflow facilitated identification of low AI, high porosity, and best facies areas in structural highs where the most productive wells have been drilled. Facies modeling suggests that intercalation of facies with high and low porosities is connected to shallowing-upward cycles. Finally, several debris facies with low AI and high porosities were identified in an area that could be targeted for new exploration. Copyright © 2018. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved."
"After their initial discovery in 2006, followed by an accumulated production of over 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, the presalt carbonate reservoirs of offshore Brazil are now candidates for time-lapse seismic analysis. Therefore, we have conducted a 4D feasibility study in a Brazilian presalt reservoir well, which is composed of two types of carbonate rocks: microbialite and coquina. We evaluated two petroelastic models to obtain the acoustic impedance (AI) and shear impedance (SI) needed to estimate potential time-lapse differences (?AI, ?SI, and ?VP/VS). For this, we used the Gassmann and Xu-Payne models, in which the latter considers the pore geometry of the rock in its equations. Our analysis of both models shows that changes in pressure and saturation are very similar, and we can conclude that, despite being a carbonate, the application of Gassmann's model is sufficient for the 4D feasibility studies conducted in the deemed reservoir because it does not require pore space geometry parameters, as does the Xu-Payne model. The analysis of the time-lapse attributes provided us with a greater comprehension of the 4D scenarios modeled, some of which presented detectability of changes in the microbialite and coquina. © 2020 Society of Exploration Geophysicists and American Association of Petroleum Geologists."
"Source rocks from the Santos basin pre-salt in Brazil, namely the Itapema and Piçarras formations, are characterized based on their total organic carbon content (TOC) with the aid of an acoustic inversion and TOC data from wells. The inverted P-impedance volume is converted into a %TOC volume by applying a formula (empirically derived from well data) that relates P-impedance to TOC. The derived %TOC volume is corrected for compaction in order to compensate for the effect burial has on the P-impedance volume. This %TOC volume aids in the mapping of the source rocks and their extent. It is found that source rocks from within the deeper rift section (where no well data is available) are thicker and that their %TOC increases with depth. A rise in %TOC is indicative of more primary production or better preservation potential (more anoxic conditions) at the time of deposition. Deposition rates for the source rock and subsidence must have been higher in the depocenter of the lower syn-rift in order to account for the thicker source rock deposits. © 81st EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2019. All rights reserved."
"The North Brazil Shelf is a Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) that extends from the Caribbean Sea, in Central America, to the Parnaiba River in Brazil, and includes six countries. The area is dominated by the runoff of large rivers, including the Amazon and Orinoco, and by the intense disturbance of sediment transport, tides and currents. The sea bed is formed mainly by mud in shallow water, and by sand, mud, and gravel in deeper water. In terms of its biological productivity, this LME can be considered oligotrophic, with stratified habitats. The main source of nutrients of the euphotic layer is the local rivers and mangroves. Primary production has been limited by light and rising temperatures in recent years, factors associated with a decrease in marine primary productivity. However, the benthic fauna is very rich and unique, but poorly known. More than 500 fish species have been recorded in this LME. Demersal fish and shrimp are the main fishery resources in coastal and continental shelf waters. Fisheries account for more than 600 million USD a year with a considerable diversity of methods and scales ranging from very small to industrial. Seafood consumption is moderate to high in the local countries. Climate changes, dam building, deforestation, pollution, overfishing, tourism and aquaculture are the main threats to ecosystem productivity and habitat quality. Socioeconomic data are scant for this LME. Development is concentrated near the cities and mouths of rivers. Traditional communities in the coastal areas are culturally diverse, but invariably characterized by very low socioeconomic conditions. The Gross Domestic Product of the local countries ranges from 7,500 USD per capita in Guyana to 32,600 USD per capita in Trinidad and Tobago. Profound problems of governability are common to all six countries, and mean governance indicators reflect poor performances in all cases. The main issues are an absence of effective rule of law, political stability, and control of corruption. Fisheries are characterized by increasing effort and an absence of sustainability. Most of the fishery stocks are either fully or over exploited. This scenario can only be rectified by investments in marine protected areas and scientific research, as well as the increased participation of fishers in the development and implementation of management strategies and regulations. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd"
"The Campos Basin (100,000 km2) is located on the continental shelf of southeastern Brazil. Despite the significant oil and gas industrial activities underway in the Campos Basin, scarce information is available regarding the hydrocarbon contents and microbial communities in the deep-sea sediments. To gain new insights on these aspects, we first obtained deep-sea sediment samples with different degrees of oil exposure. We obtained samples from a seabed fissure (N = 28), surroundings (250 m to 500 m from the fissure; N = 24), and a control area (N = 4). We used shotgun metagenomics to characterize the taxonomic and metabolic diversity and analyzed biogeochemical parameters (metal and oil concentration) of all samples. The high levels of unresolved complex mixture of hydrocarbons in the fissure indicate a potentially recent petrogenic contribution in these sediments. The fissure area was found to have a higher abundance of hydrocarbonoclastic bacterial genera and hydrocarbon degradation genes. These bacteria may be used as biosensors of sediment contamination. The effects of oil contamination, mainly around the fissure, are less clear at 250 m and 500 m, suggesting that the surroundings may not have been heavily affected by the oil leakage. Our study demonstrates that metagenomics can disclose biosensors for environmental monitoring. © 2020 Elsevier B.V."
"Novaes, G.O.; Monteiro, S.M., and Rollnic, M., 2020. Microplastics in the fluvio-estuarine beaches of Cotijuba Island, Pará River estuary (Brazil). In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 780-784. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The coastal environment is constantly affected by materials of anthropogenic origin, among which are microplastics. Microplastics are particles smaller than 5 mm that are derived (or not) from the fragmentation of larger plastics. They are carried by currents and tides and deposited along the shoreline, and are mixed with the sediment. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of microplastics in depth within the sediment of five river-estuarine beaches located in Cotijuba Island, in the Pará River estuary (Brazil): PedraBranca, Vai-Quem-Quer, Flexeira, Farol, and Fazendinha. Sediment samples were collected at the high tide line and at three trenches on each beach, with 0.8 m depth, subdivided in four 0.2 m layers (0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80 cm). Microplastics were present on all beaches. A total of 13,007 microplastics were counted, of which 99.6% were fibers. Most of them were transparent (38.34 %) and elongated (98.71 %). PedraBranca was the most contaminated beach, with 20,166.7 ± 13,392 particles m . Concerning depth, mean microplastic density was similar among the layers analyzed (0-20 cm =13,416.7 ± 5,070 particles m ; 20-40 cm =10,510.0 ± 8,707 particles m , 40-60 cm=16,005.0 ± 16,011 particles m ; 60-80 cm=9,566.7 ± 1,838 particles m , Kruskal-Wallis, ?2 = 1.34; p = 0.71) regardless of the beach. On PedraBranca, there were higher densities (33,316.7 particles m ± 14,050) on the surface (0-20 cm), and on Flexeira beach, the density was higher (20,300.0 particles m ± 15,230) in bottom layers (60-80 cm). On the other beaches, the highest densities occurred in the 40-60 cm layer, with 25,125.0 ± 21,460 particles m on Vai-Quem-Quer beach, 18,400.0 ± 4,727 particles m on Farol beach, and 9,816.7 ± 16,011particles m on Fazendinha beach. These results show that Amazon river-estuarine beaches are exposed to microplastic contamination. © Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2020."
"Recent technological advances over the past few decades have enabled the development of fully coupled atmosphere-ocean modeling prediction systems that are used today to support short-term (days to weeks) and medium-term (10–21 days) needs for both the operational and research communities. We overview the coupling framework, including model components and grid resolution considerations, as well as the coupling physics by examining heat fluxes between atmosphere and ocean, momentum transfer, and freshwater fluxes. These modeling systems can be run as fully coupled atmosphere-ocean and atmosphere-ocean-wave configurations. Examples of several modeling systems applied to complex coastal regions including Madeira Island, Adriatic Sea, Coastal California, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and the Maritime Continent are presented. In many of these studies, a variety of field campaigns have contributed to a better understanding of the underlying physics associated with the atmosphere-ocean feedbacks. Examples of improvements in predictive skill when run in coupled mode versus standalone are shown. Coupled model challenges such as model initialization, data assimilation, and earth system prediction are discussed. © 2017 Julie Pullen, Richard Allard, Hyodae Seo, Arthur J. Miller, Shuyi Chen, Luciano Ponzi Pezzi, Travis Smith, Philip Chu, José Alves, and Rui Caldeira."
"Ports link world commerce via maritime routes, and dredging services are essential to establish and maintain these connections. However, one question is critical when dredging is being considered: where are the best places to do it? To try to answer this question, a Dredging Sensitivity Index (DSI) was developed as a management tool to be used in project planning steps. In order to diminish environmental damages and quality-of-life losses, DSI provides alternatives by identifying sensitivity areas. This new methodology quantifies impacts caused by the sediment removal step and points out favorable areas to dredge, with a simple map. Parameters such as fine-grain content (% < 63 ?m), Acid Volatile Sulfides (AVS), Shannon-Wiener Index and fisheries, among others, were used to calculate the DSI. Formulas were used to weight and aggregate both, the parameters and the DSI itself. Sepetiba Bay was chosen to apply this methodology because of its relevant economic and environmental aspects. The methodology was applied to dredging situations, but it can be used to indicate areas for dredged material disposal, with a few modifications in the DSI formulas. A DSI map was a final result of this methodology, and showed that the northern portion of the bay, close to the littoral is a more sensitive area, where dredging should be avoided, or carried out very carefully. DSI is a very useful tool for reducing damages from dredging services, it contributes with zonation and it provides alternatives to decision-makers who manage these areas. © 2020 Elsevier B.V."
"When performing classic uncertainty reduction according to dynamic data, a large number of reservoir simulations need to be evaluated at high computational cost. As an alternative, we construct Bayesian emulators that mimic the dominant behavior of the reservoir simulator, and which are several orders of magnitude faster to evaluate. We combine these emulators within an iterative procedure that involves substantial but appropriate dimensional reduction of the output space (which represents the reservoir physical behavior, such as production data), enabling a more effective and efficient uncertainty reduction on the input space (representing uncertain reservoir parameters) than traditional methods, and with a more comprehensive understanding of the associated uncertainties. This study uses the emulation-based Bayesian history-matching (BHM) uncertainty analysis for the uncertainty reduction of complex models, which is designed to address problems with a high number of both input and output parameters. We detail how to efficiently choose sets of outputs that are suitable for emulation and that are highly informative to reduce the input-parameter space and investigate different classes of outputs and objective functions. We use output emulators and implausibility analysis iteratively to perform uncertainty reduction in the input-parameter space, and we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of certain popular classes of objective functions in this context. We demonstrate our approach through an application to a benchmark synthetic model (built using public data from a Brazilian offshore field) in an early stage of development using 4 years of historical data and four producers. This study investigates traditional simulation outputs (e.g., production data) and also novel classes of outputs, such as misfit indices and summaries of outputs. We show that despite there being a large number (2,136) of possible outputs, only very few (16) were sufficient to represent the available information; these informative outputs were used using fast and efficient emulators at each iteration (or wave) of the history match to perform the uncertainty-reduction procedure successfully. Using this small set of outputs, we were able to substantially reduce the input space by removing 99.8% of the original volume. We found that a small set of physically meaningful individual production outputs were the most informative at early waves, which once emulated, resulted in the highest uncertainty reduction in the input-parameter space, while more complex but popular objective functions that combine several outputs were only modestly useful at later waves. The latter point is because objective functions such as misfit indices have complex surfaces that can lead to low-quality emulators and hence result in noninformative outputs. We present an iterative emulator-based Bayesian uncertainty-reduction process in which all possible input-parameter configurations that lead to statistically acceptable matches between the simulated and observed data are identified. This methodology presents four central characteristics: incorporation of a powerful dimension reduction on the output space, resulting in significantly increased efficiency; effective reduction of the input space; computational efficiency, and provision of a better understanding of the complex geometry of the input and output spaces. Copyright VC 2020 Society of Petroleum Engineers"
"Data on the occurrence of cocaine (COC) and benzoylecgonine (BE) in marine environmental compartments are still limited, with few studies reporting superficial water contamination, mainly in tropical zones. In this sense, environmental data of these substances are essential to identify potential polluting sources, as well as their impact in costal ecosystems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of COC and BE in seawater, sediment and mussels from a subtropical coastal zone (Santos Bay, São Paulo, Brazil), as well as to determine a field measured Bioaccumulation Factor (BAF). COC and BE were detected in all water samples in concentrations ranging from 1.91 ng·L?1 to 12.52 ng·L?1 and 9.88 ng·L?1 to 28.53 ng·L?1, respectively. In sediments, only COC was quantified in concentrations ranging from 0.94 ng·g?1 to 46.85 ng·g?1. Similarly, only COC was detected in tissues of mussels 0.914 ?g·kg?1 to 4.58 ?g·kg?1 (ww). The field-measured BAF ranged from 163 to 1454 (L·kg?1). Our results pointed out a widespread contamination by cocaine and its main human metabolite benzoylecgonine in Santos Bay. Mussels were able to accumulate COC in areas used by residents and tourists for bathing, fishing, and harvest, denoting concern to human health. Therefore, our data can be considered a preliminary assessment, which indicates the need to evaluate drugs (including illicit as COC) in environmental and seafood monitoring programs, in order to understand their risks on the ecosystem and human health. © 2020 Elsevier B.V."
"Water-Alternating-Gas (WAG) injection is an enhanced recovery method that is being applied in some brazilian offshore oilfields as an alternative to combine effective pressure maintenance policies, flexible produced gas management strategies and increased recoveries. In this technology, gas plays the role of reducing residual oil saturation while water controls, by multiphase flow-in-porous-medium effects, gas adverse mobility. In addition to the extra engineering tasks needed to design development plans and production facilities, an intense characterization programme should be put in practice in order to reduce risks, increase predictability and optimize WAG floods. Much more complex laboratory tests than the ones usually performed for continuous water/gas floods should be done, particularly to tackle multiphase flow in porous medium phenomena. The proper characterization, modeling and simulation of these effects are vital for a representative WAG design and evaluation. This paper presents the results of a pragmatic and integrated laboratory characterization, modeling and simulation study for an offshore oilfield that was focused on relative permeability hysteresis effects. Firstly, it summarizes the best relative permeability hysteresis model (Larsen & Skauge) available in most commercial reservoir simulators. Then, it describes a special laboratory WAG multiphase flow-in-porous-media characterization program, designed and executed to obtain the parameters of this hysteresis model. Experiments were done at reservoir conditions and with rock and fluids from an actual offshore field. Following, results of these tests were evaluated in light of Larsen & Skauge model, in order to confirm its validity. Finally, WAG simulations of a sector of the target field were performed to access the impacts of including or neglecting relative permeability hysteresis phenomena. Conclusions of this work contribute to increase predictability and reduce uncertainties related to field-scale implementation of WAG technology. Knowledge acquired from this study promoted a better estimation of oil recovery, gas production and overriding. It also supports the design of subsea and topside equipment, which is critical in the offshore scenario. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Evaluation of characteristic values of geotechnical parameters is associated with uncertainties inherent to the geological processes that change soil strata. Statistical analysis of soil data allows one to deal rationally with these uncertainties. The present work addresses some normative recommendations and literature models for statistical characterization of undrained shear strength and submerged unit weight in offshore soils, providing more information to conductor casing design. Three methodologies were selected for the analysis. The NORSOK G-001 (2004) standard recommends the use of mean values computed conservatively. Lacasse et al. (2007) propose that characteristic value should be the mean value minus half a standard deviation of the parameter under analysis. DNV-RP-C207 (2012) suggests different methodologies for dependent and independent soil variables, though both methods of calculating the characteristic value involve linear regressions. Using data from geotechnical investigations that characterize eight oil wells located in two Brazilian offshore basins, the selected methodologies were applied to obtain the characteristic values and compared to each other. The analysis is carried out with data from seventeen CPTu tests associated to the eight wells abovementioned. It is noted that the NORSOK recommendation leads to the highest characteristic values, which are assumed tending to the mean value of the dataset over the well depth. The values obtained using Lacasse et al. (2007) methodology are more conservative and stand as a lower bound of the NORSOK methodology. The models suggested by DNV perform differently when applied to the geotechnical parameters. The dependent variables methodology fits both undrained strength and unit weight accurately. Analysis shows that undrained strength is better described using the methodology for standard deviation proportional to the depth while, for the unit weight, accurate results are obtained by using constant standard deviation. The lower bound procedure proposed by DNV provides, in general, non-conservative results in the first meters and more conservative values along the depth when compared with the other methodologies. Regarding all the formulations addressed, differences between them increase for wells whose CPTu data present higher dispersion. This larger dispersion suggests applications of different statistical-based approaches in order to reliably characterize offshore soil data. The datasets analyzed comprise different levels of scattering and soil heterogeneity, and comparing the statistical recommendations brings additive information for the designer to set the characteristic values of soil properties, aiming for the decision-making process on top hole drilling applications, e. g. conductor casing design. To the authors' knowledge, few papers perform this comparative analysis. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Hybridization between sea turtle species occurs with particularly high frequency at two adjacent nesting areas in northeastern Brazil. To understand the outcomes of hybridization and their consequences for sea turtle conservation, we need to evaluate the extent of hybridization occurrence and possible deleterious effects in the hybrid progeny. Thus, we investigated the hypothesis of the existence of a new hybrid spot offshore of Brazil’s northeastern coast. The Abrolhos Archipelago is surrounded by the largest and richest coral reefs in the South Atlantic and is known to be a nesting site for loggerhead turtles (Carettacaretta). In this study, we performed a multidisciplinary investigation into levels of hybridization in sea turtles and their reproductive output in the Abrolhos beaches. Genetic data from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and six autosomal markers showed that there are first-generation hybrid females nesting in Abrolhos, resulting from crossings between hawksbill males (Eretmochelysimbricata) and loggerhead females, and backcrossed hatchlings from both parental species. The type and extent of hybridization were characterized using genomic data obtained with the 3RAD method, which confirmed backcrossing between F1 hybrids and loggerhead turtles. The reproductive output data of Abrolhos nests suggests a disadvantage of hybrids when compared to loggerheads. For the first time, we have shown the association between hybridization and low reproductive success, which may represent a threat to sea turtle conservation. © 2020, The Author(s)."
"Changes in the regional hydrodynamics of the region of the South Atlantic near the east coast of Brazil were evaluated from the beginning to the end of the century. The analysis was based on the anomalies from two downscaling experiments using the HadGEM2-ES outputs for the historical and RCP4.5 runs from the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project phase 5. The anomalies between the experiments were collected in a system of two nested grids, with 1 / 3 ? and 1 / 12 ? horizontal resolutions. A northward displacement of the Brazil Current (BC), a southward BC transport intensification, and a 1.44 ?C increase of the mean values of sea surface temperatures were observed. The sea level rise (SLR) was projected up until 2100 across the study area, and the spatial variations were shown to have an average on SLR rate of 7.30 mm year- 1 for those regions close to the coast. These results highlight the importance of studying climate change and applying methods to enable the evaluation of its effects on coastal zones, especially for regions with few existing studies, such as the Brazilian continental shelf area. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany."
"This work reports on the widespread occurrence of tar balls on a pebble beach of Sueste Bay on Fernando de Noronha Island, a Brazilian national marine park and a preserve in the South Equatorial Atlantic. Environmental regulations preclude regular visitors to the Sueste Bay beach, and the bay is a pristine area without any possible or potential sources of petroleum in the coastal zone. In this work, these tar balls were observed for the first time as they occurred as envelopes around beach pebbles. They are black in color, very hard, have a shell and coral fragment armor, and range in average size from 2 to 6 cm. The shape of the majority of the tar balls is spherical, but some can also be flattened ellipsoids. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon analyses of the collected samples revealed the characteristics of a strongly weathered material, where only the most persistent compounds were detected: chrysene, benzo(b,k)fluoranthene, dibenzo(a,h)antracene and benzo(a)pyrene. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht."
"Nowadays gas-lift is still a very expressive artificial lift method, for instance considering the whole Brazilian oil production profiles, gas lifted wells are responsible for 30% of monthly production. Due this huge importance, the injection efficiency should be ensured to avoid lid gas losses and maximize the production. Then, this study had as objective to develop a Gas Lift Optimization workflow and define the optimum lift rates to increase the reservoir recovery and improve gas usability due to platform constraints of a Brazilian deep-water field. That workflow comprises a reservoir and flow assurance simulators, achieving more accurate responses compared to regular workflows. Taking advantages of the proposed method, multidisciplinary teams could work together which increases the representativeness of such studies providing important outcomes for decision makers. At this study, due to a gas-lift optimization was observed an increase of 0.5% at cumulative production with a huge gas-lift reduction of around 40%, resulting in a better financial balance of the project, saving a considerable amount of lift-gas. The methodology adopted to optimize the injected gas lift rate and consequently increase/maintain cumulative oil production proved adequate for application in oil fields that are highly dependent on artificial lift methods. Therefore, exploration and production projects can be financial healthier. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Santos Basin Pre-Salt Cluster, Deepwater Southeast Brazil, is a unique scenario due to the heterogeneous nature of its microbial carbonate reservoir, underlain by 2,000 m salt layer and distant 300 km from the coast. Other characteristics for development are the variable CO2 content and compositional grading with depth of the reservoir fluids, flow assurance issues and special demands concerning subsea engineering, well construction and processing plant. Recognizing reservoir and development uncertainties, Petrobras and its partners have opted for a staged development, based on intensive information gathering, extended well tests (EWTs), multi well production pilots and definitive systems prioritizing the standardization of well projects and production systems. This strategy aimed both accelerated cash flow and dynamic characterization of the reservoir behaviour, subsea gathering system and the processing of fluids in production units. Long term recovery was not forgotten as flexibility was planned for different recovery mechanism as water, gas and water alternating gas (WAG) injection. This paper presents an overview of the main drivers and concepts which served as basis for the development of the prolific pre-salt fields. Pre-salt mega-projects management was early identified as especially challenging: it should assure that the main uncertainties were known and mitigated at project sanction, as well pursuing strategies for CAPEX reduction, on-time long lead items delivery and local content accomplishment, among others. Integration of disciplines and the flexibility were paramount to achieve these goals. The first results are on stream: after only eight years from discovery, production in the Santos Pre-Salt Cluster reached, in February, 2014, 240,000 bopd. This production comes from ten producers; water and gas injection are also being performed. Considering the whole pre-salt reservoirs offshore Brazil, production is over 400,000 bopd. The lessons learned are being considered to optimize the next generation of production systems. Three FPSOs are operating in the Santos Pre-Salt, two additional FPSOs will be installed in 2014, and 8 more until 2016. An oil flow rate of more than 1 million bopd, operated by Petrobras, is expected for 2017. © World Petroleum Council."
"Continental shelves are areas of extreme environmental and economic importance and priority areas for management and planning efforts. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding many tropical shelves, mainly due to high costs associated with surveying large marine areas with traditional techniques. Carbonatic, sediment-starved shelves are distributed across tropical and temperate regions and display characteristics that may allow the application of remote sensing methods, albeit the depth range found in these areas. Thus, this study tested the applicability of Landsat-8 imagery to detect bottom features in a sediment-starved shelf in North-eastern Brazil. The Brazilian Northeast Continental Shelf harbours a variety of geohabitats, including coral and algal reefs, beachrocks, mesophotic reefs, canyons, and paleochannels. Nine scenes were processed following the same steps: radiometric and atmospheric correction, masking, glint removal, water column correction and individual image adjustments. Two scenes were deemed best to portray targeted features. We detected 14 paleochannels in a 9700 km2 area, as well as the shelf break. A pixel-by-pixel analysis using all available bathymetric field data (n = 42,373 pixels) showed that 92.38% of the pixels were accurately classified. Misinterpreted pixels were either due to bordering regions incorrectly identified as paleochannels (3.99%) or paleochannels’ sections undetected in our final mosaic (3.62%). The final mosaic allowed a detailed view of submerged valleys (including previously unmapped channels) distributed up to areas deeper than 100 m using free of charge, medium-resolution satellite imagery. Some of these channels are known fishing grounds and fish spawning aggregation areas, making them priority zones for management and conservation efforts. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first study applying Landsat imagery to map paleochannels in submerged areas, and most importantly, in areas deeper than 30 m. We believe this research can help focusing future mapping efforts and may advance the general knowledge of the area. © 2020 Elsevier B.V."
"Sambaquis are archaeological shell mounds and middens formed by pre-Columbian populations inhabiting the Atlantic Forest coast of Brazil between the Middle and Late Holocene. Beyond their recognized cultural values, sambaquis are valuable biological archives for tracking changes in past biodiversity and informing modern conservation studies and management. In this contribution we reviewed the published record of faunal remains from archaeological sites located in Babitonga Bay, in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Through a literature review covering 110 sites, we assembled a comprehensive survey of terrestrial and marine taxa exploited by human groups in this area between ca. 5500 and 370 years ago. A total of 244 species were recorded, of which 14 are currently endangered and 12 are no longer present in Babitonga Bay. This zooarchaeological synthesis provides snapshots of past biodiversity, adding a novel contribution to current debates around the conservation biology of one of the world's most threatened tropical biomes. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA"
"Two sediment cores collected in the shelf off Rio de Janeiro (RJ13-01B: 10.8 cal kyr BP, and RJ13-02B: 4.7 cal kyr BP) were investigated in high-resolution to evaluate changes in sedimentary processes and paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic variability during the Holocene in the Southeastern Brazil. Information from inorganic proxies of continental input (Al/Ca and Fe/Ca), redox-sensitive elements (Fe/Al, V/Al and Mn/Al), paleoproductivity (Sr/Al, Cd/Al and Ba/Al), as well as data for grain size, geophysical properties (p-wave velocity, gamma-ray density, acoustic impedance, magnetic susceptibility and porosity), Si, total organic carbon and calcium carbonate were considered. The data revealed three main periods of sediment accumulation: (i) from 10.8 cal kyr BP to 7.6 cal kyr BP the sediment was coarse, Si content was high (27%), the magnetic susceptibility was low and the presence of shell fragments all suggest a period of low continental input and the deposition site was shallow (i.e, lower sea level); (ii) from 7.5 cal kyr BP to 4.6 cal kyr BP the elevated ratios of Al/Ca (0.69 ± 0.08), Fe/Ca (0.27 ± 0.04), Sr/Al (31.57 ± 4.47) ×10 ?4 , Cd/Al (0.09 ± 0.03) ×10 ?5 and Ba/Al (0.70 ± 0.16) ×10 ?4 are consistent with a period of maximum sea transgression and elevated influence of the nutrient-rich South Atlantic Central Water (SACW); (iii) from 4.5 cal kyr BP to the present, events of higher fluxes of TOC, Ni, Cu and Zn were observed from ca 3.2 cal kyr BP to 3.4 cal kyr BP, in both cores, related to humid climate. Overall, the multi-proxy approach shed light on the effects of climate and oceanographic variability on sediment input and accumulation in a less-studied portion of the Brazilian shelf, which are consistent with other shelf areas and with changes in regional climate systems like the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), South American Monsoon Systems (SAMS) and South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ). © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA"
"This study, firstly, provides an up-to-date global review of the potential, technologies, prototypes, installed capacities, and projects related to ocean renewable energy including wave, tidal, and thermal, and salinity gradient sources. Secondly, as a case study, we present a preliminary assessment of the wave, ocean current, and thermal gradient sources along the Brazilian coastline. The global status of the technological maturity of the projects, their different stages of development, and the current global installed capacity for different sources indicate the most promising technologies considering the trend of global interest. In Brazil, despite the extensive coastline and the fact that almost 82% of the Brazilian electricity matrix is renewable, ocean renewable energy resources are still unexplored. The results, using oceanographic fields produced by numerical models, show the significant potential of ocean thermal and wave energy sources in the northern and southern regions of the Brazilian coast, which could contribute as complementary supply sources in the national electricity matrix. © 2019 by the authors."
"Studies on mixed carbonatic and siliciclastic sedimentation on the Brazilian continental shelf have been used Foraminifera as bioindicators of carbonate productivity, marine currents, nutrient intakes, and environmental health. This work aim to investigate the recent sedimentary coverage and the Foraminifera assemblages of the equatorial outer shelf of Rio Grande do Norte State, between the Apodi-Mossoró and Piranhas-Açu incised valleys to understand the nutrient distribution and carbonate production. Statistical methods were used for the biotic data, in quantitative and qualitative values. granulometric analysis, CaCO3, and organic matter contents allowed to identify six sedimentary facies. The presence of Globigerina rubra, Quinqueloculina patagonica, and Peneroplis pertussus is related to the intrusion of ocean currents over the shelf break. The presence of Buccella peruviana is correlated with high CaCO3 and organic matter contents. The species of foraminifera mentioned above may indicate occurrence of oceanic phenomena such as tropical Gyre and upwelling. Diversity of symbiotic organisms and their correlation to abiotic are related to carbonate production and the pristine shelf environment. © 2020, Universidade Estadual Paulista(UNESP). All rights reserved."
"Overfishing is a concerning threat that can lead to the collapse of fish stocks. We assessed the combinations of factors, including biological traits, types of exploitation and responses to sea temperature and salinity changes, that drive species to collapse in the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) tropical and subtropical regions. We applied a catch-based method of stock classification and a catch time series of 61 years from 132 exploited fish species. Species were categorized as Collapsed, Overexploited, Fully Exploited or in Development, and we used a GAM analysis to understand their categorization over time. Furthermore, a Redundancy Analysis was developed to assess the species characteristics that best predicted each exploitation category. Twelve species were classified as Collapsed, 55 as Overexploited, 46 as Fully Exploited and 19 as in Development. Tropical and subtropical exploited species collapses in Brazil were best explained by a complex combination of a negative impact of warmer sea temperatures, fishery exploitation and specific life-history traits. A synergistic interaction between these factors could bring species to collapse. We hypothesize that the exploitation of species with vulnerable traits may alter how these species respond to temperature and, therefore, lead them to collapse given that intense exploitation may affect their ability to respond to temperature increases. Measures to mitigate climate change impacts should take into consideration incentives to decrease the exploitation of vulnerable species and, specifically, consider species with more sensitive biological traits. Such measures are also important to minimize the socioeconomic impacts on the people that depend on these species. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"We present new evidence for the existence of a large pockmark field on the continental slope of the Santos Basin, offshore southeast Brazil. A recent high-resolution multibeam bathymetric survey revealed 984 pockmarks across a smooth seabed at water depths of 300–700 m. Four patterns of pockmark arrays were identified in the data: linear, network, concentric, and radial. Interpretation of Two-dimensional multi-channel seismic reflection profiles that crosscut the surveyed area shows numerous salt diapirs in various stages of development (e.g. salt domes, walls, and anticlines). Some diapirs were exposed on the seafloor, whereas the tops of others (diapir heads) were situated several hundreds of meters below the surface. Extensional faults typically cap these diapirs and reach shallow depths beneath the seafloor. Our analysis suggests that these pockmark patterns are linked to stages in the development of underlying diapirs and their related faults. The latter may extend above salt walls, take the form of polygonal extensional faults along higher-level salt anticlines, or concentric faults above diapir heads that reach close to the seafloor. Seismic data also revealed buried pockmark fields that had repeatedly developed since the Middle Miocene. The close spatio-temporal connection between pockmark and diapir distribution identified here suggests that the pockmark field extends further across the Campos and Espírito Santo Basins, offshore Brazil. Spatial overlap between the pockmark field topping a large diapir field and a proliferous hydrocarbon basin is believed to have facilitated the escape of fluid/gas from the subsurface to the water column, which was enhanced by halokinesis. This provides a possible control on fossil gas contribution to the marine system over geological time. © 2017 The Authors"
"The Pará-Maranhão/Barreirinhas margin, North Brazil, is a pull-apart passive margin, with two strike-slip borders, formed during the opening of the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean during Cretaceous time. Its geometry and evolution are speculative due to the lack of information on the crustal structure and the crustal nature. We present here the E-W profiles of the MAGIC (Margins of brAzil, Ghana and Ivory Coast) deep seismic experiment, a joint project between French and Brazilian universities, research institutes and the industry. Fifty-six Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) and a 4.5 seismic streamer were deployed at sea along 2 of the 5 MAGIC profiles. One profile was extended onshore by installing 8 land stations. We perform forward modelling through combined interpretation of the multichannel seismic and of the main reflected and refracted of these phases recorded by the OBSs. The final P-wave velocity models reveal distinct structural domains from onshore Brazil towards the Atlantic Ocean characterized by variations of the crustal thicknesses and velocities: (1) an unthinned continental crust below the São Luís Craton, where the crust is 33 km thick, (2) a 60 km wide necking domain below the Ilha de Santana Platform; (3) offshore, east of the continental slope, a 10 km-thick deep sedimentary basin underlain by a 5 km thick crust with velocity of 6.2–6.9 km/s that we interpret as an exhumed lower continental crust, on the top of an Anomalous Velocity Layer (AVL) probably made of intrusions of mantle-derived melts into the lower continental crust, or a mixture of them; (4) eastwards, the limit of the previous domain is marked by NW-SE aligned volcanoes and the disappearance of the AVL. The sedimentary succession becomes thinner (6 km) overlaying a proto-oceanic crust characterized by seismic velocities higher than “normal” oceanic crust in its upper part, but in continuity with the velocity described in the previous domain; (5) followed by a more characteristic but thin oceanic crust. The middle/lower continental crust seems not only to have a crucial role in the genesis of the passive margin but also to be involved in the genesis of the first oceanic crust. The passage to a typical oceanic crust seems to have occurred progressively by steps: first in the deeper layer by the setup of more and more intrusions of mantle-derived melts at the base of the crust or mixture of exhumed lower crust and mantle, producing a domain of proto-oceanic crust, then by the emplacement of an upper 1-2 km-thick layer with typical oceanic characteristics. © 2021"
"The high CO2 content found in Pre-Salt offshore oil fields has led to cost-energetically processes for CO2 removal and destination. In this paper, an innovative and promising alternative subsea separation process (SSP), proposed by Petrobras, was analyzed. Since a CO2 rich phase is expected at reservoir conditions, subsea gravity separators can be employed avoiding large volumes of CO2 from being sent to the topside, lowering gas processing plant complexity. A differential-algebraic system of equations (DAE) was developed for the SSP modeling. Design and steady-state simulations were carried out within EMSO simulator. To ensure the process variables remain at their desirable values two control strategies, PID and Linear Model Predictive Control (MPC), were compared. The proposed process showed technical feasibility with up to 62% GOR reduction. The control strategies presented reasonable performance. MPC had for most of the controlled variables a better performance. © 2019, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."
"Lacustrine carbonate deposits mark the rift-sag sedimentation stage of the so-called pre-salt section of the Campos and Santos Basins, in the Southeast Brazilian continental shelf. These salt-sealed carbonate reservoirs form deep-water, giant and prolific oil fields that are currently responsible for approximately 70% of the Brazilian oil and gas production. In the Santos Basin, the sag stage carbonates are represented by the Aptian Barra Velha Formation, characterized by exotic textural and compositional features whose origin, development, and correlation with petrophysical properties have been broadly discussed in the last decade. A geological and petrophysical study has been performed based on core samples, plugs, and thin-sections of a well in the Barra Velha Formation from the eastern Santos Basin. The analyzed core interval was grouped into six depositional facies constituted by the association of five key textural components: (1) crystal shrubs; (2) calcite spherulites; (3) hybrid forms; (4) mud-grade carbonates and dolomite; and (5) intraclasts. The relationship between the depositional framework and the poroperm system, as evidenced by petrographic image analysis and CT-scan data, is highly complex. The depositional control over porosity is erratic, mainly due to the extensive diagenetic and possible hydrothermal overprint. Dolomite cementation, dolomitization, pervasive silicification, and dissolution processes are the main primary porosity modifiers. Petrophysical analysis indicates that intraclastic and spherulitic grainstones–rudstones, affected by matrix dissolution, may present the best reservoir properties, in certain intervals, even surpassing the shrubby framestones, which are widely regarded as the best reservoir facies. This study seeks to contribute to an emerging body of research about the Brazilian pre-salt lacustrine carbonates, broadening the geological knowledge about these deposit, while providing new data to improve hydrocarbon forecast and recovery. © 2020, Geologische Vereinigung e.V. (GV)."
"Many estuaries present natural harbor conditions with relatively calm and shallow waters that provide a connection between the ocean and continental waterways. The increase in the demand for goods by the constant growing of the world population has forced estuaries to be altered by human activities, such as dredging, in order to maintain a safe navigation system. The development of sophisticated morphological and hydrodynamic models opened a new perspective of assisting dredging operations inside different estuaries. Thus, the aim of this study is to apply a hydromorphodynamic model to simulate the bed evolution of the Patos Lagoon estuary, southern Brazil. The results of the simulation were applied in a dredge operation model to simulate dredging inside the waterway of the Rio Grande harbor, located inside the Patos Lagoon estuary. The salinity and current velocities inside the estuary were well represented by the model simulations. An annual mean discharge of 3 407 ms3 s?1 was calculated for the lagoon for the year 2004. The morphodynamic model successfully represented the silted and eroded scenarios for the estuarine channel. The dredge operation model results affirm that dredging of the channel causes significant variations in estuarine physical parameters such as salinity, current velocity and suspended sediment concentration. The bed evolution results indicate that a fast siltation of the channel occurs right after dredging stops, stabilizing the variations after a 60-day period. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd"
"Diapir piercement through the ocean floor marks the final stages of a dynamic migration path. Once exhumed, a diapir extrudes from the seafloor, placing an obstacle for the flow of ocean bottom currents. While the hydrodynamic response of the flow has been previously studied, the detailed depositional and weathering modifications involved in the piercement process are less understood. To bridge this gap, we gathered already available multibeam bathymetric data, multichannel 2D seismic reflection profiles and collected new single-channel CHIRP profiles, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler data and sediment samples across Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. In this region, the processes connecting the uppermost subsurface with the lowermost section of the water column are unknown. Data show three main stages of diapir exhumation: pre-, syn- and post-piercement into the seafloor. Extensional faults crown the pre-exposed diapir, before its piercement through the seafloor. Ocean bottom currents rework the top of the faults to form elongated depressions. The bottom currents tightly detour the diapir during and after its exposure at the seafloor. This interaction forms a drift and moat contourite depositional pattern. Our high-resolution data allow relating these morphologies to seafloor processes and distinguishing them from other reflector geometries related to diapir flank deformation, such as outward dipping of reflections. We further use this geometrical distinction to suggest a key for interpreting the exposure versus burial history of other diapirs worldwide. © 2018 Elsevier B.V."
"Using an integrated approach of reservoir simulation, rock physics and seismic modeling, the present study analyzes the influence of changes in pressure and fluid saturation on synthetic time-lapse seismic sections. The forms and occasions in which these changes can be detected on 4D seismic are studied, to help in the characterization of the fluid flow inside the reservoir. To analyze these effects, reservoir production simulations were conducted in a geological model of a sandstone reservoir in the Campos Basin, offshore SE Brazil. Through direct petro-elastic and seismic modeling, 4D impedance volumes were created using simulation results, and corresponding synthetic seismic volumes were computed. Simulations of both water injection and gas injection scenarios were conducted in order to quantify the differences between oil-water and oil-gas substitutions and investigate how they affect the seismic amplitudes in a sandstone reservoir. The interpretations allow the definition of patterns to identify pressure and saturation related anomalies and to distinguish areas of water and gas injection. © 2017 Elsevier B.V."
"Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are man-made organic chemicals that have adverse effects on aquatic organisms, sometimes altering ecosystem functioning with potential consequences for the coastal carbon cycle. This study assessed PCBs and OCPs in surface sediments of two estuaries with distinct historical land use on the coast of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. OCPs such as HCB, aldrin, dieldrin, isodrin, mirex, methoxychlor, endosulfans (?- and ?-isomers), HCHs (?-, ?-, ?- and ?-isomers) and chlordane-related compounds were below their respective limits of detection in all samples. Mean levels of PCBs in Pina Sound and Suape Estuary were 4.37 and 0.94 ng g-1 dry weight (dw), respectively. Average concentrations of DDTs in those same estuaries were 5.24 and 0.42 ng g-1 dw, respectively. No significant correlations were found between mud and contaminants (either PCBs or DDTs) at Pina Sound. In contrast, PCBs were significantly associated with mud at Suape Estuary. The greater contamination found at Pina Sound is consistent with land use of the urban, densely populated city of Recife. Residues of DDTs found in sediments of both estuaries reflect past local usage. Occasional adverse biological effects may be expected due to the levels of DDTs at several sites in Pina Sound. Lower levels of chemicals such as PCBs in the newly industrialized Suape Estuary suggest that a similarly low impact of legacy pollutants may be expected for future industrial enterprises around the world. © 2018, Universidade de Sao Paulo. All rights reserved."
"Amazonian aquatic systems are usually associated with pristine waters, however, irregular urban occupation of the hydrographic basins and sewerage deficiencies may lead to point and diffuse contamination. Sewage contamination in intertidal surface sediments from the Guajará Estuary, Brazilian Amazon coast, was evaluated using a set of steroids as biomarkers. Sediments collected along the urbanized margin were also analyzed for chlorophyll a, total organic carbon and grain sizes. Coprostanol, the main fecal sterol, was found at concentrations varying from 0.06 to 7.93 ?g g-1 dry sediment, following the sequence Tucunduba &gt; Ver-o-Peso &gt; Porto da Palha &gt; Tamandaré &gt; Icoaraci &gt; Miramar. Mixed sources of organic matter and coastal process probably concurred to produce weak correlations among the parameters. Plant derived sterols, including n-C30 alcohol and ?-amyrinyl alkanoates, were clearly abundant, but they did not preclude the use of other steroid signals to the assessment of sewage contamination. High values of the steroid indexes involving 5? and 5? stanols and stanones highlighted sewage contamination at the sites with the lowest absolute coprostanol concentrations. The predominance of 5? stanols indicated a chronically sewage contamination of the area. © 2015, Universidade de Sao Paulo. All rights reserved."
"Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are membrane lipids produced by bacteria usually ascribed to soil and peat deposits. The presence of brGDGTs in marine sediments can thus be used to track terrigenous organic matter inputs to the continental margin and to infer the local continental mean annual air temperature (MAT) and soil pH. The proxy rationale is based on the degree methylation and cyclization of the brGDGTs from terrestrial bacteria, but recently evidence was found of river and oceanic production of brGDGTs with similar configuration, indicating the necessity to better constrain the applicability of the soil brGDGTs in the marine realm. Here we considered crenarchaeol and brGDGTs obtained in 46 core-top sediments from cross-margin transects in the Campos Basin in the Southwest Atlantic, with the goal to evaluate the effectiveness of the brGDGT-associated proxies in a region in the southeastern tropical Brazilian continental margin influenced by upwelling events and low terrigenous inputs. The separation of the 5- and 6-methyl brGDGTs proved to be essential for a better evaluation of the sources of brGDGTs in the environment. Direct evidence of input of terrigenous organic matter by the medium-sized Paraíba do Sul River and other small rivers in the region were observed. More importantly, the high proportions of ring-containing brGDGTs—and the consequent increased values of the #ringstetra–in the sediments deposited between 75 and 400 m water depths (mid-shelf to upper slope) were clear evidence of marine in situ production of brGDGTs. In some stations deeper than 1,900 m, an increase in the acyclic 6-methyl hexamethylated compounds can also be ascribed to in situ production. Our results revealed that the initial soil signal is lost during transport and after river discharge in the Campos Basin, which compromise the use of brGDGTs to reconstruct the soil pH and MAT of the nearby land area. © Copyright © 2019 Ceccopieri, Carreira, Wagener, Hefter and Mollenhauer."
"Three different packages describing the white capping dissipation process, and the corresponding energy input from wind to wave were used to study the surface wave dynamics in South Atlantic Ocean, close to the Brazilian coast. A host of statistical parameters were computed to evaluate the performance of wave model in terms of simulated bulk wave parameters. Wave measurements from a buoy deployed off Santa Catarina Island, Southern Brazil and data along the tracks of Synthetic Aperture Radars were compared with simulated bulk wave parameters; especially significant wave height, for skill assessment of different packages. It has been shown that using a single parameter representing the performance of source and sink terms in the wave model, or relying on data from only one period of simulations for model validation and skill assessment would be misleading. The model sensitivity to input parameters such as time step and grid size were addressed using multiple datasets. The wind data used for the simulation were obtained from two different sources, and provided the opportunity to evaluate the importance of input data quality. The wind speed extracted from remote sensing satellites was compared to wind datasets used for wave modeling. The simulation results showed that the wind quality and its spatial resolution is highly correlated to the quality of model output. Two different sources of wave information along the open boundaries of the model domain were used for skill assessment of a high resolution wave model for the study area. It has been shown, based on the sensitivity analysis, that the effect of using different boundary conditions would decrease as the distance from the open boundary increases; however, the difference were still noticeable at the buoy location which was located 200-300 km away from the model boundaries; but restricted to the narrow band of the low frequency wave spectrum. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd."
"Historians of science have yet to study the process by which the oceanographic sciences emerged and became firmly established in Brazil. The main goal of this article is to offer a preliminary analysis of this process by focusing on the contribution of the Instituto Paulista de Oceanografia (Paulista Institute of Oceanography), Brazil’s first institution for oceanographic research; it was founded in 1946 and became part of the University of São Paulo in 1951, at which time it was renamed the Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo (Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo). The analysis centers on the role of three scientists who were on the facility’s early research staff: Wladimir Besnard, Ingvar Emilsson, and Marta Vannucci. © 2014, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, All right reserved."
"Brazilian oceanic islands are areas of great environmental, scientific, economic and strategic interest for the country. A better understanding of the thermohaline and hydrodynamic properties is fundamental to complement studies of chemical and biological processes active on the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, located between 03° 52'S and 32° 25'W. The aim of this work was to verify the coastal thermohaline behavior of the most inhabited part of the island, on a seasonal and spatial scale and how it is associated with the nutrient distribution data. Four campaigns were conducted in 2013 and 2014, two during the wet season and two during the dry season. For each period, data were collect at five stations. The results show that during the rainy season temperature increases and salinity decreases in the surface layer. Spatially no large differences are observed. Regarding to nutrient concentration, seasonal concentrations are quite homogeneous in the waters of the archipelago region. The coastal region was characterized by tropical mass water. © Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2016."
"The hydropower production, water supply and aquaculture services of the Itaparica Reservoir are of immense importance for the Brazilian Northeast. Uncontrolled water resources consumption (e.g. irrigation, water supply), climate and land use change effects deteriorated the water quantity and quality in the reservoir, leading to socio-economic and environmental problems. In this work, a depth-averaged shallow water model was set up for the Icó-Mandantes Bay, one major branch of the reservoir, using the open TELEMAC-MASCARET system. The aim was to assess the impacts of the newly built water diversion channel, as well as the effects of a flood and tracer transport from an intermittent tributary, both located in the bay. An alternative approach to estimate the water retention times was additionally implemented. The simulations showed that though the diversion channel did not significantly influence the hydrodynamics of the bay, it is necessary to continuously monitor water quality parameters in the withdrawal, especially during rainy periods after droughts, because of the nutrient inputs from the tributary and the overflows of the nearby drainage systems. Management measures adapting to the continuously changing natural conditions and anthropogenic impacts are thus indispensable and the model presented can be a valuable supporting tool for this purpose. © IWA Publishing 2019 Jo."
"We investigate the role of reactivation of Precambrian basement fabric in the tectono-sedimentary and geomorphological evolution of the Paraíba Basin, continental margin of northeastern Brazil, during the Cretaceous, Neogene, and Quaternary. This basin represents part of the last bridge between South America and Africa before the last breakup stage of the South Atlantic rifting in the early Cretaceous. The Paraíba Basin infill is composed of siliciclastic and carbonate Cretaceous units, as well as aeolian, fluvial and marine Quaternary units. We used shuttle radar imagery, aeromagnetic, wellbore and field data. The reduced-to-the-pole magnetic map (RTP) indicates the continuity of the steeply dipping Precambrian basement shear zones beneath the Paraíba Basin. The combined analysis of surface and subsurface data shows that NE–SW and E–W-striking shear zones were subjected to brittle reactivation in the Aptian–Middle Albian during the basin opening and again in the Neogene–Quaternary, forming a system of horsts and grabens along the basin; some of these structures such as the E–W-oriented Pernambuco shear zone present modern-day seismicity. N–S- and mainly NW–SE-striking transfer faults cut across Aptian–Middle Albian to Neogene–Quaternary strata. These four main fault directions control main river channels and alluvial valleys up to 2 km wide. Topographic breaks up to 50 m were created by late reactivation of rift faults, which mark the boundary between horsts and grabens along the basin. In addition, structural data evidence syn-tectonic faulting with vertical offsets up to 80 m in the Cretaceous and up to 70 m in the Neogene–Quaternary. We conclude that shear zones across the study area are long-lived structures that have behaved as weakness zones. Their neotectonic brittle reactivation has controlled sediment deposition and landform development, which continued through the Neogene–Quaternary. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA"
"The northeastern Brazilian continental shelf has a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sedimentation system. This study applied statistical analysis on superficial sediments to access the conditions and controls of sedimentary distribution and processes along the outer shelf depositional environment. The total of 123 grabbed sediment samples were analyzed as mean grain size, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis. The outer shelf presented mean grain size ranging from very coarse sand to very fine sand. Standard deviation ranges from moderately sorted to very poorly sorted. Skewness ranges from strongly fine-skewed to strongly coarse-skewed. Kurtosis intervals range from very platykurtic to very leptokurtic. The bivariant analysis revealed correlations between the statistical parameters and sedimentary facies in three environments: outside the Açu reef (OAR), Açu inter-reef (AIR,) and in the Açu Incised Valley (AIV). The coarse sediments are poorly selected, showed positively skewed essentially, and had the lowest kurtosis values in bioclastic coarse sand of the OAR area related to, whereas medium to fine sands are siliciclastic and bioclastic, moderately sorted, positively skewed, and showed the highest values of kurtosis in the AIR and AIV. The kurtosis and skewness parameters evidenced the distinction between the three zones on the outer shelf. The results revealed the relationship of hydrodynamic regimes and shelf sedimentation with the in situ carbonate production and trapped relict siliciclastics. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"Decommissioning and abandonment of Brazilian offshore oil & gas fields has become more important in the last few years due to the maturing hydrocarbon producing basin in the region. However, a complete abandonment of a Brazilian offshore field has not been completed to date and the consequent lack of a reference case leads to uncertainties with operators and stakeholders during the conceptual phases of abandonment, when identifying the best decommissioning option and estimating a reasonable cost for the complete program of decommissioning activities. This paper aims to satisfy this uncertainty and develop a Brazilian baseline for front end planning and cost estimation of the decommissioning, removal and disposal options. The methodology presented in this paper is based on analysis of the national and international regulations applicable to decommissioning, the expectation of stakeholders and national supply chain benchmarking. Drawing on the conclusions of this analysis, the paper then presents the available decommissioning options generally applicable for fixed platform, floating platforms, pipelines and subsea facilities. The eligibility of each decommissioning option is then investigated against the background of current Brazilian regulatory requirement, highlighting those cases where the options are not mentioned in the legislation or where contradictions exist. Further analysis of the options is then undertaken to determine the preferred solution from the stakeholder perspective and to also define national supply chain benchmarking of the options to confirm whether the national supply chain can support the future potential demand for decommissioning in Brazil. Finally, the paper shows a comparative case study for the high-level planning and cost estimation for the decommissioning of a complex of small fixed platforms including the plugging and abandonment (P&A) of the platform wells. ©2017, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Surface Related Multiple Elimination (SRME) has been approved to be an effective demultiple tool for marine data processing. However, it breaks down when applied to shallow water data mainly because 1) missing or contaminated near-offsets lead to inaccurate multiple models; 2) the cross-talk of short-period multiples deteriorate the matching filter during the adaptive subtraction; 3) the spectrum of the multiple model is distorted by the extra source signature. This paper proposes a new approach that combines a model-based method and a conventional SRME to serve the means of shallow water multiple elimination (SWME). The advantages include: 1) replacing the water-bottom Green's functions with broadband wavelets predicts the correct amplitudes of the multiples; 2) limiting the aperture of the Green's functions to the distance where the critical reflection occurs suppresses the artefacts in the multiple model and lowers the cost; 3) Simultaneously subtracting both the receiver- and source-side water-bottom multiples significantly improves the efficiency; 4) a following SRME helps remove the residual non-water-bottom multiples. A broadband 2D line offshore Santos, Brazil is tested with the proposed approach. It has prominently outperformed the legacy processing that used SRME and Tau-P deconvolution years ago."
"Southeastern Brazilian marine coastal deposits provide an excellent opportunity to investigate environmental changes such as sea level and trophic variability during the Holocene period. In this study, we present a sediment record from Arraial do Cabo Bay, Rio de Janeiro State. In order to improve the understanding of the upper subtidal palaeoecosystem evolutionary dynamics of this Bay, we provide a microfacies analysis of Holocene carbonate and mixed siliciclastic-carbonate deposits cropping out today from the supratidal to the subtidal zones. The age-depth model is based on 14C dating and revealed a basal age of ~ 7000 cal. years BP. In the six distinguished microfacies, the biogenic components are dominated by vermetids and coralline algae. A number of subordinate components are also present, including the microfacies determining thin-shelled bivalves. Fossil vermetids are represented by monospecific clusters of overgrowing Petaloconchus varians. Coralline red algae are represented by Lithophyllum pustulatum, Spongites fruticulosus, Spongites yendoi, Mesophyllum engelharti, and unidentified geniculate corallines. The microfacies analysis revealed that the substrate of the benthic community in the upper subtidal ecosystem of the Bay changed according to the relative sea level: (1) during the rapid sea transgressive trend it was coarse soft substrate, (2) after the postglacial sea level maximum succeeding a slow decline to present sea level it changed into fine soft substrate. At ~ 7000 years ago the coarse soft substrate was characterised by fruticose corallines and composed of quartz grains from continental run off input. After the postglacial sea level maximum the highstand elevation along with the established upwelling system brought about a predominantly carbonate deposition. Vermetids and corallines, along with thin-shelled bivalves, thrived in a low sedimentation rate setting and high nutrient level environment. © 2016 Elsevier B.V."
"In this paper, we describe and analyze the co-management institutional framework at 21 Brazilian Marine Extractive Reserves (MERs) and present the dramas of its implementation from the local manager’s perspective. We categorized the governance instruments of MERs into (i) instruments for land/sea tenure and beneficiaries’ recognition, (ii) territorial use planning, (iii) institutional arenas for discussion and deliberation, as well as (iv) public policies. Although the legal arrangements of these protected areas address fundamental dimensions of governance, we present the challenges of its implementation based on the voice of local managers. The managers are the bridge between the central government and communities, dealing with the implementation of the institutional framework in a reality of multi-level and multi-scale drama: from local to national dilemmas, from organizational to structural ones. We explore these dramas and highlight the institutional dilemmas based on the paradoxes between legalism and social emancipation. © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC."
"In a growth scenario of the world economy, it is essential to increase the integration between the different actors in the companies’ supply chain, reducing operational costs, and improving efficiency. Ship routing is a crucial part of this integration regarding global maritime commerce. In this work, we present a hybrid VNS metaheuristic to tackle a real Maritime Inventory Routing Problem (MIRP) in a company that explores oil and gas in the Brazilian offshore basin. In the methodology proposed, a linear mathematical model is embedded in the local search procedure to minimize inventory costs. The approach, validated within realistic data, provides low and not regular inventory violations. When compared with a previously developed method, it presents an improved performance, with reduced costs and computational time. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG."
"We investigate the carbon dynamics in Guanabara Bay, an eutrophic tropical coastal embayment surrounded by the megacity of Rio de Janeiro (southeast coast of Brazil). Nine sampling campaigns were conducted for dissolved, particulate and total organic carbon (DOC, POC and TOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), chlorophyll a (Chl a), pheo-pigments and ancillary parameters. Highest DOC, POC and Chl a concentrations were found in confined-shallow regions of the bay during the summer period with strong pCO2 undersaturation, and DOC reached 82 mg L?1, POC 152 mg L?1, and Chl a 800 ?g L?1. Spatially and temporally, POC and DOC concentrations varied positively with total pigments, and negatively with DIC. Strong linear correlations between these parameters indicate that the production of TOC translates to an equivalent uptake in DIC, with 85% of the POC and about 50% of the DOC being of phytoplanktonic origin. Despite the shallow depths of the bay, surface waters were enriched in POC and DOC relative to bottom waters in periods of high thermohaline stratification. The seasonal accumulation of phytoplankton-derived TOC in the surface waters reached about 105 g C m?2 year?1, representing between 8 and 40% of the net primary production. The calculated turnover time of organic carbon was 117 and 34 days during winter and summer, respectively. Our results indicate that eutrophication of coastal bays in the tropics can generate large stocks of planktonic biomass and detrital organic carbon which are permanently being produced and partially degraded and buried in sediments. © 2017, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature."
"This paper presents a methodology to estimate the thickness loss on hulls of Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) platforms under general corrosion. The main purpose is to define characteristic corrosion rates for structural reassessment of the extension of life of FPSOs considering results of previous in-life inspections. The steel wear generates sectional loss and capacity reduction, possibly leading to structural failure. Being capable of estimating FPSO's plates and stiffeners thickness along the operational life would be a considerable safety improvement for the whole industry, benefiting operators and classifications societies. During this research, different models were investigated to define the proposed methodology: (a) Model A (Garbatov and Soares [1,2]); (b) Model B (Melchers et al. [3-11] and, the one considered more appropriate to this study, Model C (Paik et al. [12,16]). The proposed approach, based on Paik et al (2003), considers that the results of thickness loss readings in inspections during the operational life of the FPSO may be modeled by the Weibull model. Then, this model is applied to estimate the characteristic corrosion rate for the structural reassessment of FPSO extension life. Results of the proposed methodology are presented for four structural components of a typical converted FPSO single hull in operation at Campos Basin, Brazil offshore. Copyright © 2019 ASME."
"The second phase, Module 1A, of the Roncador field, offshore Brazil, was developed with a large semisubmersible floating production unit (FPU). This paper explains the strategies adopted by Petrobras to overcome the challenge of starting oil and gas production at a water depth of 1800 m in a short period of time, which required starting the platform construction early, almost simultaneously with the design of the riser system."
"Estuarine ecosystems are increasingly being affected by pollution caused by anthropogenic activities. In this study, Crassostrea gasar oysters were transplanted and maintained for seven days at three sites (S1, S2, and S3) in the Laguna Estuarine System (LES)—situated in southern Brazil—that has been exposed to multiple anthropic stresses. On the basis of the concentrations of metal and organic pollutants in oysters, we identified marked spatial variations in pollutant levels, with S3 showing the highest concentration of Ag, Fe, Ni, Zn, and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), followed by S2 and S1. Along with the concentrations of pollutants, a set of biomarkers was analyzed. Oysters maintained at S3 showed enhanced protective defenses in gills, as observed by the increased levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD-like) and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90-like) transcripts and catalase (CAT) activity, concomitant with reduced lipid peroxidation (MDA) levels. Decreased antioxidant activities together with increased MDA levels are indicative of the digestive gland being more susceptible to pollutant-induced oxidative damage. Oysters transplanted into LES showed lower levels of cytochrome P450 transcripts (CYP356A1-like and CYP2AU1), and decreased glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme activity, suggesting lower biotransformation capacity. By integrating information regarding the concentration of metal and organic pollutants with that of molecular as well as biochemical biomarkers, our study provides novel insights into pollutant exposure and the potential biological impacts of such exposure on estuarine organisms in southern Brazil. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"During basic design development for new FPSO projects in Brazilian pre-salt exploration, digital technologies were employed, in order to achieve constructability design requirements, construction and commissioning specification checks. Due to its benefit cost, schedule, quality, and overall project objectives and deep influence in platform safety and operability, in a process explained in Figure 1. Those digital technologies, such as the use of databases, computer aided engineering (CAE), analysis tools, 3D simulations and consistency check, were identified in constructability reviews and were developed to achieve the best constructability procedures and solve construction inconsistencies between several involved disciplines in posterior detailed design, procurement and commissioning phases. This manuscript aims to present the use of digital technologies to support constructability analysis in offshore oil & gas production facility - surface installations - projects of Petrobras. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"This work explains the process of how a bit was designed specifically to address drilling challenges of the reservoir section of the Mero Field offshore Brazil. The performance of this new bit is compared to previous bits used in the field. A systematic process to design and evaluate the performance of a new bit involves interaction with the operator to understand the challenges and gather information, evaluate previous bit performances, use software to simulate the new bit design based on drilling conditions in the field, manufacture the bit according to design specifications, run the bit according to planned parameters, capture and report results, and evaluate results to identify possible improvements. The reservoir section has a high hardness and is primarily composed of calcareous rock and silica intercalations. Since the discovery of the Mero Field, more than 17 wells have been drilled by different companies. In the majority of the wells, the reservoir section was drilled using impregnated bits and turbines. As a result, the application of a systematic process was used to solve operator challenges where a new bit was designed and run in the field to drill the reservoir section of two wells. A comparison was performed between the previous bits used in the field and the new bit concept, certifying that the new bit reduced the reservoir section drilling time by 59%. This work discusses improved drilling efficiency in the reservoir section by drilling with a new bit design in a field where only impregnated bits and turbines were used. This created a new benchmark for drilling performance in the Mero Field. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The composition of estuarine fish fauna is dynamic and complex. Despite the variation in fish fauna in estuaries, it is possible to observe some species associated with microhabitats. The assemblage composition of these communities is apparently derived from habitat selection. The aim of this study was to assess the structure of the demersal fish fauna of the Paranaguá Bay and its relationship with biotic and abiotic factors. To this end, monthly collections were conducted using an otter trawl, from October 1999 to September 2000, at five sites in the shallow infralittoral. Biotic (organic matter, and invertebrates) and abiotic factors (salinity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, seston, and nutrients) were recorded during sampling. A total of 6,623 individuals were captured, belonging to 2 species of Chondrichthyes and 53 species of Actinopterygii (26 families). Sciaenidae was the most representative in terms of richness, with 11 species, and Ariidae was the most representative in terms of abundance. The catfish Cathorops spixii was the most abundant species, representing 21 % of the entire catch. There were significant differences in the composition and abundance of the fish fauna among the studied areas, as evidenced by the Shannon-Wiener diversity index. Such differences seem to be related to the complexity of habitats, which occur due to different types of bottom cover found at each sampling site. The abiotic variables indicated little influence on the structure of the fish assembly. These results contribute to a better understanding of the fish fauna from the shallow infralittoral areas of the Paranaguá Bay, and provide data to decision makers for better implementation of management and conservation measures. © 2020, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"The stability of methane hydrates on continental margins worldwide is sensitive to changes in temperature and pressure conditions. It has been shown how gradual increases in bottom water temperatures due to ocean warming over post-glacial timescales can destabilize shallow oceanic hydrate deposits, causing their dissociation and gas release into the ocean. However, bottom water temperatures (BWT) may also vary significantly over much shorter timescales, including due to seasonal temperature oscillations of the ocean bottom currents. In this study, we investigate how a shallow methane hydrate deposit responds to seasonal BWT oscillations with an amplitude of up to 1.5 °C. We use the TOUGH + HYDRATE code to model changes in the methane hydrate stability zone (MHSZ) using data from the Rio Grande Cone, in the South Atlantic Ocean off the Brazilian coast. In all the cases studied, BWT oscillations resulted in significant gaseous methane fluxes into the ocean for up to 10 years, followed by a short period of small fluxes of gaseous methane into the ocean, until they stopped completely. On the other hand, aqueous methane was released into the ocean during the 100 years simulated, for all the cases studied. During the temperature oscillations, the MHSZ recedes continuously both horizontally and, in a smaller scale, vertically, until a permanent and a seasonal region in MHSZ are defined. Sensitivity tests were carried out for parameters of porosity, thermal conductivity and initial hydrate saturation, which were shown to play an important role on the volume of methane released into the ocean and on the time interval in which such release occurs. Overall, the results indicate that in a system with no gas recharge from the bottom, seasonal temperature oscillations alone cannot account for long-term gas release into the ocean. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd"
"CO2-WAG (Water-Alternating-Gas) has been applied in offshore Brazilian oilfields to improve recovery rates and mitigate the environmental impact that venting produced CO2 would bring. Although CO2 is highly miscible in oil under these reservoirs conditions, this gas is also extremely mobile, and its speciation in the aqueous phase drives reactions with carbonates that can cause severe inorganic scaling problems in production systems. It is crucial, therefore, to effectively design CO2-WAG operations for mobility control and, consequently, enhance reservoir performance, CO2 utilization and flow assurance. This paper addresses the design optimization of coupled CO2-EOR and storage operations applied to the Brazilian Pre-salt offshore context (reservoir properties, infrastructure, regulatory framework and economic characteristics), examining the trade-offs of project profitability, CO2 utilization and calcite scale risk. Several compositional simulations of miscible WAG scenarios were performed and key design parameters were optimized using statistical sampling and evolutionary algorithms. Aqueous and mineral reactions were included in the calculations, allowing us to quantify the calcite mass that can potentially deposit in the perforations and production system. The results showed how optimizing WAG operations can significantly improve the economics and the scale management of oil production from carbonate reservoirs. The optimal WAG design greatly increased incremental NPV per volume of CO2 stored and reduced calcite scale risk by simply rearranging the WAG slugs in a tapered manner. Here we demonstrate that this methodology can be used to determine how to recycle CO2 in a given field for better economics and lower carbon footprint, doing so without triggering calcite mineral deposition to the point of permanent jeopardy of production wells and facilities operability. Therefore, the workflow integrates critical challenges that are correlated, yet often addressed independently, supporting the complex decision-making of CO2-EOR operational design in carbonate reservoirs. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Volcanic oceanic islands host soils that may hold important paleo-environmental proxies, based on vegetation and faunal evidences coupled with pedological and geomorphological indicators. In this regard, the main Brazilian oceanic island of Fernando de Noronha (FNI) still lacks a deeper and more complete analysis of its climatic history and soil evolution. We select and collect representative FNI soils to interpret their chemical, physical and mineralogical properties and to explain their changing pedogenesis and geomorphic balance, aiming at revealing the environmental and landscape evolutionary history of this island. Ten soil pedons on phonolites, ankaratrites and the associated pyroclastic rocks were collected in June/2018. Six profiles were classified as Inceptisols, one as Entisol, one as Mollisol, one as Vertisol and another as the first Oxisol ever described in a Brazilian oceanic island. The pH ranged between 5.0 and 6.0 in the more developed, dystrophic and Al-saturated soils, whereas alkaline pHs were found in the eutrophic and Na-rich pedons. For the latter group, chemical and physical attributes are closely associated with the parent material composition, whereas in the former, present day soil features overprint paleoweathered regoliths and former pedogenetic processes. High concentrations of available phosphorus (P) were observed in all soils and horizons, even at depths greater than 150 cm, and P forms were detected as amorphous or poorly-crystalline phosphates (Al, Fe, Na, Ca and K). High- and low-activity clay minerals coexist, combined with gibbsite and unstable primary minerals, indicating the polygenetic nature of FNI soils. A combined pedogeomorphological analysis indicated the existence of a high paleoweathered plateau with relict soils, and erosional surfaces hosting younger soils. Results showed the succession of at least three distinct main paleoclimates since the Pliocene and a post-magmatic model for landscape evolution. The unreported, widespread and intense phosphatization of all soils and paleosurfaces is attributed to a past large population of birds nesting all over the island, corroborating old historical records of the island's early occupation. Report the occurrence of Brazil's first ornithogenic Oxisol with more than 500 mg/kg of bioavailable P. © 2020 Elsevier B.V."
"Based on the evolution of the tectonic plate and pregeography, the passive continental margin basins on the east coasts of Brazil experienced three prototype phases. Berremian intracontinental rift megasequence in lower cretaceous, comprising lacustrine sediments overlying Neocomian basalts, Aptian intercontinental rift basin, in which the laqoon transitional megasequence deposited, including two sedimentary units:the lower, mostly composed by carbonate and the upper represented by halite, and the drift phase, passive continental margin basin from Albian until the present-day, deposited with the marine megasequence. The Lower Cretaceous lacustrine calcareous black shale is the main source rocks of the giant oil and gas fields. The reservoirs include two sects:lower laqoon carbonatea nd upper, Tertiary and Cretaceous turbidites. The carbonate reservoirs is sealed by halite, while the turbidites are preserved by marine shale. The lower Cretaceous lacustrine source rocks starts to generate the oil and gas from Eocene-Miocene formed""double insurance""type models of giant oil and gas fields. If no salt windows existing, hydrocarbons migrated vertically along faults and are trapped mainly in the pre-salt carbonates. If salt windows exiting, hydrocarbons are accumulated in Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary turbidites which are packaged by marine facies shale."
"The estuary of the Pacoti River (3°49'27"" S, 38°24'18"" W) is located in the state of Ceará, in northeastern Brazil. The estuary is also part of the Rio Pacoti Environmental Protection Area (Rio Pacoti EPA), which is important for the stability of the local ecosystems and the exchange of material and energy. Despite being protected legally, the environmental quality of the study area is being threatened by impacts such as the deforestation, landfills, the contamination of the water table, and unregulated building, which all alter the natural dynamics of the local systems. These impacts result from inadequate processes of land use and occupation, which fail to respect local potentialities and limitations. The present study found that these processes of degradation are ongoing, and do not only contradict the legislation that regulates the sustainable use of the local environment, but may also cause irreparable damage to the local geo-ecological systems, constituting a grave problem for this sector of the coast of Ceará. In this context, the study presents a geo-environmental description of the estuary and an integrated diagnosis, based on the geoecological analysis of the landscape, in two phases -organization and survey, analysis, diagnosis, and proposals. The application of this geo-ecological analysis resulted in the demarcation and classification of the following units: coastal plain and the pre-coastal plateau. Based on this analysis, a proposal for the environmental and functional zoning of the study area was put forward, with the objective of integrating economic development with the conservation of local natural resources. © Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2016."
"Several Mesozoic successions of the Southern Tethyan margin were accumulated on a carbonate platform evolving to pelagic plateau depositional systems. Rifting paleotectonics was the main process conditioning their tectono-sedimentary evolution. The well-exposed outcrops in NW Sicilian fold and thrust belt of the so-called Trapanese carbonate platform to pelagic succession highlight the occurrence of lateral facies and thickness changes, paleofaults, volcanics, and resedimented deposits. The integration of facies analysis, stratigraphic data, and subsidence history have permitted to decipher the polyphase tectono-sedimentary evolution and to distinguish different depositional settings. Structural lows, filled with up to 100m-thick of pillow lavas and reworked deposits, appear as intraplatform basins bordered by structural highs, as horst ridges, characterised by condensed sedimentation, and isolated seamounts. These sectors were linked among them by stepped fault margins, scalloped margins and depositional slopes. The tectonic history, highlighted by the backstripped sections, reveals superimposed evolutionary stages reflecting rifting and rapid tectonic subsidence, leading to continental break-up (Late Triassic-Early Jurassic stage); the Middle Jurassic stage reflects slow thermal subsidence in the basin shoulders and higher rates in the intervening depressions; the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous regional uplift interrupts the thermal subsidence curve trend. The tract of the Late Cretaceous-Eocene curve suggests again slow thermal post-rift subsidence, also influenced by sediment load. The different subsidence curves, reconstructed from different positions in the sedimentary basin, demonstrate that its evolution could be driven by the identified syn-sedimentary faults that were formed and/or re-activated during several tectonic events encompassing the whole Jurassic-Cretaceous time period. The regional significance of this tectonics indicates that the Sicilian sector of the Southern Tethyan continental margin was tectonically active for the whole Mesozoic. The reconstructed paleophysiography of the Trapanese continental margin, during the Mesozoic, appears characterized by a segmented and drowned carbonate platform with morphostructural highs separated by deep channels. The comparison to the present-day morphostructural setting of some regions of the Atlantic continental margins (e.g. Caribbean, Brazilian Equatorial Margin), suggests also for the study region that the occurrence of transcurrent/transform faults and stretching of the continental lithosphere can have played an important role in determining the physiographic conformation. © Società Geologica Italiana, Roma 2019."
"Coquinas constitute widespread deposits in lacustrine, estuarine, and shallow marine settings, where they are a valuable source of information on environmental conditions. Thick coquina successions were deposited in a series of lacustrine rift basins that formed along the Brazilian Continental Margin during the early stages of the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean, in the Early Cretaceous. In the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, the coquina sequence, equivalent to the Morro do Chaves Formation, crops out in the Atol Quarry, and is considered a relevant analog for the economically important hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Pre-salt strata (Barremian to Aptian) of the Campos Basin (Pampo, Badejo, and Linguado oil fields), which occur only in the subsurface. The aim of this study is to generate a depositional and stratigraphic model through facies and stratigraphic analyses of a well core. These analyses allowed the geological characterization of the Morro do Chaves Formation and of its transition to the adjacent stratigraphic units, the Coqueiro Seco Formation above and the Penedo Formation below, contributing to the growing knowledge of sedimentation in rift basins and exploratory models in hydrocarbon-producing reservoirs. Facies analysis consists of sedimentological, taphonomic, and stratigraphic features of the rocks. Fourteen depositional facies were recognized, stacked into low-frequency and high-frequency, deepening-upward and shallowing-upward cycles driven by the interaction between climate and tectonism. A depositional model is presented, based on the correlation between well-core and outcrop data described in previous studies, providing insights into the spatial distribution of facies. The detailed analysis of facies and stacking patterns sheds light on depositional processes, paleoenvironmental conditions, and the evolution of the system through time, so we may better understand analogous deposits in the geological record. © 2020, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology)"
"Polymer flooding is a chemical enhanced oil recovery that aims to improve mobility control, by increasing the viscosity of injection brine and thus reducing the mobility ratio. Starting the polymer injection as early as possible brings the best economic results because it prevents the formation of viscous fingering and sweeps more efficiently the reservoir. It is possible, however, to obtain gains with polymer flooding even after massive waterfloods. In this work, three different model-based approaches are developed to revitalize mature oilfields and tested considering the use of water and polymer as injection fluid. These strategies were tested using a synthetic reservoir model based on data from an offshore field in Brazil. The reservoir is sandstone (average permeability = 1650mD, average porosity = 20%). The oleic phase is heavy viscous oil (~70 cP, 14° API). The first simulation approach considered a strategy based on a standard waterflood until its economic limit. For this case, the maximum net present value (NPV) was reached after 15 years of production with a recovery factor of 25%. The revitalization strategy of this field considers an abandonment status for all wells. To emulate the time necessary to install all new facilities, all wells were assumed to be closed for six months. The first approach consists simply of reopening the injectors by changing the injection fluid to an aqueous polymer solution. The second approach has an additional degree of freedom: it allows all wells to be converted from injectors to producers and vice-versa. Finally, the third approach consists of the addition of new wells. Equations for quality maps for placing injectors and producers are presented. Using these equations, new producers and injectors could be placed at the best locations to produce the remaining oil spots. All three approaches increased the oil recovery factor. The additional oil recovery and variations in NPV were higher for the polymer flooding when compared with the standard waterflood, ensuring a longer productive life. This significant increase in oil production means that, for the selected case, producers needed to be closed in the water flooding period, due to economic performance, leaving a significant amount of oil still in the reservoir. The methodologies presented in this paper are easy to apply and can allow mature fields to economically produce more oil. The conversion of old wells by changing from producers to injectors or vice-versa allows new and creative production strategies. This can be done in onshore and dry completed offshore fields demanding small budgets and intervention times. This paper shows that it is possible to increase both the recovery factor and net present value of fields in the later stages of production life. © 2021 Elsevier B.V."
"The development of Brazil's Offshore fields has been performed using flexible pipes because this pipe technology offers significantly increased flexibility, enabling the movement of pipes between wells and reducing lead time to bring a well onstream as compared to rigid pipe solutions. In addition, the decision of where exactly to drill development wells can be delayed, thus making the drilling campaigns easier, cheaper and faster [1]. With the increased activity in Pre-Salt, some challenges to flexible pipes were uncovered and needed to be addressed, notably oil composition and corrosive agents, e.g. H2S, and, specifically for the case of this paper, CO2. At high pressures, such as found in pre-Salt fields, these contaminants create new Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) failure modes and several mitigation measures have been adopted to overcome them, focused either on the installed fleet or on the next generation of pipes to be delivered. SCC is a condition that induces failure in the pipes' metallic layers, but it needs three elements to occur: water, tensile stress exceeding a critical level and a susceptible material. If one of these three elements is suppressed, the phenomena does not to happen. This paper will cover and present a technology developed to detect the annulus water condition - dry or flooded - and thereby allow a correct integrity management strategy to be adopted. The technology is based on an embedded sensing system together with topside equipment to read the status. The use of such a system is important for the next generation of flexible pipes as it will allow better management of the fleet, with the required measurements performed from the production unit without the need of any support vessel and hence at a reduced cost. Copyright © 2020 ASME."
"Although significantly impacted, Guanabara Bay (GB), located in southeastern Brazil, is still an important fishery source for the state of Rio de Janeiro. Hg contamination, in particular, is of concern in the area and should be regularly monitored, as Hg bioaccumulation and biomagnification processes may lead public health risks to the local human population due to the consumption of contaminated food items, such as crabs. In this context, the aim of the present study was to determine total Hg (THg) concentrations in swimming crabs from three GB areas and investigate the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on Hg concentrations at the beginning and the end of the rainy season. Crabs and water samples were obtained from three areas, inside the bay, at the mouth of the bay and outside the bay. A clear rainfall effect on the investigated abiotic variables was observed, with increased rainfall and temperatures noted at the end of the study period. Significant statistical correlations were observed between THg concentrations and the assessed abiotic variables at the three study points at the beginning and end of the rainy season. The rainy season was noted as directly affecting THg concentrations at Guanabara Bay and, consequently, swimming crab THg contents. THg concentrations in swimming crabs at Urca and at the Cagarras Islands were higher at the beginning of the rainy season compared to the end, while the opposite was observed for the sampling point outside the bay. Higher Hg concentrations were detected at the outermost point of the bay in relation to the Cagarras Islands, probably due to the local upwelling event. THg values in Callinectes sp. were higher than concentrations reported for other areas in Brazil but lower than other reports worldwide. Calculated THg intakes surpassed the maximum National Research Council permissible limits of 0.049 mg/week at all sampling stations during both seasons, raising public health concerns. Further research for longer monitoring periods during different seasons are essential to ascertain which climatic period is most critical regarding Hg availability at this anthropogenically-impacted estuary. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"Anchoring systems in deep-water Oil & Gas operations can be very challenging, considering the high loads usually applied and the soft soil to hold the anchor. The development of offshore anchoring systems with Torpedo Pile is a technological application that can save time and cost during the mooring installation. With a very efficient holding capacity, and using the free-fall energy for its own installation, this technology is widely used in Brazil, by Petrobras. It is estimated that more than 2,000 torpedo piles were successfully installed in Brazil's shore. This Kind of Anchor is field proven, applied to FPSOs, Rigs, Steel Risers, Flexible flowlines and Umbilical cables anchor process, with a large range of holding capacity loads. This paper presents the advantages to use this technology, considering the overall mooring installation process, and suggest different applications for torpedo piles. Considering the nowadays increasing requirement for renewable energy, and the large potential for offshore wind power generation, this work brings the proposal to use the torpedo pile technology in the mooring design for the floating wind turbines. With the anchoring efficiency, in addition to the reduced installation time, torpedo pile can improve competitiveness in such a challenged market. Copyright © 2020, The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers"
The late Pleistocene Holocene stratigraphic architecture on the northeastern Brazilian continental shelf off the Parnaíba Delta has been explored by high-resolution seismic profiles. The seismic surveys reveal the widespread distribution of incised valleys of different size in offshore continuation of the present-day Parnaiba delta. According to morphology two channel types can be distinguished: U-shaped channels in the eastern part and V-shaped channels in the western part. The stratigraphic successions were grouped into four seismic units separated by different seismic boundaries. The characteristics of the seismic boundaries and internal reflectors of the seismic units were used to distinguish between marine and riverine deposits. The incised-valleys architectural elements were used to link sedimentation processes and variations in base level from late Pleistocene channel avulsion and channel infill in the lowermost course of the paleo-Parnaíba River to marine sediments of the present-day inner shelf. The change of the depositional environments in relation to deglacial sea-level rise is compared to incised valley infills of the Mekong River and Red River systems in Southeast Asia. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
"The Brazilian oceanic islands are privileged places for studying unique landforms, evolved under an active tectonic setting, and humid to semi-arid climates of marine influence. The main landform aspects of the two main islands (Fernando de Noronha and Trindade) are presented, showing the importance of volcanic activity at hot spots, with older events in Noronha, resulting in extensive weathering and erosion of the less resistant rocks (tuffs, scoria), compared with prominent phonolite massive stocks, forming exhumed pinnacles and domes of structural resistance. In contrast, Late Quaternary volcanism at Trindade resulted in the preservation of younger volcanic features, such as caldera remains, volcanic platforms and slopes, lava and scoria fields, and dark-sand beaches formed by high contents of primary mineral such as magnetite. Storm beaches composed of large clasts (cobbles) are also found in both islands. Trindade and Noronha islands show polyphasic aeolian features at some coastal sectors, with sand dunes of bioclastic carbonates, with greater extension in Noronha compared with Trindade. Uplifted marine terraces are found in both islands, associated with former high sea levels. In contrast, the presence of submerged terraces at Noronha and Trindade is related to a combination of glacio-eustatic variations (low sea levels) and epeirogenic uplift. In Noronha (Rata Island), we can find a rare case of oceanic karst landscape developed on calcareous sandstone, with abundant lapiez and dissolution features. Also, ornithogenic soils are widespread, with great importance for paleoecological studies of former bird colonies in these isolated islands. The most prominent landforms are structural and tectonically controlled, and the erosion degree in Noronha advanced much farther than in Trindade, exhuming pre-existent volcanic necks and similar structures, forming a complex and impressive landform scenery. Trindade reveals unique, endemic landscapes formed by pure stands of arboreal ferns (Cyathea sp.), where deep organic soils developed. Fluvial erosion is very limited, but there is evidence of a former greater importance of run-off in Noronha and Trindade. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht."
"This paper aims to report the production management of domestic shipyards, with the inclusion of the national fleet renewal program. The study addresses how domestic production may or may not leverage its business and promote sustainable growth of the national shipbuilding industry. The largest national power generation company, Petrobras, began a program in 2008 to renew the fleet of marine support. This program included the construction of 146 offshore support vessels in Brazilian shipyards. With this, the Brazilian government promoted the revitalization of the national shipbuilding industry by introducing this segment in its Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and decided that shipbuilding should have local content in its production. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, London."
"There are several oil fields offshore Brazil with horizontal oil density variations. API tracking, that is available in some commercial finite difference simulators, can deal with such cases by allowing definition of an initial oil gravity distribution and tracking variations of oil density, due to the movement of oil. Streamline-based simulators can be much faster than conventional finite difference simulators when applied to large and heterogeneous models. However, this approach is most accurate and efficient when it is assumed that the rock and fluids are incompressible. In previous work (Beraldo et al, 2007), an incompressible formulation for streamline simulation with an API Tracking option using two components in the oleic phase was presented. This paper presents a compressible formulation for streamlines that also considers API tracking. It extends the work of Cheng et al. (2006) and Osako and Datta-Gupta (2007) by consistently accounting for flux of mass and volume along streamlines. It was described how mass and volume can be mapped between the underlying grid and streamlines to minimize mass balance errors and how consideration of cumulative volume in a streamline can substitute for time-of-flight (Beraldo 2008). The method was implemented in a three-dimensional two-phase streamline-based simulator. Tests based on a Brazilian oilfield model and on the SPE10th Comparative Case demonstrate that the implementation can reproduce the results of a conventional simulator, while being substantially faster for finely-resolved models, even when compressibility is significant."
"During the last years, a lot of work have been done focusing on development of low shear valves solutions to be applied on petroleum primary process plants. The main goal of the low shear valve is to generate water-in-oil (WiO) and oil-in-water (OiW) emulsions that can be easier treated by the separation process, when compared with emulsion generated by conventional valves. This paper presents experimental results of a comparison between a commercial low shear valve and a conventional valve. Both valves were installedin parallel on a test loop and the fluids used for all test matrix points were potable water mixed with Petrobras Marlim Crude Oil. The test matrix includes variation of differential pressure on valves, flowrates and concentration of water/oil. Samples were collected downstream of both valves and led to settle into several residence times. The degree of contamination of both phases were analyzed for all residence times. The benefit of the application of low shear valve was quantified for all test conditions and the results were very promissory. The pressure drops across valves were selected considering typical values observed at Petrobras choke valves and control level valves. For almost all test matrix's points the emulsion generated by the low shear valve showed at least a slight benefit, allowing have better water quality after settling. The low shear valve solution showed to be a promissory technology but the magnitude of the benefit is very influenced by valve process operation conditions. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Seventeen species of podocopid and platycopid Ostracoda were recorded in the 26 samples studied from the DSDP (= Deep Sea Drilling Project) Site 515B, Brazil Basin. The Trachyleberididae (eight spp.) and Krithidae (four spp.) are the most-represented families. Most species were left in open nomenclature because of scarcity or poor preservation. The assemblages composition shows moderate similarity to previously-studied deep-sea assemblages. The distribution pattern of the Eocene-Oligocene deep-sea ostracodes is briefly discussed as a contribution to the understanding of Paleogene ostracode zoogeography. © 2013 by the Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia."
"One late Quaternary sediment core from the continental slope of the northern sector of Pelotas Basin (southern Brazilian continental margin, 2091 m water depth) was analyzed in order to evaluate the influence of the organic matter influx in the benthic foraminiferal assemblage composition on a regional scale. This study investigated the relationship between epifaunal species (Epistominella exigua and Alabaminella weddellensis) and infaunal species (Uvigerina peregrina and Angulogerina angulosa) integrated in a relative abundance based index, the “Organic Input Index” (OrgIn). The correlation of these species with abiotic data is also discussed, including mud content, total organic carbon (TOC) and carbon stable isotope (?13C) in Uvigerina peregrina. The age model based on one radiocarbon dating of planktonic foraminifera and oxygen isotope composition of benthic foraminifera (Uvigerina) revealed the record spans the last 112,500 yr, covering the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5 to 3. The dominance of infaunal species, mainly Globocassidulina subglobosa, boliviniids and buliminiids throughout the entire core is interpreted as an indicator of an increase of organic matter supply and dominance of the eutrophic conditions in this study area. The variations found in the proportion of the epifaunal and infaunal species indicate distinctive inputs of organic matter (phytodetritus input versus bacterial activity, respectively). An increasing trend in the importance of epifaunal species from the base of the core to uppermost samples (MIS 5 to MIS 3) was also observed, which is assumed to be evidence of the higher productivity of the surface water masses in this sector of the South Atlantic during the glacial periods. © 2018 Elsevier B.V."
"Decommissioning of offshore fixed platforms has become a reality that the Brazilian market has to face since only 5% of the offshore platforms installed in Brazil have been completely removed until now. In the last few years, many oil and gas fields have reached the end of their productive lives and many platform structures are reaching, or already exceeding, their project service life, 20 to 30 years on average. In addition, changes acting on the global market and the recent sharp fall in oil price are inducing oil companies to re-estimate the profitability of each production unit and to consider, in several cases, decommissioning as a valid alternative. This paper aims at analyzing the future demand for decommissioning of fixed offshore units, taking into account the financial, technical and operational point of view. Forecast of decommissioning demand is finally mapped in the short, medium and long terms. Copyright 2015, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Currently, low oil prices pose a challenge to the financial state of the industry. Therefore, it is very important that companies optimize costs while maintaining or even increasing oil production. At the same time, with oil production declining due high water cuts and facility volume limitations in an offshore production system, it is necessary to look for solutions in order to maintain economic viability by increasing oil recovery in mature reservoirs. Among some alternatives, the subsea separator represents a good prospect for dealing with these challenges. This paper aims to describe a methodology to perform the technical feasibility study of deploying an Oil/Water Subsea Separator in Brazilian Offshore Field. The technical results were then used as part of an economic analysis which is outside the scope of the present paper. The study is comprised four wells that are linked to the manifold and the subsea separator. In the subsea separator, 70% of the produced water is separated and reinjected in a disposal well. Hence, the fluids which remains (oil, gas and 30% of water) flows up to the platform. Since this reinjected water volume is not flowing to the platform anymore, more fluid can be processed, allowing the wells to operate on larger potentials resulting in an increased cumulative oil production to the field. Computational simulation approach was followed by using the pore flow simulation, flow assurance simulation and a coupler that integrates both of these. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"On the 18th January 2000 a broken pipeline owned and operated by the oil company Petrobras spilt some 1300 tonne of bunker fuel into Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. The wildlife response was divided amongst 2 operational strategies and included - avion fauna and cetaceans. This paper deals with the cetacean response only. Cetaceans are generally not considered as an important feature of an oil spill response. Contingency planning for cetaceans in oil spills is now becoming an important element for preparedness for some countries. The cetacean response in Guanabara Bay specifically targeted a pod of about 70 members of the species Sotalia fluviatilis, a small dolphin that inhabits the bay. The response included the development of a plan that included a response system, a monitoring program and action plans. The response system detailed the mechanism for the plan to work and adopted the incident control management system. The monitoring program related to the study of any short term or long term deleterious effects resulting from the spill and consisted of basic spatial, temporal and behavioural studies. Action plans were developed specific to the character of Guanabara Bay and included the rescue and rehabilitation strategies necessary to respond to oil affected cetaceans. A training program, was then developed and implemented to personnel who were to enact the cetacean response."
"The continental margin of Brazil in intraplate South America exhibits a seismicity rate 70% higher than the average stable continental regions. This margin encompasses Northeastern Brazil, where most of the seismicity and active faults concentrate along the coast. The current study presents an integration of high-resolution aeromagnetic, seismological, and geological data to investigate the relationship between the seismicity and basement fabric in two areas in the northern part of the Precambrian Borborema Province. Our investigation indicates a relation between the metamorphic basement foliation and two seismogenic faults. In the first area adjacent to the Transbrasiliano Lineament, the largest continental suture zone in the South American platform, the magnetic anomaly patterns indicate that the regional basement grain and structural elements are E-W-oriented, which coincides with the strike of the E-W-striking, strike-slip Riacho Fundo Seismogenic Fault. In the second area, the magnetic anomaly patterns also coincide with the NE-SW-striking, strike-slip Samambaia Fault, and a swarm of chalcedony-quartz veins. Euler deconvolution used to estimate the source depth of the magnetic anomalies indicates that the faults in both cases could be longer and deeper than segments illuminated by the present-day seismicity. Although these findings are difficult to use as predictive tools, they indicate that the basement fabric could be reactivated by seismicity in continental interiors, as previously discussed in several cases in Brazil. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"The feasibility of the construction of concrete platforms for deep water locations (130 m) offshore Brazil, was investigated. A large depth of water is not available near the coast in Brazil, and a construction method was devised to overcome this difficulty. The design incorporates storage tanks and is less costly than a steel structure."
"Oceanographic features influence the early stages of fish to a high degree. We investigated the influence of continental shelf-slope gradient on the ichthyoplankton composition and distribution off Northeastern Brazil. Two oceanographic campaigns were performed during July-August 2010 and 2012. The samplings were performed along three transects composed by three stations, covering the continental shelf and slope areas. Abiotic data were obtained by an ADCP and a CTD. The ichthyoplankton was sampled through diurnal and nocturnal hauls using a 500-µm bongo net from 200 m to the surface. A total of 1634 larvae and 4023 eggs, representing 91 genera and 76 species, were collected. Higher concentrations of fish eggs were found on the continental shelf, probably because of the North Brazil Undercurrent flux. Higher concentrations of larvae were found at night and could be associated with net avoidance or natural variation. Neritic, oceanic and transition groups of species association were determined. Larvae of neritic, demersal and pelagic fishes prevailed on the continental shelf, while larvae of oceanic, mesopelagic and bathypelagic fishes on the continental slope. Melanostomiidae, Scorpaena sp., Lestidium atlanticum, Lampadena sp. and Diaphus sp. were identified as indicators of the continental slope. © 2020, Academia Brasileira de Ciencias. All rights reserved."
"The present study aims to propose a methodology to treat probabilistically the prediction of well bottom pressures during drilling, circulation and tripping operations. The pressure generated by the fluid is the primary safety barrier and its failure can immediately initiate gains and losses events in the well, with a direct impact on the safety of the process. Two models were considered in the study: a two-phase flow model commonly used to predict hole cleaning and downhole pressures while drilling and a pressure propagation single flow transient model (which considers fluid compressibility and gelation) to account for peaks in tripping and pump restarts. A Monte Carlo method coupled with a latin hypercube strategy was implemented to propagate the uncertainties in the input variables to the resulting pressure. The probabilistic approach aims to consider the uncertainties in the input variables (weight, rheology, penetration rate, drillstring velocity and acceleration, pump flow, particle diameter, well trajectory, etc.). Monte Carlo Simulation was conducted to generate the pressure distribution curves in each of the operations: drilling, circulation, tripping and pump restarts. Probabilistic pressures are fit into probabilistic operational windows allowing the quantification of the risk of losing the barrier. The paper also details the critical aspects associated with typical pre-salt well drilling project conditions in offshore Brazil where narrow operational widows are a reality. The analysis directly impacts the choice of drilling strategy (conventional or MPD) and, consequently, rig selection. Innovative strategy to enable risk assessment strategies in the analysis of safety barriers. Pilot to a major integrated approach which will include other barriers such as cement, rock and equipment. Copyright © 2020, Society of Petroleum Engineers"
"Micropaleontological analyses based on calcareous nannofossils were conducted on samples taken from the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH)-Piedras Blancas-1 Well, which was drilled in the Sinú–San Jacinto Basin, Caribbean Region of Colombia. A summary of published literature on fossil coccolithophores from the marine Cenozoic record of South America reveals that our study is the first to report Lower Eocene coccolith-bearing sedimentary rocks in the substratum of the Caribbean inland margin. The assemblages are characterized by common occurrences of Reticulofenestra dictyoda and Sphenolithus radians and sporadic occurrences of Girgisia gammation, Heliodiscoaster lodoensis, and Sphenolithus orphanknolli. The co-occurrence of H. lodoensis, R. dictyoda, and S. orphanknolli indicates that the core between 1190 ft (362 m) and 279 ft (85 m) encompasses Zone NP12 to Subzone NP14a and spans the interval between ~53 to ~48.3 Ma of the latest Early Eocene (Late Ypresian Age). Small placoliths (R. dictyoda and Reticulofenestra <3 lm) and sphenoliths (S. radians and Sphenolithus spp.) dominate the tropical assemblages. Other species include Campylosphaera dela, Coccolithus formosus, Coccolithus pelagicus, Helicosphaeroides lophota, Helicosphaeroides seminulum, and Pontosphaera spp. Investigations on calcareous nannofossil distribution in Cenozoic marine sediments from South America are few, and most published information concerns the Brazilian continental margin and inland Argentina. The Man Aike Formation from the Austral Basin of Argentina is the only Lower Eocene formation available for comparison. © 2019, SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology. All rights reserved."
"The Soure Marine Extractive Reserve, located in the Marajó Archipelago, was created to protect its biodiversity and guarantee the sustainability of its ecosystems. Despite of it, local environmental problems have increased. In this sense, this study aimed to quantify the level of environmental perception, in four categories, of communities settled within this conservation unit, based on a score classification (from 1 to 10). To this end, questionnaires were created with the structure of a 5-point Likert scale and applied to the participants. The results were quantified and revealed high scores (above 9) in the four categories analyzed, indicating a high level of perception. Perception was associated with age, schooling and number of people in the household. As a high level of perception was found, it is recommended that the awareness-raising actions carried out by the managing body of the reserve be maintained in order to preserve this knowledge. © 2020. All Rights Reserved."
"Shelf morphology and sedimentary regimes are influenced by processes operating at different temporal and spatial scales and are important records of sea level changes and sediment supply and/or carbonate production. The northern continental shelf of Espírito Santo (Brazil) contains evidence of different sedimentary regimes that distribute diverse and complex marine habitats. Herein, seabed morphology, acoustic images of the seafloor (side scan sonar and sub-bottom profiler), and sediment samples were used to investigate the influence of sedimentary regimes on physical marine habitat distribution. Seabed mapping is also integrated with available data on fisheries to understand the influence of shelf morphology and sedimentology in the usage of distinct fishing gears. The results indicate five morpho-sedimentary facies: terrigenous mud, terrigenous sand, rhodolith beds, carbonate gravel with rhodoliths, and hardground. Through an integrated analysis of the geomorphology and sedimentary distribution, two morpho-sedimentary domains were identified: a sediment-fed shelf adjacent to the Doce River associated with a major mud depocenter and a delta front morphology characterized by gentle slopes and low terrain ruggedness, and a sediment-starved shelf dominated by carbonate sedimentation showing an irregular morphology associated with higher slopes and terrain ruggedness. These contrasting morpho-sedimentary domains are a result of sedimentary responses to sea level fluctuation during Late Quaternary, specially, during the deglaciation processes after the Last Glacial Maximum. The morphological and sedimentary contrasts along the area define the physical habitat distribution. The sediment supply regime area is associated with a terrigenous fine/muddy sedimentation bed, which control the local morphology and favors coastal and delta front progradation. This physical habitat is a well-known shrimp-fishing ground where intense trawling takes place, as well as gillnet fisheries targeting weakfish and croakers. The accommodation regime or low sediment influx area is characterized by carbonate sedimentation associated with hardgrounds and rhodolith beds. In contrast, this physical habitat with scarce sediment supply, facilitates extensive benthic colonization by crustose coralline algae (CCA), which is primarily associated to line fisheries, longlines, and spearfishing. Rhodoliths show a high diversity of CCA and the occurrence of an endemic kelp species. Long-term processes such as relative sea level fluctuations and sediment supply are a legacy for the distribution of benthic habitats, and their resulting morphology can be a surrogate for predicting fishing activities or a first-base analysis for marine spatial planning. Available low-resolution bathymetric datasets can be a powerful tool, if applied with caution and in a regional scale approach. Here, terrain variables (terrain slope and ruggedness) derived from an extensive available (low-resolution and interpolated) bathymetric dataset distinguished two contrasting morphological domains characterized by rugged and smooth/flat seabeds. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland."
"According to the literature, the tropical/subtropical oceans adjacent to South America are not climatologically conducive to tropical cyclones forming according to the literature. However, since 2004, two tropical cyclones have been recorded in the southwest Atlantic Ocean and one subtropical that had the potential to become tropical. Adequate locations for the genesis of tropical cyclones can be identified through the index of the potential of genesis, which is a methodology developed by Dr. Kerry Emanuel and collaborators. Therefore, the objective of the study is to contribute to the climatological knowledge of regions favorable to the genesis of tropical cyclones in the vicinity of South America using the genesis potential index. Moreover, we analyze some oceanic and atmospheric variables important to cyclogenesis. To this end, the ERA5 reanalysis data from the 1989-2019 period are used, which is considered state-of-the-art in terms of reanalysis. The results show the climatology of the genesis potential index, the components of this index, and other atmospheric and oceanic variables that are important for the development of tropical systems. The main result obtained in the study is the presence of potential for tropical cyclogenesis in the Atlantic Ocean along the Brazilian coast. In October, a weak signal appears between the coast of Bahia and Espírito Santo. This signal intensifies, obtaining maximum intensity between February and March when it also reaches the south coast of Brazil. Therefore, the use of a robust methodology applied in state-of-the-art data demystifies the hypothesis that there is no potential for the genesis of tropical cyclones off the coast of Brazil. © 2021, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"Passive margins underlain by a salt detachment are typically interpreted as kinematically linked zones of updip extension and downdip contraction separated by a zone of translation above a smoothly dipping base of salt. However, salt flow is affected by the base-of-salt geometry across which it flows, and early-stage gravity gliding induced by basin tilt may be complicated by the presence of salt-thickness changes caused by the pre-existing base-salt relief. We investigate these effects using physical models. Dip-parallel steps generate strike-slip fault zones separating domains of differential downslope translation and structural styles, provided the overburden is thin enough. If the overburden is thicker, it resists breakup, but a change in the structural trend occurs across the step. Steps with mild obliquity to the dip direction produce transtensional and transpressional faults in the cover separating structural domains. Deformation complexity in the overburden increases where base-salt steps strike at a high angle to salt flow, and it is especially dependent on the ratio between the thick (T) and thin (t) salt across the step at the base of salt. Where the salt-thickness ratio (T/t) is high, basal drag generates major flux mismatches, resulting in a contractional thickening of the salt and associated overburden shortening in thin salt above a base-salt high block. Shortening is transient and superseded by extension as the salt thickening allows the flow velocity to increase. When transitioning off a base-salt high block into a low block, the greater flux within the thick salt results in a monocline with extensional and contractional hinges. Structures are further deformed as they translate through these hinge zones. Our physical models demonstrate that extensional diapirs and compressional fold belts can be initiated anywhere on a slope as the salt accelerates and decelerates across base-salt relief. A fold belt from the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, is used to illustrate these processes. © The Authors."
"The Parque das Conchas (BC10) field offshore Brazil, operated by Shell and owned together with ONGC and QPI, has challenging reservoir conditions. Several subsea fields with viscosities ranging from 1 to 900 cP and gas volume fractions between 5% and 70% require subsea boosting to lift production fluids to the FPSO facility. Since first oil in 2009, a unique method of subsea separation and boosting has been deployed on BC-10, utilizing vertical caisson separators with Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESP's) to pump well fluids from up to 2000m water depth to the FPSO facility. Maintenance of the ESP assemblies requires an intervention using a MODU (Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit). Shell pursued an alternative subsea boosting solution using Mudline Pump (MLP) technology, with the objective to reduce field Opex and increase redundancy. The MLP was conceived as a retrofit module, which was to be fully compatible with the existing infrastructure. This includes using existing variable frequency drives, high voltage umbilicals, subsea mechanical interfaces, controls, hydraulics, and chemical injection. Despite the prior development of a 3 MW (megawatt) MudLine Pump (MK1), the specifics of the BC10 application required further development and qualification. The design pressure was increased from 5,000 psi to 7,500 psi, which required requalification of motor and barrier fluid circuit components. Additionally, the challenging multiphase flow conditions led to the development of an innovative control strategy to maximise the production window, whilst ensuring safe operating conditions for the pump within the existing system constraints. © 2018, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The use of zinc isotopes to trace anthropogenic sources in coastal areas has been tested in this study. We determined the stable isotopic composition of zinc in sediment cores, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and rocks collected at the Sepetiba Bay (southeastern Brazil), an estuarine lagoon heavily impacted by metallurgic activities. These isotopic signatures were compared with those from willemite ore, which represent the main mineral refined by the major industrial source of zinc. The aim was to test if this tracer system enables to identify sources and sinks of anthropogenic zinc and to reconstruct the temporal and spatial evolution of zinc contamination. The zinc isotopic compositions (expressed using the ?66Zn notation relative to the JMC 3-0749-L solution) showed significant variations in the sediment cores, the SPM, and willemite ore minerals, ranging between ? 0.01 and + 1.15‰. Spatial and temporal analysis of sediments samples fit well in a model of mixing involving three main end-members: i) Terrestrial background (?66ZnJMC = + 0.28 ± 0.12‰, 2?); ii) marine detrital material (?66ZnJMC = + 0.45 ± 0.03‰, 2?); and iii) a major anthropogenic source associated with electroplating wastes released into the bay (?66ZnJMC = + 0.86 ± 0.15‰, 2?). Sediment cores collected in the mud flats showed high correlation between ?66Zn and zinc enrichment factors, suggesting good preservation of the isotopic records of natural and anthropogenic sources. The sediment core sampled from a mangrove wetland located in a zone impacted by the metallurgy presented levels of zinc up to 4% (sediment dry weight) and preserved the isotopic signatures of electroplating wastes, despite evidences that post depositional processes slightly changed the isotopic signatures in some layers from this core toward heavier ?66ZnJMC values (above + 1.0‰). A two component mixing model suggests contributions of this major anthropogenic Zn source up to nearly 80% during periods of electroplating activities. Our work suggests that Zn isotope compositions of sediments are reliable tracers of anthropogenic sources and, therefore, can be useful to improve environmental monitoring efforts in coastal systems. © 2016"
"Ocean bottom seismic (OBS) data have been used for appraisal and development applications for a number of years in the North Sea, West Africa, Gulf of Mexico, and more recently offshore Brazil and SE Asia but the scale of the surveys, by dint of their focus on field specific imaging, has been limited compared to towed streamer surveys in both size and duration. One of the challenges set by the oil companies has been to reduce the unit costs of OBS data - ""If only the square kilometer rates were lower we would shoot more data"" is a common mantra. The difficulty in doing this has been the inherent technical downtime experienced by all the contractors operating ocean bottom systems - the terminations, connectors, power distribution and data telemetry components within a traditional ocean bottom cable (OBC) system are inherently prone to failure due to the intrinsic nature of the cable deployment/recovery cycle where the cables are stressed and de-stressed every time they are laid onto/recovered from the seabed. It is akin to recovering the full streamer spread every line change for towed streamer operations. The desire to improve operational performance was the driving force behind the development of the Z700 autonomous nodal system and its extreme reliability has allowed ever larger seafloor spreads to be operated which has multiple benefits. Copyright 2014, International Petroleum Technology Conference."
"Circular to elliptical topographic depressions, isolated or organized in trails, have been observed on the modern seabed in different contexts and water depths. Such features have been alternatively interpreted as pockmarks generated by fluid flow, as sediment waves generated by turbidity currents, or as a combination of both processes. In the latter case, the dip of the slope has been hypothesized to control the formation of trails of downslope migrating pockmarks. In this study, we use high-quality 3D seismic data from the offshore Ceará Basin (Equatorial Brazil) to examine vertically stacked and upslope-migrating trails of depressions visible at the seabed and in the subsurface. Seismic reflection terminations and stratal architecture indicate that these features are formed by cyclic steps generated by turbidity currents, while internal amplitude anomalies point to the presence of fluid migration. Amplitude Versus Offset analysis (AVO) performed on partial stacks shows that the investigated anomalies do not represent hydrocarbon indicators. Previous studies have suggested that the accumulation of permeable and porous sediments in the troughs of vertically stacked cyclic steps may create vertical pathways for fluid migration, and we propose that this may have facilitated the upward migration of saline pore water due to fluid buoyancy. The results of this study highlight the importance of gravity-driven processes in shaping the morphology of the Ceará Basin slope and show how non-hydrocarbon fluids may interact with vertically stacked cyclic steps. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"Advances in geomorphometry have allowed geoscientists to map landscapes through digital terrain analysis, although seascapes still remain poorly described as compared to continental area. We carried out a systematic morphometric analysis of the inner continental shelf using bathymetric data at Tamandaré, in northeastern Brazil. The methodology was based on the extraction of primary terrain attributes from an interpolated digital surface model of the study area, with descriptive statistics, and geomorphic classifications. The combination of maps and data analysis provided a new geomorphic feature classification of the region. At least four reef steps occur at five paleo-terrace boundaries. Additionally, a new shelf valley location is defined at shallow depths that is connected to a submerged paleo-coastal lagoon at approximately ?20 m, fronted by a paleo-spit, and backed by a possible beach ridge. The orientations of those two ancient bottom landforms suggest structural control by normal faults of the Pernambuco Basin. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"Current oil prices have made the offshore exploration of oil reserves a major challenge for oil companies. Standardization and extensive use of chattered units has allowed Petrobras to effectively promote competitiveness, cost reduction and reduced schedules in its projects. As a step forward in its pursue for cost reduction Petrobras has recently looked into Integrated Field Development. This article presents a low cost methodology for the design of production systems. Experience shows that integration among reservoir, flow assurance, subsea, well design and topsides teams is crucial for achieving a successful project. Besides being pursued for a long time, this integration has only been partially achieved in the industry and cost reduction opportunities have been lost. This article shows a cost driven methodology that can be used for guidance in the generation and screening of FEL1 alternatives. Metrics for the various parts of the system have been created and integrated in a simulation environment that allows economic analysis of different sorts. In FEL2 the methodology allows, for example, the evaluation of the number and capacity of platforms, the optimal schedule of well construction, the use of flexible or rigid risers, the diameter of production lines and the choice of technologies for handling streams with high C02 concentration in an integrated way. A simulation of an oil field shows effective results. In this new methodology a representation of each discipline is developed to allow their integration with the objective of making comparative economic analysis of alternatives. © 2018, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The South Atlantic Aptian “Pre-Salt” shrubby carbonate successions offshore Brazil and Angola are of major interest due to their potential hydrocarbon accumulations. Although the general sedimentology of these deposits is widely recognized to be within saline, alkaline lakes in rift volcanic settings, the specific genesis of shrubby carbonate morphologies remains unclear. This study reports the first petrographically comparable shrubby carbonates amongst other carbonate microfacies from an Anthropocene limestone formed under hyperalkaline (pH 9–12) and hypersaline (conductivity 425–3200 ?S) conditions at ambient temperature (12.5–13°C) (Consett, United Kingdom). This discovery allows us to capitalize on exceptional long-term hydrochemical monitoring efforts from the site, demonstrating that shrubby carbonates occur uniquely within the waters richest in calcium (?240 mg/L) and with highest pH (?12) and consequently with very high levels of supersaturation. However, the physical distribution of shrubs is more comparable with estimated local kinetic precipitation rate than it is to thermodynamic saturation, indicating that the fundamental control on shrub formation arises from crystal surface processes. The shrubby carbonate we report grows in the presence of significant diatomaceous and cyanobacterial biofilms, despite the highly alkaline conditions. These biofilms are lost from the deposited material early due to the high solubility of organic and silica within hyperalkaline settings, and this loss contributes to very high intercrystalline porosity. Despite the presence of these microbes, few if any of the fabrics we report would be considered as “boundstones” despite it being clear that most fabrics are being deposited in the presence of abundant extra-cellular polymeric substances. We are aware of no previous petrographic work on anthropogenic carbonates of this type, and recommend further investigation to capitalize on what can be learned from these “accidental laboratories.”. © Copyright © 2019 Bastianini, Rogerson, Mercedes-Martín, Prior, Cesar and Mayes."
"A passing cold front is the main modifying agent of the weather in Rio de Janeiro State and it can occur throughout the whole year, most frequently during winter. By using synoptic charts, satellite images and data collected through meteorological observations, this paper aims to analyses the evolution and transitioning of a frontal zone which has passed over the Ocean, nearby the Brazilian southeastern coast. This particular event was chosen due to is its high impact as well as the inefficiency of meteorology centers to forecast its occurrence. These specific baroclinic waves had a fast advancement, caused by the formation and persistence of a trough observed at medium levels but associated to trough at high levels and transitioning on the surface, thus making these baroclinic waves more intense and consequently, generating an squall line across the Rio de Janeiro City on the evening of 16th March 2015, when it was registered high levels of precipitation not provided. © 2018, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"Artisanal fisheries support millions of livelihoods worldwide, yet ineffective enforcement can allow for continued environmental degradation due to overexploitation. Here, we use spatial planning to design an enforcement strategy for a pre-existing spatial closure for artisanal fisheries considering climate variability, existing seasonal fishing closures, representative conservation targets and enforcement costs. We calculated enforcement cost in three ways, based on different assumptions about who could be responsible for monitoring the fishery. We applied this approach in the Patos Lagoon estuary (Brazil), where we found three important results. First, spatial priorities for enforcement were similar under different climate scenarios. Second, we found that the cost and percentage of area enforced varied among scenarios tested by the conservation planning analysis, with only a modest increase in budget needed to incorporate climate variability. Third, we found that spatial priorities for enforcement depend on whether enforcement is carried out by a central authority or by the community itself. Here, we demonstrated a method that can be used to efficiently design enforcement plans, resulting in the conservation of biodiversity and estuarine resources. Also, cost of enforcement can be potentially reduced when fishers are empowered to enforce management within their fishing grounds. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America"
"Conservation science is a mission-driven discipline, yet there are few assessments on whether conservation practices follow scientific recommendations, and thus missed opportunities for improvement. Brazil has among the greatest gaps in species protection by Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) globally and is thus a priority for future marine conservation efforts. In this paper, we assess the federal marine protected area (MPA) planning process in Brazil and compare it to a systematic conservation planning approach, focused on achieving conservation benefits while minimizing associated costs. We review the available information for all (70) federal MPAs, and the 26 associated management plans available. We found five simple opportunities for improving national MPA planning: (1) identifying specific and quantitative objectives and linking them to timeframes and budgets; (2) developing strategic monitoring and evaluation programs focused on MPA performance; (3) enabling local stakeholders to participate in planning processes, (4) explicitly considering MPA costs and leveraging existing sources of funding, and (5) decentralizing resource management and empowering local stakeholders to manage resources sustainably. Many reviewed MPA planning efforts fall short in providing clear management guidance and our recommendations can foster a stronger platform for the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources in Brazil. © 2020"
"Pre-salt carbonate reservoirs are located offshore Brazil at Santos, Campos and Espírito Santo Basins, reaching depths up to 7000 m (22966 ft) and water depths of approximately 2200 m (7218 ft). Most of those reservoirs present very high permeability, resulting in extraordinary oil production rates, imposing, consequently, an onerous task on injector wells to maintain pressure and reservoir mass balance. Part of these injector wells are located in scenarios of inferior permo-porous characteristic and still have their injection rates limited in order to avoid fracture propagation in the reservoirs. To improve the geomechanical models, a series of field tests were carried out to estimate minimum in situ stress and fracture propagation pressure in both reservoir and cap rock. The tests results allowed a change in the criterion for definition of the maximum injection pressure in injector wells. The objective of this work is to present the tests results, how they were performed and the operational problems faced, always seeking the shortest rig time. These results favored the understanding of the reservoir and cap rock behavior. Copyright 2019 ARMA, American Rock Mechanics Association."
"There have been an increasing number of government policies and research activities aimed at the exploitation of renewable energy resources to diversify power supply and meet the growing demand for electricity. In the context of Brazil, an example of this is tidal energy, which has a significant potential and is mainly concentrated on the coast of the States of Maranhão, Pará, and Amapá. However, only a few studies have been conducted to evaluate and take advantage of this energy source. One of the works in progress involves the study of a tidal power plant installation at the dam situated at Bacanga. This paper outlines and analyzes the configuration management of a tidal power plant, which is suited to the current physical conditions of the dam and complies with operational and physical constraints. In specific terms, the study takes account the reservoir operating restrictions and available physical space for installing turbines. A recent assessment has been carried out that involves bathymetry, high-resolution photos, and 3-D scanning to evaluate the potential value of the reservoir. This allowed a complete reservoir characterization and the designing of its digital model. Annual studies of optimal operation are reported, as well as factors, such as the technical and economic benefits and drawbacks of the plant. © 2017 IEEE."
"Extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent in the 21st century bringing significant impacts to coastal ecosystems. However, the capacity to detect and measure those impacts are still limited, with effects largely unstudied. In June 2016, a hailstorm with wind gusts of over 100 km·h?1 caused an unprecedented mangrove dieback on Eastern Brazil. To quantify the scale of impact and short-term recovery of mangroves (15-mo), we used satellite imagery and field sampling to evaluate changes in forest structure in control and impacted areas after the hailstorm. Satellite imagery revealed mangrove dieback in over 500 ha, corresponding to 29.3% of the total forest area suddenly impacted after the hailstorm. Fifteen months after the hailstorm, some impacted areas show an initial recovery, while others continued to degrade. The El Niño years of 2014–2016 created mild drought conditions in Eastern Brazil. As observed in wetlands of semi-arid regions during the same period, mangrove recovery may have been impaired by continued physiological stress and climate change effects. Economic losses in the study site from typical mangrove ecosystem services including food provision, climate regulation, raw materials and nurseries are estimated to at least US$ 792,624 yr?1. This is the first evidence of an extreme weather impact on mangroves in Brazil that typically provide unique ecological and economic subsistence to coastal populations. Our results reveal that there is a pressing need for long-term monitoring and climate change adaptation actions for coastal wetlands in Brazil, and to provide broad estimates of ecosystem values associated with these ecosystems given many areas are already experiencing chronic stress from local impacts, drought and high temperatures. © 2018 Elsevier B.V."
"Digital transformation has revolutionized the way companies operate in the market, changing their work processes with the inclusion of new technologies and thus influencing their culture. In the oil and gas industry, this phenomenon is more recent and is increasingly accentuating. Its importance is such that companies are adjusting their structure to accelerate the implementation of this new culture. At Petrobras this movement was no different, the corporate area responsible for the digital transformation in the company orchestrates this movement, identifying new opportunities, coordinating corporate initiatives and following the fronts already being implemented in other areas, ensuring alignment with institutional guidelines. Libr@Digital program aligned with Petrobras' Digital Transformation corporate initiative and it has been working as a testing environment to validate the solutions before scaling them up to Petrobras operations. This is so, because Libra in its structe congragates all disciplines that integrate the E&P activities, from exploration to oil offloading. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The Barreiras Formation records continental-to-shallow–water marine sequences deposited during the Paleogene–Neogene periods in the Brazilian continental margin. In northern Rio de Janeiro and southern Espírito Santo states, the Barreiras Formation preserve alluvial depositional system. The sediments were derived from a source located in the hinterland of the southeastern Brazilian continental margin, where rocks formed or reworked notably during the Gondwana supercontinent assembly are exposed. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages are mostly late Neoproterozoic, dominantly close to 608 Ma. Source rocks of this age occurred within the Ribeira and Araçuaí belts and were formed during their main magmatic activity. U–Pb zircon age distribution is similar to the southern and central Ribeira belt. Zircon fission-track ages occur in four main groups, between 429 and 358 Ma, 351 and 274 Ma, 270 and 171 Ma, and 167 and 127 Ma. Complex variation in the detrital zircon fission-track ages is related to the continental crust thermal evolution in the source areas. Older ages also occur between 534 and 433 Ma (Cambrian-to-Silurian periods) and are chrono-correlated to post-orogenic processes after the Gondwana supercontinent agglutination. Zircon fission-track ages between 429 and 274 Ma (Silurian to Permian periods) are related to the formation of the Pangea supercontinent, whereas the predominant zircon fission-track age group, between 270 and 171 Ma (Permian to Jurassic periods), is chrono-correlated to both orogeneses in the Gondwana supercontinent west margin and the Pangea supercontinent breakup. Zircon fission-track ages from 167 to 127 Ma are in the same period as the opening of the North and South Atlantic oceans. Data indicate that the thermal evolution of the source region either during the Gondwana supercontinent and South America Platform stages is complex. © 2020, Geologische Vereinigung e.V. (GV)."
"Petrobras, as the largest operator in ultra-deep waters in South America, has been using a field development concept that has proved to be winner since 2010. This concept is well suited for fields with high productivity wells, which produce more than 20,000 barrels of oil per day. In the market, this concept is known as “satellite wells”. In this scenario, Petrobras has benefited from its strategy of standardizing subsea equipment, including Wet Christmas Trees (WCT), Flexible Pipes, Umbilicals and Subsea Manifolds. However, since the downturn of 2014, Petrobras has been struggling to simplify its own specifications, looking for the most attractive CAPEX solutions in the market, allowing suppliers to use their own knowledge and experiences to propose low cost solutions, meeting projects requirements. From 2015 onwards, Petrobras has been working with the suppliers, with the Early Engagement initiative, aiming that the integration synergies, existing assets and the experience of these suppliers, could bring to the projects, the benefits of CAPEX reduction, and allowing the advancement and approval of these projects internally in the company. Technological development programs to allow the use of flexible pipes that are resistant to contaminants such as CO2 and H2S, new CRA materials to be applied to rigid flowlines and low-cost riser configurations, have been pursued by Petrobras in order to enable the implementation of ultra-deep water projects. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Rifting and related normal stress regime in the equatorial continental margin of Brazil ceased during the Late Cretaceous, when the stress regimes in eastern South America and West Africa changed to induce strike-slip or reverse motion. In this study, we explore the postrift tectonic, geomorphic, magmatic, and sedimentary responses to stress changes using the Potiguar Basin, the easternmost basin in the equatorial margin of Brazil, as a case study. We use field and topographic data, 2D seismic reflection lines, vertical electric soundings, and geochronological and borehole data to constrain the stress evolution of the Potiguar Basin from the Late Cretaceous to the Quaternary, discussing the role of basin inversion on sedimentation and landforms. Our results indicate the presence of two strike-slip stress regimes after rifting. The first stress field (SF1) occurred from Late Cretaceous to the middle Miocene and consisted of a N-S-oriented maximum subhorizontal compression and an E-W-oriented extension. The second stress field (SF2) took place from the middle Miocene to the present day and included subhorizontal E-W to NW-SE compression combined with N-S and NE-SW subhorizontal extension. Emplacement of volcanic rocks occurred along transtensional faults, with a principal peak during SF1 at 20–30 Ma and a subordinate peak during SF2 at 5–10 Ma. In response to shortening during SF2, a 70-km-long and 50-km-wide dome formed, where marine Miocene strata were uplifted to ~250 m asl. This uplift induced the displacement of alluvial channels away from the dome. Anticlines formed by transpression along the main NE-SW-striking faults during both SF1 and ST2 acted as traps in the petroleum system. Similar shifts and stress field inversions documented in other areas of the Brazilian continental margin are consistent with the Neogene rise of the Andes and may have implications for reconstructing the tectonic history of the Equatorial Atlantic margin of South America. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd"
"The mixture of different water masses can strongly influence the marine reservoir effect (MRE) in localities under the effect of coastal marine upwelling. The Cabo Frio region, on the southeastern Brazilian coast, is well known for its seasonal marine upwelling and for its rich landscape of Holocene shellmounds. In this kind of archaeological settlement, common on the southern and southeastern Brazilian coasts, marine mollusk shells are frequently used for radiocarbon dating and can represent a valuable tool in the study of MRE. On the other hand, terrestrial mollusks have proven to be an important alternative to represent the atmospheric carbon isotopic concentration. In this work we analysed the most frequent terrestrial and marine mollusk shells from the Usiminas shellmound, on Cabo Frio Island. The radiocarbon signal of marine shells from Pinctada imbricata (Röding, 1798), Ostreidae (Rafinesque, 1815), Cymathium parthenopeum (Von Salis, 1793), Leucozonia nassa (Gmelin, 1791), Lithopoma olfersii (Philippi, 1846), and that of terrestrial shells from Thaumastus achilles (Pfeiffer, 1852) and Megalobulimus terrestris (Spix, 1827), collected from the archaeological layers in the sequence, were measured and a value of 67 ± 33 14C yr was obtained for the local offset from the average global marine reservoir age. The effect of upwelling in this region and in its surrounding area is discussed. © 2016 Elsevier B.V."
"The vegetation history and climate in southeastern Brazil, as well as the oceanic dynamics of the tropical Atlantic Ocean offshore, were reconstructed for the last 7.4 cal ka BP. This reconstruction was based on pollen, fern spores and dinoflagellate cysts identified in a marine core (CF10–04B). It was possible to verify the presence of an ombrophilous forest from 7.4 cal ka BP. Near the base of the PI zone low concentrations of pollen and fern spores are recorded, along with low frequencies of forest taxa and fern spores and an increase in pollen types of open vegetation, suggesting less humid climatic conditions than currently observed in the coastal regions of Southeastern Brazil. The assemblages of dinoflagellate cysts suggest a neritic zone with warm upper column temperature, high salinity and oligotrophic environment (evidenced by the presence of O. centrocarpum, Spiniferites spp. and L. machaerophorum). An increase in Tropical Waters (TW) and the approximation of the Brazilian Current (BC) in the middle shelf of southeastern Brazil in the mid-Holocene probably influenced the low accumulation of cysts, pollen grains, fern spores, and their associations. It is still possible to verify that at approximately 4.6 cal ka BP, an increase in the rainfall in the southeastern Brazilian region was probably the fundamental factor for the expansion of vegetation, mainly based on the considerable increases in hygrophytic and aquatic plants. The marked increase in the accumulation of dinoflagellate cysts, with the dominance of autotroph taxa (mainly O. centrocarpum, followed by Spiniferites spp), evidences the warmer waters of the BC and more intense surface upwelling of the South Atlantic Central Water (SACW). © 2020"
"Tender-assisted drilling (TAD) has been revealed as an efficient and effective solution in deep water installations to support drilling operations of tendon leg platforms (TLP). Although this concept is new in offshore Brazil, this has been used for more than 30 years not only in the Southeast Asia but also in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and the North Sea. Due to the complex scenario of two floaters moored in close proximity, an extensive and careful hydrodynamic analysis is required to guarantee a successful execution. This work presents a numerical study of coupled wave motions on the TLP–TAD multibody system with the aim of investigating first-order loads, mean drift loads, and wave frequency responses using frequency and time domain approaches. Hydrodynamic coefficients were calculated by the 3D diffraction–radiation panel method; the mooring systems and the mechanical connection between the floaters were modeled through stiffness matrixes. In frequency domain analysis, several relative positions between the floaters were considered. On the other hand, in time domain studies, the finite element method (FEM) was used to represent moored systems and mechanical connections between the floaters. FEM allows the inclusion of drag forces, added mass, and interactions between mooring lines and floaters into the nonlinear dynamic simulations. © 2017, Sociedade Brasileira de Engenharia Naval."
"The increasing production of oil and gas in the marine environment and the growing participation of companies of different nationalities and sizes require the use of tools to support the sustainable management of offshore oil and gas production units. This paper presents the results of the application of a sustainability indicator system, developed from the identification of the economic, environmental, social, and operational impacts of the activities of these production units. The sustainability performances of 3 oil and gas production units operating in the Brazilian marine environment were compared to the performance of one considered ideal, through the application of the PROMETHEE II and ordinal COPELAND multicriteria methods. The indicator system applied favored the analysis of the sustainability management of offshore oil and gas production activity in a multidimensional approach, considering the points of view of experts from various areas of knowledge, and proved to be a reliable tool to support the sustainable management of these offshore production units. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:614–625. © 2020 SETAC. © 2020 SETAC"
"UV filters (UV-Fs) constitute a heterogeneous group of chemicals used as protection against the effects of UV radiation, widely used in all sort of goods and ubiquitous in the environment. The presence of these chemicals in fish is a matter of concern, because many UV-Fs display hormonal activity. In this study, muscle, gills, and liver from 11 Mugil liza individuals from the highly urbanized Guanabara Bay (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) were analysed in order to detect eight UV-Fs and metabolites (4-dihydroxybenzophenone [BP1] (2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone [BP3], 4-methylbenzylidiene camphor [4MBC], ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate [EHMC], ethylhexyl dimethyl p-aminobenzoic acid [ODPABA], octocrylene [OC], 4-hydroxybenzophenone [4HB], and 4,4?-dihydroxybenzophenone [4DHB]) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Results showed that both target UV-Fs and metabolites were ubiquitous in the analysed tissues. Lower concentrations were observed in muscle and gills (3.07–31.6 ng g? 1 dry weight (dw)), whereas in liver significant amounts of metabolites (5.47–451 ng g? 1 dw) were present. With the concentrations determined in the fish, an estimation of the daily intake revealed that consumption of muscle in the diet represent from 0.3 to 15.2 ng UV-Fs (kg body weight? 1) d? 1, higher than those reported in fish for selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs). © 2017 Elsevier B.V."
"We describe the design, implementation, and performance of a fully automated Santos Operational Forecasting System (SOFS), built to monitor and predict short-term (&lt; 3 days) sea surface elevations, currents, temperature, and salinity in the Santos-Sao Vicente-Bertioga Estuarine System (SSVBES). The SSVBES located at 24.0?S, 46.3?W is a complex estuarine system with many interconnected channels and two connections with the open sea. The system is prone to storm tides that bring coastal flooding to and interrupt ship traffic through Santos Port. The SOFS hydrodynamic module is based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) version POM-rain. The SSVBES model grid is forced by tides, winds, and river runoff and is nested into a coarse-resolution South Brazil Bight (SBB) grid. The SBB grid is forced by winds, density gradients, and the Brazil Current flowing offshore. Within SSVBES, SOFS works in parallel with three real-time observation stations. The model performance was tested against observed data with a best Willmott skill of 0.97 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 13.0 cm for tidal sea level (15.9% of the mean tidal range). For tidal currents, the best skill and RMSE were above 0.99 and 3.9 cm/s (4.3% of the mean tidal current range), respectively. The coupled system was able to simulate seven storm tides with average skill of 0.95 and average RMSE of 17.0 cm. The good agreement with observed data shows the potential use of the designed system to protect both human life and assets. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"Nowadays no other region on earth is more threatened by natural hazards than coastal areas. However the increasing risk in this area is not just a climate extreme events’ result. Coasts are the places with highest concentration of people and values, thus impacts continue to increase as the values of coastal infrastructures continue to grow. Climate change aggravates chronic social vulnerabilities since social groups may be affected differently both by climate change as well as by risk management actions. Relationships between these groups are often characterized by inequality, with different perceptions, response, or adaptation modes to climate hazards. Misperception of these differences often leads to policies that deepen inequities and increase the vulnerability of the weakest groups. Population affected by climatic extreme events increases dramatically resulting in urgent adaptation intervention. We address the interdependence of risk perception and vulnerability of coastal communities and the relevance of ecosystem services for adaptation. We developed a methodology where risk analysis and communities’ risk perception are linked through key actions at strategic points of risk assessment: (i) initial interviews with qualified local informants to complete an inventory of ecosystem services, (ii) a social valuation of ecosystem services by local people, and (iii) assessment of stakeholders’ social vulnerability. This approach allows a truly socially weighted risk assessment to be validated in three sites: Valle de Itajai (Brazil), Estuary of Lagoa dos Patos (Brazil), and Laguna de Rocha (Uruguay). In this novel approach, risk assessment is forced by social perceptions, thus risk treatment can better contribute to realistic adaptation arrangements to cope with climate forces. Public policies could be improved, recognizing healthy functioning ecosystems as key factor for coastal resilience and well-being. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015."
"Unbonded flexible risers are widely used in offshore oil and gas production due to excellent mechanical performance, Research achievement and advance in recent ten years are reviewed, the existing problems and trend are proposed. Unbonded flexible risers are slender multilayered marine structures, which was firstly used in the early 70's and installed in the Enchova field offshore Brazil in 1978.The main advantages of flexible risers are their much lower bending stiffness and capacity of suffering more undesirable environmental conditions. In the recent ten year, unbonded flexible riser attracted much attentions, mainly concentrated on some aspects: the global analysis; local analysis; fatigue; research trend. © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland."
"The use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) logs for petrophysical interpretation and evaluation in the oil and gas industry has increased in recent decades, especially in Brazil, where the use of this technology was increased by more than 400% from 2011 to 2018 (from 49 to 208 runs). This increased usaged occurred mainly because the porosity estimation provided by this technology is independent of lithology. Additionally, the porosity can be associated with different pore sizes. It can also be divided to quantify the fraction of porosity for the clay bound water, bound fluid by capillary forces and movable fluid by applying cutoff times in the spectrum of T2 distribution. Nevertheless, the presence of heavy oil in the Peregrino reservoir, with oil viscosities ranging varying from 150 to 350 cP, complicates NMR interpretation because the signal from the oil decays with a time constant that is comparable with that of capillary or clay-bound water, affecting the determination of permeability and the fluid distribution. This paper presents the results of applying innovative Gamma Inversion to process the logging-while-drilling (LWD) NMR data acquired in a well from the Peregrino Field, offshore Brazil. The Gamma Inversion process uses probabilistic functions, instead of exponential ones, to generate a T2 spectrum that is more consistent from a mathematical and geological point of view. Copyright © 2020, Society of Petroleum Engineers"
"The Miocene Pirabas Formation is of strategic importance for the hydrocarbon industry since it represents the onshore portion of larger offshore basins of Northern Brazil, including the Foz de Amazonas, the Pará-Maranhão, Barreirinhas, Ceará, and the Potiguar basins of the equatorial margin of South America. The Pirabas Formation from the Aricuru outcrop (Pará State) is a shallow-water mixed siliciclastic-carbonate deposit, comprising highly bioturbated wackestone and packstone. However, the impact of these biogenic structures on the reservoir quality of this formation has been overlooked. Here, our results show that pervasive Thalassinoides penetrating the rock matrix, result in remarkably improved porosity and permeability, thus, turning the Pirabas Formation in extremely favorable strata for fluid flow and storage. Since these bioturbated layers are likely to be common in the sub-surface counterparts of this formation, the hydrocarbon potential of these deposits is probably higher than previously expected. Also, considering that the offshore basins of Northern Brazil are directly related to the breakup of the African and American plates during Aptian-Albian, the exploratory interest in the correlated Guinea Gulf (Jubilee play) and French Guiana-Suriname Basin (Zaedyus play) need to be reconsidered. Overall, the results of this research highlight the importance of integrating ichnological datasets with reservoir characterization studies for more accurate reservoir quality assessments. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd"
"In the context of the Doce river (Southeast Brazil) Fundão dam disaster in 2015, we monitored the changes in concentrations of metal(loid)s in water and sediment and their particulate and dissolved partitioning over time. Samples were collected before, during, and after the mine tailings arrival to the Doce river estuary (pre-impact: 12, 10, 3 and 1 day; acute stage: tailing day – TD and 1 day after – DA; chronic stage: 3 months and 1 year post-disaster). Our results show that metal(loid) concentrations significantly increased with time after the disaster and changed their chemical partitioning in the water. 35.2 mg Fe L?1 and 14.4 mg Al L?1 were observed in the total (unfiltered) water during the acute stage, while aqueous Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn concentrations all exceeded both Brazilian and international safe levels for water quality. The Al, Fe and Pb partitioning coefficient log (Kd) decrease in the acute stage could be related to the high colloid content in the tailings. We continued to observe high concentrations for Al, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, V and Zn mainly in the particulate fraction during the chronic stage. Furthermore, the Doce river estuary had been previously contaminated by As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni and Pb, with a further increase in sediment through the tailing release (e.g. 9-fold increase for Cr, from 3.61 ± 2.19 ?g g?1 in the pre-impact to 32.16 ± 20.94 ?g·g?1 in the chronic stage). Doce river sediments and original tailing samples were similar in metal(loid) composition for Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, V and Zn. As a result, these elements could be used as geochemical markers of the Fundão tailings and considering other key parameters to define a baseline for monitoring the impacts of this environmental disaster. © 2021 Elsevier B.V."
"The Brazilian Oceanographic Modeling and Observation Network (REMO, acronym for ‘Rede de Modelagem e Observação Oceanográfica’ in Portuguese) has developed the REMO Ocean Data Assimilation System (RODAS). It is based on an Ensemble Optimal Interpolation scheme applied into the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). This study aims to investigate the extended-range predictability of the HYCOM + RODAS System over the western South Atlantic by using its analyses as initial condition for 48 hindcasts, each covering 30 days. The outputs were compared to persistence (no change from the initial condition) and to a model free run. The hindcasts had the lowest root mean square difference (RMSD) and highest correlation of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea level anomaly (SLA) at all lead times. By the 30th day, persistence RMSD reached 1.09°C and 0.08 m for SST and SLA, respectively, while the hindcast RMSD reached 0.46°C and 0.05 m. The free run RMSD was almost constant with an average of 0.88°C and 0.13 m. In the subsurface, hindcast RMSD increase was even lower. The results suggest that HYCOM + RODAS predictive skill extends for more than a month and the thermohaline state of the ocean was consistently improved with respect to the free model run. © 2019 Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology."
"This paper focuses on solutions and strategies for conserving weight and space, reducing emissions, and leveraging data to optimize the performance of rotating equipment on floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels. It discusses design considerations for gas turbines in offshore applications (i.e., dry-low emissions technology, use of lightweight components, etc.) The paper also outlines a holistic digital lifecycle approach to FPSO topsides, which can help reduce capital and operating expenses, shorten project development cycles, and decrease offshore manpower requirements. For illustrative purposes, the paper discusses specific power and compression solutions that were implemented on various offshore projects in 2017 - 2018, ranging from Offshore Brazil to the Bering Sea. It outlines how the equipment configurations helped operators meet horsepower requirements and emissions targets, as well as CAPEX and OPEX objectives. Additionally, the paper discusses how digital transformation can be leveraged to optimize FPSO lifecycle performance, delivering benefits such as 4-12 week reduction in project cycle times, ~$7 million reduction in CAPEX, and $60 - $100 million reduction in OPEX over a 10-year period. Copyright © 2020, Society of Petroleum Engineers"
"Free-living marine turtles are constantly exposed to aggression factors and the gastrointestinal tract is one of the main gateways of entry. The objective of this study was to identify, and describe the anatomopathological alterations in the stomach of free-living marine turtles found dead on the beaches of the Microrregião dos Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Twenty-two sea turtles were necropsied, and stomach fragments were collected, fixed, and processed routinely. The presence of gastritis, parasitism, and adaptative morphological alteration of the cells were evaluated in a microscopic analysis. Descriptive statistics and Fisher's exact test were performed. Of the samples, 59.1% had stomach hyperemia. Microscopically, gastritis was found in 86.4% of cases, parasitism in 72.7%, and adaptive morphological alteration in 59.1%. There was an association between the presence of cellular adaptive morphological alteration and chronic inflammation. This the first report to describe the adaptive morphological changes observed in the stomach cells. The chronicity of the lesions was due to continuous aggressions to the tissue, with parasitism, garbage ingestion, and environmental pollutants as possible causes. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that the chronicity of the stomach lesions is due to continuous aggressions to this tissue, and the irritating factors have environmental origin, such as parasites, garbage, and toxic pollutants, including heavy metals, which are ingested by free-living sea turtles. This article demonstrates that stomach injuries in free-living marine turtles are frequent, severe, and possibly underdiagnosed; these lesions reflect the diseased ecosystem in which those animals live. © 2019 Elsevier B.V."
"The green corridor is an initiative of the European Commission in order to strengthen competitiveness of the logistics industry and create sustainable solutions. An essential pillar in a green corridor is the concept of co-modality, defined as the efficient use of different modes in combination, which will result in an optimal and sustainable utilization of resources. A green corridor is characterized by sustainable logistics solutions with documented reductions of environmental and climate impacts. Other characteristics are: high safety, high quality and efficiency; logistics applications with optimized use of all modes of transport, the so-called integrated co-modality, concentration of domestic and international traffic of goods on long transportation routes, efficient and strategic points of transshipment, supportive infrastructure and a platform for development and demonstration of innovative logistics solutions which includes information systems, collaborative models and technology. The green corridor project promotes collaboration between modes of transportation and their logistically optimized use, including transport nodes (hubs, docks, etc.). It can be either a national or cross-border and corridor. This paper will examine a transportation in Brazil, focusing on short sea shipping, aiming to study the importance of an integrated and sustainable logistics system in a country of continental dimensions. © 2015 Taylor and Francis Group."
"Pollen and spore palynomorph diversity on Rio Grande do Sul inner continental shelf, southern Brazil. The knowledge of modern pollen and spore morphology are very important to consistent palynomorph identifications and robust interpretations on past vegetation and climate change. The objective of this work was to describe pollen and spore palynomorph assemblage over Rio Grande do Sul inner continental shelf, to facilitate and improve palynomorph descriptions and interpretations. The Rio Grande do Sul coastal area is NE/SW oriented, extends for over 600 km, and has two inlets, Patos and Tramandaí lagoons. The water masses that influence this region are Subantarctic Shelf Water, Tropical Water and south Atlantic Central Water, beyond two freshwater sources, from Rio de la Plata estuary and Patos lagoon. The wind circulation there is strongly seasonal, predominantly NE during summer and SW during winter. The surface sediments were sampled in two sites: (i) 48 samples from Balneário Hermenegildo (REMPLAC Project) and (ii) 5 samples from ‘Amazônia Azul’ Project, at Patos lagoon inlet area. We have identified the following families: one family of Bryophyta: Anthocerothaceae; eight families of Pteridophyta: Blechnaceae, Cyatheaceae, Equisetaceae, Lycopodiaceae, Ophioglossaceae, Osmundaceae, Pteridaceae and Polypodiaceae; three families of Monocotyledons: Arecaceae, Cyperaceae and Poaceae; and seven families of Eudicotyledons: Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Betulaceae, Fabaceae, Melastomataceae, Typhaceae and Verbenaceae. Almost all registered taxa represent the coastal vegetation from Rio Grande do Sul, except for Betulaceae (Alnus), representing montane forests, with anemophilous pollination and transported for long distances. © 2020, Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia. All rights reserved."
"Todos os Santos Bay (BTS) is the 2nd largest bay in Brazil and an important resource for the people of the State of Bahia. We made measurements of radon and radium in selected areas of the bay to evaluate if these tracers could provide estimates of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and flushing times of the Paraguaçu Estuary and BTS. We found that there were a few areas along the eastern and northeastern shorelines that displayed relatively high radon and low salinities, indicating possible sites of enhanced SGD. A time-series mooring over a tidal cycle at Marina do Bonfim showed a systematic enrichment of the short-lived radium isotopes 223Ra and 224Ra during the falling tide. Assuming that the elevated radium isotopes were related to SGD and using measured radium activities from a shallow well at the site, we estimated groundwater seepage at about 70 m3/day per unit width of shoreline. Extrapolating to an estimated total shoreline length provided a first approximation of total (fresh + saline) SGD into BTS of 300 m3/s, about 3 times the average river discharge into the bay. Just applying the shoreline lengths from areas identified with high radon and reduced salinity results in a lower SGD estimate of 20 m3/s. Flushing times of the Paraguaçu Estuary were estimated at about 3–4 days based on changing radium isotope ratios from low to high salinities. The flushing time for the entire BTS was also attempted using the same approach and resulted in a surprisingly low value of only 6–8 days. Although physical oceanographic models have proposed flushing times on the order of months, a simple tidal prism calculation provided results in the range of 4–7 days, consistent with the radium approach. Based on these initial results, we recommend a strategy for refining both SGD and flushing time estimates. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd"
"Wave-dominated nearshore deposits are commonly regarded as laterally-continuous, homogeneous, sheet-like reservoirs that can be resolved at the parasequence scale. Many reservoirs, however, have an internal complexity that becomes clearer during production, indicating unexpected internal compartmentalization. Modern wave-dominated nearshore environments are extremely variable due to the effects of allogenic and autogenic processes. Relative sea-level change and shoreline trajectory has been indicated as key controlling factors on the distribution of sand in Quaternary coastal systems worldwide. In this paper we use 3D seismic data to describe the geomorphology of buried, Campanian and Eocene wave-dominated coastal deposits in two stratigraphic intervals within shelf-margin clinoforms in the Santos Basin, SE offshore Brazil. By applying seismic attributes and comparison with modern analogues we interpret the paleoenvironments and correlate them with well-log motifs and styles of shelf-margin trajectories in order to discuss the balance of allogenic and autogenic controls on nearshore reservoir heterogeneity. The sand-rich nearshore deposits appear in the seismic data as distinct topset amplitude anomalies recording shoreline transit across the shelf. The Campanian interval comprises reflectors formed in a predominantly normal-regressive context, while the Eocene interval depicts partially-eroded topset reflectors associated with forced regressions and retrograding reflectors associated with transgressions. Nearshore seismic-geomorphic elements were grouped in associations of strandplains, barrier islands/spits and lagoons, and partially-eroded nearshore. Strandplains are related sub-horizontal to ascending regressive clinoform trajectories where wider strandplains are associated with sub-horizontal trajectories. Nearshore erosion and fluvial incision are associated with descending trajectories within forced regressions, while barrier islands/spits and lagoons are associated with transgressive trends. Transgressive trajectories generated coastal systems with high mud content and discontinuous sand bodies along strike and dip, while forced regressions resulted in sand-rich systems that are complex and highly compartmentalized by subaerial erosion. The most attractive reservoirs are associated with normal-regressive intervals under low rates of relative-sea level rise, forming relatively homogeneous sand-rich strandplains. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"A new method developed to evaluate the performance measure of some sub-criteria of the environmental criterion in a Comparative Assessment of various options of the decommissioning of subsea installations in Brazil is presented. The method is based on an adaptation of that proposed by IBAMA in Technical Note N°. 10/2012 (TN 10) used for assessment of environmental impacts required for the licensing of offshore activities in Brazil. By requirement of the Comparative Assessment methodology, there is a need for a numerical evaluation that allows comparing the performance of one alternative over the others. An analytical method was developed based on the combination of environmental attributes that contribute for the magnitude of the impacts (frequency, intensity, extension and duration) and sensitivity of the environmental factors affected (relevance, resilience and reversibility). The importance of the impacts is given by the combination of the environmental sensitivity with the magnitude of the impacts, in the called ""Environmental Impact Importance Score Matrix"". The proposed method provides a performance measure that allows comparing and prioritizing each decommissioning option according to the proposed criteria. It reduces the subjectivity in assessing the importance of the environmental impacts and provides greater transparency and traceability in the assessment of the impacts. As an example, the proposed method is applied for the decommissioning of a rigid pipeline between two platforms in Campos Basin, where the considered decommissioning options are: (a) complete removal by cut and lift and (b) leave in situ. For this particular case, the assessment of the proposed environmental sub-criteria revealed that Option (b) was the preferred option with respect to the impacts on marine and onshore environment. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Well production in oil fields is a dynamic and complex activity. The patterns and characteristics inherent to the well, such as pressures and flow rates, are changing based on production time and the fluid composition - a complex multiphase mixture composed of oil, water, and gas. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate well behavior with periodic production tests. This paper proposes an automatic tool based on machine learning models to assist the production tests validation process in a quick manner. The developed methodology was applied to 13 representative wells of a Brazilian offshore oil field. For each examined well, a dataset is created with operation variables obtained from valid and invalid production tests. Six classification algorithms are analyzed, Logistic Regression, Naïve Bayes classifier, K-Nearest Neighbor, Decision Tree, Random Forest and Support Vector Machine (SVM) in reason to automatically label a new production test as valid or invalid, according to production historical data for the well. The dataset was divided into training and validation sets. The training set was used to perform feature selection, to calibrate and choose the proper model. The validation set was then used at the end of the procedure to evaluate obtained results, by comparing the model's output with real test labels. From the results obtained in the case study, it was possible to identify that IGLR (Injection Gas/Liquid Ratio), oil flow rate and the pressure loss between wellhead and platform were representatives for most of the wells, which implies that these variables have a huge influence at the production well test validation. Furthermore, the validation set indicates that SVM and logistic regression were the models with the best performance. Besides that, accurate results were achieved, since the model correctly classified at least 5 of the 6 tests in 70% of wells analyzed, and for the remaining wells, 4 of 6 production tests. Copyright © 2020, Society of Petroleum Engineers"
"Building seismic velocity models honouring complexities evident from seismic data is fundamental to generate inputs for several applications in seismic modeling and imaging. This is particularly important for complex areas, such as the Pre-Salt section of Santos Basin, in the Brazilian offshore. We present a methodology to build velocity models incorporating the geological features identified in legacy seismic data for this basin. Of particular interest is, the internal stratification within the salt section. To characterize a geological layer we propose the use of model-based impedance that combines the geological knowledge from wells and seismic interpretations using rock property relationships. The results are shown in both gathers and stacked migrated sections with improvements in the flattening and the focusing of target reflectors. This approach can also be extended to generate an input velocity model for FWI migration process. © 2018 SEG."
"The Brazilian Pre-Salt region has garnered much attention since the first major discoveries were announced by Petrobras, in 2006. Since then, discoveries in the region have ranked among the largest in the world in the last ten years, including Tupi, Iara, and Libra. This led to various estimates, from within and outside the government, that mentioned extremely large total possible accumulations, ranging from 50 to over 300 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the ""Picanha Azul"" region, an area of approximately 150 thousand square kilometers. Since none of these estimates was accompanied by technical data, or a description of the methodology used, an assessment of the potential for yet-to-find oil was carried out using a software tool which models the exploration process, making Monte Carlo simulations based on the information available regarding wells drilled, discoveries made, respective dates, and the areas involved. The assessment methodology used has been successfully applied by the authors in evaluating the potential of other areas, such as the shallow waters of the Campos Basin. While the present Pre-Salt region assessment does not have as many information points available as in those prior assessments, the intense exploration activity has resulted in enough information being available about the region so as to be able conduct an assessment over the entire area. Applying the concepts of discovery sequence and field size distribution, and making geological estimates for parameters of the number and size of accumulations, the current assessment furnished a probability distribution for the number and expected size of individual accumulations (fields) yet to be discovered, as well as for the total accumulation of yet-to-find recoverable oil in the region. The relatively large range of possible values of the results reflects the lack of more exploratory experience (discoveries or dry wells), which will only come about with time, despite the intense exploratory efforts currently under way. Even so, it was possible to suggest that within probabilistic confidence levels of 95% and 5%, field sizes expected will range from 165 million barrels to eight billion barrels, and total accumulations will range from 115 billion barrels to over 288 billion barrels. Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"The recovery of a pipeline inspection gauge (PIG) left in a subsea production flowline in an unknown location after a failed cleaning and inspection operation is discussed. Combined with paraffin deposits, the production flowline of the best offshore producer in northeast Brazil was completely blocked. Extensive planning was necessary to spot the coiled tubing (CT) equipment to accommodate the deck configuration of the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel and to overcome dimensional and load capacity limitations. A customized extendable jacking frame was manufactured to support the CT injector and provide room for a work window. This fit-for-purpose rigging was necessary to enable the viability of the cleanout in the production flowline of the well. CT operation modeling software was used to analyze the hydraulic and force simulations to verify that the CT would reach the target depth with optimal jetting efficiency and would tailor the cleanout methodology. Paraffin was successfully cleaned from the flowline, and the PIG was released and recovered on surface. The CT was efficiently and safely rigged up on a FPSO without any nonproductive time or service quality issues. The versatility of CT services to not only deliver intervention services on conventional wells but to also adapt to rig up in extreme geometries and environments are showcased along with how CT services can be applied to flowline interventions. For this case, a customized CT frame was manufactured to overcome the challenges of rigging up on a vessel with extremely limited deck space and load capacities and restoring hydrocarbon production after a failed PIG procedure. Copyright 2020, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"Current climate changes have several consequences, such as rising sea levels. Today, the identification of coastal vulnerabilities worldwide is necessary to prevent impacts and drive action. The aim of the work was to estimate the vulnerable areas from a total rate of increase in sea level of 2.8 m and to identify the impacts of greater magnitude through the use of hierarchical analysis. The analytic hierarchy process method was used to list the most serious impacts. In addition, the simulation of the most vulnerable sites was carried out in a GIS environment using geoprocessing and a digital terrain model for the area of study. The Ilha Grande Bay region (southeastern Brazil) was chosen as a test area due to its economic, tourist and environmental importance. The main impacts are floods, coastal erosion and loss of coastal ecosystems. The most vulnerable areas are characterized as flat with low slopes, usually coastal plains occupied by environmental protection areas, urban centers and historical centers. The methodology proved to be effective in assessing and forecasting vulnerable areas and can be applied to several types of coastal areas. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. part of Springer Nature."
"Creating an accurate subsurface model is paramount to many geophysical and geological workflows. Examples are background models for seismic inversion, rock property models for reservoir characterization, and geological models of depositional elements for seismic morphological interpretation. The standard workflow for creating subsurface models using seismic data is stratal slicing. The stratal slicing approach, however, may break down in the case of complex stratigraphic or tectonic structuring, such as shelf-to-basin clinoforms, delta lobe switching, deep-water channel-fan complexes, and deformation due to salt tectonics. This paper illustrates how the results obtained with high-resolution inversion and the incorporation of a stratigraphically consistent low-frequency model generated through horizon mapping - called the HorizonCube - improves the quality of the estimation of the subsurface parameters in structural complex settings. Using two data examples with different seismic data and geological settings from the North Sea and offshore Brazil, the paper will demonstrate the increased accuracy of the final inversion result using a data-driven HorizonCube. © 2012 Society of Exploration Geophysicists."
"Drilling operations in salt zones have gained importance in Brazil due to the discovery of large oil and gas reserves in the Pre-Salt area. Thus, the pursuit of excellence in such operations is requiring considerable development of new operational practices and technologies. Synthetic base mud has been the first choice to drill through evaporite sections in Pre-Salt zones. Synthetic fluids application practically eliminates salt dissolution and improves caliper quality. However, depending on the salt mobility rate, stuck bit and/or stuck pipe can happen, demanding the injection of fresh water pills for its liberation. In some wells, the frequent use of those pills resulted in enlarged sections. The situation gets worse in scenarios where loss of circulation is a major issue. On the other hand, the use of non-saturated aqueous fluids to drill soluble salts (e.g. halite, tachyhydrite and carnalite) can result in localized enlargements due to leaching process. Drilling a gauge hole is a very important issue to prevent wellbore collapse and/or problems in cementing operations. However, high operating costs associated to deep water drilling is placing additional emphasis on drilling performance in order to reduce the operational time, without losing the quality of the wells. This concern raises the issues of how to most effectively improve operational performance regarding the drilling fluid selection. The paper presents the results of the use of water based muds in the drilling of two offshore wells in Brazilian Pre-Salt area and highlights the lessons learned from the experience. Before the field application extensive lab tests and numerical simulations were carried out to support the drilling fluid design for the wells. In the first well, differences between the planned and encountered drilling conditions led to fluid replacement during the operation. On the other hand, in the second well, 2.000 m salt extension was successfully drilled to depth with no major operational problems and good drilling performance. The field application of WBM proved to be a good option to drill the salt layers in the development of Pre-Salt fields but it demands a more detailed knowledge of both lithology and stratigraphy of the evaporite section. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Atlanta is a post-salt oil field located offshore Brazil in the Santos Basin, 185 km southeast of Rio de Janeiro. The combination of ultra-deepwater (1,550 m) and heavy and viscous oil (14° API and 228 cP at reservoir conditions) composes a unique challenging scenario for Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) application. The paper discusses the performance of the ESP system utilizing field data and software simulations. The in-well ESP is the main production method and mudline ESP boosting is the backup one. Both concepts proved to be effective artificial lift solutions for the harsh flowing conditions. The in-well ESP is installed inside a capsule in a close to horizontal slant section of around 70 m. The mudline ESP boosting is readily available to become the main production method in case the in-well ESP fails. This paper discusses the challenges and solutions that proved to be successful after more than 18 months of continuous production. Software simulations and continuous production monitoring were key factors for system modeling and optimization. One of the most powerful ESPs installed inside a well worldwide to produce heavy and viscous oil from an unconsolidated reservoir represents a step forward in ultra-deepwater production system boundaries. The concept of having the mudline system as backup is also an innovative step for the offshore oil and gas industry. Two production periods are presented with very distinct and unusual characteristics: (i) one producing 12,500 bpd of a high viscous, high Gas Void Fraction (GVF), low inlet pressure and temperature crude through two mudline ESP boosting systems and (ii) another one producing 30,000 bpd through three inwell ESPs. © Society of Petroleum Engineers - SPE Artificial Lift Conference and Exhibition - Americas 2020, ALCE 2020. All rights reserved."
"This work reports the chemical monitoring of saline water and sediments at Aratu port, All Saints Bay, Brazil, when subjected to a deep dragging process (DDP) over a 2-year period (2010–2012). The aim of this work was to detect which metals had possible deleterious effects on the biota. It analyzed percentage of silt + clay and TOC and metal concentrations (As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn) before, during, and after the DDP. The determination of metal concentration in sediments used the following techniques: atomic absorption spectrometer with flame, also with hydrate generation, and cold vapor spectrophotometry. The DDP disturbed the concentrations of metals in sediments and water, but 15 months after the DDP, only Cu and Zn were detectable on the bottom saline water, and 20 months after the DDP, only Zn was detectable in water. This fact indicates that these metals were longer available for absorption by the marine biota with probable deleterious effect. Indeed, studies by others during the DDP in Aratu port, indicated the decrease from 50 to 40 of the number of microalgae species identified. On the other hand, in the sediments, 20 months after the DDP, the concentrations of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Hg, returned to the original values, but Ni and Zn did not return to their original values. Comparison with studies by others indicated that the sediments from dredging were inappropriate for disposal at sea. This work indicated that the metals Cu, Ni, and Zn are the most deleterious elements to the marine environment. © 2016, Springer International Publishing Switzerland."
"Gorayeb, A; Silva, E.V.; Soares, L.S.; Carvalho, R.G. de; Rabelo, F.D.B.; Landim Neto, F.O.; Farias, J.F., and Sopchaki, C. H., 2020. Planning and management of the estuarine zones of the coastal regions of Northern - Northeastern Brazil: An approach based on landscape geoecology. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 814-818. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Estuaries provide an appropriate unit for spatial analyses that permit the establishment of environmental management strategies, based on the existing knowledge of their hydrographic basins. The present study developed a diagnostic approach to landscape and environmental management, based on the theoretical concepts of landscape geoecology and environmental planning, and supported by the techniques of remote sensing and thematic cartography. Thematic maps were prepared representing the structures, functions, and dynamics of the natural and cultural geoecological units formed by the estuaries of three Brazilian rivers - the Itapecuru - State of Maranhão and estuarine complex of the Tubarão river - State of Rio Grande do Norte. These maps show the geoecological units and features, indicating their degree of ecodynamic stability, and the evolutionary trends of the propositional scenarios and zoning, with the objective of defining potential strategies for the planning of land use on different functional scales. Theoretical-methodological models of environmental management were proposed, based on landscape geoecology (geosystem analysis, ecodynamics) and environmental planning (thematic cartography, remote sensing) approaches. These models resulted in summary tables and thematic maps on three scales: (i) regional - hydrographic basin (1:250,000) and (ii) municipal - estuarine (1:100,000), to support the implementation of effective management plans for the study estuaries. This study was coordinated by the Landscape Geoecology and Environmental Planning Laboratory of the Federal University of Ceará, through the CNPq researcher PQ program, State University of Rio Grande do Norte and Federal University of Maranhão. It was also supported by four other Brazilian universities through their graduate and undergraduate research programs. This study represents an important step toward the development and integration of propositional management models based on interdisciplinary and interinstitutional approaches, which provide an ideal approach to the understanding and planning of the estuaries of the northern coast of Brazil, which encompasses two distinct socio-environmental realities, in the humid Amazon region and the semi-arid Northeast. © Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2020."
"The characterization of geological faults from geological and geophysical data is often subject to uncertainties, owing to data ambiguity and incomplete spatial coverage. We propose a stochastic sampling algorithm which generates fault network scenarios compatible with sparse fault evidence while honoring some geological concepts. This process is useful for reducing interpretation bias, formalizing interpretation concepts, and assessing first-order structural uncertainties. Each scenario is represented by an undirected association graph, where a fault corresponds to an isolated clique, which associates pieces of fault evidence represented as graph nodes. The simulation algorithm samples this association graph from the set of edges linking the pieces of fault evidence that may be interpreted as part of the same fault. Each edge carries a likelihood that the endpoints belong to the same fault surface, expressing some general and regional geological interpretation concepts. The algorithm is illustrated on several incomplete data sets made of three to six two-dimensional seismic lines extracted from a three-dimensional seismic image located in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. In all cases, the simulation method generates a large number of plausible fault networks, even when using restrictive interpretation rules. The case study experimentally confirms that retrieving the reference association is difficult due to the problem combinatorics. Restrictive and consistent rules increase the likelihood to recover the reference interpretation and reduce the diversity of the obtained realizations. We discuss how the proposed method fits in the quest to rigorously (1) address epistemic uncertainty during structural studies and (2) quantify subsurface uncertainty while preserving structural consistency. ©2020. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved."
"The Reduction Levels (RLs) of Tide Gauge (TG) are used, in Brazil, as Ocean Vertical Data or Chart Datum (CD) which are references to nautical charts made by the Hydrography and Navigation Board of the Brazilian Navy (DHN- Diretoria de Hidrografia e Navegação in Portuguese). In contrast to that was adopted in Brazil, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recommends that the Datum reference surface for survey reductions in coastal zone may be defined by the LAT (Lowest Astronomical Tide) calculated from at least 18.6 years of tide gauge observations. The unification of the Chart Datum and the vertical reference integration has been aimed for the Brazilian coast through partnerships between several institutions and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística in Portuguese). Adopting a surface given by the LAT would solve the problems presented by adopting the RLs as CD, such as: the local coverage; the fact that some depths may be smaller than those presented in the chart; the question of determining each RL at different times; the lack of standardization about the time series extension to quantify the RL; and, above all, the impossibility of the connection to the Geocentric Reference System for the Americas (SIRGAS - Sistema de Referência Geocêntrico para as Américas in Portuguese). In order to contribute to the discussions concerning the integration of vertical reference in coastal regions, this article presents concepts involved, projects already developed in other regions of the world and some challenges inherent to Brazil for the unification of the oceanic reference and integration of vertical reference. © 2020 Sociedade Brasileira de Cartografia, Geodesia, Fotogrametria e Sensoriamento Remoto. All right reserved."
"The Libra project is exploring and developing a very large deposit of oil and gas in the pre-salt area of Santos Basin, 100 miles offshore Brazil's coastline. Five companies have come together in a consortium together with Pré-sal Petróleo SA (PPSA) to develop this area under the country's first Production Sharing Contract (PSC). While still in the exploration phase, the project has been moving at a rapid pace, creating full field development scenarios, drilling wells, developing a system to collect dynamic reservoir information, and preparing for the initiation of its first production FPSO project. Ultimately, the field could see the drilling of nearly a hundred deepwater wells and the installation of several very large FPSOs. The area will be active with seismic, drilling, construction, production, installation and support vessels for many years. By applying industry safety statistics to the large number of man-hours required to bring these plans to life, the potential for fatalities, Lost Time Accidents (LTI's) and other HSE incidences associated with the project can be statistically extrapolated. With these figures in mind, Project Leadership embarked upon a program to substantially improve safety performance with an objective to not only develop this rare field efficiently, but to establish a legacy of exceptional HSE performance. Now three years into Libra's exploration and development, and already exceeding 20 million man-hours expended, this paper seeks to share the steps taken to improve the HSE Culture of the Libra team and the performance of its contractors and subcontractors. Examples of physical changes in specifications to improve process safety, and changes in leadership behavior will be cited. The paper will discuss the successes, challenges, and future opportunities, in the hope that broader discussion of these efforts will assist this project and the industry to achieve project objectives while assuring safe working environments. © 2017, Offshore Technology Conference."
"This work seeks to demonstrate the technical feasibility of offshore wind projects by calculating the preliminary estimate of wind energy production in the Brazilian marine environment, through a simplified methodology based on currently available data in a case study performed with the application of wind turbines. The Exclusive Economic Zone of Brazil is about 3.6 million kmÂ2, an area that can be harnessed for offshore wind energy production. The case study was conducted in Itamaracá Island, Pernambuco state with the aim of supplying the local energy demands. An analysis was carried out on the local wind conditions through an ocean wind map measured at a height of 10 m, and therefore, the wind speed was extrapolated to 90 m using the logarithmic law. The Weibull frequency distribution and the annual energy production were calculated. The results presented showed that three wind turbines at a rated power of 3 MW, including a calculated annual average wind speed of 7.15 m/s would generate around 30,000 MWh/year, which would be sufficient to ensure energy throughout the year in Itamaracá Island. © 2003-2012 IEEE."
"The use of moonpools in offshore technology are normally related to the hull opening in drilling units with the objective to protect drilling equipment from environmental forces, and its design aims the minimum motion of the water inside the moonpool, avoiding water impacts when lowering an equipment. Several studies have been carried out to predict the water dynamics inside the moonpool. At most, analytical tools have been used with experimental results, to obtain a good evaluation of viscous effects. Another line of development uses the moonpools as a device to reduce motions of ships or oil platforms. In his context, the use of moonpools in monocolumn type platforms was studied during the development of the concept, through the partnership between PETROBRAS and University of Säo Paulo -USP. An alternative that became viable in the last years is the use of numerical methods to evaluate potencial parameters, being only necessary simple experiments to obtains viscous data to complete the model. This work, that is a continuation of articles about the issue written before, intends to consolidate the calculation method of moonpool to monocolumn units. Copyright © 2006 by ASME."
"This study describes the spatial and temporal patterns of changes in the macrobenthic communities of Guajará Bay, an estuary in northern Brazil. Samples were collected at seven sites in the dry (December 2004 and September 2005) and rainy seasons (March and June 2005). On each occasion, four biological samples and one sediment sample were collected at each site using a Petersen grab (0.039 m2). Simultaneously, the pH of the surface water, salinity, electrical conductivity and temperature were measured. Water parameters, except temperature, showed strong seasonal variation. As a general rule, pH, salinity and electrical conductivity were higher in the dry season and increased toward the mouth of the estuary. Sediment characteristics varied little in space or time. Almost 99% of all the specimens collected were annelids. The abundance and diversity of the organisms were significantly higher in the rainy season, when there was a marked increase in the abundance of oligochaetes and insect larvae, whereas polychaetes predominated during the dry season. The results of the ANOSIM indicated significant differences in the composition of the macrofaunal communities between seasons. The groups formed by the CCA reflected the distance from the mouth of the estuary. At the innermost sites, characterized by lower electrical conductivity and rich, organic sandy sediments, oligochaetes predominated, whereas at the sites further downstream, where more saline conditions predominate, polychaetes were found in higher densities. The results indicated that the structure of the macrobenthic communities in this estuarine bay are structured primarily by salinity, and secondarily by seasonal changes in rainfall rates, which affect the characteristics of both the water and sediments. © Coastal Education &amp; Research Foundation 2013."
"The trend in subsea completions worldwide is reviewed. In 1987, 53 systems were installed, taking the cumulative total to 472. The North Sea and Brazil are the most active areas, with the North Sea in the lead with 30 of the 1987 installations. Prospects for the continuation of present trends are considered."
"In this study, we use inorganic (metal) and organic (bulk and molecular) markers in sediment samples of the south-eastern Brazilian margin to investigate the response of geochemical fingerprints to the complex hydrodynamic processes present in the area. Results indicate the potential of export of terrigenous siliciclastic and organic constituents to the upper slope, even in an area with limited fluvial supply.Metal contents and especially the ln(Ti?€?•?€Al) and ln(Fe?€?•?€K) ratios make it possible to recognise the extension of shelf sediments toward the upper slope. Potassium, here expressed as ln(K?€?•?€Sc) and ln(K?€?•?€Al) ratios used as proxies of illite-kaolinite variations, proved to be an important parameter, especially because it allowed us to decipher the imprint of the northward flow of the Intermediate Western Boundary Current (IWBC) in comparison to the southward flows of the Brazil Current (BC) and Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC).  Using organic matter analyses, we were able to evaluate the extent of terrestrial contributions to the outer shelf and slope, even without the presence of significant fluvial input. In addition, molecular markers signify a slight increase in the input of C4-derived plants to the slope sediments, transported from distant areas by the main alongshore boundary currents, indicating that the terrestrial fraction of the organic matter deposited on the slope has a distinct origin when compared to shelf sediments. © Author(s) 2017. CC Attribution 3.0 License."
"A mysterious oil spill occurred in the ocean near Brazil in 2019, which affected coastal areas in northeastern Brazil. When oil pollution occurs in coastal zones, organisms such as small mammals can suffer deleterious effects to their health. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of exposure to contaminated sandy soil with different crude oil concentrations in males of the species Calomys laucha. The exposure to crude oil resulted in multiple health issues for the subjects in the very first days of exposure. Furthermore, the exposure resulted in mutagenic damage to bone marrow blood cells and behavioral and morphological alterations, which were almost always in a dose-dependent form. The present study demonstrates the sensibility of the biomarkers used and highlights that small wild mammals such as C. laucha are useful for predicting environmental damage caused by the exposure to crude oil. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"National sovereignty and protection require a diversity of interdependent systems that jointly provide a large infrastructure for the national security, making possible a continuous monitoring and control. These systems assure the confidential information exchange while providing more complex functionalities when working together and forming alliances known as Systems-of-Systems (SoS). This paper reports an experience in the Brazilian defense scenario, externalizing the acquired knowledge in the form of lessons learned during the conduction of a real, strategic project called SisGAAz (Blue Amazon Management System), which has its main goal to develop the Brazilian navy management SoS. In particular, we focus on reporting our experience in the architectural design of this SoS as a quality driver in our project. We also raise challenges that were overcome, and also others that must still be faced. The results communicated herein contribute to deliver a panorama of the Brazilian state of the practice about SoS engineering. Such results are important, as they report the current situation and gaps to be bridged by both academics and practitioners, not only in Brazil but also worldwide, especially in those developing countries that are also living and implementing such technological revolution. © 2019 IEEE."
"Mapping of natural gas hydrate systems has been performed successfully in the past using the controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) method. This method relies on differentiating resistive highly saturated free gas or hydrate bearing host sediment from a less resistive low-saturated gas or brine-bearing host sediments. Knowledge of the lateral extent and resistivity variations (and hence the saturation variations) within sediments that host hydrates is crucial to be able to accurately quantify the presence of saturated gas hydrates. A 3D CSEM survey (PUCRS14) was acquired in 2014 in the Pelotas Basin offshore Brazil, with hydrate resistivity mapping as the main objective. The survey was acquired within the context of the CONEGAS research project which investigated the origin and distribution of gas hydrate deposits in the Pelotas Basin. We inverted the acquired data using a proprietary 3D CSEM anisotropic inversion algorithm. Inversion was purely CSEM data-driven, and we did not include any a-priori information in the process. Prior to CSEM, interpretation of near-surface geophysical data including 2D seismic, sub-bottom profiler and multibeam bathymetry data indicated possible presence of gas hydrates within features identified such as faults, chimneys and seeps leading to pockmarks, along the bottom simulating reflector (BSR) and within the gas hydrate stability zone. Upon integration of the same with CSEM derived resistivity volume, the interpretation revealed excellent spatial correlation with many of these features. The interpretation further revealed new features with possible hydrate presence, which were previously overlooked due to a lack of a clear seismic and/or multibeam backscatter signature. Also, features which were previously mapped as gas hydrate bearing had to be reinterpreted as residual or low saturated gas/hydrate features, due to lack of significant resistivity response associated with them. We further used the inverted resistivity volume to derive saturation volume of the subsurface using Archie's equation. © 2019 Society of Exploration Geophysicists and American Association of Petroleum Geologists."
"This chapter presents advances in studies related to the monitoring and development of biotechnologies for the restoration of mangrove areas in Todos os Santos Bay that have been impacted by petroleum. The results of surface sediment monitoring show that the estuary of the São Paulo River has the most pollution from petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. Our biostimulation and bioaugmentation tests indicated that in relation to a control (natural attenuation), biodegradation was more rapid when using either of these techniques. The results showed greater degradation of the saturated hydrocarbons in the units receiving a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer blend, indicating the better biostimulation efficacy of this fertilizer. The bioaugmentation experiment indicates that the consortiums showed promise for use in bioremediation: they increased the degradation by approximately 30%. Greater efficacy in removing organic compounds from sediments was observed in two phytoremediation models (approximately 89% removal). The three models were effective in the removal of fraction 3A (C16-23), but the two phytoremediation models achieved much greater degradation of fractions 3B (C23-34) and 4 (C34-40). The data indicate that the two phytoremediation models were more effective than the intrinsic bioremediation model in the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."
"This paper reports the Lessons Learned from an innovative linepipe solution that was successfully implemented on P55 Deepwater Project. The P55 field is located offshore Brazil, in the northern area of Campos Basin, in a water depth ranging from 1500m to 1900m. The scope of work consisted in engineering, procuring, fabricating and installing 16 rigid Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs), which are the first of their kind in this area. The corresponding 12-inch SCR qualification results are presented in the perspective to show the significant benefits of the technology used and its potential developments to High Pressure & High Temperature applications. In order to meet tight Hi-Lo requirements together with high fatigue performances, innovative Pipe End Design and associated automatic welding procedures were developed and qualified. The paper describes the complete sequence of pipe manufacturing process, from hot-rolling to final machining, which resulted in a concentric and reproducible pipe end geometry, ideal for limiting Stress Concentration Factors. An extensive qualification program of Full Scale Fatigue test was conducted on girth-welded strings and the associated results showed performance levels at least four times above the target curve. Moreover, Lessons Learned from the offshore campaign established that developed Pipe End Design led to significant improvements in welding times and subsequent J-laying rates. Details on how the technology effectively reduces critical times and lowers rejection rates are provided on the basis of the actual P55 offshore campaign. In addition to the advantages detailed in the paper, the presented linepipe solution proves to be also applicable to High Temperature fields, since the enhanced fatigue behavior was found to compensate a temperature derating up to 270°C. In fact, the presented manufacturing and welding technologies have opened the perspective of ongoing Developments, which are believed to bring a reliable solution for combined High Pressure and High Temperature applications. Copyright © (2015) by the Offshore Technology Conference All rights reserved."
"The present study characterizes the quality of sediments from the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex (South Brazil). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in sediment samples together with a series of different in vitro bioassays. The fish hepatoma cell line (PLHC-1) was used to determine the presence of cytotoxic compounds and CYP1A- and oxidative stress-inducing agents in sediment extracts. Ovarian microsomal fractions from sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were used to detect the presence of endocrine disrupters that interfered with the synthesis of estrogens (ovarian CYP19). Despite the relatively low levels of pollutants and no evidence of negative effects based on guideline levels, sediments collected close to harbors were enriched with CYP1A-inducing agents and they showed higher cytotoxicity. In contrast, sediments from internal areas inhibited CYP19 activity, which suggests the presence of endocrine disrupters at these sites. Overall, the selected bioassays and the chemistry data led to the identification of potentially impacted areas along the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex that would require further action to improve their environmental quality. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1811–1819. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC"
"Home to approximately four hundred thousand inhabitants and an important touristic center, the City of Santos is the largest seaport in South America. This coastal city is located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Since 1979, an ocean outfall has been in use for combined sewage disposal from the City of Santos and neighboring City of São Vicente. The existing pipeline is 4.4 km long and 1.7 m in diameter. It is laid out within a relatively shallow depth of 10 m and its discharge capacity is 5.3 m3/s. Enhance primary treatment and increase the length of the outfall are alternatives in the study in order to improve the outfall system and deal with population increase and new environmental requirements. The fate and transport of sewage effluent, in light of proposed improvements of primary treatment and the augmentation of outfall's length are evaluated in this paper. Delft3D is used to simulate plume dispersion and other key variables. This is done while considering the non-steady nature of coastal hydrodynamics, tidal effects, wind, current speed, climate conditions, and other drivers. The modified dispersion processes for each alternative are presented and the results from a physical model of the Santos Bay and estuary are coupled to better represent the plume simulations. This research helps find that the proposed alternatives of enhanced primary treatment and a longer outfall give the answer to an improved disposal system that meets environmental requirements. © 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers."
"Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis and F. paulensis are the most exploited shrimps of SE-S Brazilian coast. Our aim was to verify if adjacent nursery areas with different environmental condition (Sepetiba and Guanabara bays, SE Brazil) influence on shrimp populations (eg, CPUE) and body shapes. Samplings were carried out during 12 months in those bays ca. 85 Km far from each other. Carapace length (CL), total body length (TL), wet weight, abdomen size and TL/CL ratio were used to analyze variations in shape through regressions. In general, F. brasiliensis was 4 to 6 times more abundant than F. paulensis. The sex ratio differed from 1:1 in F. brasiliensis in both bays, with dominance of females, largest catches occur in autumn. However, differences in size and morphology were found between bays, mainly regarding the TL/CL ratio. Shrimps in Sepetiba Bay have higher TL/CL showing a more “elongated shape” (larger abdomen) when compared to those from Guanabara Bay. Results suggest the existence of an estuary vs shrimp morphology relationship which results in differences in body shape even in spatially close areas. TL/CL ratio has proven useful for assessing shrimp populations differences and might be tested for tracking the origin of adult shrimps stocks at the coast. © 2019, Academia Brasileira de Ciencias. All rights reserved."
"The oil industry's search for new hydrocarbon accumulations has led to the drilling of ever deeper wells, normally under harsh conditions that involve high pressures, temperatures and mechanical strengths as well as sour gas production. In order to perform drill-stem tests (DSTs) safely, these constraints must be overcome. PETROBRÁS, the Brazilian state owned oil company, has been drilling wells in ever deeper horizons, reaching up to 18,000 ft (5,500 m). During the last five years some important areas have been discovered, especially offshore, of which the Tubarao Field in Southern Brazil is one example. Based on well-testing experiences in the North Sea, as well as the company's own experience, PETROBRÁS has developed a new approach for testing deep wells: The use of a simple and reliable test-string assembly, achieved by reducing and replacing components, and the adoption of extremely rigorous safety standards and careful selection of materials suitable for use in the presence of hydrogen sulphide. This paper presents a field-proven well-testing design, whose main concerns are offshore safety and environmental quality. Copyright © 1890, Society of Petroleum Engineers."
"The remarkable heating of the Brazilian oil and gas market in recent years has led to a significant boost in the orders of offshore units (such as exploration and production platforms, drilling rigs and various types of support vessels) as well as in the construction of new shipyards or the expansion and modernization of existing ones. In this context, entrepreneurs (operators, constructors, shipowners and shipyards) as well as governmental funding entities, financial agents and insurance companies, face new challenges, commensurate with the size and complexity of the involved projects, and their degree of innovation. In addition to the specific challenges of a more technical nature, special care should be given to those involving critical business decisions, such as the development and analysis of feasibility studies, validation of assumptions, risk analyses, insurance warranties, contract evaluation, claims and contractual amendments, construction follow-up, and physical and financial progress of projects in the marine and offshore markets. This paper presents and discusses some important technical and economic aspects involved in these studies and typical difficulties found in projects of greater complexity, comparing and evaluating different approaches and mechanisms, and their suitability to the needs and resources of key stakeholders. The authors intend to contribute to the identification, discussion and dissemination of available best practices, comparing them with those applied in similar contexts, both in the domestic and international scenarios. The paper also presents suggestions for the improvement and development of methodologies and tools, addressing issues of the content and format of reports and studies, as well as the support of information systems. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Located in the Brazilian continental shelf, the so called ""Pre-Salt"" reservoirs with large accumulations of excellent quality, high commercial value light oil have become the most strategic oil production site for Brazil. One of the main challenges that has recently arisen concerns the definition of an adequate process to address the high concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) presented in their geological formations. For the Pre-Salt basin, several options of offshore carbon dioxide storage have been studied, such as: aquifers, depleted reservoirs, and salt caverns. Although a mined offshore salt cavern has never been constructed, its adoption has been gaining momentum due to the mantle origin of CO2, the thickness of rock layer above the salt layer, and the lack of reservoirs below the carbonate reservoirs capable to store gases. Because of its unprecedent characteristics, the development of such facility implies a series of challenges in terms of safety and integrity aspects. Using tailored qualitative risk management tools, this paper explores the many aspects and interdependencies of well design, well clustering configuration, drilling, solution mining, CO2 disposal, and abandonment phases related to offshore salt caverns. The results obtained so far indicated that, technically, they are a feasible solution for Pre-Salt CO2 storage. However, economic and environmental viability strongly depends on well clustering configuration and solution mining process. © 2019 European Safety and Reliability Association. Published by Research Publishing, Singapore."
"This study estimates oil production curves applying single and multi-cycle Hubbert models and Hubbert variants for the case of Brazil. The application of a top-down modeling approach is necessary, as the size of oil fields discoveries is usually confidential data and therefore not disclosed in Brazil. Despite fragilities of curve fitting methodologies, this approach therefore continues being widely used, due to its simplicity and relatively low data requirement. The classic Hubbert methodology was improved in this study by considering the asymmetry of production. Additionally, a hybrid model considering techno-economic aspects explains the deviation of the crude oil production rate from the prediction of the Hubbert curve by means of regression analysis. This analysis indicates that the deviation of the crude oil production rate from the Hubbert curve follows, with a four-to five-year lag, changes in oil price. The findings show that the URR of Brazil's post-salt offshore basins hover between 15 and 21 billion barrels of oil. An annual average growth rate of 8% in the pre-salt oil fields can compensate for the decline in post-salt offshore oil production for the period 2016-2025. Error and URR estimates stabilize after peak production for single and multi-cycle Hubbert curves, though the single cycle model proved to be more unstable before peak production than the multi-cycle models. © 2017 Elsevier B.V."
"The Santo Antônio Bank (SAB) is a large sand accumulation on the inner continental shelf of Salvador City, next to Todos os Santos Bay (TSB) entrance, eastern Brazilian coast. Since the sixteenth century, chroniclers report this feature as a navigational hazard. Previous studies have tried to determine the origin and volume of sands stored within this feature without success. In the present study, high-resolution shallow seismic surveys were used to investigate the architecture, origin, and evolution of the SAB. One hundred seventy kilometers of high resolution shallow seismic lines was acquired during December 2014 and February 2015 using a Meridata® sparker system operating on frequencies between 0.3 and 1.5 kHz, with a maximum 200 J of energy. Three major stratigraphic units were identified: the bedrock, a transgressive unit, and a highstand unit. The bedrock comprises sedimentary rocks of the Northern Camamu Sedimentary Basin and high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Precambrian basement. The transgressive unit is interpreted as the result of deposition in an estuarine environment infilling incised valleys. The highstand unit represents the SAB itself. A well-preserved proto-bank exists at the core of the SAB marking the early stages of bank development. This proto-bank drowned in place possibly during the 8.2-ka event. Present-day SAB and tidal prism volumes show that the bank reached a maturity phase of development. The volume of siliciclastic sands stored in the SAB is 5.98 × 108 m3. The SAB is potentially a major source of sands for beach nourishment for the urban beaches of the city of Salvador and metropolitan area, thus increasing the resilience of the city to future sea-level rises. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"One of the main challenges in rigid riser design for Brazilian Pre-salt is the fatigue limit state. At this new production frontier, some key points are imposed as a challenge for riser designers, mainly due to the high level of motions imposed by the FPSO at the riser top in a coupled system with water depth around 2200 meters, and thicker riser's thermal insulation demanded for flow assurance (which worsens the dynamic response of production risers). Additionally, high contaminant levels in the fluid (CO2 &amp; H2S) demands CRA materials. Within this context, Petrobras has been considering Steel Lazy Wave Riser (SLWR) configuration as a base case scenario for rigid riser projects, since this configuration is able to absorb part of the FPSO motions that would reach the touch down zone (TDZ) and, consequently, making this region much less demanded when compared against Steel Catenary Risers (SCR). In its pioneer deepwater SLWR [1], Petrobras adopted a conservative approach for fatigue assessment that involved degenerated SN curves from DNV-RPC203, i.e. D curve in cathodic protection with the slope changing point (SCP) shifted to 5×106 for external wall and F1 curve in air with SCP at 5×107 for internal wall. More recently, both DNVGL and BSI have reviewed their fatigue assessment codes and no longer holds parity between SN curves. BS-7608 Ed. 2014 introduced different SCPs in order to account for a possible non-conservativeness in the assessment of low stresses under variable amplitude in the loading spectra. DNVGL-RP-C203 Ed. 2016 now presents three different bilinear SN curves for the internal wall of pipelines and risers that depends on weld misalignment, while it keeps SCP unchanged. This paper presents a recent case study for a typical SLWR configuration in pre-salt, in order to evaluate the impact of the changes proposed by the new versions of these design codes in the fatigue life of riser girth welds. Results of this work showed that the impact of different positioning of slope changing points in SN curves can have a great importance for riser design, since typical load spectrum lies around this region. Fatigue life could be increased up to twice or three times if one of these codes are adopted instead of the Shifted SN curves. However, the effect of low stresses under variable amplitude loading spectra is still a concern and it should be further investigated. Copyright © 2019 ASME"
"Igneous rocks are widely developed in many hydrocarbon-bearing sedimentary basins in Brazil, and some igneous rocks play positive roles in the oil and gas accumulation process. But so far, no industrial oil or gas flow is discovered in igneous rocks in Brazilian onshore basins. At present, in some literatures published by some researchers, cases of igneous reservoirs in Brazil are inaccurate. The lithology of reservoirs in the Igarape Cuia oil and gas field, the oil and gas field of Urucu and the Barra Bonita gasfield, were previously thought to be volcanic rocks, but now are clastic rocks according to studies, and the igneous rocks in these three oil and gas field can only be acted as indirect and direct cap rocks. Furthermore, igneous rock reservoirs in the Campos Basin and Santos Basin in the Brazilian offshore are briefly analyzed. The representative Badejo oilfield in the Campos Basin has igneous rock reservoirs dominated by basalts which are intercalated with thin layers of volcaniclastic and sedimentary rocks, the storage space are vesicules, fractures and vugular pores, and the porosity of hydrocarbon bearing interval basalt reservoirs ranges from 10% to 15%. In addition, for the Santos Basin, igneous rocks in this basin are dominated by basic rocks, some alkaline intrusive rocks develop good micro spaces, mainly crystal moldic pores, inter- and intra-crystal dissolution pores and fractures, better reservoir intervals are often concentrated such as at sections near to unconformity surfaces and can have porosity of 6%–9% or higher; local pre-salt igneous rock reservoirs in the Santos Basin have the necessary conditions for hydrocarbon accumulation and it will be a new target layer for hydrocarbon exploration. © 2020 Chinese Petroleum Society"
"The new age of oil and gas industry is being driven by cost effective solutions, aiming to provide cheaper, faster and better products/services. The industry 4.0 brings an opportunity to transform systems and processes to be more efficient, making use of digitalization and new technologies, including the use of artificial intelligence algorithms applied to engineering problems. In Brazilian offshore fields, the operating conditions for flexible riser applications (deep-water, mean wave frequencies, floating units and corrosive fluids) make the metallic layer’s fatigue failure mode one of the drivers in its design. In a daily basis, nonlinear dynamic finite element analysis uses regular wave scatter diagrams as an equivalent way to model the wave elevation, avoiding the time consuming irregular wave representation. The analysis performed with regular waves are faster but carries conservatisms with it. In a deep-water scenario, the wave height and period ranges of the wave scatter diagram can be refined to improve the fatigue results obtained, leading to a considerable increase in the total amount of wave classes that need to be evaluated. Great part of the wave classes has a very low participation in the total fatigue damage, spending an unnecessary time to analyze them. Helped by a robust design of simulation experiment (DoSE) and machine learning regressors, a lean representation of the regular wave scatter can be done, where some of them are simulated and the rest of the results can be accurately predicted. This paper presents the application of supervised learners that are used to predict riser fatigue damage at different riser locations, given partial simulations of a regular wave scatter diagram. The techniques support the strategy to reduce the total amount of fatigue analysis required within a project design phase. The focus stays on the evaluation of the fatigue of metallic layers at two main critical regions, bend stiffener and touch down zone. Hidden patterns inside each scatter diagram are discovered, minimizing the total number of finite element analysis (FEA) required. The amount of the wave class reduction starts from 50% going up to 75%, maintaining a good level of accuracy on the predicted damage values. Copyright © 2019 ASME"
"Central Brazil hydroclimate is in the core region of the South American monsoon system. Thus, understanding precipitation variability in this area is crucial not only for the prediction of extreme events such as droughts and floods, but also for water resources management. Ocean teleconnections influence central Brazil precipitation from intraseasonal to interdecadal frequencies, in both linear and nonlinear ways, mainly during the austral summer. Pacific Ocean climate modes can influence South American precipitation, but how its variability changes over time is still a theme of scientific debate. Here we examined the influence of Pacific variability on summer precipitation in central Brazil during the last eight decades. We applied nonparametric spectral methods to four different observational datasets, and to AMIP-type precipitation outputs from the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique zoom model (LMDZ) in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phases 5 and 6 (CMIP5 and CMIP6) contributions of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) coupled model. Our results showed an increase in amplitude and frequency of summer precipitation variability after the 1970s climate transition. Spectral analysis associated these changes to a transition in Pacific Ocean influence to central Brazil precipitation, from PDO- to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related variability after the 1970s climate transition. Composite analysis suggests these changes are related to teleconnection patterns between the Pacific Ocean and South America precipitation. © 2021 Royal Meteorological Society"
"This paper will describe the improvement made to the reamer cutter blocks to enhance its durability and optimize the Pre-salt Well Construction Currently, most of the Brazilian's Pre-Salt wells have the last phase built-in 12.25in. In some situations, it is necessary to drill oil wells in a giant offshore field wells with five phases, enlarging the third phase from 18.125in to 22in. The high abrasiveness encountered at this phase increased the number of runs needed to drill it and, consequently, time and costs that encouraged the development of solutions. This work relates what has been observed during the last years about reaming difficulties, specifically, in the enlargement from 18.125in to 22in when facing abrasive formations. Petrobras specialists analyzed these events and concluded the matrix of the reamer's cutter blocks was wearing faster and losing the capacity to hold the PDC cutters. The hole enlargement company, that Petrobras works for nowadays, developed a process that increased the resistance of the cutter blocks by increasing the hardness of the surface material prior to the brazing of the cutters. Then, Petrobras has had the opportunity to use both modified and common cutter blocks in a challenging operation to compare their durability and the results were completely satisfactory. The modified cutter blocks had much less wearing on the same formations. Based on this operation, we can conclude this process is validated since improved the reamer cutter blocks quality and its lifetime. This paper can serve as a guide to reduce operations costs and to optimize well construction when there are concrete possibilities to enlarge abrasive formations. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Everyday thousands of people commute to offshore platforms in Brazil. The presence of a remote terminal, the so-called HUB, adjacent to the platforms, not only reduces the shipment costs, but also increases the speed of commuting. The present work addresses the feasibility of utilizing a ship shape hull as alternative logistic HUB. The work, analyzes the rigid body receiving mostly transversal currents operating as floating breakwater in deep-water, using the hull with a central turret. The crew boat is a HSV that will also include in the investigation. It is shown that this arrangement increase percentage of operating time in the site, offshore Brazil. Finally the investigation performs a stability analysis in the horizontal plane of the hull with the central turret. This is made by experimental tests in LOC (Laboratorio de Ondas e Correntes da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), combined with a time domain non-linear code. © 2015 Taylor and Francis Group."
"The aim of this study is to systematize the knowledge related to the innovation capability of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the exploration and production (E&P) of oil and natural gas in Rio de Janeiro state (Brazil). This systematization consists in the early stages of a larger study, which aims to formulate a reference model oriented to the evaluation of the innovation capability of these SMEs, focusing on a maturity trajectory. This model can guide innovation efforts of these companies in order to meet future technological and logistics demands of oil E&P in the Brazilian offshore."
"By monitoring the variation of weights of floating production units (FPUs), the sum of total weight computed by load calculators on board very often does not match the actual displacement based on the current drafts. Differences can also be observed in the trim and heel of FPUs, which present values different from zero degree in the calculations, but in fact they are frequently kept near zero by ballast control. The mooring lines and risers tensions are one of the most uncertain weight items in loading conditions reported by the crew on board, therefore, this paper aims to assess the influence and behavior of these systems to a variety of situations in which FPUs operate. Analyses were performed for semi-submersibles and FPSOs considering two configurations of mooring system: catenary and taut-leg. The purpose is to evaluate how the magnitude of the resulting force varies-and hence how the trim and heel change-for a range of offsets caused by environmental conditions. The effect of mooring lines and risers is also discussed regarding the water depth by means of case studies considering a range of water depths. Actual lines properties and seabed bathymetry from mooring system models of platforms located offshore Brazil have been taken as reference. In short, the mooring lines and risers loads will be calculated for different types of floating production units, mooring system configurations and water depths in order to evaluate their influence on the trim, heel and displacement of FPUs."
"Mega oil and gas reservoirs have been discovered in deep and ultra-deep offshore Brazil. These Pre-Salt discoveries are remotely located at water depths ranging from 2200m (?7,200 ft) to 2600 m (?8,500 ft). Offshore Brazil has unique metocean conditions with long swell periods which present challenges on floating platforms such as Spars and Semis. In addition, the remoteness of location and the associated high cost of vessel mobilization add further pressure on economics and risk. Quayside integration is thus a desired feature of the hull concept in order to eliminate offshore mating and the associated risk to cost and schedule. To explore these pre-salt complicated ultra-deepwater reservoirs usually require large drilling rig and drilling variable payload which result in very large topsides in both size and weight. Spars and TLPs are the only two proven dry tree hull forms in deep and ultra-deep waters in the GOM. However the TLP becomes cost prohibitive if the water depth is beyond 1,524 m (5,000 ft). For large payload systems requiring a large drilling rig, a suitable Spar size creates a challenge for transportation and installation. The semi-submersible hull form is known to offer advantages over Spars such as larger deck space and quayside integration which are essential to reducing offshore commissioning time and risk as well as cost and schedule. Maturation of the dry tree semi-submersible solution in GoM ultra-deepwater (2,400m) had been undertaken by RPSEA and dry tree Paired Column Semisubmersible (PC Semi) platform, developed by Houston Offshore Engineering, was selected by the RPSEA committee in 2009. Extensive wind tunnel tests and wave basin model tests including 1,000-year central GoM hurricanes were successfully completed in 2010. PC Semi hull configuration, TTR stroke, the analytical results and simulation tools had been fully validated. This paper presents validation analysis results of a dry tree PC semi developed with conventional RAM style tensioners, in 2,400m ultra-deepwater of Offshore Brazil Pre-Salt carrying same topsides payloads as RPSEA. The validation analysis was performed by the correlated analysis tools and established analysis procedures. The design efficiencies including payload, steel weight and production efficiencies of PC Semis for BPS and central GoM are addressed and discussed. Highly efficient PC Semi for BPS has been developed, validated and became ""market ready""."
"The paper discusses how a new burner can solve environmental challenges in well test applications by reducing the quantity of fallout, providing better control of the burning operation, and allowing operators to adjust to changes in the well/weather conditions. In order to conduct successful well tests, substantial amounts of oil must be brought to the surface, and in most instances, the safest and least expensive method of disposal is to burn the produced oil. A quality smoke-free burn and drip-free operation is enabled through an innovative advanced nozzle design installed in this new oil burner. The nozzle can precisely control the flow of oil and air through the burner allowing, for the first time, closure with no unburned fuel escaping. The nozzles are operated remotely and powered by an integrated pneumatic system using the combustion air supply. The system permits control over each individual nozzle, enabling operators to adapt to varying flow conditions to maintain efficient and flawless performance. A wide range of tests were conducted, including combustion zone gas sampling and fallout testing. Over a three week testing period, the new burner flawlessly executed full-scale burns and provided on-the-fly nozzle control, burner head rotation, and instant drip-free shutdowns. The new burner demonstrated its capability to shut down all ten nozzles from their full capacity in three tenths of a second with no visible unburned hydrocarbons or drips. The new burner achieved a 99.99952% fallout efficiency; this is 14.58 times more efficient than any other current oil burner product offering. In addition to the exceptional fallout efficiency, it also delivers 99.4% combustion efficiency and 99.5% destruction efficiency allowing the calculation of CO2 emission rates, which during testing was found to be 41Lbs/MMBtu. The first operation was conducted offshore in Brazil where this new burner demonstrated the capability to control, monitor, and react to changing well conditions for approximately three days without issue. It flowed in excess of 6,700 bbls, preventing a minimum of 69.48 liters of fallout from entering the sea. A total of 32 jobs were performed with the new burner system from December 2014 to January of 2018 with a 100% success rate without contamination/fallouts. The totally eliminated fallout volume, compared with the second most efficient burner system available in the market, is 2653.22 liters after burning a total of 257,490 bbl of hydrocarbons. In 60% of the field jobs, the burner was rotated to accommodate wind direction or to improve burning efficiency. If a different burner system had been used, the burner efficiency would have lessened or, in a worst case scenario, the operation could have been delayed and the well shut in until wind direction changed sufficiently to allow the burning operation. Copyright 2020, International Petroleum Technology Conference."
"Geologic events related to the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean deeply influenced the sedimentary record of the Araripe Basin. As consequence, upper stratigraphic units of the basin record a marine ingression in northeastern Brazil during the late Aptian. The timing and stratigraphic architecture of these units are crucial to understand the paleogeography of Gondwana and how the proto-Atlantic Ocean reached interior NE Brazil during the early Cretaceous. This marine ingression is recorded in the Araripe Basin as the Romualdo Formation, characterized by a transgressive-regressive cycle bounded by two regional unconformities. In the eastern part of the basin, the Romualdo depositional sequence comprises coastal alluvial and tide-dominated deposits followed by marine transgressive facies characterized by two fossil-rich intervals: a lower interval of black shales with fossil-rich carbonate concretions (Konservat-Lagerstätten) and an upper level with mollusk-dominated shell beds and shelly limestones. Following the marine ingression, an incomplete regressive succession of marginal-marine facies records the return of continental environments to the basin. The stratigraphic framework based on the correlation of several sections defines a transgressive-regressive cycle with depositional dip towards southeast, decreasing in thickness towards northwest, and with source areas located at the northern side of the basin. The facies-cycle wedge-geometry, together with paleocurrent data, indicates a coastal onlap towards NNW. Therefore, contrary to several paleogeographic scenarios previously proposed, the marine ingression would have reached the western parts of the Araripe Basin from the SSE. © 2017 Elsevier B.V."
"In drilling vessels, the dynamic positioning (DP) system has great importance for the operation, since it ensures the station keeping ability for carrying out the drilling operation. However, an emergency situation involves ungoverned drift due to problems associated with the DP system failures, such as thrusters, generators, powerbus or control system. During this emergency situation, the vessel drift is subjected to the influence of environmental conditions and the drift can lead to collisions with floating obstacles or submerged systems, wellhead emergency disconnection, damage to equipments and potentially causing major environmental disasters. Due to the possible occurrence of this emergency condition, it is necessary to define a safety region for the drilling ship operation and to determine the limiting operation offset that the drilling vessel can disconnect from the wellhead without damage to any equipment. This limit offset is obtained through a riser analysis and drift-off study, being an important input for WSOG (Well Specific Operating Guidelines). The study will provide vessel drift trajectory after the DP failure under several environmental conditions. A validated time domain simulator must be used for obtaining such data. In the present work, the Dynasim software, developed from the partnership between Petrobras and Brazilian universities, is applied. Thus, the aim of this work is to validate the Dynasim numerical model using drift data from full scale tests performed on vessels operated by Petrobras and under several environmental conditions. For the validation and calibration of the numerical model, three main parameters were compared: distance time-series, heading variation and trajectory during the drift of the vessel. The comparisons between full scale data and numerical simulation results demonstrated the accuracy of the numerical model. Therefore, the application of this tool provides a valuable contribution to the reliability of WSOG analysis, planning of the operations, allowing the determination of the drift path in relation to the wind, current and waves, and the definition of drift maps and establishing safety zones for the drilling vessel operation, minimizing the risk of collisions. Copyright © 2018 ASME."
"The paper will present different versions of barge concepts with surface trees from the smallest unit ""The Wellhead Barge - WHB®"" supporting only surface trees and completion rig, to the largest unit ""The Multifunction Barge - MFB®"", an FPSO with surface trees and drilling facilities. A spread moored barge is already used as a production unit on the NKOSSA field offshore Congo and a spread moored FPSO will be installed offshore Angola in 1350 m water depth on the GIRASSOL field in early 2001. Although none of these facilities has surface trees on board, their motion behavior is compatible with both drilling and surface trees. West African unique metocean conditions allow deepwater field operators to consider spread-moored barge-type floaters to support surface wellheads and perform drilling operations. In other deep offshore areas, such as Gulf of Mexico and Offshore Brazil, Tension Leg Platforms (TLP's) and deep draft vessels are presently the only floaters able to support surface trees. The paper will present results of computational work and their correlation with tank tests on the MFB®, and WHB® performed on 1/60 model including hull, mooring and risers under wave and current loadings. Emphasis will be placed on risers, drilling arrangement, and hydrodynamic behavior within the well bay. Economical advantage, which results from the use of the ""Surface Tree Barges"", will conclude the paper. Barges with surface trees take advantage of benign metocean conditions of Gulf of Guinea to offer a single vessel as drilling and production support for field development. Surface trees and drilling facility are integrated on a low cost, high carrying capacity floater able to support any kind of processing plant with or without crude storage. Copyright 2000, Offshore Technology Conference."
"This paper describes measured and simulated downhole pressure variations (""surge and swab"") during drill pipe connections when drilling an ultra-deepwater well offshore Brazil on the Carcará field. Floating rig motion caused by waves and swell (""rig heave"") inducessurge and swab when the drillstring issuspended in slips to make up or break a drill pipe connection and topside heave compensation is temporarily deactivated. This is a known issue in regions with harsh weather such as the North Sea, where pressure oscillations of up to 20 bar have been reported during connections. Recorded downhole drilling data from the Carcará field reveals significant pressure oscillations downhole (in the same order of magnitude as in the North Sea) each time the drill string was suspended in slips to make a connection in the sub-salt 8 1/2"" section of the well. Mud losses were experienced around the same well depth and they might have been caused by surge and swab. Measured surge and swab pressure variations have been reproduced in an advanced proprietary surge and swab simulator that considers rig heave, drill pipe elasticity, well friction, non-Newtonian drilling mud, well trajectory and geometry. Moreover, findings in this paper suggest that surge and swab was in fact significantly higher than recorded by the MWD (Measurement While Drilling) tool. The true magnitude of surge and swab is not captured in the recorded MWD data due to low sampling frequency of the downhole pressure recording (one measurement every six seconds, a standard downhole pressure sampling rate used on many operations today). This work showsthatsurge and swab during drill pipe connections on floaters may challenge the available pressure window for some wells even in regions with calm weather such as Brazil. Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) is a technique that improves control of the downhole pressure. It is, however, not possible to compensate fast downhole pressure transients, such as heave-induced surge and swab, using MPD choke topside. This is due to the long distance between the choke and the bit, which translates into a time delay in the same order of magnitude as typical wave and heave periods. A downhole choke combined with continuous circulation is one of potential solutions. Surge and swab during drill pipe connections can result in a loss or an influx and should be considered in the well planning phase when mud weight, section lengths, etc. are selected. © MPDU 2020. All rights reserved."
"Oil exploration in the pre-salt, mainly in the SANTOS BASIN, has increased significantly and as results increasing the number of thousands of people commute to offshore platforms in Brazil is inevitable. The presence of a remote terminal, the so-called HUB, adjacent to the platforms, not only reduces the shipment costs, but also increases the speed of commuting. The present work addresses the feasibility of utilizing a ship shape hull as an alternative logistic HUB. The present work analyzes the hull as a rigid body receiving mostly transversal waves and operating as a floating breakwater in deep water with a central turret. The crew boat is a HSV, which will also be included in the investigation. As a continuation of the previous study of the author in 2015, the relative vertical motion between two bodies is analyzed in (four) different configurations and angles of incoming waves by the panel method code in frequency domain. Finally, having in mind operation limits and criterion, operation probabilities are evaluated. Four configurations are considered to be analyzed numerically on the relative vertical motion between two bodies in different Configurations and different angles of incoming waves by a panel method code for frequency domain. Finally, operation probabilities are studied according to the operation limits and criterion. © Copyright 2017 ASME."
"Marine parks constitute important areas for the conservation of marine life and the genetic heritage around the world. The creation of such marine parks must be accompanied by careful measures to guarantee the coexistence of natural biota and human activities in these systems. The State Marine Park of Laje de Santos (SMPLS) is so close to an industrial pole and urban area that its creation and maintenance is an example for humanity. However, no program has yet been installed for the monitoring of its biotic and abiotic water parameters. Thus, the objective of this study is to provide hydrological and hydrochemical parameters with emphasis on dissolved nutrients to establish a starting point for the monitoring of these waters. The presence of the South Atlantic Central Water (SACW) in the marine park during the spring and summer sampling periods was evidenced by the observation of low temperatures (&lt; 17ºC) associated with salinity around 35 at the bottom of the water column, indicating a thermohaline feature. The dissolved oxygen presented high values, with few data below 4 mL L-1 occurring at the bottom of the water column. The pH was always in accordance with marine values (~8). Dissolved silicate and phosphate presented high values associated with inputs from the SACW intrusion, continental runoff and bottom resuspension processes, reaching maximum values of 15.86 and 1.23 µmol L-1, respectively. Nitrogen compounds were also associated with a natural fertilization process by the presence of the SACW at the bottom of the water column, as evidenced by the high nitrate concentrations (&gt; 7.00 µmol L-1), while the concentration of N-ammonium (maximum 9.86 µmol L-1) demonstrated a rapid regeneration of the organic matter, mainly in the euphotic zone. Analysis of the data from summer periods revealed an annual difference, showing January 2014 to be drier than January 2015, which influenced the availability of some nutrients and the standard distribution of hydrochemical parameters in this region. The results of the distribution of hydrochemical parameters in the marine park confirms the preserved conditions of the seawater around the Laje de Santos, demonstrated by the excellent water quality, concluding the need to implant monitoring actions based on these reference data to preserve this important reserve of marine life. © 2017, Universidade de Sao Paulo. All rights reserved."
"This article discusses the development of several mega projects for the development of the Pre-Salt fields, in the Santos Basin, deepwater, offshore Brazil. Special focus is given to the Lula Field, a super giant field, operated by Petrobras, having BG Brasil and Petrogal Brasil as partners. Discovered in 2006 and with an estimated potential recoverable volume up to 8.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), Lula field placed pre-salt fields in the spotlight as it opened a new prospective frontier in Brazilian deep waters. To develop Lula field, a multi-module development project, it was adopted a fast track strategy to achieve material production levels in a very short time frame. In such a massive capital expenditure program, in an area with no infrastructure, and in an environment of heterogeneous carbonate reservoir, risk mitigation actions are a must. The first step taken was to acquire static and dynamic reservoir data, through data acquisition wells, extended well tests and implementation of two pilot FPSOs. Also, flexibility in the projects was carefully evaluated aiming to comply with possible bad, and good, reservoir surprises. This information was used to optimize the development plan of Lula field, which comprises 10 FPSOs with processing capacity ranging from 100k bpd to 150k bpd of oil, and 175 million cubic feet/day to 280 million cubic feet/day of gas. The two pilot production units started operation in 2010 and 2013, respectively, and the first module of Iracema area in Lula Field started production in October 2014. The following FPSOs are expected to be installed in the upcoming years. In a scenario of simultaneous projects under implementation, a clear long lead items strategy is critical to ensure the planned fast-track pace. Also, standardization of subsea equipment and production platforms, in an increasing local content requirement, mitigates supply chain risks and allows resources allocation flexibility. This paper details the key success factors of Lula field development strategy, and show why it is nowadays a reference for the following mega developments that will take place in the Brazilian pre-salt, by combining a risk mitigation strategy with a fast pace production ramp-up, anticipating cash flow funds and maximizing returns. Copyright © (2015) by the Offshore Technology Conference All rights reserved."
"The definition of Reservoir Rock Types (RRT) is a key challenge in the evaluation and characterization of carbonate reservoirs, and this step is critical as the RRT's define the building blocks for constructing 3D models, as RRT definition links to static and dynamic reservoir properties. This paper describes an innovative and synergetic rock typing process linking geology and petrophysical properties, with a customization of the Flow Zone Indicator (FZI) method to identify RRT's and characterize the heterogeneous oil-bearing Pre-salt carbonates of the Santos Basin, Brazil offshore. A data set of 448 MICP from the Pre-Salt carbonates of Barra Velha Formation was used to build the FZI-RRT model. The optimal number of RRTs, five in total, is determined by using an unsupervised neural network with capillary pressure parameters as inputs, permeability, effective porosity and water saturation. The five classes are delineated by FZI values at 10% porosity and key permeability values, chosen for reasons due flow properties at the core and log scale and suitability in EOR treatments. The five RRTs define a unique permeability/porosity equation that can be propagated to the full core dataset and to the log domain. An ID card for each RRT is then created with specific static and dynamic properties (porosity, permeability, water saturation, relative permeability) that can be used for 3D reservoir modeling. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Petrobras launched the PDBC (Campos Basin Development Plan) as part of Company's Strategic Plan to increase production and incorporate reserves in a scenario of mature fields and low oil prices. The plan is based on an integrated analysis of opportunities, combining skills of professionals with different backgrounds, allowing cost reduction and the deployment of technical solutions. It also has defined shortand long-term actions to achieve these goals. In the short-term horizon, actions included campaigns to remove damage of producer and injector wells, improvements in artificial lift methods, reduction of time required for projects approval, early drilling of wildcats, improvements in the efficiency of water injection, among others. In the long term, Petrobras performed a critical analysis of the recovery factor for each reservoir, identifying bottlenecks and evaluating technological solutions with multidisciplinary teams. Results indicate a significant increase in production in 2017 and the proposal of new projects in these fields. This paper presents the methodology used in the program and the results obtained so far for the giant oil fields of Roncador, Marlim Sul, Marlim Leste, Barracuda, Caratinga and Albacora Leste, responsible for approximately 20% of all Brazilian production. It also presents the future applications in fields where reduction of costs and technical solutions can contribute to increase production and reserves. © 2018, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Piezocone Penetration Test (CPTu) is widely used in offshore projects to obtain soil parameters, suchas the undrained shear strength. Due to depth limitations to perform this test, it is common to obtaindata until around 40m when the conductor installation process would require at least double the depth.The present work uses extrapolation techniques based on analytic and heuristic approaches to estimatedata beyond the depth domain of CPTu tests. Design of the conductor casing is highly dependent onsoil properties, since it serves as a foundation element of the well. Estimation of the soil parameters isbased on deepwater CPTu data from Brazilian offshore basins. Three analytical approaches are used in thisstudy (linear and non-linear regressions: Second and third degrees). Moreover, Artificial Neural Networks(ANN) (dense, convolutional and recurrent networks) are also employed to predict the soil behavior.Methodologies were applied, validated and compared to evaluate their capability to accurately estimatethe undrained shear strength. Python subroutines were developed and applied to sets of homogeneous andheterogeneous data from CPTu tests. The undrained shear strength was estimated beyond the test domainuntil the depth of interest to the conductor casing design around 80m. For this purpose, both groups oftechniques were validated analyzing the efficiency of the fitting process, the associated error and coefficientof determination of each methodology. From that point on, we compared data from analytical methodsand the neural networks application, verifying which technique fits better on the datasets. These methodsof estimation of soil properties work as an instrument to support the decision-making process in top-holedrilling operations. The datasets analyzed present different levels of soil heterogeneity and performing theextrapolation analysis brings additive information to understand the soil behavior beyond depths reachedby CPTu tests. This contributes to the safety and reliability of conductor casing design and installation. Tothe authors' knowledge, this analysis is rarely performed in the literature. © 2020, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The rift phase of the Campos Basin developed during the Early Cretaceous on a heterogeneous crust comprising structures inherited from the Brasiliano-Pan African tectonic events, mostly generated during the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian amalgamation of western Gondwana blocks. The main rifting episode took place from the Hauterivian to the Barremian, then was succeeded by the transition and post-rift (SAG) phases during the Aptian. Rift faults developed as a result of a progressive rotation of extension from E-W to NW-SE. The role of pre-existing intra-basement structures on the style and evolution of the rift faults was investigated using 3D high-resolution seismic data, borehole logs and sidewall samples. Three seismic facies (SF1, SF2 and SF3) and three types of intra-basement structures (Surfaces, Geobodies and Internal Reflections) were identified and mapped. They represent, respectively, contrasting levels of seismic anisotropy, interpreted as metamorphic foliation, and ductile shear zones that bound rock units with particular seismic facies signatures. Sidewall cores show that banded biotite-gneiss is the predominant rock type in the eastern half of the study area, while more homogeneous granitoid is the dominant lithology on the west. Such a binary division of lithotypes is consistent with the distribution of mapped intra-basement seismic facies and features. The contrasting basement heterogeneity across the study area is the major control in the strain distribution during rifting. Where the basement is highly heterogeneous, the pre-existing fabric was selectively reactivated whenever its orientation was favourable, resulting in faults forming progressively as the extension direction rotates, whilst shallower low to very low angle basement fabric were cross-cut by rift faults. Where the basement is homogeneous, only early formed faults remain active throughout the rifting. © 2021 The Authors. Basin Research published by International Association of Sedimentologists and European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers and John Wiley & Sons Ltd."
"This paper provides an overview of the main efforts that are being endeavored by Petrobras in order to contribute for developing a Brazilian regulation for use and discharge of drilling fluids and cuttings from offshore oil and gas operation, based on operational safety, well integrity and environmental aspects. In early 2018, the Brazilian Environmental Agency launched a Normative Instruction (IN 01/2018) addressing some new conditions for use and discharge of fluids and cuttings from offshore drilling rigs. This regulation is based on the EPA rules, although some relevant points deviate from it, such as the prohibition for discharging drilling fluids and cuttings associated with hydrocarbon reservoir sections. Additionally, this regulation mentions a potential zero discharge by 2022. Due to the challenges for meeting these new requirements and some uncertainty about the real environmental benefits, Petrobras has been developing fundamental and applied studies, research development and protocols in this area. Petrobras settled an innovative governance model to deal with the new regulation, its consequences and interfaces. It works as a multidisciplinary committee coordinated by an executive manager. It involves a law support for environmental issues and four work fronts, such as (1) linking between internal and external organization (2) guarantee of providing the required infrastructure (3) economical and operational impacts (4) technologies (research, development, studies and protocols) dedicated for related matters. Concerning the forth front, seven important initiatives were initially addressed and cover topics such as operational safety, well integrity - including offshore wells dedicated to cuttings disposal, laboratory protocols and environmental issues. Some relevant studies are those concerning LCA (life cycle analysis), options for avoiding landfill as final cutting disposal onshore and the quantification of oil compounds in drilling fluids and cuttings from the pay zone well section. The lack of knowledge about the whole impact for onshore destination as drilling waste management strategy, the improvements that still have to be established in order to achieve better operational practices and the comprehension of the input of oil from drilling discharges are the main drivers of this paper. The results help to clarify cloudy topics and, consequently, contribute to create a new basis for building or revisiting some aspects of the present regulation. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The paper uses a case study approach to present the challenges to develop a large and thick oil carbonate reservoir, full of opportunities but also of uncertainties. Additionally, Libra block development is under a Production Sharing Contract that was awarded to a Consortium where Petrobras is the operator in partnership with Shell, Total, CNOOC Limited and CNPC. This paper will present the main subsea technological achievements made during the execution of the Libra Extended Well Test (EWT) Project so far and also future technologies that will contribute to overcome the full field development challenges. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) success depends on producing seamless short- and long-wavelength model updates while avoiding cycle skipping. In its traditional implementation, FWI risks converging to an inaccurate result if the data lacks sufficient low frequencies or the starting model is far from the true one. Additionally, the model updates may display a reflectivity imprint before the long-wavelength features are fully recovered. A solution to these fundamental challenges combines the quadratic form of the Wasserstein distance (W2-norm) for measuring the data misfit with a robust implementation of a velocity gradient. The W2-norm reduces the risk of cycle skipping whereas the velocity gradient effectively eliminates the reflectivity imprint and emphasizes the long-wavelength model updates. We illustrate the performance of the new solution on a field survey acquired offshore Brazil. There, we demonstrate how FWI successfully updates the earth model and resolves a high-velocity carbonate layer that was missing from the starting model. © 81st EAGE Conference and Exhibition 2019. All rights reserved."
"This paper describes the carbonate–siliciclastic system of the equatorial continental shelf of NE Brazil (East Ceará) based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF), grain size, CaCO3, shallow seismic and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) analyses. Data were obtained for two sectors: 1) Halimeda Bank (HB), inner shelf (?12 m), and 2) transverse profile (TP), inner to outer shelf-upper slope (?5 to ?100 m). In total, 72 samples were collected, and 29 km of seismic lines (HB) and ROV profiles (HB and TP) were surveyed. The main chemical elements were Ca and Si (93%). These elements occur in two types of shallow marine sediments: carbonate (mainly autochthonous) and siliciclastics (terrigenous/allochthonous/relict). With respect to the chemical elements, a strong negative correlation was observed between calcareous (Ca and Sr) and siliciclastic (Si, Al, and K) components. Strontium does not always show a strong positive correlation with Ca. The average CaCO3 contents of 81% and 91% were determined for the HB and TP, respectively. The profiles show a predominance of carbonate sediments; however, the HB demonstrates a greater continental influence (inner shelf). The grain size presents a prevalence of sand (82%) in relation to gravel (18%). This particle size variation is mainly due to the breakdown of Halimeda nodules, siliciclastic sediments in the finer fraction (&gt;2.5?), and the presence of gravel with iron coating (relict). Two types of echo-characters have been identified. Both are associated with the large presence of carbonate sediments. Echo I shows the bottom surface with continuity in the sub-bottom without a subsurface reflector. Echo II presents a discontinuous subsurface reflector. The ROV allowed the observation of algae patches in higher floors and gravelly and sandy bioclastics in the lowest sectors. Large patches of calcareous green algae, Halimeda, occur in the inner shelf below the 15 m isobath, mainly due to the semi-arid climate (weak sediment supply from the mainland), geographical position (equatorial) and oceanographic conditions (hydrodynamic and biogeochemistry). It has been concluded that the seafloor of the semi-arid continental shelf of East Ceará (NE Brazil) shows modern predominance of carbonate deposition based on the lack of contaminants, geochemical purity of carbonate sediments, and high percentage of CaCO3. The conditions for exploitation in the intermediate sector are provided. However, it would be ideal to perform punctual extraction and analyze the resilience and regeneration of Halimeda incrassata and the consequences for fisheries (important economic resource of the region). © 2018 Elsevier Ltd"
"The geometry and architecture of magmatic systems are important to understand the emplacement of magma and its eventual extrusion at surface. The magmatic or igneous rocks are indirectly observed in 3D reflection seismic data due to their high acoustic impedance contrast within host sedimentary rocks. Intrusions in sedimentary basins are typically sills and dykes. They are characterized by high amplitude discontinuous bodies, usually crosscutting stratigraphic layers, but can appear concordant to it. Extrusive volcanic rocks in 3D seismic data are characterized by high amplitude parallel layers showing a fan-like geometry. In this work, we identified 3D geobodies related to igneous rocks from an offshore sedimentary Brazilian basin by combining a series of seismic analyses with structural observation. We highlight why the different igneous rocks can have implications to geomechanical analyses and to well planning. © 2020 ISRM."
"The continental shelf adjacent to the municipality of Salvador (CSS), state of Bahia, is the narrowest sector of the entire Brazilian continental shelf. During most of the Quaternary, this sector of the shelf was exposed to subaereous conditions, since sea level was approximately 45-60 meters below what is currently observed. This long subaereous exposure and resulting erosion were certainly controlled by the heterogeneity of the structural and stratigraphic framework of the Camamu and Jacuípe basins, highlighting relic physiographic features from both basins. The complex seascape that resulted from this prolonged erosion played an important role in controlling the characteristics of shelf sedimentation in episodes when the CSS was flooded during interglacial periods. The objective of the present study was to understand the geological evolution and the structural control of the Camamu /Jacuípe basins over sedimentation patterns of the Continental Shelf of Salvador, during the Quaternary, using seismic-stratigraphic interpretation of high-resolution shallow seismic lines obtained from a boomer plate sound source. Two major stratigraphic units were identified in the study area : the Cretaceous Sedimentary Basin and the overlapping Unconsolidated Quaternary Sediments. Isopach maps of Quaternary deposits and depth maps of the top of the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks showed that the structural framework of the Sedimentary Basin structurally controls shelf sedimentation. Compressional structures that affect the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in areas near previously mapped transference faults seem to have originated topographic highs on the shelf where coarse bioclastic sedimentation predominates. These highs, in turn, delimitate low areas where fine-grained sediments accumulate. Shelf topographic highs are associated with antiforms in the Cama? Jacuípe basins, with their most deformed strata following a WNW-SSE trend. This information is important to aid marine environmental management strategies. Moreover, the present study will allow the evaluation of the controlling factors that determinate narrow shelf sedimentation and stratigraphy, with small accommodation area, as in the case of the CSS. © 2017 IEEE."
"Fatigue is one of the key governing conditions in the design of rigid risers, in particular those in ultra-deep water. One effective way of improving fatigue is to adopt a lazy wave configuration, rather than a simple catenary. Steel Lazy Wave Risers (SLWR) have been successfully used offshore Brazil (Hoffman et al. 2010, Oliveira et al. 2017) and in the Gulf of Mexico (Beattie et al. 2013), and have been considered for the North Sea (Felista et al. 2015) and offshore Australia (Vijayaraghavan et al. 2015). Yet, it is probably the most computational-intensive aspect of it. Fatigue analyses require a very large number of load cases to be run, on complex, non-linear models. Methods for simplifying aspects of the analysis are highly desirable, but they must be weighed to provide the required safety levels whilst not introducing uneconomical, overconservative assumptions. The top first weld is a crucial hotspot, in particular for production SLWRs (Senra et al. 2011). These typically adopt flexible joints (FJ) at the connection to the vessel/platform, and linearization of the FJ stiffness is one of these key simplifications that bring significant value in reducing analysis cost. This paper describes a method for estimating the characteristic angle used for the linearization, which results in significant stiffness reduction in contrast with the usual, simpler method. Non-linear FJ stiffness curves are usually available, and they provide stiffness associated to the FJ absolute angle. The FJ stiffness significantly reduces with the angle of rotation. The conventional method adopts the stiffness corresponding to the most likely riser angle - absolute value measured from the static configuration. Conversely, the proposed methodology for estimating the most likely change in angle. As the angles often turn up in alternate angles, the proposed method results in much higher characteristic angle, and hence much lower FJ stiffness. The outcome is significantly less conservative designs, whilst still meeting the same required safety margins. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The conditions under which lead firms will invest in upgrading suppliers occupy center stage in the debates about how global value chains (GVCs) affect development and what room is left for governments to adopt industrial policies. In a key industry for developing economies, oil and gas (O&G), the maps of oil production and value chain have been redrawn by the growth of production from high-cost resources, which means that an increasing share of the value of oil production is to be found in the supply of capital goods and services rather than in the ownership of the land. This has opened up new possibilities for industrial policy in the form of local-content requirements, regulations through which governments influence how lead firms (oil companies) structure their supply chain. This chapter analyzes the conditions under which local-content regulations can lead to domestic supplier upgrading and characterizes the value chain of O&G. Empirical support is provided by a deep case study of Brazil, a country that is rich in technically complex and costly deep-offshore oil and that has adopted policies to promote its supply industry. Based on analyses of an industry where local firms were pushed towards diversification in a new chain (shipbuilding), data from more than 23,000 contracts of Petrobras, and audit reports of local-content compliance, this chapter shows that, consistent with theoretical expectations, new local suppliers required high monitoring costs and struggled to reach international productivity levels, partly because Brazil’s policy requirements have been set too far beyond the capacity of the domestic industry. Together, the findings also highlight the sustainability challenges of pursuing an industrial policy dependent on a single lead firm (Petrobras), with captive governance of the supply chain, and in a context of political rent seeking. © 2019 selection and editorial matter, Elisabeth B. Reynolds, Ben Ross Schneider and Ezequiel Zylberberg; individual chapters, the contributors."
"This work introduces a description of the complex upwelling regime off the Cabo Frio region in Brazil and shows that ocean modeling, based on the feature-oriented regional modeling system (FORMS) technique, can produce reliable predictions of sound speed fields for the corresponding shallow water environment. This work also shows, through the development of simulations, that the upwelling regime can be responsible for the creation of shadow coastal zones, in which the detection probability is too low for an acoustic source to be detected. The development of the FORMS technique and its validation with real data, for the particular region of coastal upwelling off Cabo Frio, reveals the possibility of a sustainable and reliable forecast system for the corresponding (variable in space and time) underwater acoustic environment. © 2018 Acoustical Society of America."
"In the current scenario, the drilling of oil and gas wells in Brazilian offshore basins faces the barrier of crossing salt sequences to 2000 meters thick. In addition to the thickness, these sequences present in their composition different saline lithotypes with different physical and mechanical behavior. The characterization of the mechanical properties of the evaporite section is of extreme importance for well projects, especially the design of casings and the selection of drilling fluids. In the present paper, the several saline lithotypes and their mechanical properties were used to group then into mechanofacies. In addition, the use of mechanofacies allows the identification of regions with anomalous mechanical behavior. The 3D model was able to represent the heterogeneity of the mechanical behavior observed in the evaporite section of the study area. Validation wells were used to verify the methodology and good results were observed. © 2020 ISRM."
"Estuarine systems are very sensitive environments to sea level rise as a consequence of climate changes, which can enhance seawater intrusion and affect multiple water uses. The seawater intrusion under sea level scenarios in an estuarine river by applying the one-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model HEC-RAS 5.0.5 was studied. The study was carried out at the estuarine reach of Cubatão River, in São Paulo, Brazil. Considering sea level rise scenarios of ?H = 0.25 m, 0.50 m, and 1.0 m combined with constant freshwater discharge conditions for Cubatão River (16 m3/s, mean annual discharge and 8 m3/s, dry season discharge), the model results showed that seawater intrusion moves significantly upstream the river in all cases and the maximum seawater intrusion length may reach 10 km in the worst scenario (?H = 1.0 m and 8 m3/s freshwater discharge), 70% higher than the current sea level and the mean discharge. At the local water abstraction point for urban supply, salinity concentration may reach 12 g/kg, making conventional water treatment unfeasible. Sea level rise may threaten water supply facilities and require water resource management solutions, such as water abstraction restricted times when salinity concentration is low; higher freshwater reservation; new water abstraction locations, farther the present ones; or higher water discharges in Cubatão River from a local hydroelectric power plant, which can cause water resource management conflicts. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG."
"This study aims to provide an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) perspective of the production and distribution of alternative marine fuels in Brazilian ports, considering the International Maritime Organization (IMO) emission reduction target for 2050 (IMO2050). Although other mitigation measures are available, it is likely that alternative fuels will be required, implying additional costs and entailing relevant impacts on other energy chains and land use. Hence, the national IAM BLUES model is adapted to represent the relevant part of the international shipping sector. A set of scenarios is developed considering different fuel alternatives, demand assumptions and national mitigation targets. Findings show that taking into account emissions of CO2 only or of all greenhouse gases (GHGs) within the IMO strategy significantly impacts the optimal technological portfolio. Furthermore, achieving the IMO2050 goal without considering a national decarbonization strategy may result in potential spillovers. The intense use of the energy sector could partially compromise the gains obtained by maritime decarbonization or even surpass it. Therefore, only an integrated mitigation strategy would lead to more effective decarbonization of the entire marine supply. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"Petrographic, mineralogical, elemental, isotopic and fluid inclusion analyses were integrated to unravel the diagenetic evolution of Brazilian Pre-Salt lacustrine carbonate reservoirs of northern Campos Basin, southeast Brazilian margin. Detailed thin section and cathodoluminescence petrography, scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analyses established a paragenetic evolution of diagenetic processes and products, comprising extensive dolomitization, silicification, and dissolution. A paragenesis including saddle dolomite, macrocrystalline calcite, mega-quartz, Sr-barite, celestine, fluorite, dickite, sphalerite, galena, and other metallic sulfides filling fractures and dissolution porosity, and aqueous fluid inclusions with homogenization temperatures of 92–152 °C and salinities between 13 and 26 wt % eq. NaCl characterized a hydrothermal system with some analogy to carbonate-hosted Pb–Zn Mississippi Valley (MVT) and Irish-type deposits. Petroleum inclusions and solid bitumen testify atypical oil generation and migration, associated with the hydrothermal flow. The host Pre-Salt spherulitic and fascicular carbonates present highly radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios, indicating strong interaction with continental crust materials. Hydrothermal phases show ?18O values more negative than syngenetic and diagenetic carbonates. The ?13C values are interpreted as result of interaction between the hydrothermal fluids and the host rocks. The combined data set provides clear evidence of intense hydrothermal alteration of northern Campos Basin Pre-Salt reservoirs at deep-burial conditions (&gt;2 km), possibly related to Late Cretaceous or more probably Paleogene magmatic activity. Mixed-sourced fluids bearing a basinal signature fed the hydrothermal system and promoted dissolution of the host rocks. The hydrothermal alterations had strong impact on the porosity, permeability, and heterogeneity, contributing, together with the associated fracturing, to the excellent production performance of the Pre-Salt reservoirs. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd"
"With a string of recent discoveries in the pre-salt areas in deep-water offshore Brazil, this hydrocarbon province has proven to be of global importance. The pre-salt reservoirs, however, present many challenges for exploration. In this paper, we describe the acquisition and processing of a full-azimuth towed-streamer seismic survey designed for pre-salt exploration offshore Brazil. We show that this solution overcomes many of the pre-salt exploration challenges to provide high-quality reservoir information in an efficient manner. © 2012 SEG."
There are about thousands of shell-mounds (sambaqui in Portuguese) along the Brazilian sea coast. They have been built by sea water and therefore geologists used sambaquis positions to indicate sea level in the past. In the state of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil Ca. 60 very large sambaquis are found. One of them near the town of Tubarão is called Congonhas II. In this work we carried out OSL and EPR dating of moluscus shells and sediments collected from Congonhas II from its base and from a point at higher position. For the samples from basal position of Congonhas II ages from 3850 ± 340 to 4040 ± 270 years and samples from higher position age of about 3300 ± 230 to 3400 ± 510 years have been obtained. These results agree with radiocarbon dates and geologically expected data relative to past sea level fluctuation. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
"In South America, Brazil is the country with the largest extension of mangroves, covering approximately 7000 km, departing from the Oiapoque River, on the border between Amapá and French Guiana, to Praia do Sonho, in Santa Catarina. With population growth, there was an expansion of cities towards the coast and with them the development of agriculture and aquaculture. With the advent of remote sensors, the changes detected over the years in the extensive area of ?mangroves in Brazil and in the world, have been studied and quantified. In this context, the objective of this work was to evaluate the transformations occurred in the mangrove in a semiarid climate estuary and to quantify the losses and gains of areas, influenced by both natural and anthropic action. The mangrove of the Coreaú River estuary has undergone small and significant transformations over the past 28 years (1985-2013). There was an increase of 3% (7.17 km²) in 2013 compared to 1985, these transformations consisted of a 55% gain in mangrove area, due to the addition of muddy sediment, development of mangrove forest and regeneration of mangrove forests after the deactivation of the shrimp farms, and 45% loss, corresponding 38% to the natural loss of muddy material, due to the growth of apicum area, influence of wind, rain, flow and tides, and loss of 7%, related to anthropic action, represented by the shrimp farm and salt pans, built along the estuary. From the processing of optical images it was possible to identify the share of influence of these transformations (natural and artificial) near the mangrove and in which intervals of years there were the biggest or smallest changes. © 2020, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. All rights reserved."
"The onshore wind energy has been growing rapidly in recent years and has reached a share of 9% in the Brazilian energy matrix. Although there is no offshore wind installation in Brazil, research has shown a large and unexplored energy potential in the country. The aim of this study is to perform an economic analysis for offshore wind projects in the Brazilian sea through the CAPEX and LCOE indicators, highlighting the preferred regions from an economic and energy view. Economic indicators were calculated considering a bathymetric limit up to 50 m and the whole extension of the Brazilian seashore. The results indicate that the Northeast region of the Brazil, especially between Maranhão and Rio Grande do Norte states, has a lower Levelized Cost of Energy, around US$ 69.9/MWh, and Capital Expenditure around of MM US$ 2.34/MW. Other less promising, but still reasonable points for the deployment of offshore wind farms are the ones between the north of the Rio de Janeiro state and the south of the Espírito Santo state, as well as between Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul states. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd"
"ULTRA™ is a novel and advanced flow assurance coating technology recently introduced in the Brazilian market for upcoming, and challenging, offshore projects expected in the next years. This coating technology has been used for over 9 years, and has been designed, applied and installed in offshore projects worldwide. Particularly over the last year, this thermal insulation system has been applied for a major project in Brazil. It is a thermal insulation system composed of fusion bonded epoxy and styrenic materials. A base 3-layer coating, followed by one or more insulation layers of solid or foamed styrene, and a high ductility outer shield were engineered to outperform some of existing solutions in terms of hydrostatic pressure, subsea stability, overall insulation thickness and associated installation costs. Application trials have been successfully performed to validate plant capabilities for applying the wide range of styrene-based system solutions, for shallow and deep waters. Test results demonstrated that foam and solid versions have a sweet spot in which the system outperforms similar to the wet insulation solutions existing in the Brazilian market. Its solid and foam systems demonstrated capability of delivering lower U - values (Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient) due to their lower thermal conductivity. The benefit of lower thermal conductivity is reflected in a reduced coating thickness and opportunities for potential savings during the transportation and installation activities. In the coming years, the offshore industry in Brazil will demand wet insulation systems delivering improved thermal performance. Hence, lower U value with lower CAPEX and in deeper water depths. This insulation system is a proven flow assurance coating technology, addressing those challenges and now available in the Brazilian market. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"The Santa Marta Grande Cape (CSM) area, a relatively steep and narrow continental shelf off southeast Brazil, is under the influence of the Brazil Current and intense seasonal variations of the wind field that affect the composition of water masses and their circulation. Hydrographic data, satellite-derived wind stress, and numerical simulations are used to characterize the seasonal and shorter period variability of the oceanographic conditions off CSM, in the area between 27°S and 30°S. The study is focused on the upwelling episodes and the dynamical mechanisms associated with these events. Field data and numerical results indicate significant seasonal changes in the oceanographic structure, the water mass composition, and the dynamical balance. During fall and winter, when southwesterly winds prevail and the frequency of meteorological frontal systems increases, the region is characterized by waters of continental origin, the Plata Plume Water (PPW). During spring and summer, deeper waters reach the surface layer due to the action of northeasterly winds. Coastal upwelling events are revealed by surface temperature minima observed south of CSM. Synoptic data show that these events occur in pulses associated with changes in the wind direction. Analysis of the numerical results shows that this particular location of the upwelling band results from the synergy between shelf-break upwelling and the regional shelf circulation induced by the northeasterly winds, both of which are modulated by changes in the coastline orientation and shelf width. © 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved."
"With the global onset of more complex and extreme drilling conditions, specialized well designs and equipment are no longer the exception, but the norm. Increased government oversight has also impacted asset development, emphasizing well integrity assurance and operational safety. In turn, intervention tools are being re-engineered to cater to these challenges. Ultrasonic pulse-echo technology has been successfully used for many years for cement evaluation behind casing up to 0.75-in. thick. Conventional ultrasound-based waves, however, cannot generate proper signal levels and penetrate thick-walled casing commonly used in deepwater well completions. However, advanced ultrasonic technology can resolve this issue. Preliminary investigation of various transducer materials and excitation techniques was followed by chamber testing to verify data quality and repeatability over a range of cement slurries and casing sizes. Laboratory results indicate that cement impedance can be reliably obtained behind casing of up to 1.2-in. thick. The application of this novel service can be of particular benefit in high-cost, high-risk assets (ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and offshore Brazil, etc.), where well integrity assurance and reduced intervention time and cost are of paramount importance. Copyright © 2013, held jointly by the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts (SPWLA) and the submitting authors."
"This paper presents a procedure for reliability analysis of mooring lines of floating units for oil and gas production considering corrosion and material degradation over time. The proposed procedure is limited to the ultimate limit state (ULS) and considers mooring lines made up of chain and polyester rope segments, although the same methodology can be applied to cases with steel wire segments. The proposed procedure can also be applied for mooring lines connected to any other type of floating offshore structure. For reliability assessments, it is necessary to consider the distributions and the probabilistic aspects of the random variables involved in the process. The weakest link system is used to model the strength of a mooring line segment. Simplified time-dependent probabilistic models for chain corrosion and polyester degradation are adopted to predict the strength degradation over time. The annual failure probability for different years is estimated by approximating the degraded strength by a piecewise constant model in order to perform a time variant reliability analysis. Monte Carlo simulations are used to determine the failure probability. A study case is also presented, where annual extreme top tension is obtained from long-term statistics considering Brazilian offshore environmental conditions acting on a turret moored floating, production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO). © 2020 ASME"
"WithPre-salt area being a massive new offshore oil frontier, there is a high demand for deepwater floaters for both drilling and production. There are some unique challenges related to the ultra-deepwater (water depth beyond 1500m) and the Brazilian environment for the pre-salt area. Various floater concepts have been evaluated with specific focus for Offshore Brazil applications. This paper provides an overview of the current technology related to dry tree solutions as well as discussion of the pros and cons of various concepts. The paper also discusses some new concepts emerging in the industry attractive for Offshore Brazil. A dry tree solution has the advantage of direct access into reservoirs from the floaters. This allows the operators to drill, complete and workover the well directly from the same hosting unit. The result could be increased reserves and productions in Offshore Brazil as well as significant cost reduction. Proper validation of the concepts and technology qualification of all the systems/components associated with novel technology, establish the basis for a safe and successful project implementation while reducing potential risk to personnel, environment and property. DNV has established processes to systematically evaluate new concepts and new technologies, e.g. Approval in Principle (AiP) and Technology Qualification (TQ). A brief introduction to these processes is included in the paper and how they support the development of these new concepts. Copyright 2013, Offshore Technology Conference."
"The Environmental Protected Area of Anhatomirim (EPAA) located in the Southern coast of Brazil, at Santa Catarina State, is a multiple-use Marine Protected Area (MPA), established to protect the southernmost population of the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) and its habitats. Boat tourism is an important marine activity, carrying annually around 150,000 tourists, turning the EPAA into the most visited place to cetacean watch in South America. We describe the experience of managing boat tourism, highlighting the deployment of the Dolphin Monitoring Program. We discuss its strengths and limitations, considering the data from the participatory monitoring conducted since 2014, and from interviews made with all the boat owners. Our results indicate the conflicts among the main stakeholders were reduced, and the monitoring program was able to provide important short-term and intense time-series information on the dolphins’ location and on the boat tourism activity previously unavailable. Notwithstanding, a series of constraints remain, and among others we indicate the need to go beyond the current focus on the commercial benefits of the activity and to combine the participatory monitoring data with those from scientific survey cruises. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."
"Several authors have made elucidative contributions on the evolution of extractive reserves (Resex), from their original conception to their institutionalization as an environmental policy. Part of this literature points out transformations on the institutional arrangements, when they are formalized and recognized by the State. This article presents the co-management instruments of Brazilian Marine Extractive Reserves and an analysis of their formal arrangements evolution, based on secondary data and an assessment of pertinent legislation since the first Resex decree. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 managers of Coastal and Marine Resex. The interviews aimed to identify all co-management instruments used in each Resex, their stage of implementation as well as the managers’ perception on these instruments. We consider co-management instruments as formal arrangements that require participatory procedures or that act as arenas for decision-making. The results show that the legacy of the rubber tappers social movement in 80’s, which created an inclusive model of protected area, is presented in the formal arrangements established over time. The instruments for co-management are divided into instruments of territorial recognition and beneficiaries, instruments for land use planning, arenas for discussion and deliberation, as well as public policies for Resex. This institutional framework has become increasingly robust over time, although it still needs to be improved. Part of the challenges include a reduction on bureaucratic procedures for the formal recognition of these instruments and the technocratic logic of the State that is often exercising tutelage rather than social emancipation of traditional people. © 2018 Universidade Federal do Parana. All Rights Reserved."
"Data presented in this investigation refer to studies integrating palynofacies and organic geochemistry analyses that were performed on 51 samples of PEC-41-SE-9 well, located in the Sergipe Basin, Eastern Brazilian continental margin. It was evaluated the potential for oil generation, identifying the type and degree of maturation of the organic matter. Optical analyzes show that the organic matter is composed in greater proportion by amorphous organic matter in good preservation, with high fluorescence. It also presents a 67% average concerning the total composition of the kerogen. The phytoclasts usually are well preserved in almost all the section. The palynomorphs are composed of an association, predominantly, of spores and pollen grains of genus Classopollis, featuring a predominantly arid to semi-arid climate environment at deposition time. Presence of the dinoflagellate in the upper section displays the first marine ingressions that happened in the end of Aptian. Based on the qualitative and quantitative results of kerogen, it was possible to characterize three distinct palynofacies, in which the palynofacies I had the best features for quality and preservation of organic matter. The results show total organic carbon values up to 6.39% and Rock-Eval pyrolysis data pointed to the type II kerogen rich in organic matter suitable for the formation of hydrocarbon accumulations. The hydrogen index is found between 200 and 550 mg HC/g of total organic carbon, which shows good potential for oil and gas generation. Spore color index data conclude that the organic matter is found predominantly on the immature maturation phase, with SCI values of 4.0 to 4.5, corroborating with data of maximum temperature, of up to 432° C."
"Whole-rock geochemistry, combined with Sr-Nd isotopic composition of pelitic sedimentary rocks, have been considered to be useful parameters to estimate not only their provenance but also to make inferences about their depositional environment as well as the weathering processes they have been through. The basal sedimentary units of the basins of the northeastern Brazilian continental margin, particularly those of the pre-rift sequence, have been subject of interest of studies based on chemical and isotopic data, since they lack fossil content to establish their age and, therefore, stratigraphic correlations are difficult. The major and trace element contents as well as Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of whole-rock shale samples from five outcrops attributed to the pre-rift supersequence of the Camamu Basin were analyzed with the purpose of characterizing and obtaining further information that would allow a better correlation between the sites studied. The geochemical data suggest that the rocks exposed in the studied outcrops are part of the same sedimentary unit and that they might be correlated to the Capianga Member of the Aliança Formation of the Recôncavo Basin, exposed to the north of the Camamu Basin. The chemical index of alteration (CIA) suggests conditions associated with a humid tropical/subtropical climate at the time of deposition. Nd isotopic compositions indicate provenance from the Paleoproterozoic rocks of the Sao Francisco craton. The results presented here, therefore, show that the combined use of chemical and isotopic analyses may be of great interest to characterize and correlate lithologically homogeneous clastic sedimentary sequences. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd."
"This article presents a set of analysis and results on Shared-Actuation Control (SAC) techniques, intended for the remote control of valves in subsea manifolds. The discussion covers historical aspects, including presentation of real cases of SAC in Brazilian fields of Petrobras, as well as covers a conceptualization for the technique. The formulated concepts are used indeed to derive a methodology, intended to guide the development of SAC schemes, during engineering projects of subsea manifolds. The discussion is based in part on the unique experience accumulated by Petrobras in the last 20 years, with the development and introduction of a SAC-based subsea manifold in Campos Basin, Brazil, and the latest development efforts ongoing by 2019 for a new generation of SAC, for the application in subsea manifolds to be installed in ultra-deep waters of Pre-Salt fields, in Santos Basin, Brazil. The methodology proposed in this article is based on a comparative approach which aims to incorporate, on design of SAC, the best engineering practices and lessons learned from traditional Electric-Hydraulic Multiplexed Control Systems (EHMCSs). We refer to such approach as the Inheritance & Counterbalance (I&C) Methodology, since it is based on the application of two specific principles, namely, the Inheritance and Counterbalance Principles. The principles are proposed in this article as well. Taking as starting point a set of technical characteristics of EHMCSs, such as employment of redundant subsea electronics and methods of subsea installation, a subsea engineer can apply the I&C Principles to determine if SAC should inherit a given EHMCS characteristic or, if inheritance is not feasible for some reason, adopt alternative requisites on SAC, in order to counterbalance the effects of such no inheritance. The conceptualization of the I&C Methodology allow us effectively applying it, to obtain as result a table of engineering requisites, suitable for SAC schemes destined to subsea manifolds. The proposed table is presented in this article and incorporates several engineering aspects, which are arbitrated from the knowledge on previous applications of Petrobras in subsea control systems. Such applications include both SAC schemes and EHMCSs, featured on fields of Campos and Santos Basins. © 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"This study measured the wake effect in a Brazilian onshore windfarm with 38 turbines located in complex terrain. The proposed methodology calculated the wind deficit in 3 different metmasts, by comparing the measurement periods in free-of-wake condition to measurement periods under wake effect. Uncertainties due to wind variability and seasonality effects have been avoided by performing MCP (Measure Correlate Predict) procedures making use of a fourth metmast in free-of-wake condition during the entire concurrent period. This methodology is free of uncertainties from Nacelle anemometry, power curve measurements and micrositing models’ spatial extrapolation. The calculation of the wind deficits was performed per sector, confirming the adherence of the resulting wake effect to the turbine layout configuration. Higher wind deficits were identified in the sectors were turbines under operation are present in the upwind direction. The results were combined to the power curves from the turbines closest to the metmasts, using the data from the turbine supplier's technical specification. This allowed the identification of the respective power deficit due to the wake effect in these locations. The calculated wind- and power deficits were compared to the results of wake models used by two large international wind farms site assessment consultants (Coupled Eddy Viscosity and PARK), commonly accepted by banks for the financing of wind farms in Brazil. The results indicated that both models underestimate the effects in all 3 analyzed locations, with differences between the calculated and modeled power deficits higher than the respective uncertainties provided by both consultants. The two main limitations of this analysis lie in the restriction of the wake effect measurement to the metmasts locations, and in that the results are respective to the terrain conditions of the analyzed wind farm. However, this study indicates that commonly used wake models need to be further developed and calibrated for onshore wind farms. The literature shows that wake models developments are frequently directed to offshore wind farms, where wake effects play a significant role. Onshore wind farms are less studied, even though the global installed capacity greatly surpasses that of the offshore wind farms. Brazil has by the end of 2017 already 12.8 GW of installed capacity of wind power plants, and this number continues to increase steadily. With the continuous concentration of operating wind farms in regions of higher wind resource and transmission infrastructure, wake effects play a significant role in the sector. Bibliography shows that commonly used wake models tend to underestimate the energy losses due to this effect in offshore wind farms, making it important to study it also in onshore wind farms in complex terrain, which is the case of most Brazilian wind farms. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd"
"In the Peregrino field, located in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil, the operator adopted the use of water-based drilling fluids for drilling development wells due to rig limitations. In the 12 ¼-in. sections of several wells drilled in this field, high dispersion of shale minerals suffered by the drilling fluid caused increments of viscosity, which subsequently affected the drilling process through higher-than-expected circulation pressures, dilution rates, and costs. Although the wells have been drilled within the estimated times and budgets, an improvement in the fluid inhibition capability was initiated. A detailed laboratory effort was conducted to obtain a combination of inhibitors capable of controlling excessive clay dispersion, minimizing fluid rock interaction, and reducing dilution requirements while helping to ensure an adequate rheological profile throughout the interval. Laboratory validation of the interaction between the fluid and rock samples provided a better understanding of the inhibition mechanisms and helped ensure that stability of the reactive minerals drilled could be maintained. Various additives were tested against samples of commercial-reactive and field-reactive clays. Product concentrations were adjusted to reduce the interaction between the drilling fluid and the formation while helping to ensure that fluid capabilities, such as cuttings suspension, filtration control, and bridging, were maintained. An adequate environmental profile to enable safe disposal of fluid in compliance with local environmental regulations was also obtained. After identifying an adequate solution, a detailed utilization plan was developed and put in place. To aid proper deployment while drilling, specific mixing procedures at the support liquid mud plant, transportation vessels, and at the rig site were determined. The next step was to assign a candidate well for the application - an Extended Reach Well (ERW) with step-out ratio of 2.9. While drilling the 12-¼-in. section of the pilot well with the proposed fluid technology, a significant improvement was observed on cuttings integrity, which led to a reduction in the required volume of dilution and a subsequent drilling fluids cost reduction Also, better hole quality and reduced operational risks were obtained. The well was safely drilled with a 76° sail inclination, 7938 meters of Measured Depth (MD) and 2368 meters of True Vertical Depth (TVD), and lessons learned from the first utilization of the described fluid system were implemented on subsequent wells to continue obtaining the benefits of the new fluid formulation. High Performance Water Based Drilling Fluids (HPWBDF) are not new and are thought by most to be a mature technology. However, advancements in water-based drilling fluid additives have enabled these systems to mimic the performance of non-aqueous systems more closely. This paper discusses how understanding the chemistry of the formations to be drilled and customizing chemical additive blends for those formations can help to improve operational efficiency and minimize costs. © Copyright 2019, Offshore Technology Conference"
"Several levels of approximation are used in the dynamic analysis of offshore structures subject to wave section, both regarding the definition of sea states and the type of analysis procedure applied. The dynamic behaviour is evaluated applying differential analysis procedures. These include a deterministic dynamic response analysis. Some numerical procedures for analysing practical situations arising in offshore structures are discussed. (from authors' abstract)"
"Near-inertial oscillations (NIO) are intermittent motions with a frequency close to the inertial frequency and represent an important fraction of the energy to the currents in the upper ocean. Based on hourly velocity records at the shelf break covering the top 50 m of the water column in 5 locations and one additional location at Cabo Frio upwelling system (22° S) covering the top 200 m of water column with hourly velocity and temperature measurements, the aim of the present study is to characterize NIO along the Brazilian continental shelf break (16° S–31.5° S) describing the spatial variability of inertial energy in the mixed layer and the role of the NIO in the high-frequency hydrodynamic. The sites between 31.5° S and 28.5° S were those that revealed more near-inertial energy and higher relative importance of the near-inertial band for the variance of the currents (29% and 31%, respectively). This is associated with the proximity between the inertial frequency and the sea breeze frequency in this region, which delimits an inertial resonance area for the NIO around 30° S. The near-inertial currents between 31.5° S and 23.5° S range between 30 and 50 cm s?1 and decrease toward the locations at lower latitudes, where the range is between 5 and 25 cm s?1. Vertical shear of the order of 10?3 s?1 was reached during NIO events between 31.5° S and 23.5° S in the upper layer of the ocean (mixed layer, seasonal thermocline, and upper permanent thermocline) and can play an important role in the vertical mixing along the Brazilian continental shelf break. The NIO events analyzed at Cabo Frio upwelling system exhibited a mean duration of around 7.6 days, upward vertical phase velocity of the order of 10?1 cm s?1, vertical wavelengths of the order of 102 m, and vertical downward group velocity of the order of 10?2 cm s?1. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the vertical propagation of energy and duration of the events demonstrate the importance of NIO as a source of kinetic energy to the ocean interior. © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
"The use of a high quality mud is an essential requirement to guarantee a successful drilling operation. The drilling industry aims to build wells at low costs and as fast as possible. Among other drilling problems, an adequately formulated drilling fluid will prevent wellbore instability while contributing to generate an in gauge borehole. Usually, one of the desired properties of a drilling mud is the least as possible interaction with the drilled formation. On the other hand, the idea of a chemically active fluid that would react with the rock to help improving drilling performance is very welcome. This kind of fluid should not only mitigate drilling problems but also contribute for the improvement of the overall process. The work presents the advances in drilling fluid technology to overcome the challenges that have arisen with the discovery of Pre Salt offshore Brazil, specially the drilling of long salt section containing highly soluble salt layers and the low penetration rates in hard carbonate rocks. An extensive theoretical and experimental work was carried out to assist drilling fluid design in this drilling scenario. A special fluid formulation developed to interact with carbonate rocks and increase penetration rate is presented. Although some important issues have yet to be addressed, the preliminary results show a good potential for the new technology. Copyright 2015, Offshore Technology Conference."
"Advances in knowledge and capacity 

New exploration and development in offshore areas remain a major source of increasing global oil and gas production. Technological advances in the past decade have encouraged exploration in deep and ultradeep waters further away from shore and enabled the discovery of significant new reserves. The water depth capabilities for offshore exploration increased from about 3,050 m to more than 3,350 m between 2010 and 2018, while production capability using floating platforms reached almost 2,900 m in 2018, up from 2,438 m in 2010 (Barton and others, 2019). Such technological advances have in part enabled the expansion of the offshore oil and gas sector to new regions, including the eastern Mediterranean and areas off the coast of Guyana. 

There have also been advances in understanding the potential environmental and social impacts of exploration and production activities on the surrounding environment and in the development of new approaches to mitigate impacts. For example, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has created a Marine Noise Registry to record human activities that produce loud impulsive noise (10 Hz– 10 kHz) in the seas around its territory. This initiative intends to create baseline data and to quantify the pressure on the environment from anthropogenic activities associated with hydrocarbon exploration and development, including seismic surveys, sub-bottom profiling and pile driving. Similarly, the SERPENT project, which stands for “Scientific and Environmental ROV (remotely operated vehicle) Partnership using Existing iNdustrial Technology”, is an example of international collaboration among the scientific community, environmental regulators and the oil and gas industry to gather and provide baseline information on ecosystems around offshore oil and gas installations using cutting-edge remotely operated vehicles that can operate in the deep ocean (SERPENT Project, 2020). 

More recently, the offshore oil and gas industry has contributed to the MRE sector by providing expertise for the construction, maintenance and decommissioning of utility-scale offshore wind projects. The design and structural engineering concepts for the floating wind turbines, which can significantly expand the development of wind power in deeper waters associated with higher wind resources, are largely influenced by deepwater oil and gas installations (International Renewable Energy Agency, 2016). "
" 

Since the first World Ocean Assessment (United Nations, 2017a), the offshore oil and gas sector has continued to expand globally, in particular in deep and ultradeep waters. The use of tension leg platforms, spars and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) systems are key to such expansion. 

In the next decade, frontier regions such as the eastern Mediterranean, the east coast of South America (Brazil and Guyana), and the west coast of Africa could be the major growth drivers for offshore oil and gas exploration and production. 

There is an upward trend in decommissioning activity, in particular in mature regions, such as the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. 

Exploration and production practices continue to evolve to minimize potential impacts on the surrounding environment. 

The creation of regulatory capacity to manage offshore resources effectively, especially in frontier regions, requires significant commitment and long-term institutional investment. 

Technological innovation and sophisticated industrial capability built over decades by the offshore oil and gas sector are benefiting the emergence of the marine renewable energy (MRE) industry. 

A major thrust to the offshore hydrocarbon sector since the first Assessment is technological advancement in analysing offshore exploration and production data to enhance operational and financial efficiencies. 

 "
"Higher mortality and less successful reproduction of marine biotas 

Impacts of disturbance from noise 

Anthropogenic noise in the ocean increased in the last half of the past century. Commercial shipping is the main source, and the noise that it produces is often in frequency bands used by many marine mammals for communication. Many other types of marine biotas have also been shown to be affected by anthropogenic noise. Other significant sources of noise are seismic exploration for the offshore hydrocarbon industry and sonar. The impact of noise can be both to disrupt communication among animals and to displace them from their preferred breeding, nursery or feeding grounds, with consequent potential effects on their breeding success and survival. 

Impacts of recreational fishing 

Recreational fishing is a popular activity in many industrialized countries, in which up to 10 per cent of the adult population may participate. The impact of that type of fishing is only sometimes taken into account in fishery management, although the quantities caught can be significant for the management of stocks experiencing overfishing. In several countries, there is a substantial industry supporting the recreational catching of sport fish (including trophy fish, such as marlins, swordfish and sailfish), but catch statistics are generally not available. "
"The winds in the atmosphere are the main drivers of these ocean surface currents. The interface between the ocean and the atmosphere and the effect of the winds also allows for the ocean to absorb oxygen and, more importantly, carbon dioxide from the air. Annually, the ocean absorbs 2,300 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (IPCC, 2005; see Chapter 5). 

In addition to this vast surface ocean current system, there is the ocean thermohaline circulation (ocean conveyor) system (Figure 3). Instead of being driven by winds and the temperature difference between the equator and the poles (as are the surface ocean currents), this current system is driven by differences in water density. The most dense ocean water is cold and salty which sinks beneath warm and fresh seawater that stays near the surface. Cold-salty water is produced in sea ice “factories” of the polar seas: when seawater freezes, the salt is rejected (the ice is mostly fresh water), which makes the remaining liquid seawater saltier. This cold saltier water sinks into the deepest ocean basins, bringing oxygen into the deep ocean and thus enabling aerobic life to exist. "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Submarine cables 

Submarine cables have always been at risk of breaks from submarine landslides, mainly at the edge of the continental shelf. As the pattern of cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons changes, submarine areas that have so far been stable may become less so and thus produce submarine landslides and consequent cable breaks. With the increasing dependence of world trade on the Internet, such breaks (in addition to breaks from other causes, such as ship anchors and bottom trawling) could delay or interrupt communications vital to that trade. 

Eutrophication problems 

Where there are narrow continental shelves, some wind conditions can bring nutrientrich, oxygen-poor water up into coastal waters, and produce hypoxic (low-oxygen) or even anoxic conditions (the implications of which are described under theme F). Changes in ocean circulation appear to be enhancing those effects. Examples of this can be found on the western coasts of the American continent immediately north and south of the equator, the western coast of sub-Saharan Africa and the western coast of the Indian subcontinent. 

Opening of Arctic shipping routes 

Although the number of ships transiting Arctic waters is currently low, it has been escalating for the past decade, and the retreat of the polar sea ice as a result of planetary warming means that there are increasing possibilities for shipping traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans around the north of the American and Eurasian continents during the northern summer. The movement of species between the Pacific and the Atlantic demonstrates the scale of the potential impact. Those routes are shorter and may be more economic, but shipping brings with it increased risks of marine pollution both from acute disasters and chronic pollution and the potential introduction of invasive non-native species. The very low rate at which bacteria can break down spilled oil in polar conditions and the general low recovery rate of polar ecosystems mean that damage from such pollution would be very serious. Furthermore, the response and clear-up infrastructure found in other ocean basins is largely lacking today around the Arctic Ocean. Those factors would make such problems even worse. Over time, the increased commercial shipping traffic through the Arctic Ocean and the noise disturbance it creates may also displace marine mammals away from critical habitats. "
" 

Global aquaculture production in 2017 (animals and plants) was recorded as 111.9 million tons, with an estimated firstsale value of $249.6 billion. Since 2000, world aquaculture has ceased to enjoy the high annual growth rates of the 1980s and 1990s (11.3 and 10.0 per cent, respectively). Nevertheless, it continues to grow at a faster rate than other major food production sectors. Annual growth declined to a moderate 5.8  per  cent during the period from 2000 to 2016, although double-digit growth still occurred in a small number of countries, in particular in Africa, from 2006 to 2010. Fish produced by this rapidly growing sector is high in protein and contains essential micronutrients, sometimes essential fatty acids, which cannot easily be substituted by other food commodities. 

The United Nations predicts that the global population will reach 8.5 billion in 2030. This will inevitably increase the pressure on food sectors to increase production and reduce losses and waste. Production increases must be able to ensure sustainability, given a context in which key resources, such as land and water, are likely to be scarcer and the impact of climatic change will intensify. The aquaculture sector is no exception. Success in achieving the long-term goal of economic, social and environmental sustainability of the aquaculture sector, so as to ensure its continued contribution of nutritious food to keep the world healthy, will depend primarily on continued commitments by Governments to provide and support a good governance framework for the sector. As the sector further expands, intensifies and diversifies, it should recognize relevant environmental and social concerns and make conscious efforts to address them in a transparent manner, backed by scientific advice. 

 "
"Humanity has always drawn sustenance from the ocean through fishing, harvesting and trade. Today 44 per cent of the world's population lives on or within 150 kilometres from the coast (United Nations Atlas of Oceans). However this fundamental connection between nature and people has only very recently been incorporated into trans-disciplinary thinking on how we manage and account for the human benefits we get from nature. Today, when a product taken from an ecosystem1 , for example, fibres, timber or fish, enters the economic cycle (i.e., a part of the human system), it receives a monetary value that accounts at least for the costs associated with its extraction and mobilization. If that natural product is the result of cultivation, as in the case of agriculture, forestry and aquaculture, the monetary value also includes the production costs. However, the extraction of natural products and other human benefits from ecosystems has implicit costs of production and other ancillary costs associated with preserving the integrity of the natural production system itself. Traditionally these benefits and costs have been hidden within the “natural system,” and are not accounted for financially; such hidden costs and benefits are considered “externalities” by neoclassical economists. While the neoclassical economic toolbox includes non-market valuation approaches, an ecosystem services approach emphasizes that ‘price’ is not equal to “value” and highlights human well-being, as a normative goal. The emergence and evolution of the ecosystem services concept offers an explicit attempt to better capture and reflect these hidden or unaccounted benefits and associated costs when the natural “production” system is negatively affected by human activities. The ecosystem services approach has proven to be very useful in the management of multi-sector processes and already informs many management and regulatory processes around the world (e.g. United Kingdom National Ecosystem Assessment, 2011). "
"Ocean warming and land ice melt are the main causes of present-day accelerating global mean sea level rise. The global mean sea level has been rising since 1993 (the altimetry era) at a mean rate of 3.1 ± 0.3 mm per year, with a clear superimposed acceleration of approximately 0.1 mm per year. Satellite altimetry has also revealed strong regional variability in the rates of sea level change, with regional rates up to two or three times greater than the global mean in some regions. Owing to global warming, many circulation systems also experience changes. 

Changes in sea level height, measured with high-precision satellite altimetry, hint at the widening and strengthening of the subtropical gyres in the North and South Pacific. The studies, furthermore, show a poleward movement of many ocean currents, including the Antarctic circumpolar current and the subtropical gyres in the southern hemisphere, as well as western boundary currents in all ocean basins. One of the major ocean current systems, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, has already weakened, and it is very likely that it will continue to do so in the future. Impacts that follow such changes include regional sea level rise, changes in nutrient distribution and carbon uptake and feedbacks with the atmosphere. 

The globally averaged ocean surface temperature data show a warming of 0.62±0.12?°C per century over the period 1900– 2018. In the recent decade (2009–2018), the rate of ocean surface warming is 2.56±0.68?°C c-1. The warming happens in most ocean regions with some areas, such as in the North Atlantic, showing long-term cooling. Since 1955, the upper 2,000 m of the ocean has also exhibited signs of robust warming, as evidenced by the increase in ocean heat content.  

The spatial patterns of multidecadal salinity changes provide convincing evidence of global-scale water cycle change in the global ocean coincident with warming over the period. The resolved changes are replicated in all observed analyses of long-term salinity changes, and more recently have been reproduced in forced climate model simulations. Those changes are manifested in enhanced salinities in the near-surface, high-salinity subtropical regions and corresponding freshening in the low-salinity regions such as the West Pacific Warm Pool and the poles. Similar changes are also seen in the ocean subsurface, with similar patterns of freshening low-salinity waters and enhanced high-salinity waters represented in each of the ocean basins, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian, and across the Southern Ocean. 
 "
"Cumulative impacts of human activities on marine biodiversity 

Marine mammals, marine reptiles, seabirds, sharks, tuna and billfis 

Cumulative effects are comparatively well documented for species groups of the top predators in the ocean, including marine mammals, seabirds and marine reptiles. Many of those species tend to be highly mobile and some migrate across multiple ecosystems and even entire ocean basins, so that they can be exposed to many threats in their annual cycle. Some of those species are the subject of direct harvesting, particularly some pinnipeds (seals and related species) and seabirds, and by-catch in fisheries can be a significant mortality source for many species. However, in addition to having to sustain the impact of those direct deaths, all of those species suffer from varying levels of exposure to pollution from land-based sources and increasing levels of noise in the ocean. Land-nesting seabirds, marine turtles and pinnipeds also face habitat disturbance, such as through the introduction of invasive predators on isolated breeding islands, the disturbance of beaches where eggs are laid or direct human disturbance from tourism, including ecotourism. 

Some global measures have been helpful in addressing specific sources of mortality, such as the global moratorium on all large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing called for by the General Assembly in 1991, which was a major step in limiting the by-catch of several marine mammal and seabird species that were especially vulnerable to entanglement. However, for seabirds alone, at least 10 different pressures have been identified that can affect a single population throughout its annual cycle, with efforts to mitigate one pressure sometimes increasing vulnerability to others. Because of the complexity of those issues, conservation and management must therefore be approached with care and alertness to the nature of the interactions among the many human interests, the needs of the animals and their role in marine ecosystems. "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Changes in seasonal life cycles in the ocean 

It has been predicted under some climate change scenarios that up to 60 per cent of the current biomass in the ocean could be affected, either positively or negatively, resulting in disruptions to many existing ecosystem services. For example, modelling studies of species with strong temperature preferences, such as skipjack and bluefin tuna, predict major changes in range and/or decreases in productivity. 

The effects are found in all regions. For example, in the North-West Atlantic, the combination of changes in feeding patterns triggered by overfishing and changes in climate formed the primary pressures thought to have brought about shifts in species composition amounting to a full regime change, from one dominated by cod to one dominated by crustacea. Even in the open ocean, climate warming will increase ocean stratification in some broad areas, reduce primary production and/or result in a shift in productivity to smaller species (from diatoms of 2-200 microns to picoplankton of 0.2-2 microns) of phytoplankton. This has the effect of changing the efficiency of the transfer of energy to other parts of the food web, causing biotic changes over major regions of the open ocean, such as the equatorial Pacific. "
"Food security and food safety 

Seafood products, including finfish, invertebrates and seaweeds, are a major component of food security around the world. They are the major source of protein for a significant fraction of the global population, in particular in countries where hunger is widespread. Even in the most developed countries, the consumption of fish is increasing both per capita and in absolute terms, with implications for both global food security and trade. 

Fisheries and aquaculture are a major employer and source of livelihoods in coastal States. Significant economic and social benefits result from those activities, including the provision of a key source of subsistence food and much-needed cash for many of the world’s poorest peoples. As a mainstay of many coastal communities, fisheries and aquaculture play an important role in the social fabric of many areas. Small-scale fisheries, particularly those that provide subsistence in many poor communities, are often particularly important. Many such coastal fisheries are under threat because of overexploitation, conflict with larger fishing operations and a loss of productivity in coastal ecosystems caused by a variety of other impacts. Those include habitat loss, pollution and climate change, as well as the loss of access to space as coastal economies and uses of the sea diversify. "
"Food security and food safety 

Social issues 

In both capture fisheries and aquaculture, gender and other equity issues arise. A significant number of women are employed in both types of activities, either directly or in related activities along the value chain. Women are particularly prominent in product processing, but often their labour is not equitably compensated and working conditions do not meet basic standards. Poor communities are often subject to poorer market access, unsafe working conditions and other inequitable practices. 

Food safety 

Food safety is a key worldwide challenge for all food production and delivery sectors, including all parts of the seafood industry, from capture or culture to retail marketing. That challenge is of course also faced by subsistence fisheries. In the food chain for fishery products, potential problems need to be assessed, managed and communicated to ensure that they can be addressed. The goal of most food safety systems is to avoid risk and prevent problems at the source. The risks come from contamination from pathogens (particularly from discharges of untreated sewage and animal waste) and toxins (often from algal blooms). The severity of the risk also depends on individual health, consumption levels and susceptibility. There are international guidelines to address those risks but substantial resources are required in order to continue to build the capacity to implement and monitor safety protocols from the water to the consumer. "
"Increasing inputs of harmful material 

Shipping 

Pollution from ships takes the form of both catastrophic events (shipwrecks, collisions and groundings) and chronic pollution from regular operational discharges. Good progress has been made over the past 40 years in reducing both. There have been large increases in the global tonnage of cargo carried by sea and in the distances over which those cargoes are carried. There have also been steady increases in the number of passengers carried on cruise ships and ferries. In spite of this, the absolute number of ship losses has steadily decreased. Between 2002 and 2013, the number of losses of ships of over 1,000 gross tonnage thus dropped by 45 per cent to 94. This is largely due to efforts under the three main international maritime safety conventions: the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea,87 dealing with ship construction and navigation, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, 88 dealing with crew, and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). 

Pollution from oil has been the most significant type of marine pollution from ships. The number of spills exceeding 7 tons has dropped steadily, in spite of the growth in the quantity carried and the length of voyages, from over 100 spills in 1974 to under five in 2012. The total quantity of oil released in those spills has also been reduced by an even greater factor. Progress has also been made in improving response capabilities, though much remains to be done, especially as coastal States have to bear the capital cost of acquiring the necessary equipment. Reductions in oil pollution have resulted from more effective enforcement of the MARPOL requirements, particularly in western Europe. The changes in arrangements for reparation for any damage caused by oil pollution from ships have improved the economic position of those affected. 

In spite of all that progress, oil discharges from ships remain an environmental problem, for example, around the southern tip of Africa and in the North-West Atlantic. Off the coast of Argentina, however, a solution to the impact of those discharges on penguin colonies seems to have been found by rerouting coastal shipping. The likely opening of shipping routes through the Arctic between the Atlantic and the Pacific risks introducing that form of pollution into a sea area where response infrastructure is lacking, oil recovery in freezing conditions is difficult and the icy water temperature inhibits the microbial breakdown of the oil. 

Pollution from cargoes of hazardous and noxious substances appears to be a much smaller problem, even though there are clearly problems with misdescriptions of the contents of containers. Losses of containers, however, appear to be relatively small: in 2011, the losses were estimated at 650 containers out of about 100 million carried in that year. "
"The importance of fishes and fishery-based activities to food security in less developed countries is particularly prominent. In 2016, Asia accounted for 85.7 per cent of the global population engaged in fisheries and aquaculture (FAO, 2018a),which represents an increase of more than 1 per cent since 2014. More than 19 million people (32  per  cent of all people employed in the sector) were engaged in fish farming, and 95.9  per  cent of all aquaculture activities were being conducted in Asia. The statistics clearly indicate the important and increasing contribution of aquaculture to that continent’s regional food and nutrition security, as well as its socioeconomic development. 

There are several major reviews on the subject (Allison, 2011; Béné and others, 2016). Fishes provide more than 4.5 billion people with at least 15 per cent of their animal protein intake. The nutritional properties of fishes make them important to the health of consumers in developed and developing countries. Fishes are efficient converters of feed into high quality food and their carbon footprint is lower than that of other animal production systems. Fisheries and aquaculture value chains contribute substantially to the income and employment, and therefore indirectly to the food security, of more than 10 per cent of the world’s population, principally in developing countries and emerging economies (FAO, 2017a). 

The 80 million tons of aquatic animals produced in 2016 contributed 46 per cent to total aquatic animal production and a little over 54  per  cent to total fish consumption in the same year. Per capita food fish consumption was estimated at 20.3 kg in 2016, compared with 19.5 kg in 2013 (FAO, 2018b). An estimated 18.7 million people were employed in aquaculture in 2015 (FAO, 2017a). 

The culture and use of small indigenous fish species with high nutritional value in human nutrition is recognized and is being practised (Castine and others, 2017). However, with the intensification of aquaculture production methods, and with the increasing use of plant-based feedstuffs, care must be taken to ensure that the nutrient contents of farmed aquatic animal products are as high as possible (Beveridge and others, 2013; Bogard and others, 2017). "
"Passenger traffic  

Passenger traffic is almost entirely carried on local ferries or on cruise ships. The pattern of ferry traffic remains as described in the first Assessment, but the level of traffic has grown steadily (International Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL), 2017). 

The activities of cruise ships have also continued to grow steadily with the increased global market for cruising: the number of passengers is increasing at an average of about 5 per cent per year (figure III). The size of individual cruise ships is also growing steadily (figure IV). The overall market remains dominated by passengers from the United States (about 50 per cent of the total market) and the global distribution of cruising remains largely as described in the first Assessment, with the major focuses being the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, which together accounted for a little over half of all traffic in 2017 (Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 2018). 

The first Assessment noted the relatively recent, but rapid, growth of tourism to Antarctica, in particular with regard to cruise ships – from 27,324 cruise ship passengers in the 2003– 2004 season to 37,044 in the 2013–2014 season, which is an increase of 35 per cent. The growth has continued, reaching 51,700 in the 2017–2018 season (an increase of a further 40 per cent), with a forecast of further growth to 55,750 in the 2018–2019 season. Over 80 per cent of the tourists land on Antarctica (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), 2018). Passenger landings and marine traffic are highly concentrated at a few specific locations, in particular along the Antarctic Peninsula’s south-western coast. Growth in Antarctic tourism is closely correlated with the economies of the countries sending the most visitors to the region: 60 per cent of the tourists come from the United States (33 per cent), China (16 per cent) and Australia (11 per cent). The proportion of tourists from China increased significantly between 2013 and 2014 and between 2017 and 2018. Markets for Antarctic travel are probably far from saturated, and demand is therefore likely to continue to grow (Bender and others, 2016). Apart from some categories, such as private yachts, that shipping traffic is covered by the new mandatory Polar Code (International Maritime Organization (IMO), 2015). 

Tourism is also increasing rapidly in the Arctic: summer tourism quadrupled and winter tourism increased by over 600 per  cent between 2006 and 2016, although large areas remain unaffected. The increase is likely to have an impact on Arctic ecosystems and communities, especially as new parts of the Arctic open up with less sea ice, new airports and continued promotion of the area (Runge and others, 2020). 

In 2020, passenger traffic on ferries dropped significantly early in the year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but, by August 2020, it was beginning to recover (e.g., EMSA, 2020). Cruise ship activity has plummeted for the same reason: in August 2019, there were 1.8 million persons on board cruise ships; in August 2020, there were only a small number of crew (EMSA, 2020). "
"Persistent organic pollutants 

 

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) continue to be a global issue, persisting at concentrations likely to cause biological effects. 

POPs are detected in remote locations far from their source of production, which includes the deepest parts of the ocean and the polar regions. 

The number of POPs continues to increase and thus the mixtures to which biota are exposed become more complex, making the determination of the likelihood of individual or population effects ever more challenging. 

 

Metals 

 

There is a critical need to develop and expand coastal metal time series globally. 

Trends in metal concentrations vary regionally, although most show levelling of dissolved metals and a slight increase in higher trophic organisms. 

 

Radioactivity  

 

There have been no significant nuclear accidents affecting the oceans since the first World Ocean Assessment (United Nations, 2017c). 

The generation of electricity from nuclear power plants continues to increase, with an increase of about 5 per  cent globally between 2013 and 2018. Improved technology may be reducing discharges of many radionuclides, but those of tritium are probably increasing in line with electricity generation. Tritium is, however, only weakly radioactive.  

Published information on recent discharges of radioactive substances to the ocean from nuclear power plants and nuclear 

 "
" 

There are both health benefits and risks to living near the sea. The advantages can include enhanced air quality, exercise opportunities, novel marine-derived pharmaceuticals and ready access to food from the sea, which itself has health benefits (as a source of protein and essential micronutrients), although seafood is also traded inland; as well as sources of renewable energy. 

The ocean presents health risks from tsunamis, storms and tropical cyclones. Humans are also subject to increased risks from contaminated food from the sea, sea level rise and storms and cyclones from climate change. 

Chemical contaminants (including air pollution particulates), harmful or toxic algal blooms and pathogens pose health risks, in particular in estuarine and coastal waters where there is adjacent urbanization and/or recreational usage.  

Novel pollutants, such as antibiotics, hormones, nanomaterials (e.g., fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, metallic nanoparticles and nanoplastics) and microplastics, are a cause for concern. Combustion nanoparticles (e.g., PM2.5) as a major component of air pollution, are well established as contributing to cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. 

  "
" 

As of 2012, about 80 per cent of seaweeds were either consumed directly, such as kelps, or processed for phycocolloids, such as carrageenan, for use in the food industry. The rest were used widely in pet food and in industrial, cosmetic and medical applications. World production of seaweeds steadily rose from 2012 to 2017 at a rate of about 2.6 per cent annually, or about 1.8 million tons (wet weight) per year, owing mostly to demand from farming and aquaculture, with an estimated value of about $12 billion. 

China remains the top producer of seaweeds, followed by Indonesia. The Philippines is still the world’s third largest producer, despite being struck by typhoons every year; Filipino seaweed farmers have become resilient and can revive their farming operations immediately. The Republic of Korea ranks fourth and has made a concerted effort to increase exports to North America through marketing campaigns. 

The top species farmed are still the carrageenophytes, Kappaphycus alvarezii and Eucheuma spp. (accounting for 85 per cent of world’s carrageenan production), which are grown in the Indo-Pacific region; alginate-producing kelps (Saccharina and Undaria), which are cold-water species, are the major species harvested. 

Emerging applications of seaweeds in agriculture include their use for the reduction of methane production in farmed animals, but such applications are still incipient because of issues relating to bromoforms, which can have environmental consequences. 

Production has been affected negatively in typhoon-vulnerable areas. 

  "
"Increasing inputs of harmful material 

Eutrophication 

Eutrophication resulting from excess inputs of nutrients from both agriculture and sewage causes algal blooms. Those can generate toxins that can make fish and other seafood unfit for human consumption. Algal blooms can also lead to anoxic areas (i.e. dead zones) and hypoxic zones. Such zones have serious consequences from environmental, economic and social aspects. The anoxic and hypoxic zones drive fish away and kill the benthic wildlife. Where those zones are seasonal, any regeneration that happens is usually at a lower trophic level, and the ecosystems are therefore degraded. This seriously affects the maritime economy, both for fishermen and, where tourism depends on the attractiveness of the ecosystem (for example, around coral reefs), for the tourist industry. Social consequences are then easy to see, both through the economic effects on the fishing and tourist industries and in depriving the local human populations of food. "
"Environmental impacts 

Offshore oil and gas exploration and development practices have evolved significantly in terms of minimizing impacts on the surrounding environment, but operational and accidental discharges and other environmental impacts still occur. Operational discharges include chemicals that arise from drilling activities, produced water, drilling muds and cuttings, as well as small amounts of treated domestic and sanitary wastes. Noise, seabed disturbance and loss of biodiversity are frequent further significant impacts. In addition, the installation of pipelines and related infrastructure also contributes to certain discharges into the marine environment. The decommissioning of installations can also be carried out with more or less severe environmental impacts, depending on removal methodologies and subsequent environmental follow-up measures. 

Produced water is a mix of oil and water from underground formations brought to the surface during production. The percentage of water, which is initially small, increases over time, while that of hydrocarbons decreases (Clark and Veil, 2009). The global average is estimated at three barrels of produced water for each barrel of oil (Khatib and Verbeek, 2002). Older wells, meanwhile, can display a ratio in excess of 50 barrels of produced water for each barrel of oil. According to a study by IFP Énergies Nouvelles, produced water is set to exceed 300 million barrels per day in 2020 at the global level, an increase of 20 per cent over 2008 levels. Most of the increase is expected from offshore oil and gas production (IFP Énergies Nouvelles, 2011). 

Disposal options include injection into the same formation from where the oil is produced, treating the produced water to meet a certain quality standard and then either discharging it into the environment or using treated water in oil and gas field operations. While most of the treated produced water onshore is injected underground, in the offshore environment, it is discharged in the marine environment. Such discharges are often regulated by local or national water quality regulations, such as the Clean Water Act in the United States. The United States Department of Energy is currently investing $4.6 million to fund projects that would advance produced water treatment technologies (Department of Energy, 2019). Although the funded projects focus on landbased drilling, many advances will be relevant to offshore oil and gas production. 

 The emission of criteria pollutants related to platform or non-platform sources can have an impact on air quality in the vicinity of the drilling and production platforms. Platform sources comprise emissions from on-board equipment, such as boilers, natural gas engines and pneumatic pumps, while non-platform sources comprise emissions from pipe-laying operations, support and survey vessels and helicopters. In addition, open flaring of unwanted or excess gas from production platforms affects air quality.  "
"Production and species 

Aquaculture is expanding faster than other types of food production, although no longer at the growth rates of the 1980s and 1990s (11.3 and 10.0 per cent, respectively, excluding aquatic plants). Average annual growth declined to 5.8  per  cent during the period from 2000 to 2016, although higher rates of growth occurred in several countries, in particular in Africa, from 2006 to 2010 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2018a). Global production in 2016 included 80 million tons of food fishes, 30.1 million tons of aquatic plants and 37,900 tons of non-food products. Food production included 54.1 million tons of finfishes, 17.1 million tons of molluscs, 7.9 million tons of crustaceans and 938,500 tons of other animals. China, the major aquaculture producer in 2016, has produced more than the rest of the world combined since 1991. The other major producers in 2016 were India, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Egypt and Norway. Aquatic plants (28 million tons) included seaweeds and a much smaller volume of microalgae. China and Indonesia were the major producers of aquatic plants in 2016 (FAO, 2018b). Ornamental fish and plant species are not included in the present review. 

People and nutrition 

Global official statistics indicate that 59.6 million people were engaged in the primary sector of capture fisheries and aquaculture in 2016, with 19.3 million people engaged in aquaculture and 40.3 million in fisheries (FAO, 2018b). In addition to the primary producers, many people are engaged in the aquaculture value chain. The sector supports the livelihoods, including family members, of 540 million people, or 8 per cent of the world population (FAO, 2017a). Women accounted for 19 percent of all people directly engaged in the primary sector in 2014 (FAO, 2016). 

Aquaculture’s contribution to human nutrition has been fully recognized (Chan and others, 2017; High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, 2014). Aquaculture improves the nutrition of the rural poor, especially mothers and young children (Thilsted and others, 2016), although there are concerns that the growth of the sector and the intensification of its production methods may result in decreased availability of certain fatty acids and micronutrients (Bogard and others, 2017). Considering the increasing global population and the importance of a healthy diet, Béné and others (2016) stressed that access to fish is a key issue in creating healthy populations, especially among the rural poor, worldwide. "
"Economic activity in the ocean is expanding rapidly, with projections that, by 2030, under a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean economy could more than double to a value of more than $3 trillion, with approximately 40 million full-time jobs (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2016). Technological advances and innovations will be critical to identifying sustainable pathways that allow for the development of global economies, including the ocean economy, while addressing many of the challenges facing the ocean at present. 

In the context of such rapid change, regulation and governance will struggle to keep up. The integration of emerging ocean industries into existing, fragmented regulatory frameworks will restrict the ability to address pressures generated by industries in an effective and timely way. More effective integrated ocean management will be required to ensure a sustainable future for the ocean in the light of the drivers of change detailed in the present chapter and also in chapter 27. 

If greenhouse gas emissions continue to be released at the current rate, it is estimated that the surface temperature will warm by 1.5°C sometime between 2030 and 2052 (IPCC, 2018). Many changes to marine ecosystems as a result of climate change have already been observed, and future climate-related change and associated risks will depend on whether (and when) net zero greenhouse gas emissions are achieved and the associated rate, peak and duration of surface warming (IPCC, 2018). Even if net zero global anthropogenic CO2 emissions are achieved, sustained warming will persist for centuries to millenniums and will continue to cause further long-term changes in the climate system and, by association, in the ocean, including sea level rise and ocean acidification (IPCC, 2018). The upscaling and acceleration of mitigating and adaptive approaches will be required to reduce future climate-related risks to food security, maritime industries and coastal communities associated with changes to the marine environment. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is currently sweeping across the world, causing major disruption to national economies and people. In many regions, because of mitigating efforts to reduce the spread of the virus, pressures immediately affecting the ocean, such as fishing, tourism activities, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, have been temporarily reduced. With restrictions being placed on the movement of people and on business operations, along with the closing of borders, disruption to supply chains and declining markets have affected a number of marine industries, notably fisheries. The likely impacts that reduced pressures might have on longer-term change by drivers such as climate change, however, are expected to be minimal, and it is currently unclear what benefits might be afforded to marine ecosystems. Disruptions to global supply chains have highlighted the need in many countries to strengthen local supply chains and, in particular, to explore e-commerce options for supporting supply chains in general.  
 "
"Cumulative impacts of human activities on marine biodiversity 

Ecosystems and habitats identified for special attention 

Just as species can face the effects of multiple pressures over their annual cycle as they migrate (sometimes around an entire ocean basin), habitats can integrate the effects of multiple pressures across the interacting species that use them. Many cases are presented in the chapters on specialized habitats, which are often sites of concentrated human activities. For example, warm-water corals face major threats, such as extractive activities, sewage and other pollution, sedimentation, physical destruction and the effects of anthropogenic climate change, including increased coral bleaching. Such stressors often interact synergistically with one another and with natural stressors, such as storms. Likewise, cold-water corals are often challenged by the synergistic effects of low oxygen and increasing acidification, as well as by physical damage from fishing practices. 

All coastal habitats, including kelp forests, seagrass beds and mangroves, face multiple interacting threats from land-based sources, species invasions and direct anthropogenic pressures. For example, mangroves may face the aggregate effects of coastal and urban development, sewage and other pollutants, solid waste disposal, damage from extreme events, such as hurricanes, as well as conversion to aquaculture or agriculture and climate change. Each of the chapters on specific habitats presents similar lists of pressures, often present on the same sites. Although protection from direct human uses of areas where habitats occur (such as bans on converting mangroves to aquaculture or port facilities) can often produce immediate benefits, pressures such as land-based runoff, diseases and invasive species require coordinated efforts far beyond the specific habitats for which the protection is intended. "
"Biosecurity 

Diseases continue to challenge global aquaculture and are one of the primary deterrents to the aquaculture development of many species. Thus, investment, along with a focus on biosecurity and health, have been on the increase worldwide (Subasinghe and others, 2019). Biosecurity in aquaculture consists of practices that minimize the risk of introducing an infectious disease and spreading it to the animals at a facility and the risk that diseased animals or infectious agents will leave a facility and spread disease to other sites and to other susceptible species. These practices also reduce stress on the animals, thus making them less susceptible to disease. 

The long list of aquatic diseases and pathogens includes acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease, which recently devastated shrimp aquaculture in Asian countries (e.g. China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand). The causative agent is a virulent strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterium commonly found in coastal waters. Revenue loss due to the disease in South-East Asia has been estimated at over $4 billion. Countries must monitor other emerging diseases, such as Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei in shrimps and tilapia lake virus (Tilapia tilapinevirus), which could potentially have a severe impact on the sector if not addressed in a timely manner (FAO, 2017a). New molecular diagnostic tools are now being applied to the identification of disease agents and their distribution patterns in hatchery, farmed and wild fishes throughout the world. A recently developed microarray has also been used to look at the impacts of pathogen carrier status (sea lice and the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus) on wild salmons. 

While research aimed at finding vaccines is progressing, the emerging issue that countries face is the misuse and abuse of antimicrobials and other drugs, which result in residues and resistant pathogens. Prudent use of antimicrobials and a better understanding of the role of good husbandry management and microbiota in culture systems are important to reduce antimicrobial use and the resulting welfare implications in aquaculture production. Following the approval by the World Health Organization of the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance,1 countries are encouraged to develop national action plans on aquatic antimicrobial resistance and to integrate them into the global action plan (FAO, 2017a). "
"Seafarers  

The number of seafarers serving on international merchant ships was estimated in 2015 at 1,647,500, of which 774,000 were officers and 873,500 ratings. A new survey will be carried out in 2020. China, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine were estimated to be the five largest supply countries for all seafarers. For officers, China was reported to be the largest supplier, followed by the Philippines, India, Indonesia and the Russian Federation. For ratings, the Philippines was the largest supplier, followed by China, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. In 2015, there was thought to be a shortage of about 16,500 officers and a surplus of about 119,000 ratings. While the global supply of officers is forecast to increase steadily, the trend is expected to be outpaced by increasing demand (Baltic and International Maritime Council and the International Chamber of Shipping (BIMCO/ICS), 2016). The important international instruments for the protection of seafarers were described in the first Assessment. 

The best estimate of the proportion of seafarers who are women remains at about 2 per  cent, mainly in the cruise ship sector (International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), 2019).  

Travel and border restrictions imposed in 2020 to control the spread of COVID-19 have created a major crisis for seafarers. In July 2020, there were estimated to be 600,000 seafarers affected: approximately 300,000 seafarers kept working aboard ships owing to problems related to changing crews, and an equal number of unemployed seafarers were waiting ashore to join their ships (ITF, 2020). 

Piracy and armed robbery against ships 

There was a slight decline in the total number of attempted and actual cases of piracy and armed robbery against ships between 2015 and 2019 (table 2). The most significant areas in which piracy and armed robbery occur remain those in South-East Asia and West Africa. 
 "
"Consequences of changes for human communities, economies and well-being 

The most significant impact of the use of plastic in products and packaging is marine pollution (UNEP, 2014), but it is important to emphasize that it is difficult to quantify the economic impact of marine litter. Based on figures from 2011, the economic costs of marine plastic, in relation to marine natural capital, are conservatively conjectured to be between $3,300 and $33,000 per ton per year (Beaumont and others, 2019). While the input of plastic into the ocean is limited in European coastal areas (Jambeck and others, 2015), the estimated costs of cleaning up marine litter in coastal areas can amount to up to €630 million per year (Crippa and others, 2019). More recently (McIlgorm and others, 2020), a ninefold increase in the direct economic costs of marine litter was found from 2009 to 2015, reaching $10.8 billion. 

In addition to indirect impacts (i.e., on biodiversity and ecosystems), beach litter is perhaps the most visible direct impact and affects the patrimonial value of coastal areas that can be translated as the financial expenditure of cleaning up (UNEP, 2019). Damage and costs to marine ecosystems and services must be considered in the future despite an actual limited understanding of the detrimental impacts on the structure and functioning of the marine ecosystem. 

Marine litter can also result in increased costs for the shipping sector and recreational activities, including yachting (e.g., fouled motors, entangled propellers, lost output and repair costs) (Hong and others, 2017), but the damage and associated social costs extend to other sectors such as aquaculture and fisheries. The removal of 10 per cent of derelict fishing pots alone would provide estimated additional revenues of $831 million annually for the global crustacean fishery industry (Scheld and others, 2016). 

Most microplastics in marine organisms are found in their digestive system, which people do not ordinarily consume, with the exception of shellfish and small fish that are eaten whole. Besides accidents and injuries, there is no evidence that microplastics concentrations have a negative impact on fish and shellfish health or commercial stocks (Barboza and others, 2018). Links to human health are not sufficiently addressed, and gaps in knowledge are even greater in relation to nanoplastics ( "
"Introduction 
The term “marine litter” refers to any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in marine and coastal environments (Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), 2019) and covers an extremely wide variety of materials, ranging in size from mega-litter (> 1 m), to macro-litter (> 25 mm), meso-litter (> 5 mm), micro-litter (> 1 µm) and nano-litter ( 
Marine litter is most obvious on shorelines, where it accumulates from water currents, wave and wind action and river outflows. However, marine litter, mainly plastic, is also found on the ocean surface in convergent zones (ocean gyres), in the water column, on the sea floor and in association with marine biota, where it can cause harm (Barnes and others, 2009). "
"Climate change  

Climate has always been a major influence on the marine environment, with high natural variability from year to year and longer-term variability associated with climate phenomena at the regional and global levels. However, there is strong evidence that the climate is changing at a rate unprecedented in the geological record. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2019), summarizes historic and recent patterns in the global climate and provides projections of changes under different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. 

Greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise over the period since the first Assessment, with global CO2 emissions increasing from 30.4 gigatons in 2010 to 33.3 gigatons in 2019. The growth in emissions has resulted in widespread reduction of the cryosphere (frozen-water parts of the planet), continued increases in ocean temperature, decreases in ocean pH and oxygen, shifts in currents and increases in extreme events such as heatwaves (IPCC, 2019). Those changes are described in detail in chapter 5, and the pressures that they are generating, including socioeconomic impacts, are described in detail in chapter 9. 

Following on from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (which entered into force in 1994) and the Kyoto Protocol (which entered into force in 2005), the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, at its twenty-first session, adopted the Paris Agreement in December 2015. The Agreement is aimed at strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change by holding the global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It is recognized in the Agreement that climate change represents an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet and thus requires the widest possible cooperation of all countries. It is also recognized that deep reductions in global emissions will be required in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention. 

In its report on global warming of 1.5°C (IPCC, 2018), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change outlined the mitigation pathways compatible with a 1.5°C warming of the global climate, likely impacts associated with such warming and what would be needed in response to such a change. It highlighted that warming from anthropogenic emissions would persist for centuries to millenniums and would continue to cause further long-term changes in the climate system, including the ocean. 

Interactions between climate change and other drivers include influencing the distribution of global populations as people shift from increasingly uninhabitable areas, economic impacts, including those associated with food production (e.g., aquaculture and fisheries), and an ever greater need for technological innovations and solutions to reduce greenhouse gases, including further reliance on marine renewable energy. "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Sea-surface temperature 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reaffirmed in its fifth report its conclusion that global sea-surface temperatures have increased since the late nineteenth century. Upper-ocean temperature (and hence its heat content) varies over multiple time scales, including seasonal, inter-annual (for example, those associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation), decadal and centennial periods. Depth-averaged ocean-temperature trends from 1971 to 2010 are positive (that is, they show warming) over most of the globe. The warming is more prominent in the northern hemisphere, especially in the North Atlantic. Zonally averaged upper-ocean temperature trends show warming at nearly all latitudes and depths. However, the greater volume of the ocean in the southern hemisphere increases the contribution of its warming to the global heat content. 

The ocean’s large mass and high heat capacity enable it to store huge amounts of energy, more than 1,000 times than that found in the atmosphere for an equivalent increase in temperature. The earth is absorbing more heat than it is emitting back into space, and nearly all that excess heat is entering the ocean and being stored there. The ocean has absorbed about 93 per cent of the combined extra heat stored by warmed air, sea, land, and melted ice between 1971 and 2010. During the past three decades, approximately 70 per cent of the world’s coastline has experienced significant increases in sea-surface temperature. This has been accompanied by an increase in the yearly number of extremely hot days along 38 per cent of the world’s coastline. Warming has also been occurring at a significantly earlier date in the year along approximately 36 per cent of the world’s temperate coastal areas (between 30° and 60° latitude in both hemispheres). That warming is resulting in an increasingly poleward distribution of many marine species. "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Plankton /h2> 

Phytoplankton and marine bacteria carry out most of the primary production on which food webs depend. The climate-driven increases in the temperature of the upper ocean that had been predicted are now causing shifts in phytoplankton communities. This may have profound effects on net primary production and nutrient cycles over the next 100 years. In general, when smaller plankton account for most net primary production, as is typically the case in oligotrophic open-ocean waters (that is, areas where levels of nutrients are low), net primary production is lower and the microbial food web dominates energy flows and nutrient cycles. Under such conditions, the carrying capacity for currently harvestable fish stocks is lower and exports of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus to the deep sea may be smaller. 

On the other hand, as the upper ocean warms, the geographic range of nitrogen-fixing plankton (diazotrophs) will expand. This could enhance the fixation of nitrogen by as much as 35-65 per cent by 2100. This would lead to an increase in net primary production, and therefore an increase in carbon uptake, and some species of a higher trophic level may become more productive. 

The balance between those two changes is unclear. A shift towards less primary production would have serious implications for human food security and the support of marine biodiversity. "
"Food security and food safety 

Capture fisheries 

Globally, capture fisheries are near the ocean’s productive capacity, with catches on the order of 80 million metric tons. Only a few means to increase yield are available. Addressing sustainability concerns more effectively (including ending overfishing, eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, rebuilding depleted resources and reducing the broader ecosystem impacts of fisheries and the adverse impacts of pollution) is an important aspect of improving fishery yields and, therefore, food security. For example, ending overfishing and rebuilding depleted resources may result in an increase of as much as 20 per cent in potential yield, provided that the transitional costs of rebuilding depleted stocks can be addressed. 

In 2012, more than one quarter of fish stocks worldwide were classified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as overfished. Although those stocks will clearly benefit from rebuilding once overfishing has ended, other stocks may still be categorized as fully exploited despite being on the borderline of overfishing. Such stocks could yield more if effective governance mechanisms were in place. 

Current estimates of the number of overfished stocks do not take into account the broader effects of fishing on marine ecosystems and their productivity. Those impacts, including by-catch, habitat modification and effects on the food web, significantly affect the ocean’s capacity to continue to produce food sustainably and must be carefully managed. Fish stock propagation may provide a tool to help to rebuild depleted fishery resources in some instances. 

Fishing efforts are subsidized by many mechanisms around the world, and many of those subsidies undermine the net economic benefits to States. Subsidies that encourage overcapacity and overfishing result in losses for States, and those losses are often borne by communities dependent on fishery resources for their livelihood and food security. "
"Imbalances in the freshwater cycle manifest themselves as changes in global sea level. Changes in global mean sea level are largely caused by a combination of changes in ocean heat content and exchanges of freshwater between the ocean and continents. When water is added to the ocean, global sea level adjusts, rapidly resulting in a relatively uniform spatial pattern for the seasonal ocean mass balance, as compared to the seasonal steric signal, which has very large regional amplitudes (Chambers, 2006). ‘Steric’ refers to density changes in seawater due to changes in heat content and salinity. On annual scales, the maximum exchange of freshwater from land to ocean occurs in the late Northern Hemisphere summer, and therefore the seasonal ocean mass signal is in phase with total sea level with an amplitude of about 7 mm (Chambers et al., 2004). Because most of the ocean is in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasonal maximum in the steric component occurs in the late Southern Hemisphere summer, when heat storage in the majority of the ocean peaks (Leuliette and Willis, 2011). Because globally averaged sea level variations due to heat content changes largely cancel out between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the size of the steric signal, globally averaged, is only 4 mm. 

Globally averaged sea level has risen at 3.2 mm/yr for the past two decades (Church et al., 2011), of which about a third comes from thermal expansion. The remainder is due to fluxes of freshwater from the continents, which have increased as the melting of continental glaciers and ice sheets responds to higher temperatures. Multi-decadal fluctuations in equatorial and mid-latitude winds (Merrifield et al., 2012; Moon et al., 2013) cause regional patterns in sea-level trends which are reflected in the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) indices in the Pacific (Merrifield et al., 2012; Zhang and Church, 2012) and northern Australia (White et al., 2014). Interannual changes in global mean sea level relative to the observed trend are largely linked to exchanges of water with the continents due to changes in precipitation patterns associated largely with the ENSO; this includes a drop of 5 mm during 2010-11 and rapid rebound in 2012-13 (Boening et al., 2012; Fasullo et al., 2013). "
"The Southern Ocean (defined as all ocean area south of 60°S) deserves special mention due to its role in the storage of heat (and carbon) for the entire planet. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) connects the three major southern ocean basins (South Atlantic, South Pacific and Indian) and is the largest current by volume in the world. The ACC flows eastward, circling the globe in a clockwise direction as viewed from the South Pole. In addition to providing a lateral connection between the major ocean basins (Atlantic, Indian, Pacific), the Southern Ocean also connects the shallow and deep parts of the ocean through a mechanism known as the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) (Gordon, 1986; Schmitz, 1996, see Figures I-90 and I-91). Because of its capacity to bring deep water closer to the surface, and surface water to depths, the Southern Ocean forms an important pathway in the global transport of heat. Although there is no observational evidence at present, (WG II AR5, 30.3.1, Hoegh-Guldberg, 2014) model studies indicate with a high degree of confidence that the Southern Ocean will become more stratified, weakening the surface-to-bottom connection that is the hallmark of present-day Southern Ocean circulation (WG I AR5 12.7.4.3, Collins et al., 2013). A similar change is anticipated in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas (WG I AR5 12.7.4.3, Collins et al., 2013), another region with this type of vertical connection between ocean levels (Wüst, 1928). These changes will result in fresher, warmer surface ocean waters in the polar and subpolar regions (WGII AR5 30.3.1, Hoegh-Guldberg, 2014; WG I AR5 12.7.4.3, Collins et al., 2013), significantly altering their chemistry and ecosystems. "
"Changing governance structures and geopolitical instability 

Many international treaties and agreements, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter of 1972, the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are aimed at reducing pressures on the marine environment and improving conservation outcomes. Targets set in association with international agreements, such as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Sustainable Development Goals, have led to an increase in the establishment of marine protected areas and an associated increase in the protection of the marine environment. Regional fisheries management organizations provide for the coordination of efforts aimed at managing shared fishery resources (Haas and others, 2020), and in some regions they have provided for the implementation of effective stock rebuilding frameworks following overfishing (Hillary and others, 2016). 

Supporting policies implemented nationally have also improved the management of marine activities in some areas (Evans and others, 2017). However, global inequities, including those associated with wealth, gender, geography, rights and access to resources, can have implications on the effectiveness of policies designed to manage the marine environment (Balvanera and others, 2019). Furthermore, the consolidation and concentration of company ownership has resulted in a few corporations or financiers often controlling large shares of the flows in any market (e.g., Bailey and others, 2018). Corporations have increased potential to negotiate directly with Governments, which could hamper progress towards sustainable outcomes for the marine environment. Where there is conflict over access to resources and property rights, policies and agreements focused on sustainability can be undermined by such conflicts (Suárez-de Vivero and Rodríguez Mateos, 2017). In addition, instability in Governments can result in the slow or ineffectual development of policies and management frameworks, resulting in ongoing or increasing overexploitation of resources. "
" 

Marine hydrates (mainly methane hydrates) exist primarily on continental slopes where there are large quantities of methane gas in the ocean, the pressure is high enough and the temperature is low enough. 

Concern has been expressed about the climatic risks resulting from the sudden release of large amounts of methane from marine hydrates. However, that hypothesis is not widely supported at present and is not mentioned in the recent special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate. 

Areas of gas seepage in the deep sea associated with gas hydrates host a very rich level of biodiversity supported by chemosynthetic bacteria. 

Initial successes have recently been noted by China and Japan in producing methane from marine methane hydrates. 

 "
" 

Increasing pressures on marine environments from multiple sources are resulting in biodiversity loss, habitat damage and fragmentation and disease. 

Effective implementation of ecosystembased management requires an appreciation of how, and to what extent, human activities and natural events interact and affect different ecosystem components and their functioning. It also requires the identification of solutions to prevent and mitigate the pressures being caused by those interactions. 

Over the past two decades, many frameworks for assessing the interactions, known as cumulative effects, have been developed. They have used differing approaches and terminologies and have been applied at differing levels. 

Although approaches vary, cumulative effects assessments (CEAs) conducted to date have mostly involved three main steps: (a)  collation of information on the intensity and footprint of activities that may be affecting marine ecosystems; (b) identification of the responses of ecosystem components; and (c) identification of management measures that could be applied in response. 

Despite their increase in use, assessments focused on particular regions, areas or values that follow the same general steps outlined above are largely lacking from areas outside Europe and North America. 

The geographical bias in the implementation of CEAs highlights clear knowledge and capacity gaps and the need for the development of approaches that: (a) can be implemented in regions where data are sparse; (b) are easily implementable; and (c) produce outputs that can be readily understood and are translatable to decision-making processes, in particular in developing countries. 

 "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Ocean circulation 

The intensified study of the ocean as part of the study of climate change has led to a much clearer understanding of the mechanisms of ocean circulation and its annual and decadal variations. As a result of changes in the heating of different parts of the ocean, patterns of variation in heat distribution across the ocean (such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation) are also changing. Those changes in patterns result in significant changes in weather patterns on land. Water masses are also moving differently in areas over continental shelves, with consequent effects on the distribution of species. There is evidence that the global circulation through the open ocean may also be changing, which might lead, over time, to reductions in the transfer of heat from the equatorial regions to the poles and into the ocean depths. 

Storms and other extreme weather events 

Increasing seawater temperatures provide more energy for storms that develop at sea. The scientific consensus is that this will lead to fewer but more intense tropical cyclones globally. Evidence exists that the observed expansion of the tropics since approximately 1979 is accompanied by a pronounced poleward migration of the latitude at which the maximum intensities of storms occur. This will certainly affect coastal areas that have not been exposed previously to the dangers caused by tropical cyclones. 

Ultraviolet radiation and the ozone layer 

The ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitted by the sun in the UV-B range (280-315 nanometres wavelength) has a wide range of potentially harmful effects, including the inhibition of primary production by phytoplankton and cyanobacteria, changes in the structure and function of plankton communities and alterations of the nitrogen cycle. The ozone layer in the Earth’s stratosphere blocks most UV-B from reaching the ocean’s surface. Consequently, stratospheric ozone depletion since the 1970s has been a concern. International action (under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer) to address that depletion has been taken, and the situation appears to have stabilized, although with some variation from year to year. Given those developments and the variations in the water depths to which UV-B penetrates, a consensus on the magnitude of the ozone-depletion effect on net primary production and nutrient cycling has yet to be reached. There is, however, a potential effect of ultraviolet on nanoparticles.  "
"Distribution of ocean benefits and disbenefits 

Developments in employment and income from fisheries and aquaculture 

The global harvest of marine capture fisheries has expanded rapidly since the early 1950s and is currently estimated to be about 80 million tons a year. That harvest is estimated to have a first (gross) value on the order of 113 billion dollars. Although it is difficult to produce accurate employment statistics, estimates using a fairly narrow definition of employment have put the figure of those employed in fisheries and aquaculture at 58.3 million people (4.4 per cent of the estimated total of economically active people), of which 84 per cent are in Asia and 10 per cent in Africa. Women are estimated to account for more than 15 per cent of people employed in the fishery sector. Other estimates, probably taking into account a wider definition of employment, suggest that capture fisheries provide direct and indirect employment for at least 120 million persons worldwide. 

Small-scale fisheries employ more than 90 per cent of the world’s capture fishermen and fish workers, about half of whom are women. When all dependants of those taking full- or part-time employment in the full value chain and support industries (boatbuilding, gear construction, etc.) of fisheries and aquaculture are included, one estimate concludes that between 660 and 820 million persons have some economic or livelihood dependence on fish capture and culture and the subsequent direct value chain. No sound information appears to be available on the levels of death and injury of those engaged in capture fishing or aquaculture, but capture fishing is commonly characterized as a dangerous occupation. 

Over time, a striking shift has occurred in the operation and location of capture fisheries. In the 1950s, capture fisheries were largely undertaken by developed fishing States. Since then, developing countries have increased their share. As a broad illustration, in the 1950s, the southern hemisphere accounted for no more than 8 per cent of landed values. By the last decade, the southern hemisphere’s share had risen to 20 per cent. In 2012, international trade represented 37 per cent of the total fish production in value, with a total export value of 129 billion dollars, of which 70 billion dollars (58 per cent) was exports by developing countries. 

Aquaculture is responsible for the bulk of the production of seaweeds. Worldwide, reports show that 24.9 million tons was produced in 2012, valued at about 6 billion dollars. In addition, about 1 million tons of wild seaweed were harvested. Few data were found on international trade in seaweeds, but their culture is concentrated in countries where consumption of seaweeds is high. "
" 

The growing scale of human activities and the associated impacts on the marine environment mean that conflicts are increasingly occurring between different uses of the ocean. Marine spatial planning (MSP) is an effective way of resolving such conflicts. 

Over the past two decades, MSP has been instituted to a growing extent in many jurisdictions, in a variety of forms: some are simply zoning plans; others include more complex management systems. 

The legal status of MSP varies between jurisdictions: in some, it is guidance to be taken into account; in others, it has legal force constraining specific management decisions. 

In general, MSP has been most effective where it has been developed with the involvement of all relevant authorities and stakeholders. 

 "
"Higher mortality and less successful reproduction of marine biotas 

Levels of by-catch (non-target fish, marine mammals, reptiles and seabirds), discards and waste 

Current estimates of the number of overfished stocks do not take into account the broader effects of fishing on marine ecosystems and their productivity. In the past, large numbers of dolphins drowned in fishing nets. This mortality greatly reduced the abundance of several dolphin species in the latter half of the twentieth century. Thanks to international efforts, fishing methods have changed and the by-catch has been reduced significantly. Commercial fisheries are the most serious pressure at sea that the world’s seabirds face, although there is evidence of some reductions of by-catch in some key fisheries. Each year, incidental by-catch in longline fisheries is estimated to kill at least 160,000 albatrosses and petrels, mainly in the southern hemisphere. For marine reptiles, a threat assessment scored fishery by-catch as the highest threat across marine turtle subpopulations, followed by harvesting (that is, for human consumption) and coastal development. 

The mitigation of those causes of mortality can be effective, even though the lack of reliable data can hamper the targeting of mitigation measures. Depending on the particular species and fishery methods, mitigation may include the use of acoustic deterrents, gear modifications, time or area closures and gear switching (for example, from gillnets to hooks and lines). In particular, the global moratorium on all large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing called for by the General Assembly in 1991 was a major step in limiting the by-catch of several marine mammal and seabird species that were especially vulnerable to entanglement. "
"Some key alterations are anticipated in the hydrological cycle due to global warming and climate change. Changes that have been identified include shifts in the seasonal distribution and amount of precipitation, an increase in extreme precipitation events, changes in the balance between snow and rain, accelerated melting of glacial ice, and of course sea-level rise. Although a global phenomenon, it is the impact of sea-level rise along the world’s coastlines that has major societal implications. The impacts of these changes are discussed in the next Section. 

Changes in the rates of freshwater exchange between the ocean, atmosphere and continents have additional significant impacts. For example, spatial variations in the distribution of evaporation and precipitation create gradients in salinity and heat that in turn drive ocean circulation; ocean freshening also affects ecosystem structure. These aspects and their impacts are discussed in Sections 3 and 4. 

Another factor potentially contributing to regional changes in the hydrological cycle are changes in ocean surface currents. For example, the warm surface temperatures of the large surface currents flowing at the western boundaries of the ocean basins (the Agulhas, Brazil, East Australian, Gulf Stream, and Kuroshio Currents) provide significant amounts of heat and moisture to the atmosphere, with a profound impact on the regional hydrological cycle (e.g., Rouault et al., 2002). Ocean surface currents like these are forced by atmospheric winds and sensitive to changes in them - stronger winds can mean stronger currents and an intensification of their effects (WGII AR5 30.3.1, HoeghGuldberg, 2014), as well as faster evaporation rates. Shifts in the location of winds can also alter these currents, for example causing the transport of anomalously warm waters (e.g., Rouault, 2009). However, despite a well-documented increase in global wind speeds in the 1990s (Yu, 2007), the overall effect of climate change on winds is complex, and difficult to differentiate observationally from decadal-scale variability, and thus the ultimate effects of these currents on the hydrological cycle are difficult to predict with any high degree of confidence (WGII AR5 30.3.1, Hoegh-Guldberg, 2014). "
"Inputs and resources 

Land and water are the most important resources for aquaculture development. Gentry and others (2017) estimated that 11,400,000 km2 of coastline are suitable for fishes, and more than 1,500,000 km2 could be developed for bivalves. The challenge is to secure suitable land and water resources for the development of aquaculture at the national level. 

Good quality seeds and optimal feeds are essential. Most animal species are cultured with external feeds, and feeding the ever-expanding aquaculture sector has been a concern. In 2016, about 55.6 million tons of farmed fishes (including Indian carps) and crustaceans depended on external feeds (composed of fresh ingredients, farm-made or commercially manufactured) (FAO, 2018b). 

In 2005, aquaculture consumed about 4.2 million tons of fishmeal (18.5  per  cent of total aquafeeds by weight). By 2015, this had been reduced to 3.35 million tons (7 per cent of total aquafeeds by weight). Even with increasing production globally, the use of fishmeal for aquafeeds will decrease further to 3.33 million tons by 2020 (5 per cent of total aquafeeds by weight for that year). Efforts towards making sustainable feeds by replacing fishmeal and fish oils with plant-based feed can have an impact on levels of omega-3 fatty acids and the nutritional value of farmed fishes. The industry can make strategic use of fish oils in fish feed by feeding these essential compounds to farmed fishes at key life stages. Nevertheless, for aquaculture to grow, aquafeed production is expected to continue growing at a similar rate, to 69 million tons by 2020 (Hasan, 2017). Considering past trends and predictions, aquaculture sustainability is more likely to be closely linked with the sustained supply of terrestrial animal and plant proteins, oils and carbohydrate sources for aquafeeds (Troell and others, 2014). The aquaculture sector should therefore strive to ensure sustainable supplies of terrestrial and plant-based feed ingredients, including algae and processing waste, that do not compete directly with use for feeding people directly. "
" 

Drivers that have the greatest influence on the marine environment and its sustainability are: (a) population growth and demographic changes; (b) economic activity; (c)  technological advances; (d) changing governance structures and geopolitical instability; and (e) climate change. 

Relationships between drivers and pressures (and their impacts) are complex and dynamic, with interlinkages between drivers leading to cumulative interactions and effects of pressures. 

Drivers vary regionally as a result of global variability in population distribution and demographics, the degree of economic development, technological capacity and the uneven effects of climate change; therefore human activities and pressures vary globally. The most notable differences are between temperate and tropical regions, and developed and least developed regions. 

Integrated modelling frameworks, within which scenarios can be explored – including changes to people and economies, governance structures and the effects of climate change on maritime industries and the environment that are multisectoral and therefore provide whole-of-system approaches – allow for the identification of sustainable ocean use. 

 "
"Patterns of biodiversity 

Location of biodiversity hotspots and their relationship to the location of high levels of ecosystem services 

Although marine life is found everywhere in the ocean, biodiversity hotspots exist where the number of species and the concentration of biotas are consistently high relative to adjacent areas. Some are subregional, such as the coral triangle in the IndoPacific, the coral reefs in the Caribbean, the cold-water corals in the Mediterranean and the Sargasso Sea. Some are more local and associated with specific physical conditions, such as biodiversity-rich habitat types. Key drivers of biodiversity are complex threedimensional physical structures that create a diversity of physical habitats (associated with rocky sea floors), dynamic oceanographic conditions causing higher bottom-up productivity, effects of land-based inputs extending far out to sea (such as the inputs from the River Amazon) and special vegetation features creating unique and productive habitats near the shore. Those complex habitats, however, are often highly vulnerable to disturbance. 

The high relative and absolute biodiversity of those hotspots often directly supports the extractive benefits of fishing and other harvests, providing a direct link between biodiversity and the provision of services by the ocean. The areas supporting high relative and absolute levels of biodiversity not only harbour unique species adapted to their special features, but also often serve as centres for essential life-history stages of species with wider distributions. For example, essentially all the biodiversity hotspots that have been identified have also been found to harbour juvenile fish, which are important for fisheries in adjacent areas. 

Hotspots for primary productivity are necessarily also hotspots for production of oxygen as a direct result of photosynthesis. Furthermore, underlying the high biodiversity is often a high structural complexity of the habitats that support it. That structure often contributes other services, such as coastal protection and regeneration. In addition, it is the concentrated presence of iconic species in an area which adds to aesthetic services (supporting tourism and recreation) and spiritual and cultural services. "
"

The mobilization of existing data and the development of tools and open, global repositories provide a global picture of the diversity of marine fishes, with 17,762 known species, including 238 species described since the first World Ocean Assessment (United Nations, 2017e).

While knowledge of the biodiversity of marine fishes exceeds that of many other marine taxa, further improvements will be necessary not only in taxonomic and biosystematic infrastructure but also in the exploration and characterization of the oceans to achieve a complete inventory.

More than half of the known marine fish species have had their conservation status assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and approximately a third of those assessments having been conducted since the first Assessment.

Of the fish species with conservation assessments, around 6 per cent of bony fishes, nearly 50 per cent of elasmobranchs, 10 per cent of chimaeras and both species of coelacanths are threatened or near threatened with extinction.

Capacity for documenting and understanding marine fish diversity continues to grow, but significant gaps remain for certain ecosystem groups (e.g., mesopelagic fishes) and in predicting responses to multiple simultaneous external stressors.

"
"The starting point is the four main ocean basins of our planet: the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Even though they have different names, they form one single interconnected ocean system. The basins have been created over geological times by the movement of the tectonic plates across the Earth’s mantle. The tectonic plates have differing forms at their edges, giving broad or narrow continental shelves and varying profiles to the continental slopes leading down to the continental rises and the abyssal plains. Geomorphic activity in the abyssal plains between the continents gives rise to abyssal ridges, volcanic islands, seamounts, guyots (plateau-like seamounts), rift-valley segments and trenches. Erosion and sedimentation (either submarine or riverine, when the sea level was lower during the ice ages) have created submarine canyons, glacial troughs, sills, fans and escarpments. Around the ocean basins, there are marginal seas, more or less separated from the main ocean basins by islands, archipelagos or peninsulas, or bounded by submarine ridges and formed by various processes. 

The water of the ocean mixes and circulates within those geological structures. Although the proportion of the different chemical components dissolved in seawater is essentially constant over time, that water is not uniform: there are very important physical and chemical variations within the seawater. Salinity varies according to the relative balance between inputs of freshwater and evaporation. Differences in salinity and temperature of water masses can cause seawater to be stratified into separate layers. Such stratification can lead to variations in the distribution of both oxygen and nutrients, with an obvious variety of consequences in both cases for the biotas sensitive to those factors. A further variation is in the penetration of light, which controls where the photosynthesis on which nearly all ocean life depends can take place. Below a few tens of metres at the coastal level or a few hundred meters in the clearer open ocean, the ocean becomes dark and there is no photosynthesis. 

Superimposed on all this is a change in the acidity of the ocean. The ocean absorbs annually about 26 per cent of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. That gas reacts with the seawater to form carbonic acid, which is making the ocean more acid. "
" 

The main anthropogenic noise sources in the ocean include vessels, industrial activity, including seismic exploration and renewable energy development, and sonar. 

Anthropogenic noise levels vary across space and time, the primary drivers being levels of human activity and propagation characteristics in the region. Noise does not persist once the sound source has been removed from the environment, although impacts can potentially persist.  

Areas with the highest levels of anthropogenic noise are those characterized by heavy industrial use, such as the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. 

Areas where anthropogenic noise is expected to increase include the Arctic, as the area opens up to shipping, and Africa, as investment in the region expands. 

Understanding of the impacts of anthropogenic noise on marine biodiversity is increasing, in parallel with a growing recognition of the need to monitor and possibly reduce the noise entering the marine environment. 

 "
"Enjoyment of marine wildlife 

Diving 

Snorkelling and scuba diving continue to be a significant element in marine tourism, focused on enabling tourists to enjoy underwater wildlife. The substantial growth (about 25  per  cent) in the levels of the activity recorded in the period from 2000 to 2013 and reported in the first Assessment has now slowed down but still continues. Based on the statistics of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, between 2013 and 2019, there was about 6 per cent growth in the number of establishments offering diving training (about 6,600 in 2019), about 1 per cent growth in the number of individual trainers (about 137,000 in 2019) and about an 11  per  cent increase in the number of people trained annually (about 1 million in 2019) (Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), 2019). 

The main interest in diving lies in areas endowed with coral reefs – the corals and other reef biota are spectacular and attract large numbers of tourists who want to see them. In some areas, as recorded in the first Assessment, studies suggest that it is possible to manage coral reef tourism (e.g., by limiting the number of divers in an area, specifying divers’ behaviour and generally increasing divers’ awareness of the problems) compatibly with sustaining the condition and health of the reef. In other areas, however, studies continue to suggest that the interaction of divers with coral is damaging the reefs. A recent study of the coral reefs around the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean part of the Netherlands showed that diving is at levels probably at least twice those considered to be the upper limit beyond which damage is likely to occur (see Hawkins and Roberts, 1997), and that damage, albeit largely unintentional, is occurring but could be controlled by better management measures (Jadot and others, 2016). 

As part of the decommissioning of offshore installations, significant numbers of disused installations are being used to create artificial reefs. In the Gulf of Mexico alone, 532 installations had, by 2018, been used as artificial reefs (Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement of the United States (BSEE), 2020). In 2016, it was estimated that some 600 offshore installations would be decommissioned between 2017 and 2021. Not all of them were intended as places for divers to explore, but a substantial proportion are being used in that way (Van Elden and others, 2019). 

A new area of interest for scuba diving is emerging in the form of diving over muddy substrates, known as “muck diving”, which focuses on finding rare, cryptic species that are seldom seen on coral reefs. A recent study investigated the value of “muck diving”, its participant and employee demographics and potential threats to the industry. Results indicate that “muck diving” tourism is worth more than $150 million annually in Indonesia and the Philippines combined. It employs over 2,200 people and attracts more than 100,000 divers per year (De Brauwer and others, 2017). "
"Consumption and competition  

The recovery of several marine mammal populations is generating the potential for conflicts in some regions and opportunities in others. Marine mammals can learn to associate fishing activities with food availability, leading to the development of behaviours to depredate catches from fishing vessels (Tixier and others, 2019) and the creation of conflict with aquaculture operations (Guerra, 2019). 

After an increase in minke whale catches and a resumption of commercial fin whaling prior to the first Assessment, North Atlantic commercial catches of minke whales have decreased and stabilized, and the commercial catch of fin whales was suspended in 2019 and 2020 (small numbers have been taken since the first Assessment as part of regulated subsistence catches). Over the same period, catches of pinnipeds and other cetaceans in the northern hemisphere have remained relatively stable overall (North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO), 2019; International Whaling Commission (IWC), 2019). Catches of baleen whales in the western North Pacific have remained broadly stable since the first Assessment (IWC, 2019, catches taken under special permits) and catches in Antarctic waters were suspended in 2019 (IWC, 2019). Regulated subsistence hunting of marine mammals remains stable (NAMMCO, 2019; IWC, 2019). Two intergovernmental organizations continue to provide a forum for discussions on and the assessment and management of catches of marine mammals: IWC, established in 1946, and NAMMCO, established in 1992. 

By-caught marine mammals can complement fishery catches for human consumption. This practice can be further complemented by hunting or the use of stranded animals in some countries (Robards and Reeves, 2011). Marine mammals used in such a way has been termed “aquatic wild meat” or “marine bushmeat”, the latter as an analogy with terrestrial bushmeat used to support food security in deprived regions (Cosentino and Fisher, 2016; Clapham and Van Waerebeek, 2007). The catch and consumption of coastal species in lower latitudes are likely to have increased (Robards and Reeves, 2011), in particular in South-East Asia and West Africa (Porter and Lai, 2017; Liu and others, 2019; Mintzer and others, 2018; Van Waerebeek and others, 2017), where the sustainability of such practices is often unknown. As habitat change associated with climate change redistributes species and has a potential impact on population abundances (Moore and Reeves, 2018), communities relying on the harvesting of marine mammals for food are also likely to be affected, resulting in future food security challenges (Brinkman and others, 2016). 

Marine mammals remain culturally significant, with objects created from body parts and as part of the imagery of coastal traditions and cultures. This cultural heritage is key to community cohesion and identity and includes unique elements, such as cooperative fishing between people and dolphins in Brazil (Daura-Jorge and others, 2012). 
 "
"Distribution of ocean benefits and disbenefits 

Developments in fish and seafood consumption 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that total fish consumption, including all aquaculture and inland and marine capture fisheries, has been rising from 9.9 kg per capita in the 1960s to 19.2 kg per capita in 2012 — an average increase of 3.2 per cent a year over half a century. The distribution of consumption per capita varies considerably, from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (9.7 kg) to Asia (21.6 kg), North America (21.8), Europe (22.0 kg) and Oceania (25.4 kg). Marine capture fisheries represent 51 per cent and marine aquaculture 13 per cent of the total production of fish (154 million tons), of which 85 per cent is used for food. 

The annual consumption of fishery products per capita has grown steadily in developing regions (from 5.2 kg in 1961 to 17.0 kg in 2009) and low-income food-deficit countries (from 4.9 kg in 1961 to 10.1 kg in 2009). This is still considerably lower than in more developed regions, even though the gap is narrowing. A sizeable share of fish consumed in developed countries consists of imports and, owing to steady demand and declining domestic fishery production (down 22 per cent in the period 1992-2012), their dependence on imports, in particular from developing countries, is projected to grow. 

FAO estimates indicate that small-scale fisheries contribute about half of global fish catches. When considering catches destined for direct human consumption, the share contributed by the subsector increases, as small-scale fisheries generally make broader direct and indirect contributions to food security (through affordable fish) and employment for populations in developing countries. As well as direct consumption, many small-scale fishermen sell or barter their catch. It is doubtful that much of that trade is covered by official statistics. However, studies have shown that selling or trading even a portion of their catch represents as much as one third of the total income of subsistence fishermen in some low-income countries. Thus an increase in imports of fish by more developed countries from less developed countries has the potential to increase inequities in food security and nutrition, unless those considerations are taken into account in global trade arrangements. "
"Changes in pressure 

Economics and population growth commonly drive human occupation of the coastal zone, which is offset by the socioeconomic costs of coastal management and adverse effects upon coastal ecosystem services. The balance between those pressures is commonly challenged by jurisdictional or economic divisions, with benefits and impacts often separated geographically (e.g., updrift accretion and downdrift erosion affect different communities) or occurring over different time scales (e.g., building a sea wall may defer the erosion pressure by a generation, but may effectively commit a community to subsequent construction of additional or larger works). 

Secular changes to erosion and sedimentation may exceed the tolerance of coastal systems to adjust. For natural systems, such changes can lead to a loss of ecosystem services (Xu and others, 2019). Human activities may be intolerant of coastal dynamics, such as infrastructure that may be damaged or lose function owing to changing shoreline or seabed position. The perceived need to respond to erosion or sedimentation generally depends on the nature of human activities in the coastal zone, as follows: 

 

Port facilities, including harbour basins and navigable access channels, typically extend across the bulk of the active coastal zone, and the retention of port functions frequently requires coastal sediment management using breakwaters and dredging (see also chap. 14); 

Substantial urban growth has occurred along the coasts since the 1950s, with the number of coastal cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants increasing from 472 in 1950 to 2,129 in 2012 (Barragán and Andrés, 2015; see also chap. 14); 

Coastal management responses vary substantially, depending upon economics, legislation and social values, and are broadly classified into strategies of protection, accommodation, managed retreat and sacrifice (Williams and others, 2018); 

Rural sensitivity to erosion and sedimentation is typically determined by the impacts to the drainage and flood mitigation structures (Hou and others, 2016); as they are commonly located in the supratidal zone, their sensitivity to coastal change is not always apparent. 

 "
"The major growth in aquatic production is expected to come from aquaculture and is projected to reach 109 million tons in 2030, an increase of 37 per cent over 2016 levels. However, it is estimated that the annual growth rate of aquaculture will slow from 5.7  per  cent in the period from 2003 to 2016 to 2.1 per cent in the period from 2017 to 2030, mainly because of a reduced rate of growth in Chinese production, offset in part by an increase in production in other countries (FAO, 2018a). The share of farmed aquatic animal species in global fishery production (for food and non-food uses), which was 47  per  cent in 2016, is projected to exceed that of wild species in 2020 and to grow to 54 per cent by 2030. 

Over 87 per cent of the increase in aquaculture production in 2030 will come from Asian countries. Asia will continue to dominate world aquaculture production, contributing 89 per cent of total production in 2030. China will remain the world’s leading producer, but its share of total production will decrease from 62 per cent in 2016 to 59 per cent in 2030. Production is projected to continue to expand on all continents, with variations in the range of species and products across countries and regions (World Bank, 2013). 

Millions of people engaged in fisheries and aquaculture are struggling to maintain reasonable livelihoods. These are the people who are most vulnerable to certain climate change impacts, such as extreme weather conditions, storms, floods and rising sea levels, and particular attention needs to be paid to them when designing adaptation measures if the sector is to continue to contribute to meeting the global goals of poverty reduction and food security (FAO, 2018a). "
" 

nputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to coastal ecosystems through river runoff and atmospheric deposition increased rapidly during the twentieth century owing to anthropogenic inputs derived primarily from the use of synthetic fertilizer, combustion of fossil fuels, cultivation of legumes (N2-fixation), production of manure by livestock and municipal wastes. 

Increases in anthropogenic nutrient inputs have fuelled a global increase in cultural eutrophication of the coastal ocean and now exceed inputs owing to natural processes. 

Ecological responses to the process of cultural eutrophication include increases in the severity and extent of coastal hypoxia, acidification and toxic algal events. Thus, cultural eutrophication is a serious threat to the health of coastal ecosystems and their capacity to provide services that are valued by society. 

It is projected that anthropogenic N and P production will increase by nearly a factor of two during the first half of the twenty-first century. 

Reducing anthropogenic inputs of N and P to the coastal ocean to minimize the extent and risk of coastal eutrophication during the course of the twenty-first century should be an international priority. 

 "
"Integrated management of human activities affecting the ocean 

When various conclusions in parts III to VI of the present Assessment are linked together, they clearly show that a similar broadening of the context of management decisions will produce similar benefits in and among other sectors of human activities that affect the ocean. Examples of such interactions of pressures on the environment include: 

 

 The lack of adequate sewage treatment in many large coastal conurbations, especially in developing countries, and other excessive inputs of nutrients (especially nitrogen) are producing direct adverse impacts on human health through microbial diseases as well as eutrophication problems. In many cases, they are creating harmful algal blooms, which are not only disrupting ecosystems, but also, as a consequence, damaging fisheries, especially small-scale fisheries and the related livelihoods and, in some cases, poisoning humans through algal toxins; 

 Plastic marine debris results from the poor management of waste streams on land and at sea. There is a clear impact of such debris in its original form on megafauna (fish caught in “ghost” nets, seabirds with plastic bags around their necks, etc.) and on the aesthetic appearance of coasts (with potential impacts on tourism). Less obviously, impacts on zooplankton and filter-feeding species have also been demonstrated from the nanoparticles into which those plastics break down, with potentially serious effects all the way up the food web. Likewise, nanoparticles from titanium dioxide (the base of white pigments found in many waste streams) have been shown to react with the ultraviolet component of sunlight and to kill phytoplankton; 

 Although much is being done to reduce pollution from ships, there is scope for more attention to the routes that ships choose and the effects of those routes in terms of noise, chronic oil pollution and operational discharges; 

 The cumulative effects of excessive nutrient inputs from sewage and agriculture and the removal of herbivorous fish by overfishing can lead to excessive algal growth on coral reefs. Where coral reefs are a tourist attraction, such damage can undermine the tourist business; 

 The ocean is acidifying rapidly and at an unprecedented rate in the Earth’s history. The impact of ocean acidification on marine species and food webs will affect major economic interests and could increasingly put food security at risk, particularly in regions especially dependent on seafood protein. "
"Looking in more detail at the services that the ocean provides, we can break them down into three main categories. First, there are the economic activities in providing goods and services which are often marketed (fisheries, shipping, communications, tourism and recreation, and so on). Secondly, there are the other tangible ecosystem services which are not part of a market, but which are vital to human life. For example, marine plants (mainly tiny floating diatoms) produce about 50 per cent of atmospheric oxygen. Mangroves, salt marshes and sea grasses are also natural carbon sinks. Coastal habitats, including coral reefs, protect homes, communities and businesses from storm surges and wave attack. Thirdly, there are the intangible ecosystem services. We know that the ocean means far more to us than just merely the functional or practical services that it provides. Humans value the ocean in many other ways: for aesthetic, cultural or religious reasons, and for just being there in all its diversity – giving us a “sense of place” (Halpern et al., 2012). Not surprisingly, given the resources that the ocean provides, human settlements have grown up very much near the shore: 38 per cent of the world’s population live within 100 km of the shore, 44 per cent within 150 km, 50 per cent within 200 km, and 67 per cent within 400 km (Small et al 2004). 

All these marine ecosystem services have substantial economic value. While there is much debate about valuation methods (and whether some ecosystem services can be valued) and about exact figures, attempts to estimate the value of marine ecosystem services have found such values to be on the order of trillions of US dollars annually (Costanza, et al., 1997). Nearly three-quarters of this value resides in coastal zones (Martínez, et al., 2007). The point is not so much the monetary figure that can be estimated for non-marketed ecosystem services, but rather the fact that people do not need to pay anything for them – these services are nature’s gift to humanity. But we take these services for granted at our peril, because the cost of replacing them, if it were possible to do so, would be immense and in many cases, incalculable. "
" 

Since the first World Ocean Assessment (United Nations, 2017), the global conservation status of seabirds has worsened, continuing a long-term trend. 

Thirty-one per cent of species are now threatened with extinction, up from 28 per cent in 2010. 

Pressures related to fishing (by-catch and prey depletion) are now affecting more species, while pollution is affecting fewer species (although marine debris, especially plastics, is an emerging threat with poorly understood consequences). 

Invasive alien species and climate change also remain major causes of seabird decline and affect a number of species similar to that in 2010. 

Current capacity and resources limit the ability to assess consequences at the population level and the implications for ecosystem services of existing and emerging threats. 

  "
"human health risk (Chang and others, 2020; Galloway and others, 2017; Mossman and others, 2007; Numan and others, 2015; Sforzini and others, 2020; Smith and others, 2018; Stapleton, 2019; Stern and others, 2012; Vethaak and Leslie, 2016; Von Moos and others, 2012). Combustion nanoparticles are taken up into cells by endocytosis and accumulate in lysosomes, where overloading of the lysosomes results in membrane permeabilization, with resultant release of intralysosomal iron that causes oxidative cell injury leading to oxidative stress, with subsequent tissue and organ damage (Moore, 2020; Numan and others, 2015; Stern and others, 2012; Sforzini and others, 2020; Von Moos and others, 2012). There are now concerns that other nanoparticles including nano- and microplastics, may behave in a similar way (Boverhof and others, 2015; Von Moos and others, 2012). 

Shellfish are the major vector of illnesses caused by pathogens discharged to the sea. Oysters, for example, can concentrate such pathogens up to 99 times the level in their surrounding water (Burkhardt and Calci, 2000; Morris and Acheson, 2003; Motes and others, 1994; Vezzulli and others, 2016). The most common viral pathogens involved were norovirus (83.7 per cent) and the hepatitis A virus (12.8  per  cent) (Bellou and others, 2013). No global database exists on outbreaks of illness of that kind. However, a survey of outbreaks reported between 1980 and 2012 found records of about 368  shellfish-borne viral outbreaks. The majority were located in East Asia, with more than half in Japan, followed by Europe, the Americas, Oceania and Africa. In addition to sewage-borne pathogens, toxins (e.g., yessotoxins, brevetoxins and ciguatoxins) can be produced by toxic algae (e.g., dinoflagellates), often at relatively low concentrations (e.g., 200 cells/l of Alexandrium spp.) and not necessarily restricted to algal blooms (see chap. 10 for causes of such blooms; and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention databases). Algal toxins can enter the food web and are often present in shellfish and fish where they can cause illness as a result of their consumption as human food. The health impacts of algal toxins are not limited to illnesses and deaths caused by poisoning, but also include health impacts from the loss of shellfish and other fisheries that have to be closed to protect people from poisoning, and the disruption of ecosystems caused by deaths of fish and top predators that ingest the algae or the toxins that they produce. Many toxic algal bloom events are reported annually, from all parts of the world, and the number is growing. The increased numbers are, in part, attributable to improved observation and recording, but there is reliable evidence demonstrating a real increase in the incidence of such problem blooms as a result of the interaction of many factors, including rising sea temperatures, increased inputs of nutrients to the ocean, the transfer of non-indigenous species by shipping, and changes in the balance of nutrients in the sea (Hinder and others, 2012). Health warning systems could be implemented in higher risk areas by involving not only the public health authorities, but also community planners, utility managers and designers. 

Effective monitoring and management programmes are, however, in place in some “at-risk” regions to prevent such toxins from being found in commercial seafood (Anderson, 2009; Anderson and others, 2001; see chap. 10). Such programmes are based on rigorous research on method development and validation, as well as the understanding of temporal and spatial patterns of toxic algae and knowledge of their transfer to humans. 

Toxic algal blooms are complex phenomena, and many different disciplines need to be involved in finding a way to address the problems they cause, ranging from molecular and cell biology to large-scale field surveys, numerical modelling and remote sensing (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO-IOC), 2017). Other biogenic toxins of health concern, which are not produced by algal blooms, include cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria, tetrodotoxins produced by symbiotic bacteria, which are used by metazoans as a defensive biotoxin to ward off predation or as both a defensive and predatory venom, and palytoxins, which are intense vasoconstrictors that pose risks to humans primarily through exposure to coral (Bane and others, 2014; Ramos and Vasconcelos, 2010; Zanchett and Oliveira-Filho, 2013). Humans who consume shellfish contaminated with brevetoxins, which are produced by some species of plankton, are at high risk of developing neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. There are also reports of skin ailments resulting from contact with brevetoxin-contaminated water and of respiratory illness from brevetoxin aerosols, in particular in vulnerable people with asthma (Hoagland and others, 2009). Shellfish metabolites of brevetoxin can also show different patterns of toxicity (Turner and others, 2015). Tetrodotoxins, produced by some species of bacteria, and ciguatoxins, produced by some species of plankton, can accumulate in fish and other seafood and are poisonous when consumed. Those types of biogenic toxins were previously associated with tropical waters but are now being found in temperate zones (Rodriguez and others, 2008; Silva and others, 2015a, 2015b). The social costs of all those illnesses can be huge, and the estimated costs related to illnesses from toxic algal blooms in just one single county in Florida, United States, amounted to between $0.5 million and $4.0 million (Hoagland and others, 2009). "
"Distribution of ocean benefits and disbenefits 

Developments in maritime transport 

All sectors of maritime transport (cargo trades, passenger and vehicle ferries and cruise ships) are growing in line with the world economy. It is not possible to estimate the earnings from those activities, as the structure of the companies owning many of the ships involved is opaque. It seems likely that many of the major cargo-carrying operators were making a loss in 2012, as a result of overcapacity resulting from the general economic recession. On the other hand, cruise operators reported profits. According to estimates by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, owners from five countries (China, Germany, Greece, Japan and the Republic of Korea) together accounted for 53 per cent of the world tonnage in 2013. It seems likely that profits and losses are broadly proportional to ownership. Among the top 35 ship-owning countries and territories, 17 are in Asia, 14 in Europe and 4 in the Americas. 

Worldwide, there are just over 1.25 million seafarers, only about 2 per cent of whom are women, mainly in the ferry and cruise-ship sectors. The crews are predominantly from countries members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and Eastern Europe (49 per cent of the officers and 34 per cent of the ratings) and from Eastern and Southern Asia (43 per cent of the officers and 51 per cent of the ratings). Africa and Latin America are noticeably underrepresented, providing only 8 per cent of the officers and 15 per cent of the ratings. Pay levels of officers differ noticeably according to their origin, with masters and chief officers from Western Europe receiving on average a fifth or a quarter, respectively, more than those from Eastern Europe or Asia, while pay levels for engineer officers are more in line with one another. The recent entry into force of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 should be noted in the context of the social conditions of seafarers. "
"Distribution of ocean benefits and disbenefits 

Developments in tourism 

Tourism has generally been increasing fairly steadily for the past 40 years (with occasional setbacks or slowing down during global recessions). In 2012, international tourism expenditure exceeded 1 billion dollars for the first time. Total expenditure on tourism, domestic as well as international, is several times that amount. The direct turnover of tourism contributed 2.9 per cent of gross world product in 2013, rising to 8.9 per cent when the multiplier effect on the rest of the economy is taken into account. The Middle East is the region where tourism plays the smallest part in the economy (6.4 per cent of GDP, including the multiplier effect), and the Caribbean is the region where it plays the largest part (13.9 per cent of GDP, including the multiplier effect). 

Most reports of tourism revenues do not differentiate revenues from tourism directly related to the sea and the coast from other types of tourism. Even where tourism in the coastal zone can be separated from tourism inland, it may be generated by the attractions of the sea and coast or its maritime history, as it may be based on other attractions not linked to the marine environment. Consequently, the value of ocean-related tourism is a matter of inference. However, coastal tourism is a major component of tourism everywhere. In small island and coastal States, coastal tourism is usually predominant because it can only take place in the coastal zone in those countries. Particularly noteworthy is the way in which international tourism is increasing in Asia and the Pacific, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of world tourism. This implies that pressures from tourism are becoming of significantly more concern in those regions. 

Tourism is also a significant component of employment. Globally, it is estimated that, in 2013, tourism provided 3.3 per cent of employment, when looking at the number of people directly employed in the tourism industry, and 8.9 per cent when the multiplier effect is taken into account. In the different regions, the proportion of employment supported by tourism is approximately the same as the share of GDP contributed by tourism, although, again, what proportion is based on the attractions of the sea and coast is not well known. "
"Cumulative impacts of human activities on marine biodiversity 

Ecosystems and habitats identified for special attention 

Considering specific types of important marine and coastal habitats, estuaries and deltas are categorized globally as in poor overall condition, based on published assessments of them for 101 regions. In 66 per cent of cases, their condition has worsened in recent years. There are around 4,500 large estuaries and deltas worldwide, of which about 10 per cent benefit from some level of environmental protection. About 0.4 per cent is protected as strict nature reserves or wilderness areas (categories Ia and Ib of the categories of protected areas as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature). 

Mangroves are being lost at the mean global rate of 1-2 per cent a year, although losses can be as high as 8 per cent a year in some countries. While the primary threat to mangroves is overexploitation of resources and the conversion of mangrove areas to other land uses, climate-change-induced sea-level rise is now identified as a global threat to them, especially in areas of growing human settlements and coastal development. "
"A new digital, global seafloor geomorphic features map has been built (especially to assist the World Ocean Assessment) using a combination of manual and ArcGIS methods based on the analysis and interpretation of the latest global bathymetry grid (Harris et al., 2014; Figure 1). The new map includes global spatial data layers for 29 categories of geomorphic features, defined by the International Hydrographic Organization and other authoritative sources. 

The new map shows the way in which the ocean consists of four main basins (the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean) between the tectonic plates that form the continents. The tectonic plates have differing forms at their edges, giving broad or narrow continental shelves and varying profiles of the continental rises and continental slopes leading from the abyssal plain to the continental shelf. Geomorphic activity in the abyssal plains between the continents gives rise to abyssal ridges, volcanic islands, seamounts, guyots (plateau-like seamounts), rift valley segments and trenches. Erosion and sedimentation (either submarine or riverine when the sea level was lower during the ice ages) has created submarine canyons, glacial troughs, sills, fans and escarpments. Around the ocean basins there are marginal seas, partially separated by islands, archipelagos or peninsulas, or bounded by submarine ridges. These marginal seas have sometimes been formed in many ways: for example, some result from the interaction between tectonic plates (for example the Mediterranean), others from the sinking of former dry land as a result of isostatic changes from the removal of the weight of the ice cover in the ice ages (for example, the North Sea)."
"Positive outlooks for fish biodiversity come from the evidence that individual fish populations respond positively to effective fisheries management (Hilborn and others, 2020) and that fish diversity and biomass increase within effective marine protected areas (Sala and Giakoumi, 2017). However, the global extinction of the smooth handfish Sympterichthys unipennis (Last and others, 2020) is a reminder that fish biodiversity continues to face significant threats as well. Both positive and negative outcomes are known because fishes continue to be among the most systematically studied and monitored components of marine ecosystems, mostly because of their economic value. Nonetheless, considerable fish diversity remains to be discovered: expert estimates indicate that at least another 700 fish species (approximately a 50 per cent increase over the number of currently known species) are yet to be described from the New Zealand exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf alone (Gordon and others, 2010; Roberts and others, 2019). Further increase in capacity in taxonomy and biosystematics (Taxonomy Decadal Plan Working Group, 2018) and the integration of data from existing biodiversity collections (Nelson and others, 2015) and other sources (Edgar and others, 2016) would pave the way for more comprehensive, synthetic analyses of fish biodiversity over the near to medium term. In addition to improving our understanding of fish biodiversity, improved estimates of fish biomass are needed for some ocean zones, such as the pelagic zone. While it is estimated that mesopelagic fishes dominate global fish biomass, estimates of their biomass span several orders of magnitude and, therefore, the exact contribution that this group makes to global patterns remains poorly understood (Irigoien and others, 2014; Hidalgo and Browman, 2019). In addition, while there are no current estimates of species richness or biomass of bathypelagic fishes, which reside in the world’s largest environment (in terms of volume), it is highly likely that those fishes constitute a large portion of global fish biomass (Sutton and others, 2017). Since the first Assessment, the disposal of deep-sea mining water after ore removal has emerged as a significant threat to bathypelagic fishes (Drazen and others, 2019). Key knowledge and capacity gaps in fish biodiversity are summarized in table 5 "
" 

Marine genetic resources continue to be the focus of an expanding range of commercial and non-commercial applications. 

Rapidly decreasing sequencing and gene synthesis costs and swift advances in the metabolic engineering and synthetic biology fields within the biotechnology sector have rendered scientists less reliant on physical samples and increasingly dependent on the exponentially expanding public databases of genetic sequence data. 

Sponges and algae continue to attract substantial interest for the bioactive properties of their natural compounds. 

Within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, capacity-building issues persist, with entities in a handful of countries conducting the majority of research and development associated with marine genetic resources. 

International processes and agreements with relevance to marine genetic resources include the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the intergovernmental conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. 

 "
"Theme E 

Increased use of ocean space, especially in coastal areas, create conflicting demands for dedicated marine space. This arises both from the expansion of long-standing uses of the ocean (such as fishing and shipping) and from newly developing uses (such as hydrocarbon extraction, mining and the generation of renewable energy conducted offshore). In most cases, those various activities are increasing without any clear overarching management system or a thorough evaluation of their cumulative impacts on the ocean environment, thus increasing the potential for conflicting and cumulative pressures. 

Theme F 

The current, and growing, levels of population and industrial and agricultural production result in increasing inputs of harmful material and excess nutrients into the ocean. Growing concentrations of population can impose, and in many areas are imposing, levels of sewage discharge that are beyond the local carrying capacity and which cause harm to human health. Even if discharges of industrial effluents and emissions were restrained to the lowest levels in proportion to production that are currently practicable, continuing growth in production would result in increased inputs to the ocean. The growing use of plastics that degrade very slowly result in increased quantities reaching the ocean and have many adverse effects, including the creation of large quantities of marine debris in the ocean, and negative impacts on marine life and on the aesthetic aspects of many ocean areas, and thus consequent socioeconomic effects. "
"Offshore hydrocarbon technologies for survey and exploration 

Oil and gas survey and exploration techniques locate hydrocarbon resources accumulated under impermeable rock formations. An initial assessment using seismic surveys evaluates the location of hydrocarbon-rich geologic plays (a group of oil- and gas-bearing rocks) that share a common history of hydrocarbon generation, migration and entrapment (Maloney, 2018; Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 2017). This sets the stage for geological and geophysical surveys to obtain refined data on resource-bearing geological formations. Such surveys also provide an assessment of marine mineral, archaeological and benthic resources and any artificial structures buried and abandoned on the ocean floor. 

Offshore seismic surveys use specialized vessels equipped with a combination of air guns and other acoustic sources. The equipment also includes hydrophones attached to a set of cables (streamers) towed behind the vessel. The acoustic sources produce a seismic pulse projected toward the ocean floor that reflects off the boundaries between various layers of rock. The reflected pulse is then recorded by the hydrophones and collected for analysis. 

Recent advances in supercomputing and full waveform inversion technology are transforming resource estimation. Full waveform inversion, a new kind of processing technique applied to existing seismic data using supercomputers, creates a model of the subsurface rock layers in rich detail (Stratas Advisors, 2019). Similarly, advances in four-dimensional seismic technology, coupled with superior computing power, now provide new insights into hydrocarbon reservoir characteristics, thus offering greater certainty to prospective resource developers. "
"The global biomass of marine fishes is approximately four times the total biomass of all birds and mammals (Bar-On and others, 2018), and fishes constitute an important part of marine biodiversity. Approximately 70 per cent of the marine fish biomass is comprised of mesopelagic fishes, although with wide estimate ranges, found in depths of 200–1,000 m (Irigoien and others, 2014, Hidalgo and Browman, 2019). Fishes occur throughout the world’s oceans and in a wide range of depths. For example, the fish seen alive at the greatest depth is the snailfish Pseudoliparis swirei, formally described in 2017 and found in depths greater than 8,000 m in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean (Linley and others, 2016, Gerringer and others, 2017). Fishes play a key role in marine food webs as both predators and prey, often moving through food webs over the course of their lifetimes, such as from planktonic larvae into predatory adults. 

Fish biodiversity varies between habitats. Habitat affiliations in the Fishbase biodiversity information system for 17,246 species (97  per  cent of all known species) show that most bony fishes are demersal or reef-associated, while most species of sharks and rays, chimaeras and coelacanths are demersal or bathydemersal (see table 1). Fish biodiversity is changing, and fishes are sensitive to environmental changes caused by multiple external pressures (Comte and Olden, 2017) and to exploitation by fisheries (see chap.  15), which has important implications for human well-being (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2018). The first Assessment included chapters on the conservation challenges faced by the 1,088 species of sharks and other elasmobranchs (United Nations, 2017c) and the 25 species of tunas and billfishes (United Nations, 2017d). In addition, overall synthesis chapters revealed that fishes were among the best-known marine groups (United Nations, 2017a, b), with clear latitudinal and depth gradients in diversity. The mechanisms driving fish diversity are complex and include ecosystem stability and age, niche partitioning and predator-mediated dampening of dominance (Rabosky and others, 2018). 

Overexploitation and habitat loss and degradation were recently identified as major threats to marine fish biodiversity, and while the impacts of climate change have become more apparent, pollution was not considered a significant threat (Arthington and others, 2016). Subsequently, evidence has emerged that scientific assessment and effective fisheries management can reverse the effects of overexploitation, leading to increases in abundance on average for well-managed stocks constituting half of the reported global fish catch, although overexploitation remains a significant threat in regions with less-developed fisheries management (Hilborn and others, 2020). The impacts of climate change and thermal stress on marine fishes, in particular coral reef fish communities, have become more severe (Robinson and others, 2019), while novel threats, for instance microplastic pollution, are now also attracting increased research interest, even though considerable uncertainty remains about their population-level effects (Villarrubia-Gómez and others, 2018). "
"Pressures from changes in ocean chemistry 

As the oxygen content of water declines, an increasing fraction of production is diverted to microbes (Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008; Wright and others, 2012). Food webs change because of altered encounter rates and the species-specific effects of low oxygen on the feeding efficiencies of predators and escape behaviours of prey. Energy transfer to tolerant animals, such as gelatinous species, can increase (Keister and Tuttle, 2013). The roles of vision (McCormick and Levin, 2017) and carnivory (Sperling and others, 2016) can decline within low oxygen areas because those activities are energy intensive. In contrast, predation can intensify above low oxygen zones as visual feeders are forced into shallower waters with higher light levels (Koslow and others, 2011). 

Declining ocean oxygen is expected to negatively affect a wide range of biological and ecological processes. The magnitude of the effects will vary among species and processes, however, and whether the magnitude of responses will be directly proportional to the magnitude of oxygen decline is uncertain. Some effects of oxygen decline are dependent on direct exposure within low-oxygen waters, while others involve the movement of organisms and material (e.g., nutrients, organic matter, greenhouse gases) among locations that vary in oxygen content, and still other effects are primarily dependent on oxygen levels at particular locations that are critical for a species or life stage. Many responses involve threshold oxygen levels at which biological functions can no longer be maintained. 

The biomass and diversity of eukaryotic organisms tend to decline and species composition changes as oxygen declines (Gallo and Levin, 2016). As low-oxygen waters expand, tolerant species can expand their depth range, while ranges of species that are more sensitive contract (Sato and others, 2017). The relative abundance of species within systems reflects variation in species’ tolerances to low oxygen and other co-stressors (Koslow and others, 2018). Organisms, including crustaceans and fish adapted to low-oxygen environments, can reach very high densities in low-oxygen areas (Pineda and others, 2016; Gallo and others, 2019). However, in naturally low-oxygen habitats, such as oxygen minimum zones, even very small changes (representing less than 1  per  cent of the oxygen content of well-oxygenated surface waters) can result in the exclusion of species that would otherwise be abundant (Wishner and others, 2018). "
"Integrated management of human activities affecting the ocean 

The Regular Process is to provide an assessment of all the aspects of the marine environment relevant to sustainable development: environmental, economic and social. Even though the marine environment covers seven tenths of the planet, it is still only one component of the overall Earth system. As far as environmental aspects are concerned, major drivers of the pressures producing change in the ocean are to be found outside the marine environment. In particular, most of the major drivers of anthropogenic climate change are land-based. Likewise, the main drivers of increased pressures on marine biodiversity and marine environmental quality include the demand for food for terrestrial populations, international trade in products from land-based agriculture and industries and coastal degradation from land-based development and land-based sources. 

Thus, as far as social and economic aspects of the marine environment are concerned, many of the most significant drivers are outside the scope of the present Assessment. For example, the levels of cargo shipping are driven mainly by world trade, which is determined by demand and supply for raw materials and finished products. The extent of cruising and other types of tourism is determined by the levels around the world of disposable income and leisure time. The patterns of trade in fish and other seafood and in cultural goods from the ocean are set by the location of supply and demand and the relative purchasing power of local markets as compared with international ones, modified by national and international rules on the exploitation of those resources. A wide range of factors outside the marine environment are thus relevant to policymaking for the marine environment. "
"Impacts on the marine environment 

Throughout all tourist areas, the major impact on the marine environment comes from coastal development, including the proportion of land covered by buildings, such as hotels, restaurants and retail shops, and transport infrastructure, including ports, airports and train terminals, and the need for hard built coastal defences, street lighting and sewerage (see also chap. 14). Where such development is not subject to effective planning and management, impacts on marine flora and fauna can be disastrous. For example, at Vlora Bay in Albania, unplanned development over 15 years has resulted in the disappearance of 50 per cent of the seagrass meadows and a substantial reduction in macroalgae (Fraschetti and others, 2011). 

In tourist regions, beach feeding or beach nourishment, which is the replacement of sand on beaches which have had sand removed by coastal currents or extreme weather events, can have considerable economic benefits (Klein and Osleeb, 2010). For example, in the Republic of Korea, an evaluation of the economic benefits of the restoration of the Songdo beach at Busan after typhoon damage in 2003 put the benefits at about $230 million (Chang and Yoon, 2017).  

The management of beaches is a significant element in managing the impacts of coastal tourism on the marine environment. Beach cleaning and the building of sea walls are generally done to give “sun, sea and sand” tourists surroundings that they find more attractive, and they have significant effects on the local flora and fauna, as recorded in the first Assessment. Studies continue to show that beaches used extensively for tourism support ecosystems that are less rich than those of comparable beaches in the same vicinity that are in protected areas, for example, along the New Jersey coast in the United States, (Kelly, 2014) and near Cadiz, Spain (Reyes-Martínez and others, 2015), and that seawalls supported 23 per cent less biodiversity and 45 per cent fewer organisms than natural shorelines (Gittman and others, 2016). 

Other interventions to attract tourists to beaches have included the creation of artificial surfing reefs. The limited success of such structures was recorded in the first Assessment, but there is now a report of a new venture based on an inflatable artificial reef at Bunbury, Australia (West Australian, 2019). National legislation to promote public access to coasts and beaches can also be significant. "
"The new map shows the way in which the ocean consists of four main basins (the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean) between the tectonic plates that form the continents. The tectonic plates have differing forms at their edges, giving broad or narrow continental shelves and varying profiles of the continental rises and continental slopes leading from the abyssal plain to the continental shelf. Geomorphic activity in the abyssal plains between the continents gives rise to abyssal ridges, volcanic islands, seamounts, guyots (plateau-like seamounts), rift valley segments and trenches. Erosion and sedimentation (either submarine or riverine when the sea level was lower during the ice ages) has created submarine canyons, glacial troughs, sills, fans and escarpments. Around the ocean basins there are marginal seas, partially separated by islands, archipelagos or peninsulas, or bounded by submarine ridges. These marginal seas have sometimes been formed in many ways: for example, some result from the interaction between tectonic plates (for example the Mediterranean), others from the sinking of former dry land as a result of isostatic changes from the removal of the weight of the ice cover in the ice ages (for example, the North Sea). 

The water of the ocean circulates within these geological structures. This water is not uniform: there are very important physical and chemical variations within the sea water. Salinity varies according to the relativity between inputs of freshwater and evaporation. Sea areas such as the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, with large amounts of freshwater coming from rivers and relatively low evaporation have low salinity – 8 parts per thousand and 16 parts per thousand, respectively, as compared with the global average of 35 parts per thousand (HELCOM 2010, Black Sea Commission 2008). The Red Sea, in contrast, with low riverine input and high insolation, and therefore high evaporation, has a mean surface salinity as high as 42.5 parts per thousand (Heilman et al 2009). Seawater can also be stratified into separate layers, with different salinities and different temperatures. Such stratification can lead to variations in both the oxygen content and nutrient content, with critical consequences in both cases for the biota dependent on them. A further variation is in the penetration of light. Sunlight is essential for photosynthesis of inorganic carbon (mainly CO2) into the organic carbon of plants and mixotrophic species1 . Even clear water reduces the level of light that can penetrate by about 90 per cent for every 75 metres of depth. Below 200 metres depth, there is not enough light for photosynthesis (Widder 2014). The upper 200 metres of the ocean are therefore where most photosynthesis takes place (the euphotic zone). Variations in light level in the water column and on the sea bed are caused by seasonal fluctuation in sunlight, cloud cover, tidal variations in water depth and (most significantly, where it occurs) turbidity in the water, caused, for example, by resuspension of sediment by tides or storms or by coastal erosion. Where turbidity occurs, it can reduce the penetration of light by up to 95 per cent, and thus reduce the level of photosynthesis which can take place (Anthony 2004). "
"Technological changes in drilling and production, including emerging technologies 

Offshore drilling and production continue to benefit from significant technological advances. Sophisticated techniques now make it possible to drill multiple wells from a single drilling platform, while advances in real-time fibre-optic monitoring of the well bore is optimizing the reservoir performance and mitigating equipment failure risks (Beaubouef, 2019). Similarly, the use of predictive analytics and artificial intelligence tools is enhancing data analysis for detecting equipment breakdown and improving operational efficiency (Husseini, 2018). 

The use of FPSO vessels enables drilling in areas further offshore and without ready access to a pipeline network to transport oil and gas onshore. It has also opened previously inaccessible hostile environments, in particular in the higher latitudes and in the Arctic, to exploration and development. FPSO vessels are equipped to store hydrocarbons onboard and periodically transfer their load to tankers for transportation onshore. They can also disconnect from their moorings in case of adverse weather conditions, such as cyclones and hurricanes. Once the reservoirs are depleted, an FPSO vessel can be redeployed to a new prospective site. The global market for FPSO vessels is currently boosted by large investments in deepwater exploration and development in such areas as the coast of Brazil (Rystad Energy, 2019). Meanwhile, FPSO vessel design is evolving to enhance safety, minimize complexity and reduce fabrication and operation costs (Barton, 2018). 

Such technological advances have enabled exploration and production at uncharted depths and distance from shore. As of March 2019, the record for an ultradeep water exploration well was in depths of 3,400  m, off the coast of Uruguay, while the record for an operational production platform stood at 2,896 m, in the Gulf of Mexico (Barton and others, 2019). "
"Increased use of ocean space 

Increased coastal population and urbanization (including tourism) 

A large proportion of humans live in the coastal zone: 38 per cent of the world’s population live within 100 km of the shore, 44 per cent within 150 km, 50 per cent within 200 km, and 67 per cent within 400 km. This proportion is steadily increasing. Consequently, there are growing demands for land in the coastal zone. Land reclamation has therefore been taking place on a large scale in many countries, particularly by reclaiming salt marshes, intertidal flats and mangroves. At the same time, where coastal land is threatened by erosion, large stretches of natural coastline have been replaced by “armoured”, artificial coastal structures. Those can significantly affect coastal currents and the ability of marine biotas to use the coast as part of their habitat. Tourist developments have also significantly increased the lengths of artificial coastline. Changes in river management, such as the construction of dams, and the building of coastal infrastructures, such as ports, can significantly change the sedimentation pattern along coasts. Such changes can increase coastal erosion and promote other coastal changes, sometimes with the effect that coastal land is lost for its current use, producing demands for replacement space. "
"The global ocean covers 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface, and contains 97 per cent of all the surface water on Earth (Costello et al., 2010). Freshwater fluxes into the ocean include: direct runoff from continental rivers and lakes; seepage from groundwater; runoff, submarine melting and iceberg calving from the polar ice sheets; melting of sea ice; and direct precipitation that is mostly rainfall but also includes snowfall. Evaporation removes freshwater from the ocean. Of these processes, evaporation, precipitation and runoff are the most significant at the present time. 

Using current best estimates, 85 per cent of surface evaporation and 77 per cent of surface rainfall occur over the oceans (Trenberth et al., 2007; Schanze et al., 2010). Consequently, the ocean dominates the global hydrological cycle. Water leaving the ocean by evaporation condenses in the atmosphere and falls as precipitation, completing the cycle. Hydrological processes can also vary in time, and these temporal variations can manifest themselves as changes in global sea level if the net freshwater content of the ocean is altered. "
"Economic activity 

Economic growth, measured as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, has steadily increased globally, although it has slowed as a result of declining trade volume. Growth in the first half of 2019 stood at 1 per cent, the weakest level since 2012 (IMF, 2019). Economic growth, when averaged across the global population (with vast geographical variability in economic growth, as noted in sect. 3), has resulted in the average annual income of an individual increasing from $3,300 in 1950 to $14,574 in 2016. The slowdown in growth is largely associated with weak manufacturing and trade. In contrast, service industries such as tourism have grown (IMF, 2019). 

As the global population has grown and the demand for goods and services has increased, there has been an associated increase in energy consumption and resource use. Understanding the relationship between increasing economic activity and the use of natural resources is essential to identifying future sustainability and limiting impacts associated with extraction, production, consumption and waste generation (Jackson, 2017). 

Total energy demand, as measured in million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe), grew from 13,267 Mtoe in 2014 to 13,978 Mtoe in 2018. At the same time, primary energy intensity, an indicator of how much energy is used by the global economy, slowed from 1.7 per cent in 2017 to 1.2 per cent in 2019 (IEA, 2019a). The slowing of efficiencies (i.e., the amount of GDP generated for the amount of energy used) is the result of a number of short-term factors, such as growth in fossil fuel-based electricity generation, and longer-term structural changes, such as a slowing transition towards less energy-intensive industries. At the same time, investment targeting energy efficiencies has been stable since 2014. Improvements in technical efficiency reduced energy-related carbon emissions by 3.5 gigatons of CO2 between 2015 and 2018 (IEA, 2019a). In addition, renewable energy production has grown as many countries shift to energy strategies that rely on it as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ocean energy production is part of many strategic developments and grew from 1 TWh (Terawatt hour) in 2014 to 1.2 TWh in 2018 (IEA, 2019b). Changes in energy production, including marine renewable energy and the pressures generated on the marine environment, are detailed in chapters 19 and 21. 

Economic activity associated with the extraction of marine resources also continues to grow as the global population expands. Marine and freshwater food production was a key protein provider and source of income for approximately 59.6 million people globally in 2016, an increase from 56.6 million in 2014. Although marine capture fisheries remain stable at around 80 million tons, mariculture is steadily increasing, from 26.8 million tons in 2014 to 28.7 million tons in 2016 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2018). The implications for increasing marine food production demands, including overfishing, bycatch of endangered species and habitat loss or degradation by fishing and aquaculture, are described in detail in chapters 15–17. 

Many countries are developing or have developed strategies for the potential growth of maritime activities, such as ocean energy, aquaculture, marine biotechnology, coastal tourism and seabed mining (i.e., growth of the blue economy). However, an important constraint on the growth of ocean economies is the current declining health of the ocean and the pressures already being placed on it (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2016), many of which are detailed in Part 5.    "
" 

Some 90  per  cent of mangrove, seagrass and marsh plant species have been assessed as being at risk of extinction; 19  per  cent of mangroves, 21  per  cent of seagrass species and one marsh plant species are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. 

Among macroalgae, 1 species of red seaweed from Australia (Vanvoorstia bennettiana) is listed as Extinct, 10 species (six red algae and four brown algae) are listed as Critically Endangered, 1 species of brown alga is listed as Endangered, and 4 species (three red algae and one brown alga) are listed as Vulnerable. The number of macroalgal species assessed and reported in the IUCN Red List is less than 1  per cent of the total number of species listed in the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). All 15 threatened species are endemic to the Galapagos Islands, and 47 species have been assessed as at a risk of extinction in the Mediterranean. This highlights the knowledge gap with regard to macroalgae. 

In terms of macroalgal endemism, Antarctica ranks highest, with 27 per cent endemics, followed by South America (22  per  cent) and the Red Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (9 per cent). 

New techniques such as genomics have been developed for species identification and for elucidating phylogenetic relationships. As a result, the number of species is expected to rise, especially for macroalgae; however, owing to uneven human and infrastructure capacities among regions, some regions will be less studied than others. 

 "
" 

Ocean resources provide the main sources of livelihoods to millions of people across the globe, as well as a wide range of ecosystem services and benefits, including oxygen production, food provision, carbon storage, minerals, genetic resources and cultural and general life support services. However, the ecosystem services from marine and coastal ecosystems are deteriorating at an alarming rate, owing to several human pressures, including climate change. 

Human activities are directly or indirectly affecting ecosystem services and can thus reduce or erase benefits that would otherwise be provided. As human activities in the marine environment are expected to increase in the future, in particular in areas beyond national jurisdiction, not only will they exert growing pressure on natural resources, but they may also threaten marine biodiversity and therefore the benefits that people obtain from ecosystem services. 

International law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea plays a crucial role in the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources and in safeguarding the many ecosystem services that the ocean provides for both current and future generations. Actions and efforts should be primarily focused on implementation and regulatory gaps, especially in areas beyond national jurisdiction. 

That gives added significance to the current negotiations at the United Nations on the elaboration of an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. 

The distribution around the world of the benefits drawn from the ocean is still very uneven. Efforts by less developed countries to take advantage of what the ocean can offer them are hampered by gaps in capacity-building and resource and financial constraints. 

Capacity-building, shared scientific knowledge and collaboration to develop and transfer innovative marine technology will empower States to fully participate in and benefit from the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources and assist them in meeting their obligations. 

 "
"Description of environmental changes between 2010 and 2020 

Primary microplastics, such as microbeads or industrial granulated pellets, enter the marine environment directly, while secondary microplastics result from the weathering, abrasion and fragmentation of single-use plastics (e.g., cutlery, trays, straws, cigarette butts, caps and lids, plastic bottles and shopping bags), synthetic textiles and clothing, coatings and paints, and tyres (see figure II). Recent studies suggest that the atmospheric transport and deposition of microplastics may also be an important pathway (Rochman, 2018). 

The most common impacts of marine litter on marine life include the entanglement and ingestion of plastic marine litter (GESAMP, 2016; 2019). Entanglement poses a threat mainly to larger marine animals, such as top predators. 

Ingestion is common in a wider range of marine organisms, including marine mammals, turtles, sea birds, fish and invertebrate species, given that plastics occur in various sizes. Other impacts of plastic marine litter include changes to marine communities, with structures acting as new habitats (Reisser and others, 2014), across several levels of biological organization (Rochman and others, 2018) or by infestation of the marine environment by non-indigenous species, harmful algal blooms and pathogens dispersed on anthropogenic flotsam (Carlton and others, 2017; Viršek and others, 2017). As a result, it can increase the genetic exchange of bacteria and the spread of antibiotic resistance (Arias-Andrés and others, 2018). "
"Description of environmental changes between 2010 and 2020 

Plastic marine litter also smothers and damages benthic organisms. The potential impact is not only at the level of organisms, but also at the population and ecosystem levels (Rochman and others, 2016). The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services confirmed the negative impact of plastics on biodiversity, with possible imbalances and disruptions in ecosystem diversity (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019). After the tsunami in Japan in 2011, 289 species of macrofauna and macroflora were rafted to North America in just six years (Carlton and others, 2017), a very uncommon scheme, with potential long-term consequences (Murray and others, 2018). 

Aside from being a physical contaminant, plastics and microplastics often contain chemical additives, such as phthalates and brominated flame retardants (see chap. 11) and capture other contaminants. Laboratory studies demonstrate that microplastics can harm organisms and populations at higher concentrations than those found in nature. However, the best available evidence suggests that microplastics do not yet pose a widespread ecological risk (as opposed to a risk to individual organisms), except in some coastal waters and sediments (SAPEA, 2019). 

Human health is a primary concern, despite a rather limited knowledge of impacts such as injuries and accidents or through possible contamination after a potential release of chemicals (SAPEA, 2019) or owing to the presence of microplastics in seafood, and there are few appropriate risk assessment studies. Such concerns may cause people to change their behaviour (e.g., tourism habits or reduction in the consumption of seafood). "
" 

Plastics now represent the major share of marine litter or marine debris. Most marine litter is from land-based sources, resulting from poor waste management practices, especially in some rural and developing regions.  

Marine litter is present in all marine habitats, affecting the environment and marine organisms through entanglement, ingestion and the rafting of invasive species.  

Amounts of marine litter are increasing in remote and unpopulated areas.  

Time series data are needed to assess and monitor impacts of marine litter, including microplastics and nanoplastics.  

Although a decreasing trend is observed, there is a need to harmonize reporting on dumping at sea. 

 "
"The marine environment is currently subject to a number of pressures, many of which are derived from human activities. They include climate change, the extraction of resources, pollution (from land and marine sources) and invasive species, resulting in biodiversity loss, habitat damage and fragmentation and disease (e.g., Evans and others, 2017). The aim of ecosystem-based management is to balance human activities with environmental stewardship in order to maintain ecosystem properties, functions and services. That requires an appreciation of how and to what extent human activities and natural events interact and affect ecosystem components and their functioning. It also requires the identification of solutions to prevent and mitigate the pressures being caused by such interactions (Halpern and others, 2008; Levin and others, 2009; Ban and others, 2010; Curtin and Prellezo, 2010). Those interactions are known as cumulative impacts or cumulative effects. 

The terms “cumulative impacts” and “cumulative effects” are often used interchangeably to describe how pressures affect ecosystems. The use of standardized language is key to the transfer of knowledge, assessment approaches and expertise across management boundaries and among stakeholders and organizations. A preference for the use of the term “cumulative effects” has been identified, noting that impacts are hypothesized and have been either not directly observed or attributed (Murray and others, 2015). For consistency, the term “cumulative effects” is used in the present chapter. There is as yet no universally accepted definition of cumulative effects and impacts, with definitions varying in the literature, depending on what is being assessed, and the context within which the assessment is being undertaken (e.g., Anthony, 2016; Spaling and Smit, 1993; Hegmann and others, 1999; Halpern and others, 2008; Johnson, 2016; Uthicke and others, 2016). The present chapter follows the premise that effects can be defined as a change to the environment, including its human components, while impacts represent the consequences of such change (Johnson, 2016). 

There are four general types of cumulative effects: additive, synergistic, antagonistic (compensatory) and masking (Sonntag and others, 1987; Hegmann and others, 1999; Crain and others, 2008; Halpern and others, 2008). Additive effects are incremental additions to the pressures caused by an activity, with each increment adding to previous increments over time. Synergistic effects, also referred to as amplifying or exponential effects, magnify the consequences of individual pressures to produce a joint consequence that is greater than the additive effect. Antagonistic or compensatory effects produce a joint consequence that is less than additive. Masking effects produce essentially the same consequence for the ecosystem or social component as would occur with exposure to one of the pressures alone. Impacts that can be considered cumulative may result from a single activity that repeatedly produces a single pressure, a single activity that produces multiple pressures, multiple activities that produce a single pressure or multiple activities that produce multiple pressures over time (Foley and others, 2017). "
"Sea level rise and cities 

Cities located along coastlines and in archipelagic and island States are becoming increasingly susceptible to erosion and sea level rise (De Sherbinin and others, 2007; Hanson and others, 2011; Takagi and others, 2016). Many comprise large areas of reclaimed land (the gain of land from the sea, wetlands or other water bodies), which is retained and protected from erosion by hard engineered structures, such as sea walls and rock armouring (Sengupta and others, 2018). It is likely that many of such engineered coastlines will need to be adapted and upgraded to keep pace with rising sea levels. In highly urbanized environments that are often already heavily degraded, hard engineered structures are often the only option available and are considered to be successful options (Hallegatte and others, 2013; Hinkel and others, 2014), but there are a wide range of broader negative impacts of land reclamation and those structures on the surrounding environment (Dafforn and others, 2015). Globally, many regions (especially cities) are claiming that more than 50 per cent of their coastlines are armoured (e.g., Chapman, 2003; Burt and others, 2013), and that number will likely rise in the future in response to burgeoning economies, coastal populations and urbanization (e.g., see plans for the reclamation of the entire coastlines of two Malaysian states in Chee and others, 2017). 

As an alternative to hard engineered coastal defences, construction of which is complex and expensive, where possible, natural coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and salt marshes should be used as natural barriers or combined with hard infrastructure using hybrid approaches (Temmerman and others, 2013). The use of such ecosystems can not only protect the land but also provide valuable ecosystem functions and services. As hard engineered coastal defences may be considered an effective short-term solution to coastal flooding, more investment will be needed owing to observed increasing storminess and sea level rise (Mendelsohn and others, 2012; Vitousek and others, 2017). By 2010, the global average sea level was calculated to be 52.4 mm above the 1993 level and, by 2018, it had risen to 89.9 mm above the 1993 level (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2019). The rate of change is also increasing. For the period 1993–2018, the rate of increase was calculated at 3.2 mm per year, while for the period 2010–2018, it was calculated to be much faster, at 4.7 mm per year. Despite significant uncertainties remaining, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea level rise will continue for centuries, even if mitigation measures are put in place. The potential widespread collapse of ice shelves could lead to a larger twenty-first century sea level rise of up to several tenths of a metre (Church and others, 2013), which will have drastic consequences for coastal, archipelagic and small island cities, in particular those in low-lying areas. 

Urbanization could, however, also provide opportunities for risk reduction, given that cities are engines of economic growth and centres of innovation, political attention and private sector investments (Garschagen and Romero-Lankao, 2015). Hallegatte and others (2013) conducted a global analysis of present and future losses in the 136 largest coastal cities. They predicted that global flood losses would increase from an average of $6 billion per year in 2005 to $1 trillion by 2050, with projected socioeconomic change, climate change and subsidence. Even if adaptation investments remain constant, flood probability, subsidence and sea level rise will increase global flood losses to $60 billion–$63 billion per year in 2050. The same study found that developing countries are particularly vulnerable to flood risk, with much lower investment in flood protection measures (Hallegatte and others, 2013). "
"There are a number of threats to human health arising from the marine environment that have now been identified: 

 

Increase in the spread of pathogens related to climate warming (e.g., Vibrio). Also, there is some evidence related to an increase in some harmful algal bloom species related to climate warming is some regions (Hinder and others, 2012; Vezzulli and others, 2016); 

Recently, non-indigenous species, sometimes called invasive alien species, have started to be considered as one of the major threats to global marine ecosystems through impacts on the ecosystems’ structure, function and services (Galil, 2018). A small number of poisonous or venomous marine non-indigenous species represent potential threats to human health. Intensification of anthropogenic activities, coupled with rapidly increasing coastal urbanization, drive complex and fundamental changes in coastal waters, including increases in alien species. Some of the alien venomous and poisonous species have attracted the attention of scientists, managers, the media and the public for their conspicuous human health impacts. In the Mediterranean alone, 10 non-indigenous species are considered human health hazards, running the gamut from nuisance to lethal (Galil, 2018). Human health hazards of non-indigenous species are expected to worsen as a result of climate change. The poleward influx of warm water biota enables them to spread to regions as yet uncolonized; 

A further, recently identified health threat is the potential role of plastic marine litter as a vector for opportunistic human pathogens and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms (Barboza and others, 2018; Harrison and others, 2018; Imran and others, 2019). Various pathogenic bacteria bind, in particular and strongly, to plastic litter (for example, Vibrio cholerae and some strains of Escherichia coli). Such human pathogens can colonize plastic surfaces in stable biofilms. The scientific and medical understanding of that health threat of plastic pollution is inadequate but the threat is dealt with as a further aspect of the problem of marine litter discussed in chapter 12. A severe problem could arise in areas that are highly polluted as a result of natural disasters, climate crises or occurring epidemics, or in conflict zones (Vethaak and Leslie, 2016; Keswani and others, 2016; Galloway and others, 2017; Leonard and others, 2018a, 2018b; Moore and others, 2014). 

 "
"Scale and distribution of tourism  

Tourism affecting the ocean, other than cruising, is predominantly located in the coastal zone. Statistics are not available globally to show the scale of tourism in the coastal zone. Because of their geography, some countries with large tourism industries, such as Greece, inevitably have a very large proportion of that industry in coastal areas. Elsewhere, evidence from different regions of the world continues to show that coastal tourism remains a major component of overall tourism. For example, in addition to the evidence quoted in the first Assessment: 

 

In the countries of the European Union, four of the five regions with the highest levels of tourist activity in 2016 (Canary Islands, Catalonia, Adriatic Croatia and Balearic Islands) were coastal regions (the other region was Île-de-France, around Paris) (European Commission, 2018); 

The percentage of tourists in the Republic of Korea who visited the coastal zone increased from 49.5 per  cent in 2000 to 69.1 per cent in 2010, and the total number of beach visitors in 2014 was 69 million (Chang and Yoon, 2017); 

Destinations in the four coastal provinces of Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa accounted for 28 per cent of the total tourism trips and 40 per cent of total tourism spending in 2015. Overall, coastal destinations were dominated substantially by domestic tourists: 9.8 million domestic tourism trips as compared with 1.6 million international tourist trips; tourism activity is particularly concentrated around Cape Town and in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (which includes Durban), which in 2015 together accounted for 75 per  cent of total tourism spending in South African coastal areas (Rogerson and Rogerson, 2018, 2019).  

 

International travel and associated tourism play a major role in many parts of the world, in particular in the “sun, sea and sand” type of tourism. The relatively rapid rate of growth in international travel observed in the first Assessment continued throughout the 2010s (table 3) and between 2011 and 2017. Throughout the world as a whole, the rate of growth in the numbers of international tourists continued between 2011 and 2017 at above the longterm rate, reaching an annual average rate of 5.7 per cent, slightly higher than that reported in the first Assessment. The estimated income derived from international tourism has continued to grow globally, at an annual average rate of 4.0 per  cent, but not in line with the number of tourists. That implies that, on average, tourists are spending less. However, the global growth in tourist numbers is sufficient to more than offset the decline, and the share of tourism in export earnings globally has continued to increase (World Bank, 2019). 

Global patterns in numbers of tourists and expenditure vary significantly between regions (table 4). The absolute scale of tourism in different regions also varies significantly. Collectively, some of the countries in South Asia and South-East Asia (Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar and Pakistan) achieved a 119 per  cent increase in inbound international tourist numbers between 2011 and 2017 (although from a relatively low base), far outstripping other regions. Other regions have, in general, experienced growth rates of less than 10 per cent (table 4). Nevertheless, Caribbean States, such as the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, have had growth rates of around 25 per  cent, well above the regional average (World Bank, 2019). The Middle East and North Africa has experienced relatively low growth in tourist numbers, but a substantial growth in tourist income, suggesting that the tourist industry is offering more upmarket experiences (World Bank, 2019). 

Domestic tourism dominates the tourist market in most major economies (figure V), with 73 per  cent of expenditure on tourism and travel derived from domestic sources globally (World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), 2018). While it will include much tourism and travel that does not have an impact on the marine environment, coastal tourism is, as noted above, a major component of total tourism. Domestic tourism has grown generally in line with total tourism, and growth rates are estimated at over 10 per cent per year in many Asia-Pacific countries, such as China, Malaysia and the Philippines, over the period 2011–2017 (WTTC, 2018). "
" Cargo traffic 

Until 2020, recovery of the world’s economy after 2011 has been reflected in the growth of world trade and, consequently, in the tonnage of cargo carried by international shipping (figure II). When the distances over which the cargoes were carried are taken into account, the growth in ton-miles is even larger (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2019). Recovery is still in progress and has been seriously affected by the massive drop in world trade caused by the COVID-19 crisis. 

Such growth, however, has occurred against a weak competitive background for the international shipping industry. The economic crisis that took place from 2008 to 2011 occurred during a time when world shipping had commissioned a large increase in tonnage to meet the increased freight demand of the preceding years. The additional tonnage was delivered at a time when demand had started to reduce, with the result that, during the 2010s, the shipping industry was operating against a background of oversupply, which had the consequence of depressing freight rates. As measures to further control the pollutant emissions from ships take effect (from 2020), further pressures associated with implementing modifications to fleets will be placed on the shipping industry. To meet the new requirements (as detailed in chap.  11), ships must either purchase bunkers with a lower sulfur content (which may have a higher price, since the traditional ships’ bunkers have been the high-sulfur oils for which there was less demand) or retrofit scrubbers to clean the ships’ exhaust. Further economic pressures of that kind are described in chapter  11. The combined effect of continuing overcapacity and higher operating costs remains unclear (UNCTAD, 2019). 

For many years, the quantities of cargo loaded in ports in developing countries were smaller than those unloaded in those countries, marking an imbalance in seaborne trade. By the time of the first Assessment, the quantities, on average, were nearly in balance and, since then, the quantities loaded in developing countries now exceed those unloaded. Even excluding China, as the single largest developing country importer/exporter, there is still an excess of unloading in developing countries (UNCTAD, 2019). 

Containertraffic continues to be focused on the main East-West arteries across the northern hemisphere (Asia-Europe, trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic), which account for 40 per cent of all container shipping. Of the remaining 60 per  cent, 27 per  cent is intraregional, 13 per cent occurs across the other East-West routes in the northern hemisphere, 12 per cent is associated with traffic between southern hemisphere countries, and 8 per cent is associated with North-South traffic (UNCTAD, 2019). At the same time, there is a growing tendency to consolidate container shipping, so the combined market share of the top 10 container shipping lines increased from 68 per  cent in 2014 to 90 per cent in 2019. That is combined with a returning interest in container shipping lines integrating their operations with traffic between originators and ports and between ports and the ultimate destinations. Those developments have the ability to undermine competition and thus to result in higher transit costs (UNCTAD, 2019). 

The total world fleet of ships carrying all that cargo amounted to 96,295 ships in early 2019, accounting for 1.97 billion dead-weight tons of capacity. Bulk carriers and oil tankers maintained the largest market shares of vessels that dominated the world fleet, at 42.6 per cent of all vessels and 28.7 per cent of dead-weight tons, respectively. A large proportion of the world’s tonnage continues to be registered in a relatively small number of registries. Nearly 70 per cent of the world’s tonnage is registered in seven registries: Panama (17 per cent), Marshall Islands (12 per cent), Liberia (12 per cent), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (10 per  cent), Singapore (7 per  cent), Malta (6 per cent) and China (5 per cent). No other registry is responsible for more than 4 per  cent of the world’s tonnage (UNCTAD, 2019). 

Likewise, ownership and control of shipping continues to be concentrated in the hands of firms in a relatively small number of countries. In 2019, five economies accounted for more than 50 per  cent of the world tonnage: Greece, Japan, China, Singapore and Hong Kong, China. Between 2015 and 2019, Greece, Singapore, China and Hong Kong, China have increased the proportion that they own/control (UNCTAD, 2019). 

The construction of new ships still remains very concentrated in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, which together represent 90 per cent of all cargo ship construction activity. The demolition of ships that have reached the end of their useful life likewise continues to be concentrated in the same countries as reported in the first Assessment. In 2018, 47.2 per cent of the total reported tonnage of propelled seagoing vessels of 100 gross tons and above that were sold for demolition were demolished in Bangladesh, 25.6 per  cent in India, 21.5 per  cent in Pakistan, 2.3 per  cent in Turkey and 2 per  cent in China, leaving 1.4 per cent for the rest of the world. The share of the market held by China, India and Turkey has been declining (UNCTAD, 2019). 

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting global trade extensively. Demand for the transport of raw materials and finished goods has dropped significantly, while demand for the transport of health-related goods has risen (United Nations Coordinating Committee on Statistical Activities (UNCCSA), 2020). Overall, cargo shipping activity has dropped significantly: for example, trade from the European Union to China and the United States dropped in the first 31 weeks of 2020 by 47 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively, compared with 2019; trade in the reverse directions has dropped by 26 per  cent and 38 per  cent, respectively (European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), 2020). "
"The marine environment brings both benefits and risks to human health, especially for people who live near it(see figure below; Depledge and others, 2013; Moore and others, 2013, 2014). Health has been defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (World Health Organization-Regional Office for Europe (WHO-Europe), 1984). However, people live in an interdependent existence with the totality of the living world. Hence, human health cannot be separated from the health of our total planetary biodiversity and has now been redefined as the ability of a body to adapt to new threats and infirmities (Lancet-Editorial, 2009). The complex interactions between the seas and oceans and human health and well? being have been viewed primarily within a risk framework, for example, the adverse impacts of extreme weather, chemical pollution (from domestic and industrial effluents, aquaculture, offshore industries, air pollutants and road dust run-off, and black carbon in the Arctic) and, increasingly, climate change (Borja and others, 2020; Depledge and others, 2017, 2019; Fleming and others, 2019; Pleijel and others, 2013; Tornero and Hanke, 2016; Valotto and others, 2015; Walker and others, 2019; Winiger and others, 2019). However, new research is expanding our concept of the “health” of the “global ocean”, with a broader recognition of its essential and beneficial contribution to the current and future health and well?being of humankind (Borja and others, 2020; Depledge and others, 2019; Ercolano and others, 2019; Lindequist, 2016; see table below). 

The marine environment contributes significantly to human health through the provision and quality of the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and marine-derived pharmaceuticals, as well as providing health-enhancing economic and recreational opportunities (see chaps. 5 and 8A; Ercolano and others, 2019; Lindequist, 2016). The coastal environment can also have a calming effect (White and others, 2013) and provide important cultural benefits (see chap. 28, sect. 1.4). However, at the same time, the marine environment is under pressure from such human activities as transport, industrial processes, fishing, agricultural and waste management practices, climate change-related impacts associated with rising sea levels and coastal erosion, and biological invasions. The figure below summarizes the links between the degradation of the marine environment and human health. 

The assessment and management of the impacts on marine ecosystems and on human health resulting from the pressures on those ecosystems have largely been undertaken separately under the umbrella of different disciplines and, frequently, with little or no obvious collaborative interaction (Depledge and others, 2013; Moore and others, 2013, 2014). Consequently, many of our perceptions of the interactions between the marine environment and human health are limited and still relatively unchallenged, leaving an opportunity to address critical knowledge gaps to further inform science-based policies for the sustainable use of marine resources and environmental and human health protection (see figure below and Moore and others, 2014). 

The complex nature of the interactions between the marine environment and human health was reviewed by the European Marine Board (Moore and others, 2013, 2014) and others (Borja and others, 2020; Depledge and others, 2013, 2017, 2019; Fleming and others, 2014, 2019). The reviews have emphasized the need for an interdisciplinary approach to address all levels of organization, from genes to ecosystems. 

There are five key scientific challenges to improving our understanding of the linkages between the marine environment and human health (Galloway and others, 2017; Moore and others, 2014): 

 

To improve the measurement and monitoring of the distribution of marine pollutants, including algal toxins, nanoparticles as contributing factors to cardiovascular disease and lung cancer (Chang and others, 2020; Liu and others, 2016; Moore, 2020; Mossman and others, 2007; Numan and others, 2015; Stapleton, 2019), microparticles and plastic marine litter as a vector, as well as pathogens and non-indigenous species as potential health hazards at required time and spatial scales (Galil, 2018; Vezzulli and others, 2016); 

To improve knowledge of processes and models of the dynamics of transport and transformation in the environment of marine pollutants, pathogens and non-indigenous species that present health hazards; 

To improve the assessment of marine pollutant, pathogen and non-indigenous species health hazard exposure and risk to humans (Galil, 2018; Moore and others, 2013, 2014; Vezzulli and others, 2016); 

To understand the impacts of waste management activities on the marine environment and human health; 

To find explanations for the association between the marine environment and observed human health benefits, described as the “Blue Gym” effect (Depledge and Bird, 2009; Robinson and others, 2020; White and others, 2013; Wyles and others, 2019), including socioeconomic influences (Li and Zhu, 2006; Sachs and others, 2001). 

 "
" 

Globally, about 2,000 marine non-indigenous species (NIS) have been introduced to new locations through human-mediated movements. A few of those have economic value, but most have had negative ecological, socioeconomic or human health impacts. With increased trade and climate change, biological invasions are likely to increase.  

NIS can pose significant biosecurity and biodiversity hazards. Large-scale NIS surveys with broad taxonomic coverage are lacking, as are studies documenting the range of potential impacts in recipient environments. 

Major invasion vectors (i.e., ballast water, biofouling, aquaculture, trade in live specimens, canals and plastic or other debris) lack characterization and understanding at the global, and often regional, levels and, other than for the management of ballast water and sediments, there is an absence of regulation. Given the multi-vector nature of both the introduction and the spread of NIS, there is a need for comprehensive and integrated legal instruments with robust enforcement to mitigate the movement of species and holistic monitoring programmes that can detect them.  

Better tools are urgently required to assess the potential risks of NIS under changing environmental conditions, to identify the native species and ecosystems most at risk and to determine the best way to respond (i.e., through early detection and rapid response). That is especially true for species with no previously documented invasion history. 

 "
"Changes in impact 

Coastal erosion and changes in sedimentation pose severe risks to coastal infrastructure, property, economic activities and ecological systems, and adaptation calls for significant investment. There is a tendency towards increasing damage from coastal erosion in specific locations that severely affects coastal socioeconomic activities and properties (Gopalakrishnan and others, 2016; Nguyen and others, 2018 ; Stronkhorst and others, 2018). The projection for risk and damage associated with coastal erosion and changes in sedimentation indicates that they are likely to increase in the future (Dunn and others, 2019). 

Ecosystem impacts from coastal erosion and changes in sedimentation can be substantial, in particular if there is a transformation from long-term accretion to erosion. Coastal wetlands are at significant risk, as many of them were developed during the relative mean sea level standstill of the late Holocene (Jones and others, 2019) and may not keep up with the rising seas in the future (Myers and others, 2019). Other geomorphic features sensitive to changing patterns of erosion and sedimentation include mangrove coasts, barrier coasts and small islands. There is a high risk of ecological disturbance for organisms that exclusively use the coastal zone for nesting or nurseries, with increased proliferation of human-occupied and modified shorelines also reducing the overall bioproductivity of the coastal zone (Rangel-Buitrago and others, 2018b). 

Major socioeconomic impacts will occur at locations where erosion coincides with high population density. Existing problems have been identified adjacent to the Ganges, Mekong, Yellow, Yangtze, Volta and Mississippi river deltas. For other parts of the coast, the management of erosion hazards through the use of engineering interventions requires longterm commitments to maintenance, including the cost of upgrading coastal defensive works, with potential risk to human safety and livelihoods if defences are subject to decline. 

Local sea level rise and storminess vary significantly between regions. Based on long-term satellite data, wave height shows an overall global increase (Young and Ribal, 2019), but large regional differences are reported, from large changes in the Southern Ocean to negligible effects in the North Sea (De Winter and others, 2012). Such spatial variations are likely to result in regional variations in erosion and sedimentation (Brown and others, 2016). "
"Higher mortality and less successful reproduction of marine biotas 

Species structure of highly productive sea areas 

Many human activities have been documented to have impacts on marine life living on the seabed (benthic communities). The adverse effects of mobile bottom-contacting fishing gear on coastal and shelf benthic communities have been documented essentially everywhere that such gear has been used. Bottom trawling has caused the destruction of a number of long-lived cold-water coral and sponge communities that are unlikely to recover before at least a century. Many reviews show that, locally, the nature of those impacts and their duration depend on the type of substrate and frequency of trawling. Those effects have been found in all the regional assessments. 

With regard to fish and pelagic invertebrate communities, much effort has been devoted to teasing apart the influences of exploitation and of environmental conditions as drivers of change in fish populations and communities, but definitive answers are elusive. Most studies devote attention to explaining variation among coastal fishcommunity properties in terms of features of the physical and chemical habitats (including temperature, salinity, oxygen and nutrient levels, clarity of, and pollutants in, the water column) and of depth, sediment types, benthic communities, contaminant levels, oxygen levels and disturbance of the sea floor. All of those factors have been shown to influence fish-community composition and structure in at least some coastal areas of each ocean basin. 

The scale at which a fish-community structure is determined and its variation is documented can be even more local, because some important drivers of change in coastal fish communities are themselves very local in scale, such as coastal infrastructure development. Other obvious patterns are recurrent, such as increasing mortality rates (whether from exploitation or coastal pollution) leading both to fish communities with fewer large fish and to an increase in species with naturally high turnover rates. However, some highly publicized projections of the loss of all commercial fisheries or of all large predatory fish by the middle of the current century have not withstood critical review. "
"Invasion by non-indigenous species (NIS) is a major driver of biodiversity change that can reduce biodiversity, alter community structure and function, diminish fisheries and aquaculture production and impact human health and well-being. It is exacerbated by climate change, including extreme events, and other human-induced disturbances (Bax and others, 2003; MEA, 2005; Ojaveer and others, 2018). NIS are those species, including microbes, that have overcome a natural dispersal barrier to become established in a new biogeographical area outside their native range as an intentional or unintentional result of human-mediated activities (Carlton, 1999). Those species can then spread in the newly invaded area, either naturally or by means of additional human-mediated activities, through a wide range of invasion vectors (i.e., the physical means by which individuals are moved, including biofouling, aquaculture, trade in live specimens and canals) (Carlton and Ruiz, 2005; Richardson and others, 2011). Invasion pathways represent a combination of processes and opportunities that allow individuals to be moved from a source location to a recipient (non-native) one and include some elements of invasion vectors (the term “invasion pathway” has sometimes been used interchangeably with “invasion vector”) (Carlton and Ruiz, 2005; Richardson and others, 2011). Species that undergo distributional changes owing to ecosystem regime shifts or in response to climate change in their native range are not considered to be NIS, and neither are cryptogenic species (those whose native range is unknown) (Carlton, 1996). A subset of all NIS, often identified as “invasive alien species”, have significant biological, economic or human health impacts (Williamson, 1996; UNEP, 2002). Given that it is often impossible to predict which NIS will become invasive in which area and under which circumstances, the precautionary approach has been followed in the present chapter, which therefore covers all NIS from marine and estuarine systems. 

NIS are drivers of change in invaded ecosystems. They are influenced by the ecosystems that they are invading and the activities and events that have allowed them to be moved from their native range. Moreover, there is increased recognition that NIS are a critical component of multiple stressors, especially in coastal marine habitats, and that developments in the global economy and improved transportation are contributing to the spread of NIS (MEA, 2005). Marine ecosystems that are already stressed or degraded as a result of other human-caused impacts, such as overfishing, eutrophication, ocean acidification and habitat alteration, have been shown to be favourable to the establishment of NIS (Crooks and others, 2011). Thus, changes in native biodiversity (including in relation to species included in the appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora),1 productivity (including fisheries), harmful algal blooms and ecosystem structure and function (chaps. 6, 7, 10 and 15) can all directly affect marine invasion success, including where NIS are pathogens. In addition, expected increases in artificial habitats (chap. 14) that allow fouling species to become established in otherwise unsuitable environments may facilitate the introduction and the spread of NIS, the range of which is also extended by human-mediated activities such as marine transport and shipping, aquaculture- and fishing-related movements and stocking, habitat restoration, canals and diversions, marine debris and litter (especially plastics, which do not degrade rapidly and can thus persist as a transport vector) and research activities (chap. 16) (Ruiz and others, 1997; Carlton and others, 2017; Galil and others, 2018; Therriault and others, 2018). 1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, No. 14537. NIS have the potential to affect, directly or indirectly, the biota and ecosystems that support healthy and productive human communities. Although NIS unintentionally introduced or escaped to the wild after an intentional introduction have been occasionally exploited (e.g. the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), the Red Sea prawn (Penaeus pulchricaudatus), the Asian tiger shrimp (P. monodon), the blue swimming crab (Portunus segnis) and the Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum)), the longer-term impacts tend to be negative, with reduced native diversity. Impacts also extend to coastal communities, directly or indirectly, by reducing the overall productivity and resilience of marine systems that traditionally support sustainable fisheries or aquaculture (Molnar and others, 2008; Schröder and de Leaniz, 2011). "
" 

As of 2019, 153,434 marine benthic invertebrate species had been described globally. 

Since 2012, researchers have described 10,777 new marine benthic invertebrate species; at the same time, biodiversity is changing globally at rates unprecedented in human history, creating the potential for species extinction before they have been described. 

The deep sea covers 43  per  cent of the Earth’s surface, with an estimated 95 per cent of marine invertebrate species still undescribed. 

Major pressures on marine invertebrates include temperature increase, ocean acidification, physical impacts on the seabed, the extraction of living and non-living resources, coastal use, invasive species and pollution. 

Large areas of the globe, including areas beyond national jurisdiction, still lack effective and adequate long-term ecosystem monitoring and protection for marine invertebrates. 

Despite new research regarding many important ecosystem processes, functions, goods and services, huge knowledge gaps remain in understanding the impact of reductions in benthic invertebrate biodiversity on human well-being and ecosystem dynamics. 

 "
" 

About 40  per  cent of the world’s population lives in the coastal zone, that is, within 100  km of the coast. The proportion is increasing. 

Coastal communities play a key role in supporting all components of the ocean economy, as well as a range of social and cultural values, and all forms of coastal and marine management and governance. While coastal communities often have to deal with physical and social vulnerabilities, they are crucial contributors to conservation, to marine hazard responses and to climate mitigation and adaptation. 

The ocean supports a wide range of economic activities, including the harvesting of food, shipping, seabed mining, offshore hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, tourism and recreation, use of marine genetic resources, production of fresh water by desalinization and production of salt. The various economic activities are steadily growing in scale. Separate chapters in part 5 of the present Assessment, on trends in pressures on the marine environment, give more detail on areas not discussed in depth here. 

Shipping carries about 90 per cent by volume of international trade, which makes it fundamental to the global economy. It is still recovering from the economic crisis of the period 2008–2011. 

Globally, tourism continues to grow at about 6 per cent per year. Coastal tourism represents a substantial proportion of overall economic activity for many countries, especially small island developing States and archipelagic States. 

Shipping and tourism have been seriously dislocated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Desalinization continues to grow in importance, in particular in the Middle East, North Africa and small island States and archipelagic States. Sea salt production also continues at a generally steady level, but accounts for only about one eighth of total salt production. 

 "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Salinity 

Alongside broad-scale ocean warming, shifts in ocean salinity (salt content) have also occurred. The variations in the salinity of the ocean around the world result from differences in the balance between freshwater inflows (from rivers and glacier and icecap melt), rainfall and evaporation, all of which are affected by climate change. The shifts in salinity, which are calculated from a sparse historical observing system, suggest that at the surface, high-salinity subtropical ocean regions and the entire Atlantic basin have become more saline, while low-salinity regions, such as the western Pacific Warm Pool, and high-latitude regions have become even less saline. Since variations in salinity are one of the drivers of ocean currents, those changes can have an effect on the circulation of seawater and on stratification, as well as having a direct effect on the lives of plants and animals by changing their environment. 

Stratification 

Differences in salinity and temperature among different bodies of seawater result in stratification, in which the seawater forms layers, with limited exchanges between them. Increases in the degree of stratification have been noted around the world, particularly in the North Pacific and, more generally, north of 40ºS. Increased stratification brings with it a decrease in vertical mixing in the ocean water column. This decreased mixing, in turn, reduces oxygen content and the extent to which the ocean is able to absorb heat and carbon dioxide, because less water from the lower layers is brought up to the surface, where such absorption takes place. Reductions in vertical mixing also impact the amount of nutrients brought up from lower levels into the zone that sunlight penetrates, with consequent reductions in ecosystem productivity.  "
"Extreme climate events 

The El Niño Southern Oscillation is a coupled atmosphere-ocean phenomenon, identified by an oscillation between warm and cold ocean temperatures in the tropical central eastern Pacific Ocean and an associated fluctuation in the global-scale tropical and subtropical surface pressure patterns. Typically, it has a preferred timescale of about two to seven years. It is often measured by the surface pressure anomaly difference between Tahiti, French Polynesia, and Darwin, Australia, and/or the sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Rasmussen and Carpenter, 1982). It has climatic effects throughout the Pacific region and in many other parts of the world through global teleconnections. The warm phase of the Oscillation is called El Niño and the cold phase is called La Niña. 

The strongest El Niño and La Niña events since the pre-industrial era have occurred during the past 50 years, and that variability is unusually high when compared with average variability during the last millennium (Cobb and others, 2013; Santoso and others, 2017). There have been three occurrences of extreme El Niño events during the modern observational period (1982/83, 1997/98, 2015/16), all characterized by pronounced rainfall in the normally dry equatorial East Pacific. There have been two occurrences of extreme La Niña (1988/89, 1998/99). 

Extreme El Niño and La Niña events are likely to occur more frequently with global warming and are likely to intensify existing impacts, with drier or wetter responses in several regions across the globe, even at relatively low levels of future global warming (Cai and others, 2014; Cai and others, 2015; Power and Delage, 2018). 

Sustained long-term monitoring and improved forecasts can be used in managing the risks of extreme El Niño and La Niña events associated with human health, agriculture, fisheries, coral reefs, aquaculture, wildfire, drought and flood management (L’Heureux and others, 2017).  "
"Consider how dependent upon the ocean we are. The ocean is vast – it covers seven-tenths of the planet. On average, it is about 4,000 metres deep. It contains 1.3 billion cubic kilometres of water (97 per cent of all water on Earth). But there are now about seven billion people on Earth. So we each have just one-fifth of a cubic kilometre of ocean to provide us with all the services that we get from the ocean. That small, one-fifth of a cubic kilometre share produces half of the oxygen each of us breathes, all of the sea fish and other seafood that each of us eats. It is the ultimate source of all the freshwater that each of us will drink in our lifetimes. The ocean is a highway for ships that carry across the globe the exports and imports that we produce and consume. It contains the oil and gas deposits and minerals on and beneath the seafloor that we increasingly need to use. The submarine cables across the ocean floor carry 90 per cent of the electronic traffic on which our communications rely. Our energy supply will increasingly rely on wind, wave and tide power from the ocean. Large numbers of us take our holidays by the sea. That onefifth of a cubic kilometre will also suffer from the share of the sewage, garbage, spilled oil and industrial waste which we produce and which is put into the ocean every day. Demands on the ocean continue to rise: by the year 2050 it is estimated that there will be 10 billion people on Earth. So our share (or our children’s share) of the ocean will have shrunk to one-eighth of a cubic kilometre. That reduced share will still have to provide each of us with sufficient amounts of oxygen, food and water, while still receiving the pollution and waste for which we are all responsible. 

The ocean is also home to a rich diversity of plants and animals of all sizes – from the largest animals on the planet (the blue whales) to plankton that can only be seen with powerful microscopes. We use some of these directly, and many more contribute indirectly to our benefits from the ocean. Even those which have no connection whatever with us humans are part of the biodiversity whose value we have belatedly recognized. However, the relationships are reciprocal. We intentionally exploit many components of this biodiverse richness. Carelessly (for example, through inputs of waste) or unknowingly (for example, through ocean acidification from increased emissions of carbon dioxide), we are altering the circumstances in which these plants and animals live. All this is affecting their ability to thrive and, sometimes, even to survive. These impacts of humanity on the oceans are part of our legacy and our future. They will shape the future of the ocean and its biodiversity as an integral physical-biological system, and the ability of the ocean to provide the services which we use now and will increasingly need to use in the future. The ocean is vital to each of us and to human well-being overall. "
"Ocean resources provide the basis for the livelihoods of millions of people across the globe, as well as a range of critical ecosystem services, including oxygen production and carbon storage, several biodiversity-related services, such as the harvesting of living resources, coastal protection and genetic resources (Mohammed, 2012) and cultural and amenity services (Whitmarsh, 2011). The most commonly valued services are tourism and recreation, as well as storm protection (Mehvar and others, 2018). Fisheries alone provide multiple benefits to millions of people, including those living in poverty in the coastal communities of low-income countries. Fishes and other seafood are a major source of food, protein and micronutrients for many vulnerable communities. It is estimated that, in 2016, 59.6 million people were employed in the primary sector of capture fisheries and aquaculture, with a great majority in low-income countries (although that figure includes some inland activities). With the addition of those who work in associated processing, marketing, distribution and supply industries, it is estimated that fisheries and aquaculture support nearly 250 million livelihoods (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2018). 

Benefits from marine and coastal ecosystems can be categorized in several ways. Traditionally, they have been understood in terms of goods (i.e., products, resources and harvests from nature with a market value), services (i.e., processes that sustain all forms of life but do not have a market value) and cultural benefits (i.e., spiritual and religious heritage, with no explicit market value). While goods have a direct use (consumptive) value, determined through market prices, services and cultural benefits have an indirect use (non-consumptive) value that can be determined through the application of a variety of valuation techniques (see figure). 

Provisioning services of marine and coastal ecosystems  

The ocean provides a multitude of direct and indirect benefits of value to humans. The most direct benefit that marine and coastal ecosystems provide is through their primary productivity and the resulting products, such as fishes, plants, animals, fuel, timber (e.g., mangroves), biochemicals, natural medicines, pharmaceuticals, raw materials (sand and corals) and, to a lesser extent, fresh water and fibre. In 2016, 79.3 million tons of marine fishes2 were caught, and 28.7 million tons of marine aquaculture species were farmed, supplying together an average of 14.6 kg of seafood per person on earth (FAO, 2018). Seafood is essential for food security: it provides more than 20 per cent of the average per capita animal protein intake for 3 billion people, and more than 50 per cent in some developing countries (FAO, 2018). "
"Increasing inputs of harmful material 

Agricultural inputs 

The agricultural revolution of the last part of the twentieth century, which has largely enabled the world to feed its rapidly growing population, has also brought with it problems for the ocean in the form of enhanced run-off of both agricultural nutrients and pesticides, as well as the airborne and waterborne inputs of nutrients from waste from agricultural stock. In the case of fertilizers, their use is rapidly growing in parts of the world where only limited use had occurred in the past. That growth has the potential to lead to increased nutrient run-off to the ocean if the increased use of fertilizers is not managed well. There are therefore challenges in educating farmers, promoting good husbandry practices that cause less nutrient run-off and monitoring what is happening to agricultural run-off alongside sewage discharges. In the case of pesticides, the issues are analogous to those of industrial development. Newer pesticides are less polluting than older ones, but there are gaps in the capacity to ensure that these less-polluting pesticides are used, in terms of educating farmers, enabling them to afford the newer pesticides, supervising the distribution systems and monitoring what is happening in the ocean. "
"Food from the sea represents the largest maritime industry in terms of the numbers of people involved. In 2017, the total first sale value of total production was estimated at $221 billion, of which $95 billion was from marine aquaculture production (including fish, shellfish and seaweed). Those figures include small proportions of production not used for food (FAO, 2019). Further details are given in chapter 15 on capture fisheries, chapter16 on aquaculture and chapter 17 on seaweed harvesting. 

The world fishing fleet consisted of about 4.5 million vessels in 2017, a number that has been relatively stable since 2008. Globally, just under one third of the fishing fleet is still composed of unpowered vessels, which reflects the large proportion of small-scale and subsistence fisheries. Only 2 per cent of the total fleet consists of vessels of 24 or more m in length overall, and about 36  per  cent of vessels are less than 12 m in length overall (FAO, 2019). 

In 2017, an estimated 135 million people were involved in capture fisheries and marine aquaculture: some 120 million in capture fisheries and some 15 million in marine aquaculture. Employment in capture fisheries (as opposed to subsistence fishing) amounts to about 40.4 million, and employment in marine aquaculture is about 15.6 million. In addition, there is a slightly smaller workforce engaged in post-harvest processing. About 13 per cent of that employed workforce are women. Including subsistence fishing, about 50 per cent of those engaged in that group of activities are women (FAO, 2019; World Bank and others, 2012). There have been no recent surveys of death and injuries in the fishing industry. However, the most recent survey shows that those engaged in the industry suffer much higher levels of death and injury at work than in other industries: about 18–40 times higher than the average in a range of developed countries for which statistics were available (Petursdottir and others, 2001). 

Apart from subsistence fisheries, fisheries and aquaculture depend on substantive supply chains from producer to consumer. The problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are challenging fishing industries, especially in relation to international trade of products, and disrupting the supply chains. Fishing operations have also been affected, with effort reduced by an estimated 6.5 per cent in March and April 2020. In some areas (e.g., the MediterraneanandtheBlackSea), small-scalefisheries have been halted. In the future, COVID-19- compliant practices will lead to restrictions on working practices both on the water and in post-harvest handling (FAO, 2020). "
"Increasing inputs of harmful material 

Offshore hydrocarbon industries 

Major disasters in the offshore oil and gas industry have a global, historical recurrence of one about every 17 years. The most recent is the Deepwater Horizon blowout of 2010, which spilled 4.4 million barrels (about 600,000 tons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The other main harmful inputs from that sector are drilling cuttings (contaminated with drilling muds) resulting from the drilling of exploration and production wells, “produced water” (the water contaminated with hydrocarbons that comes up from wells, either of natural origin or through having been injected to enhance hydrocarbon recovery), and various chemicals that are used and discharged offshore in the course of exploration and exploitation. 

Those materials can be harmful to marine life under certain circumstances. However, it is possible to take precautions to avoid such harm, for example by prohibiting the use of the most harmful drilling muds, by limiting the proportion of oil in the produced water that is discharged or by controlling which chemicals can be used offshore. Such regulation has been successfully introduced in a number of jurisdictions. Nonetheless, given the growth in exploration and offshore production, there is no doubt that those inputs are increasing over time, even though exact figures are not available globally. Produced water, in particular, increases in quantity with the age of the field being exploited. 

Offshore mining 

The environmental impacts of near-shore mining are similar to those of dredging operations. They include the destruction of the benthic environment, increased turbidity, changes in hydrodynamic processes, underwater noise and the potential for marine fauna to collide with vessels or become entangled in operating gear. "
"Many countries emphasize environmental sustainability and social responsibility. In addition to laws, regulations and voluntary codes aimed at ensuring environmental integrity, some of the means of achieving this goal include innovative, less polluting techniques proposed by the ecosystem approach to aquaculture, which emphasizes management for sustainability (FAO, 2010) and provides a planning and management framework to effectively integrate aquaculture into local planning (Brugère and others, 2018). Although efforts related to intensification have resulted in decreased use of land and fresh water per unit of fish produced (FAO, 2017a), they have also led to an increase in the use of energy and feed, and in pollution, per unit of farmed fish (Hall and others, 2011). 

Although aquaculture has been accused of having negative environmental and social impacts (Bushmann and Fortt, 2005; Isla Molleda and others, 2016) and suffers from a biased perception on the part of the public, it has, from an ecological efficiency and environmental impact point of view, clear benefits over other forms of animal food production for human consumption. Life-cycle assessment is useful to determine environmental impacts and ensure environmentally sustainable development (Bohnes and Laurent, 2019).  Farmed finfish is similar in feed conversion efficiency to poultry and much more efficient than beef. Recent estimates indicate that demand for feed crops and land for aquaculture will be less than for alternative food production systems, even if over one third of protein production comes from aquaculture, by 2050 (Froehlich and others, 2018). Filter-feeding carps and molluscs are even more efficient producers of animal protein, as they require no human-managed feeds and can improve water quality. Because aquaculture is relatively new, it offers great scope for innovation to increase resource efficiency (Waite and others, 2014). Where resources are stretched, the relative benefits of policies that promote aquaculture over other forms of livestock production should be considered. 

In general, the environmental performance of aquaculture has improved significantly over the past decade. If aquaculture production doubles by 2030, the sector must improve its productivity and environmental performance for growth to be sustainable (Waite and others, 2014). In order to achieve “sustainable intensification”, aquaculture must: (a) advance socioeconomic development; (b) provide safe, affordable and nutritious food; (c) increase production of fish relative to the amount of land, water, feed and energy used; and (d) minimize environmental impacts, fish diseases and escapes (FAO, 2017a). "
"Global surface ocean pH has declined on average by approximately 0.1 since the Industrial Revolution, an increase in acidity of about 30 per cent. Ocean pH is projected to decline by approximately an additional 0.3 over the next century unless global carbon emissions are significantly curtailed. The changes can be observed in extended ocean time series, and the rate of change is likely to be unparalleled in at least the past 66 million years. The time of emergence of the signal varies from 8 to 15 years for open ocean sites and 16 to 41 years for coastal sites, making it necessary to commit to long-term observational records, especially in the coastal zone, where most commercially and culturally important marine resources reside.

Oceanic oxygen levels have declined in recent decades, with strong regional variations. While the overall oxygen content has decreased by about 2 per cent in five decades, oxygen in coastal areas or near oxygen minimum zones shows larger variations. Coastal changes are mostly fuelled by riverine run-off, and the open ocean changes are likely related to a combination of changes in ocean circulation and biogeochemical cycles. Temperature-driven solubility decrease is responsible for most near-surface oxygen loss, while other processes have to be accountable for deep-ocean oxygen loss. A further decrease in oxygen in and near oxygen minimum zones can lead to climate feedback through consequent greenhouse gas emissions.

Sea ice covers 15 per cent of the global ocean and affects global heat balance and global thermohaline circulation. Total sea ice extent has been declining rapidly in the Arctic, but trends are insignificant in the Antarctic. Arctic sea ice extent is declining by -2.7 ± 0.4 per cent c-1 during the winter, and -2.8 ± 2.3 per cent c-1 during the summer. In contrast, trends in total Antarctic sea ice extent are insignificant, 0.6 ± 0.6 per cent c-1 during the summer and 1.1 ± 3.7 per cent c-1 during the winter. Regionally, the spatial distribution of the trends is dramatic. In the Arctic, the summer trends are most striking in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean, while, in the Antarctic, the summer trends show increases in the Weddell Sea and decreases in the West Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean. The spatial distribution of the changes in sea ice is attributed to changes in wind and ocean currents related to the Arctic Oscillation in the northern hemisphere and the Southern Annular Mode and El Niño in the southern hemisphere. "
"The polar ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica are the largest reservoirs of freshwater on the planet, holding 7 m and 58 m of the sea-level equivalent, respectively (Vaughan et al., 2013). The net growth or shrinkage of such an ice sheet is a balance between the net accumulation of snow at the surface, the loss from meltwater runoff, and the calving of icebergs and submarine melting at tidewater margins, collectively known as marine ice loss. There is some debate about the relative importance of these in the case of Greenland. Van den Broeke et al. (2009), show the volume transport to the ocean is almost evenly split between runoff of surface meltwater and marine ice loss. In a more recent work, Box and Colgan (2013) estimate marine ice loss at about twice the volume of meltwater (see Figure 5 in that article), with both marine ice loss and particularly runoff increasing rapidly since the late 1990s. According to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP, 2011), the annual mass of freshwater being added at the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet (the surface mass balance) has decreased since 1990. Model reconstructions suggest a 40% decrease from 350 Gt/y (1970 - 2000) to 200 Gt/y in 2007. Accelerating ice discharge from outlet glaciers since 1995 - 2002 is widespread and has gradually moved further northward along the west coast of Greenland with global warming. According to AMAP (2011), the ice discharge has increased from the pre-1990 value of 300 Gt/y to 400 Gt/y in 2005. 

Antarctica’s climate is much colder, hence surface meltwater contributions are negligible and mass loss is dominated by submarine melting and ice flow across the grounding line where this ice meets the ocean floor (Rignot and Thomas, 2002). Freshwater fluxes from ice sheets differ from continental river runoff in two important respects. First, large fractions of both Antarctic ice sheets are grounded well below sea level in deep fjords or continental shelf embayments; therefore freshwater is injected not at the surface of the ocean but at several hundred meters water depth. This deep injection of freshwater enhances ocean stratification which, in turn, plays a role in ecosystem structure. Second, unlike rivers, which act as a point source for freshwater entering the ocean, icebergs calved at the grounding line constitute a distributed source of freshwater as they drift and melt in adjacent ocean basins (Bigg et al., 1997; Enderlin and Hamilton, 2014). 

Sea ice is one of the smallest reservoirs of freshwater by volume, but it exhibits enormous seasonal variability in spatial extent as it waxes and wanes over the polar oceans. By acting as a rigid cap, sea ice modulates the fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum between the atmosphere and the ocean. Summertime melting of Arctic sea ice is an important source of freshwater flux into the North Atlantic, and episodes of enhanced sea ice export to warmer latitudes farther south give rise to rapid freshening episodes, such as the Great Salinity Anomaly of the late 1960s (Gelderloos et al., 2012). The spatial distributions of these freshwater fluxes drive important patterns in regional and global ocean circulation, which are discussed in Chapter 5. "
"The rapid growth of intensive aquaculture, in some cases not well planned, has caused concern about environmental impact, human health and social issues. Although the lion’s share of production originates in Asia, opposition to aquaculture development is strongest in some developed countries (Froehlich and others, 2017), where aquaculture is still a relatively new industry competing with well-established activities. The world’s knowledge regarding the impact of climate change on aquaculture needs to be improved. Further research and investigation is necessary to improve seeds, feeds and health management. The increasing dependence of developed countries on farmed seafood imports from developing countries and insecurity regarding product environmental, social and safety credentials have sparked considerable public debate. Scientific uncertainties and conflicting information on the issues relating to seafood consumption have further confused the public. The establishment and application of third-party certification systems, covering the environmental, social and food safety concerns related to seafood, have begun to ease this situation. More research is needed to communicate the nutritional and health benefits of increased consumption of seafood. Determination of the nutritional profiles of cultured fishes and wild-caught products and quantification of the health benefits of socioeconomic improvements through aquaculture need further attention. 

With a growing world population, annual supply from the aquaculture sector must surpass supply from capture fisheries and reach 62 per cent in 2030 in order to maintain current consumption levels. This presents tremendous challenges to the sector, to policymakers and to the aquaculture community at large. Improving perceptions will be instrumental in achieving this goal (Vannuccini and others, 2018). Better information and exchange thereof would help in allaying concerns, dispelling myths and resolving ambiguities. To improve public awareness of aquaculture, the industry needs a more open, broader dialogue that will increase transparency. To communicate the benefits of aquaculture more effectively, it must collaborate more with stakeholder groups viewed as credible by the public. While significant social and environmental issues are still to be addressed, it is important to put aquaculture in a wider perspective by comparing its costs and benefits with those of other animal production systems and with its potential contribution to sustainable food security, given forecasted demographic pressures. However, a holistic view, with a balanced evaluation of the risks and benefits of aquaculture, has been lacking, thus impeding the development of policies that reflect production realities (Bacher, 2015). "
"The ocean is strongly coupled with the atmosphere, mutually transferring substances (mostly gases), heat and momentum at its surface, forming a single coupled system. That system is influenced by the seasonal changes caused by the Earth’s tilted rotation with respect to the sun. Variations in sea-surface temperature among different parts of the ocean are important in creating winds, areas of high and low air pressure and storms (including the highly damaging hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones). In their turn, winds help to shape the surface currents of the ocean, which transport heat from the tropics towards the poles. The ocean surface water arriving in the cold polar regions partly freezes, rendering the remainder more saline and thus heavier. That more saline water sinks to the bottom and flows towards the equator, starting a return flow to the tropics: the meridional overturning circulation, also called the thermohaline circulation. A further overall forcing factor is the movements generated by the tidal system, predominantly driven by the gravitational effect of the moon and sun. 

The movements of seawater help to control the distribution of nutrients in the ocean. The ocean enjoys both a steady (and, in some places, excessive) input from land of inorganic nutrients needed for plant growth (especially nitrogen, phosphorus and their compounds, but also lesser amounts of other vital nutrients) and a continuous recycling of all the nutrients already in the ocean through biogeochemical processes, including bacterial action. Areas of upwelling, where nutrient-rich water is brought to the surface, are particularly important, because they result in a high level of primary production from photosynthesis by phytoplankton in the zone of light penetration, combining carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide with the other nutrients, and releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere. Whether in the water column or when it sinks to the seabed, that primary production constitutes the basis on which the oceanic food web is built, through each successive layer up to the top predators (large fish, marine mammals, marine reptiles, seabirds and, through capture fisheries, humans). 

The distribution of living marine resources around the world is the outcome of that complex interplay of geological forms, ocean currents, nutrient fluxes, weather, seasons and sunlight. Not surprisingly, the resulting distribution of living resources reflects that complexity. Because some ocean areas have high levels of primary production, the density of living marine resources in those areas and the contiguous areas to which currents carry that production is also high. Some of those areas of dense living marine resources are also areas of high biological diversity. The general level of biological diversity in the ocean is also high. For example, just under half of the world’s animal phyla are found only in the ocean, compared to one single phylum found only on land. 

Human uses of the ocean are shaped not only by the complex patterns of the physical characteristics of the ocean, of its currents and of the distribution of marine life, but also by the terrestrial conditions that have influenced the locations of human settlements, by economic pressures and by the social rules that have developed to control human activities — including national legislation, the law of the sea, international agreements on particular human uses of the sea and broader international agreements that apply to both land and sea. "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Seaweeds and seagrasses 

Cold-water seaweeds, in particular kelps, have reproductive regimes that are temperature-sensitive. Increase in seawater temperature affects their reproduction and survival, which will consequently affect their population distribution and harvest. Kelp die-offs have already been reported along the coasts of Europe, and changes in species distribution have been noted in Northern Europe, Southern Africa and Southern Australia, with warm-water-tolerant species replacing those that are intolerant of warmer water. The diminished kelp harvest reduces what is available for human food and the supply of substances derived from kelp that are used in industry and pharmaceutical and food preparation. 

Communities with kelp-based livelihoods and economies will be affected. For seagrasses, increased seawater temperatures have been implicated in the occurrence of a wasting disease that decimated seagrass meadows in the north-eastern and northwestern parts of the United States. Changes in species distribution and the loss of kelp forest and seagrass beds have resulted in changes in the ways that those two ecosystems provide food, habitats and nursery areas for fish and shellfish, with repercussions on fishing yields and livelihoods. "
"Wind-driven mixing affects only the surface of the ocean, mainly the upper 200 metres or so, and rarely deeper than about 1,000 metres. Without the ocean’s thermohaline circulation system, the bottom waters of the ocean would soon be depleted of oxygen, and aerobic life there would cease to exist. 

Superimposed on all these processes, there is the twice-daily ebb and flow of the tide. This is, of course, most significant in coastal seas. The tidal range varies according to local geography: the largest mean tidal ranges (around 11.7 metres) are found in the Bay of Fundy, on the Atlantic coast of Canada, but ranges only slightly less are also found in the Bristol Channel in the United Kingdom, on the northern coast of France, and on the coasts of Alaska, Argentina and Chile (NOAA 2014). 

Global warming is likely to affect many aspects of ocean processes. Changes in seasurface temperature, sea level and other primary impacts will lead, among other things, to increases in the frequency of major tropical storms (cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons) bigger ocean swell waves and reduced polar ice formation. Each of these consequences has its own consequences, and so on (Harley et al., 2006; Occhipinti-Ambrogi, 2007). For example, reduced sea ice production in the polar seas will mean less bottom water is produced (Broecker, 1997) and hence less oxygen delivered to the deep ocean (Shaffer et al., 2009). "
"Distribution of ocean benefits and disbenefits 

Changes in the universal ecosystem services from the ocean 

The most obvious distributional effects of climate change relate to the rise in sea level. Some small island States are predicted to become submerged completely and some heavily populated deltas and other low-lying areas also risk inundation. Another important distributional effect is the poleward extension of major areas of storms, which is likely to lead to cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons in areas previously not seriously affected by them. Changes in patterns of variability of oscillations (such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation) will bring climatic changes to many places and affect new areas, with consequent effects on agriculture and agricultural earnings. 

The changes in ocean conditions will affect many other ecosystem services indirectly. For example, some models predict that the warming ocean will increase the fish biomass available for harvesting in higher latitudes and decrease it in equatorial zones. This will shift provisioning services to benefit the middle and moderately high latitudes (which are often highly developed) at the expense of low latitudes, where small-scale (subsistence) fishing is often important for food security. "
"There is no universally agreed set of drivers that has been defined for the marine environment. Different programmes and assessment processes have defined drivers in varying ways and, in some cases, drivers and pressures, whether natural or anthropogenic in nature, are used interchangeably. In the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, drivers are defined as any natural or human-induced factor that directly or indirectly results in a change in an ecosystem (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2003). The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services takes a similar approach in its global assessment, identifying drivers as direct human influences on nature and factors behind human choices that affect nature (Balvanera and others, 2019). The European Environment Agency considers only human-induced factors as drivers (European Environment Agency, 2005), while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines drivers within the context of global emissions as those elements that directly or indirectly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (Blanco and others, 2014). 

In the context of the present Assessment, drivers have been characterized according to social, demographic and economic developments in societies, including corresponding changes in lifestyles and associated overall consumption and production patterns (European Environment Agency, 2019), that are applying pressures on the mar thus an increase in the demand for resources, including food, energy and natural resources such as rare earth elements, sand and metals. Population growth and the associated demand are causing increases in greenhouse gases emissions, the production of waste, including plastic, the use of chemicals in agricultural production, energy production and the extraction of resources. 

The relationships between drivers and pressures, and their impacts, are complex and dynamic, with interlinkages between drivers. For example, technological advances can influence economic growth, and changing governance regimes can influence access to and use of technologies. With increasing affluence and access to technologies, efficiencies can be achieved in resource extraction, leading to greater pressures being placed on the ocean (see also sect. 2). 

The Sustainable Development Goals were developed to translate human aspirations for a sustainable and equitable future into specific development goals, while recognizing explicitly adverse ecological threats and the strategies required to mitigate them (United Nations, 2017b). While the marine environment is directly addressed in Goal 14 on life below water, the Goals are interlinked, with progress made in one influencing the others. Accordingly, realization of the sustainable use of the marine environment will depend on successfully addressing all of the Goals (International Council for Science, 2017). ine environment, as detailed in Part 5. Pressures are the immediate factors that lead to changes in the state of the marine environment and occur in addition to changes resulting from natural processes (United Nations Environment Programme, 2019). The drivers that have the greatest influence on the marine environment and its sustainability are: 

 

(a) Population growth and demographic changes; 

(b) Economic activity; 

(c) Technological advances; 

d) Changing governance structures and geopolitical instability; 

(e) Climate change. 

 

Increases in the global population, together with global economic growth and technological change, have led to changes in lifestyle and thus an increase in the demand for resources, including food, energy and natural resources such as rare earth elements, sand and metals. Population growth and the associated demand are causing increases in greenhouse gases emissions, the production of waste, including plastic, the use of chemicals in agricultural production, energy production and the extraction of resources. 

The relationships between drivers and pressures, and their impacts, are complex and dynamic, with interlinkages between drivers. For example, technological advances can influence economic growth, and changing governance regimes can influence access to and use of technologies. With increasing affluence and access to technologies, efficiencies can be achieved in resource extraction, leading to greater pressures being placed on the ocean (see also sect. 2). "
"Cultural services and other social benefits of marine and coastal ecosystems 

The aesthetic, cultural, religious and spiritual services from the ocean (cultural services) cover a wide range of practices. The services are essential to the maintenance and creation of social capital, education, cultural identity and traditions (human and social capital). Around the world, many beliefs and rituals are rich in references to the sea. Research on marine and coastal cultural ecosystem services is, however, still limited (Garcia Rodrigues and others, 2017; Blythe and others, 2020; Diaz and others, 2018). 

Some cultural practices form integral parts of the traditional use of the ocean (such as ways of building boats or harvesting shellfish, and stone fish traps found across the coast of South-East Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands). The diversity and technological sophistication of such structures attest to indigenous traditional knowledge of the ocean and its resources (Jeffery, 2013; Rowland and Ulm, 2011) Traditional watercraft such as the Hawaiian voyaging canoe H?k?le`a provide an active platform for the restoration and maintenance of Pacific non-instrument navigation and cultural identity. Numerous other voyaging canoes have been constructed in the Pacific and, in many places, knowledge of traditional wayfinding has been preserved. Fautasi races in Samoa and dragon boat races in China merge history and cultural traditions with health, fitness and competition. People have long incorporated water-related activities as habitual or significant parts of their lives. Other non-consumptive ocean activities are swimming, diving, kayaking, surfing, sailing and wildlife viewing. 

Finally, for many indigenous communities, fishing and the sharing of fishes form essential parts of traditional foodways, which support sociocultural cohesion and identity as well as linked ceremonial and cultural practices (Loring and others, 2019; Leong and others, 2020). 

Other cultural activities represent ways of reacting to the ocean (such as dances to celebrate the ocean or religious practices to safeguard against danger on the ocean). Such practices can constitute an important part of the cultural heritage of a people. One example is the role of whale hunting for the indigenous peoples of the western seaboard of Canada and the United States of America, as discussed in the first World Ocean Assessment. In Washington State, United States, one tribe, the Makah, has been pursuing special authorization to resume some whale hunting since 2005. In November 2019, a hearing was held for the tribe’s request and, in February 2020, a revised environmental impact assessment was published. The Makah fear that, without the special authorization, that particular element of their culture would remain connected to the past without any present reinforcement (A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2015; 2020). "
"Increasing inputs of harmful material 

Human health, food security and food safety 

Marine biotas are under many different pressures from hazardous substances on reproductive success. Dead zones and low-oxygen zones resulting from eutrophication and climate change can lead to systematic changes in the species structure at established fishing grounds. Either can reduce the extent to which fish and other species used as seafood will continue to reproduce at their historical rates. When those effects are combined with those of excessive fishing on specific stocks, there are risks that the traditional levels of the provision of food from the sea will not be maintained. 

In addition, heavy metals and other hazardous substances represent a direct threat to human health, particularly through the ingestion of contaminated food from the sea. The episode of mercury poisoning at Minamata, in Japan, is probably the most widely known event of that kind, and the reason why the global convention to address such problems is named after the town. There are places around the world where local action has been taken to prevent or discourage the consumption of contaminated fish and other seafood. In other places, monitoring suggests that levels of contamination dangerous for human health are being reached. In yet other places, there are inadequate monitoring systems to check on risks of that kind. Ensuring linkages between adequate systems for controlling the discharge and emissions of hazardous substances and the systems for controlling the quality of fish and other seafood available for human consumption is therefore an important issue. In the case of subsistence fishing, the most effective approach is to ensure that contamination does not occur in the first place. 

The lack of proper management of wastewater and human bodily wastes causes problems for human health, both directly through contact with water containing pathogens and through bacteriological contamination of food from the sea, and indirectly by creating the conditions in which algal blooms can produce toxins that infect seafood. Those problems are particularly significant in and near large and growing conurbations without proper sewage treatment systems, such as found in many places in developing countries. "
"Human health can be affected by many aspects of food from the sea. Some problems are the result of pollutants (such as mercury) or pathogens (often from sewage and ballast water) discharged into the sea and taken up by plants, fish and shellfish that are harvested for human consumption (Takahashi and others, 2008). Others are the result of toxins generated by, or viruses found in, various biota in the sea and taken up by some fish and shellfish (see chaps. 10 and 11). 

According to WHO, mercury is one of the 10 most poisonous substances to human health (WHO, 2013). A principal form of mercury to which humans are exposed is organic methyl mercury (MeHg). The principal source of inorganic mercury in the sea is the burning of fossil fuels (see chap. 11). Such mercury is converted into MeHg by microbes in the aquatic environment, where it bioaccumulates in food webs. In humans, MeHg exposure occurs predominantly through the consumption of seafood. MeHg is a neurotoxin and is particularly harmful to fetal brain development. A large body of research has demonstrated a link between exposure to MeHg in the womb and developmental neurotoxicity (e.g., deficits in fine motor skills, language and memory) among populations that consume seafood regularly. A review of studies in 43 countries showed that pooled average biomarkers suggested an intake of MeHg that was: 

 

Several times above the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-WHO reference level for consumption in fish-consuming inhabitants of coasts and riverbanks living near small-scale gold-mining installations; 

Well over the reference level in consumers of marine mammals in Arctic regions; 

Approaching the reference level in coastal regions in South-East Asia, the western Pacific and the Mediterranean. 

 

Although the two former groups have a higher risk of neurotoxicity than the latter, the coastal regions of South-East Asia are home to very large populations. In all three areas, many of the samples showed levels of MeHg intake in excess of the reference value (Sheehan and others, 2014). Other experts, while recognizing the threat from MeHg, argue that it is important also to balance the benefits from fish-derived lipids with possible risks when considering fish as part of the diet of mothers and their children (Myers and others, 2015). Certain fish species have been identified as being at greater risk for MeHg exposure than others (e.g., MeHg biomagnifies in the aquatic food chain and larger predatory fish, such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel and certain species of tuna), so making appropriate choices in fish consumption can lead to increasing the benefits of eating seafood while decreasing the potential risk (Silbernagel and others, 2011). "
" 

The offshore wind sector is expanding globally to regions with no utility-scale (grid) installations at present. The use of floating platforms is a step change enabling the industry to open up large areas with deeper waters. 

In 2019, 28.3 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity from the offshore wind sector was deployed globally, with 22 GW off Europe, primarily in the North Sea, 5.9 GW off China and 0.4 GW in other markets. 

In the next decade, Asia and the United States of America could be major growth drivers for the development and installation of offshore wind power. 

Wave and ocean current energy projects have not yet achieved full commercialization at utility scale, and tidal energy projects are still rare. 

Progress in energy storage could make a significant contribution to the development of offshore wind power and other marine renewable energy (MRE) technologies. 

Proper siting of MRE projects could minimize conflicts with other ocean uses and potential impacts on the marine environment. 

 "
"Outlook 

Drivers of change in reference to dumping are associated with modifications to the production and consumption patterns of materials that are currently dumped in the ocean. Whereas different and distinct waste streams are covered under the London Convention and the London Protocol, each stream is associated with separate industries and drivers that may lead to change. Therefore, changing production and consumption patterns need to include stakeholders from a diverse set of industries. 

The strategic plan, adopted in 2016 at the thirty-eighth Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Convention and the eleventh Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Protocol, provides some indication of near- to medium-term development with regard to dumping (IMO, 2018). The plan outlines four strategic directions. Strategic direction 1 is aimed at promoting ratification of or accession to the London Protocol and outlines a target substantially to increase the rate per year of new ratifications or accessions thereto. Strategic direction 2 is aimed at enhancing the effective implementation of the London Protocol and the London Convention through the provision of technical assistance and support to the contracting parties and the development of guidance and measures to support implementation by addressing regulatory, scientific and technical barriers, as well as encouraging and facilitating improved compliance, including reporting, and the participation of the contracting parties in the work of both instruments. Strategic direction 3 is aimed at promoting the work of the London Protocol and the London Convention externally; and strategic direction 4 is aimed at identifying and addressing emerging issues in the marine environment within the scope of both instruments. To that end, several graded targets have been formulated, stating that, by 2030, 100 per cent of the contracting parties should be meeting their reporting obligations and have a national authority in place and appropriate legislative or regulatory authority to implement the London Convention and the London Protocol. 

Future goals under both the London Convention and the London Protocol are the regulation of ocean fertilization and geoengineering and a review of the impacts of new marine “geoengineering” technologies. Further work is envisaged on the basis of collaboration between IMO (under the London Protocol), the United Nations and the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection on mine tailings, habitat destruction or restoration and marine litter, in order to address gaps in the international legal framework. Furthermore, easy online reporting will be introduced, a database established and monitoring activities reviewed. Finally, the environmental effects of the legacy of chemical munitions dumped at sea in the past will be addressed. "
"Changes in drivers 

Human civilizations originated and thrived in the floodplains and the deltaic coastal zones of the world’s large rivers, which are now inhabited by about 2.7 billion people (Best, 2019). The rapid increase in the demand for water, food, land and power has led to human interventions, such as the construction of large dams, deforestation, intensive agriculture expansion, urbanization, infrastructural construction and sand mining. Such human activities have placed those systems under immense stress, leading to large-scale and irreversible changes. 

According to the International Commission on Large Dams (2018), globally, there are 59,071 dams with heights of more than 15 m and related reservoirs of more than 3 million m3. The largest densities of hydropower dams are found in South America, South Asia and Northern Europe. The largest dams, including those have been built, are under construction or are planned, are located in the Mekong River basin, the Amazon River basin and the Congo River basin (Kondolf and others, 2014; Warner and others, 2019). 

The construction of dams and reservoirs can reduce the sediment supply to the coast by different degrees (Slagel and Griggs, 2008), sometimes by more than 50 per cent (Besset and others, 2019), leading to the erosion of deltas and adjacent coasts. The reduction in sediment supply to the coasts is expected to increase greatly in the twenty-first century (Dunn and others, 2018), by 50 to 100 per cent (Kondolf and others, 2014; Besset and others, 2019). For example, in the Pearl River, China, the construction of two mega dams (Yangtan and Longtan) has reduced the fluvial sediment supply to the coast by 70  per  cent over the period 1992–2013 (Ranasinghe and others, 2019). Kondolf and others (2014) found that 140 dams had been built, were under construction or were planned for the Mekong River or its tributaries. Under a “definite future”, if 38 dams that are planned or are under construction are actually completed, the cumulative sediment reduction to the Mekong Delta would be 51 per cent; and if all dams that are planned and under construction are completed, there would be a cumulative sediment reduction to the Mekong Delta of 96 per cent. That would lead to a serious decay of mangrove systems and, as a consequence, the erosion of the coast and irreversible changes in the surrounding ecosystem. On the other hand, there are substantial efforts in States to remove large dams, such as the Elwha Dam in Washington State, United States (Warrick and others, 2015). 

Sand mined from rivers, beaches and coastal seabeds is used for land reclamation, beach nourishment and industry (Bendixen and others, 2019). That removes significant amounts of sand that would otherwise contribute to littoral transport, consequently resulting in a coastal sediment deficit (Montoi and others, 2017) and affecting the coastal morphology (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, 2016; Abam and Oba, 2018). Presently, coastal beach and seabed sand mining is common practice in many countries, although it is sometimes illegal. Sand mining, in general, is known to take place in 73 countries on five continents, although there is no reliable figure on the practice worldwide (Peduzzi, 2014; Jayappa and Deepika, 2018). "
" 

The ecosystem approach is one of the most significant approaches to ocean management, consisting of the environmental, social and economic management of human interactions with oceans and coasts at multiple levels (transboundary, regional, national and local). 

While there is general agreement that the ecosystem approach provides an effective framing of ocean management, further research and capacity-building are needed to realize its full potential benefits across the oceans. 

Management has two different levels of governance, namely: decision-making processes that provide a framework for making decisions and implementing policy focused on the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources; and management tools (area-based and non-area-based) that can be used to regulate and modify human activity in a particular system. 

The implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development1 requires management grounded in the ecosystem approach in order to achieve the integrated set of global priorities and objectives set out in the Sustainable Development Goals. That will allow for the integration of interactions, benefits and trade-offs between the Goals and support the achievement of each of the ocean-related targets. 

There is a growing trend towards incorporating the cultural values of the ocean into management. 

 "
" 

Coastal erosion can lead to coastal retreat, habitat destruction and loss of land, which result in significant negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts on the global coastal zones. 

Sediment budget and geology determine coastal morphology and dynamics, which influence the nature and health of coastal ecosystems. Human activities affecting the sediment dynamics, both on the coast and on land, modify the naturally occurring patterns of erosion and sedimentation. 

Globally, the abstraction or interruption of sediment supplies to and along the coast has been increasing, through upstream dams, coastal and river sand mining, and coastal infrastructures. Reduced sediment supply enhances shoreline retreat. 

Distinct from sand or muddy coasts, cliffs experience progressive erosion, which is largely caused by a combination of geotechnical instability, weathering on the upper cliff profile and wave action on the lower profile. 

The results of recent investigations reveal that, at approximately 15 per  cent of all sandy beaches worldwide, the shoreline has been retreating, with an average trend of 1 m or more per year over the past 33 years, while almost half of the world’s sandy beaches are currently stable. 

Many areas of the observed historical shoreline advance are related to reclamation and impoundment by coastal structures. Those human activities modify coastal dynamics, typically resulting in downdrift erosion. 

Climate change impacts, including sea level rise and potential increases in the frequency and intensity of severe tropical and extratropical storms, can accelerate coastal erosion. Human activities have the strongest impacts on deltas and adjacent coasts, with potentially severe impacts on other coastal systems, such as sand spits, barrier islands and wave-dominated estuaries. 

 "
"Cumulative impacts of human activities on marine biodiversity 

Ecosystems and habitats identified for special attention 

Kelp and seagrass habitats are declining worldwide for different reasons. The overfishing of dominant predators and climate change have reportedly caused changes in kelp community structures and distribution over time. Kelp forests are more affected by temperature changes owing to the narrow range in which their sexual reproduction can occur. Seagrass meadows are more affected by anthropogenic activities, such as siltation, pollution and reclamation. 

Fishing on seamounts has targeted fish aggregations to depths of 1,500 m. Aggregations on spatially limited topographic features are highly vulnerable, and many target species are slow-growing and long-lived, therefore exhibiting little resilience to disturbance. Furthermore, most fisheries use bottom trawls, gear that is highly destructive to benthic communities. Little recolonization is observed years after closure to fishing. Most sites of deep-water bottom fisheries have been overfished in the past, but there are now increased efforts to seek to regulate their use and to protect deep-water benthic habitats. "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Fish stock distribution 

As seawater temperatures increase, the distribution of many fish stocks and the fisheries that depend upon them is shifting. While the broad pattern is one of stocks moving poleward and deeper in order to stay within waters that meet their temperature preference, the picture is by no means uniform, nor are those shifts happening in concert for the various species. Increasing water temperatures will also increase metabolic rates and, in some cases, the range and productivity of some stocks. The result is changes in ecosystems occurring at various rates ranging from near zero to very rapid. Research on those effects is scattered, with diverse results, but as ocean climate continues to change, those considerations are of increasing concern for food production. Greater uncertainty for fisheries results in social, economic and food security impacts, complicating sustainable management. "
"Higher mortality and less successful reproduction of marine biotas 

Captures of fish stocks at levels above maximum sustainable yield 

Globally, the levels of capture fisheries are near the ocean’s productive capacity, with catches on the order of 80 million tons. Exploitation inevitably reduces total population biomass through removals. As long as the fish stock can compensate through increased productivity because the remaining individuals face less competition for access to food and therefore grow faster and produce more progeny, then fishing can be sustained. However, when the rate of exploitation becomes faster than the stock can compensate through increasing growth and reproduction, the removal level becomes unsustainable and the stock declines. 

At present, about one quarter of all assessed fish stocks are being overfished and more are still recovering from past overfishing. This is undermining the contribution that they could make to food security. Ending overfishing is a precondition for allowing stocks to rebuild. Other stocks may still be categorized as “fully exploited” despite being on the borderline of overfishing. Those could produce greater yields if effectively managed. 

There are only a few means available to increase yields. Ending overfishing, eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, bringing all fishery yields under effective management and rebuilding depleted resources may result in an increase of as much as 20 per cent in potential yield, provided that the transitional economic and social costs of rebuilding depleted stocks can be addressed. 

Overfishing can also undermine the biodiversity needed to sustain marine ecosystems. Without careful management, such impacts on biodiversity will endanger some of the most vulnerable human populations and marine habitats around the world, as well as threaten food security and other important socioeconomic aspects (such as livelihoods). "
"Coastal population and size of coastal communities 

Although there have been calls for regular monitoring and assessment of the process of change in coastal areas (see, for example, Shi and Singh, 2003), they have largely been at the national or regional levels. Little, if anything, has been published about the total global coastal population since the early 2000s. Because of the significance of the impacts of sea level rise, studies since then have concentrated, in particular, on low-elevation coastal zones, which have a narrower scope (for example, Neumann and others, 2015). 

Studies in the early 2000s showed that, globally, there is a major concentration of population in the coastal zones. Figure I is based on the Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project population count grids for 2010 (Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP), 2011). The project uses night-time satellite data of observed light sources to identify urban areas and reallocates census count data within administrative boundaries. The resulting map (figure I) shows that the global coastal population is concentrated mostly in East, South-East and South Asia. The evidence suggests that concentration in the coastal zone is increasing as a proportion of the total global population (Merkens and others, 2016). Nevertheless, access to the ocean, in particular for maritime transport, remains important for landlocked States. 

Urban areas near the coast reinforce the concentration: 40 per cent of the population within 100 km of the coast lives in 4 per cent of the land area within that distance (Small and Nicholls, 2003). Much of the concentration (about 90 per cent) is in coastal cities with populations of over 1 million. An analysis of such cities as recorded in The World’s Cities in 2018 (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), 2018) is shown in table 1. 

The analysis thus shows that the main concentrations of urban coastal population are in East, South and South-East Asia, and that the most rapid rates of growth of such populations are in those regions and sub-Saharan Africa. 

At the other end of the scale are tens of thousands of smaller coastal communities around the world. The number of, and populations in, such communities are unknown. It seems likely, however, that the number of such communities along the coasts of the world is high, and that official local government units often contain many more than one community. For example, in Nova Scotia, Canada, a recent assessment indicates that, while there are about 50 official municipalities, there are approximately 1,000 separate coastal communities (Charles, 2020). Accordingly, there is great diversity among coastal communities across the globe, notably in differences between the big cities noted above and rural communities, where such economic activities as fishing, aquaculture, shipping and tourism are typically prominent. 

Whatever the size of the community, it often plays a role in stewardship of the coast. Indeed, the role of coastal communities in conservation is being increasingly recognized and valued, in terms of many local initiatives in ocean conservation, around the world, that often succeed both in improving livelihoods and protecting communities (Charles, 2017; Charles and others, 2020). 

The role of coastal communities in conservation is being increasingly valued. Many coastal communities around the world and their smallscale fishers have undertaken a large number of local initiatives in ocean conservation, often with considerable success. The successes of those communities are often based on local knowledge, structures and cooperation (Charles, 2017). 

The vulnerability of coastal communities to the impacts of climate change is of increasing concern. It is relevant to the planning of tourism development, in particular in small island developing States with economies that are dependent on tourism, and fisheries management. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that, under current trends of the increasing exposure and vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change, the risks of erosion and land loss, flooding, salinization and cascading impacts owing to mean sea level rise and extreme weather events, among others, are projected to increase significantly throughout the present century (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2019). Coastal communities located in the Arctic, in low-lying (often deltaic) States, such as Bangladesh and Guyana, in paths frequented by cyclones or hurricanes and in densely populated megacities are especially vulnerable. On the other hand, there appear to be health benefits from living in the coastal zone (see chap. 8B on human health as affected by the ocean).  

Small coastal communities are not just physically vulnerable to climate change impacts; they are also socially vulnerable, in particular in rural areas (Charles and others, 2019). Rural coastal communities are vulnerable to weather events and flooding as a result of geographic location and limited access to health care, goods, transportation and other services. Sensitivity to market fluctuations from their dependence on natural resources, and poverty, limited economic opportunities and losses of populations, create problems when trying to adapt (Armitage and Tam, 2007; Amundsen, 2015; Bennett and others, 2016; Metcalf and others, 2015; May, 2019c). Such factors strain material assets, as well as the social and moral foundations that facilitate collective problem-solving (Amundsen, 2015; May, 2019a). Communities are more likely to mobilize collective resources in response to threats when people actively care about each other and the place they live (Amundsen, 2015; May, 2019b; Wilkinson, 1991). That may be a function of attachment to the history, culture or environmental context of a place and/or the people in a place. Those attachments can become potential sources of resistance to change in contexts of low social diversity and slow population change, or the basis for conflict in contexts of high social diversity and fast population change (Graham and others, 2018; May, 2019b, 2019c). The combined effect of physical and social vulnerability on community capacities is particularly challenging at a time when collective action efforts for mitigation and adaptation are more important than ever (May, 2019b, 2019c). 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that, for our most vulnerable communities, many of which are coastal, transformative mitigation and adaptation is necessary to assuage the worst impacts of climate change. Incremental change is no longer seen as a possibility by most States: more radical action is thought to be needed to reduce the impacts of and adapt to a changing climate. Responses to threats from climate change are varied and include a mix of hard and soft coastal defences. Built infrastructure, such as sea walls or dykes, is widely used but tends to be more costly and maintenance-dependent than ecosystem-based measures, such as marshes, mangroves, reefs or seagrass (see also sect. 7.3). Having limited data inhibits estimates of the cost effectiveness of both hard and soft measures, especially across geographies and scales (Oppenheimer and others, 2019), although State-level estimates exist (see, for example, Environment Agency of the United Kingdom, 2015). The World Bank estimated that, without concrete climate and development action, over 143 million people could be forced to move within their own countries to escape the slow-onset impacts of climate change by 2050 in just three regions: sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America (Rigaud and others, 2018). To address those problems, in coastal areas, integrated coastal zone management is widely regarded as an effective approach to climate change and other drivers (Nicholls and Klein, 2005; Nicholls and others, 2007; see also chap. 27 on management approaches). "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Sea-level rise 

It is very likely that extreme sea-level maxima have already increased globally since the 1970s, mainly as a result of global mean sea-level rise. That rise is due in part to anthropogenic warming, causing ocean thermal expansion and the melting of glaciers and of the polar continental ice sheets. Globally averaged sea level has thus risen by 3.2 mm a year for the past two decades, of which about a third is derived from thermal expansion. Some of the remainder is due to fluxes of freshwater from the continents, which have increased as a result of the melting of continental glaciers and ice sheets. 

Finally, regional and local sea-level changes are also influenced by natural factors, such as regional variability in winds and ocean currents, vertical movements of the land, isostatic adjustment of the levels of land in response to changes in physical pressures on it and coastal erosion, combined with human perturbations by change in land use and coastal development. As a result, sea levels will rise more than the global mean in some regions, and will actually fall in others. A 4°C warming by 2100 (which is predicted in the high-end emissions scenario in the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) would lead, by the end of that period, to a median sea-level rise of nearly 1 metre above the 1980 to 1999 levels. 

Ocean acidification 

Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are resulting in increased uptake of that gas by the ocean. There is no doubt that the ocean is absorbing more and more of it: about 26 per cent of the increasing emissions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean, where it reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid. The resulting acidification of the ocean is occurring at different rates around the seas, but is generally decreasing the levels of calcium carbonate dissolved in seawater, thus lowering the availability of carbonate ions, which are needed for the formation by marine species of shells and skeletons. In some areas, this could affect species that are important for capture fisheries. "
"The global impact of poor water quality was examined in a study by the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) and WHO. Based on global estimates of the number of tourists who go swimming, and WHO estimates of the relative risks at various levels of contamination, the study estimated that bathing in polluted seas causes some 250 million cases of gastroenteritis and upper respiratory disease every year and that some of those people affected would be disabled over the longer term. Measured by adding up the total years of healthy life that are lost through disease, disability and death, the worldwide burden of disease incurred by bathing in contaminated seawater is some 400,000 disability-adjusted life-years (a standard measure of time lost owing to premature death and time spent disabled by disease), comparable to the global impacts of diphtheria and leprosy. GESAMP and WHO estimated that the cost to society, worldwide, amounted to about $1.6 billion per year (GESAMP, 2001). Furthermore, harmful or toxic algal blooms can induce serious neurological disease and also have major financial impacts (Bechard, 2020; Diaz and others, 2019). 

The most common pollutants tend to come from one of two places: humans or animals. Human faecal matter in water bodies constitutes the greatest public health threat because humans are reservoirs for many bacteria, parasites and viruses that are dangerous to other humans and can lead to a variety of illnesses. The cause of many problems can often be traced back to sewage overflows or leaky residential septic systems. Run-off from agricultural land can also represent a serious health concern, as faecal waste from farmed animals can contain pathogens, including various viruses, cryptosporidium, Escherichia coli and salmonella, while pet waste on beaches can also pose health threats to humans (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2017; Moore and others, 2014; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), 2020). 

Exposure to contaminated seawater thus affects the health of those enjoying recreation by the sea and adversely affects coastal tourism and recreation. Drawing together the scientific work in the field, in 2003, WHO published Guidelines for Safe Recreational Water Environments: Coastal and Fresh Waters (WHO, 2003). More recently, WHO, with the support of the European Union, prepared recommendations on scientific, analytical and epidemiological developments relevant to the parameters for bathing-water quality, with special reference to Europe (WHO, 2018). WHO has indicated that the recommendations will inform the revision of the 2003 Guidelines (WHO, 2020). However, achievement of such standards requires adequate planning and infrastructure. Even where, as in some parts of India, strenuous efforts are being made to install properly operating sewage treatment systems, problems persist. For example, in Goa, a major tourist location, faecal coliform bacteria exceeded the relevant standards at all 10 of the beaches monitored (Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), 2019). 

The monitoring of bathing water will not achieve its aim of improving public health without improvements in the communication to the public of the findings so that they are readily understandable. The current European Union legislation on bathing water (European Union, 2006) provides for standardized ways of publicizing the results of the monitoring that is required. Similar systems are found in various Australian States (New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (NSW-DPIE), 2020; South Australia Environment Protection Agency (SA-EPA), 2020) and in the United States (WHOI, 2020). 

Climate change may be influencing the prevalence of microbial infections (Deeb and others, 2018; Konrad and others, 2017). For example, increases in Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections, both topical, and infections from ingesting seafood (oysters), have been described in relation to climate change, with rises in cases overall, as well as new cases found in high latitude areas that were previously not affected, as they are having more days over the minimum temperature threshold (Vezzulli and others, 2016). "
"Within coastal regions, projections under shared socioeconomic pathways estimate a 71 per  cent increase in the global human population across the period 2000–2050 to over 1 billion, as a result of overall global population growth as well as migration into those areas (Merkens and others, 2016). Under the same scenarios, populations in low-density to medium-density areas ( 

As the global population ages and overall growth slows, the size of the labour force is expected to decline, with an impact on the global economy. It is estimated that the global population considered to have the highest proportion of contributors to global economies, namely the population aged 20–64, will grow less than half as fast over the period 2015–2040 compared with the previous 25 years, while the population over the age of 65 will grow five times faster than the working-age population (Baxter and others, 2017). How global economies respond to the influence of changing population growth and demographics will depend on public policy, such as introducing policies that reduce barriers to the employment of women, and their ability to use advances in technologies to maintain productivity. Those changes in population growth and the distribution and densities of the population, as well as changing economies, will influence the marine environment in ways yet to be determined. 
 "
"Integrated management of human activities affecting the ocean 

The assessment of what is happening to aesthetic, cultural, religious and spiritual values is also very difficult. In essentially every coastal or island culture, the indigenous peoples have spiritual links to the sea. They often also have links with species or places, or both, that have high iconic values. The spiritual significance of those marine species and places may be part of their self-identification and reflects their beliefs about the origins of their culture. That is particularly true of island cultures, which are often intimately bound to the sea. Expressions of loss of, or threats to, such cultures and identities are readily found, but the marine component is not easily separated. Even populations that are economically fully developed with largely urbanized lifestyles still look to the ocean for spiritual and cultural benefits that have proven hard to value monetarily. 

In the 1990s, it became clear that the effects of fisheries on other biotas made an ecosystem approach to fishery management necessary, taking into account how a fishery might directly kill other species through by-catches, alter habitats and change relationships in the food web. Since then, the increasing use of the ocean has shown how fisheries managers need to work with other sectors to manage their effects on each other and, collectively, on the ocean that they share. "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Shellfish productivity 

Because of the acidification of the ocean, impacts on the production by shellfish of their calcium carbonate shells has already been observed periodically at aquaculture facilities, hindering production. As acidification intensifies, this problem will become more widespread, and occur in wild, as well as in cultured, stocks. However, like all other ocean properties, acidification is not evenly distributed, so that the effects will not be uniform across areas and there will be substantial variation over small spatial scales. In addition, temperature, salinity and other changes will also change shellfish distributions and productivity, positively or negatively in different areas. As with fishing, the course of those changes is highly uncertain and may be disruptive to existing shellfish fisheries and aquaculture. 

Low-lying coasts 

Sea-level rise, due to ocean warming and the melting of land ice, poses a significant threat to coastal systems and low-lying areas around the world, through inundations, the erosion of coastlines and the contamination of freshwater reserves and food crops. To a large extent, such effects are inevitable, as they are the consequences of conditions already in place, but they could have devastating effects if mitigation options are not pursued. Entire communities on low-lying islands (including States such as Kiribati, Maldives and Tuvalu) have nowhere to retreat to within their islands and have therefore no alternative but to abandon their homes entirely, at a cost they are often ill-placed to bear. Coastal regions, particularly some low-lying river deltas, have very high population densities. Over 150 million people are estimated to live on land that is no more than 1 metre above today’s high-tide levels, and 250 million at elevations within five metres of that level. Because of their high population densities, coastal cities are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise in concert with other effects of climate change, such as changes in storm patterns. "
"While some benefits from the ocean are very central and ensure the existence of life on earth, including the production of oxygen and the uptake of carbon dioxide and heat, most services are related to specific ecosystems or elements therein and are thus not evenly distributed. Moreover, not all States have the capacity to participate fully in and benefit from the ocean and its resources. That may be because they either do not have access to the ocean, such as landlocked States, or do not have the financial means to develop maritime industries, which is the case for many developing countries. Some States do not have the capacity for access to areas beyond national jurisdiction or even parts of their own exclusive economic zone. For example, in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the collection of marine genetic resources, their sequencing and potential commercialization are currently concentrated in a small number of countries (Blasiak and others, 2018; 2019; Harden-Davies, 2019; Levin and Baker, 2019). 

One of the main provisioning services, living resources, is not only unevenly distributed, with productivity hotspots concentrated in the upwelling areas of the world (Kämpf and Chapman, 2016), but a very substantial proportion of capture fisheries is carried out by relatively few fishing vessels from few States. Vessels from 25 States took 42 per cent of the global catch in 2016 (FAO, 2018). Thus, profits are not necessarily going to the countries with the exclusive economic zone in which the fishes are produced. McCauley and others (2018) found that vessels flagged to higher-income nations, for example, are responsible for 97 per cent of trackable industrial fishing on the high seas and 78 per cent within the national waters of lower-income countries. 

Economic assessments of the cultural benefits of ecosystem services are increasingly undertaken by applying environmental valuation methods to recreational uses such as tourism, marine recreational fishing, whale watching, and enjoying the seascape (Hanley and others, 2015; Aanesen and others, 2015; Spalding and others, 2017), as well as non-use values (i.e., existence and bequest values) of coral reefs and other marine biodiversity (Aanesen and others, 2015; Navrud and others, 2017). Tourism relies particularly on specific characteristics such as coral reefs (Brander and others, 2007) and specific activities such as cruise tourism, and are concentrated in certain areas such as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean but increasingly in polar areas too (see chap. 8A). "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Coral reefs 

Corals are subject to “bleaching” when the seawater temperature is too high: they lose the symbiotic algae that give coral its colour and part of its nutrients. Coral bleaching was a relatively unknown phenomenon until the early 1980s, when a series of local bleaching events occurred, principally in the eastern tropical Pacific and Wider Caribbean regions. Severe, prolonged or repeated bleaching can lead to the death of coral colonies. An increase of only 1°C to 2°C above the normal local seasonal maximum can induce bleaching. Although most coral species are susceptible to bleaching, their thermal tolerance varies. Many heat-stressed or bleached corals subsequently die from coral diseases. 

Rising temperatures have accelerated bleaching and mass mortality during the past 25 years. The bleaching events in 1998 and 2005 caused high coral mortality at many reefs, with little sign of recovery. Global analysis shows that this widespread threat has significantly damaged most coral reefs around the world. Where recovery has taken place, it has been strongest on reefs that were highly protected from human pressures. However, a comparison of the recent and accelerating thermal stress events with the slow recovery rate of most reefs suggests that temperature increase is outpacing recovery. 

Losses of coral reefs can have negative effects on fish production and fisheries, coastal protection, ecotourism and other community uses of coral reefs. Current scientific data and modelling predict that most of the world’s tropical and subtropical coral reefs, particularly those in shallow waters, will suffer from annual bleaching by 2050, and will eventually become functionally extinct as sources of goods and services. This will have not only profound effects on small island developing States and subsistence fishermen in low-latitude coastal areas, but also locally significant effects even in major economies, such as that of the United States. "
"The complex system of the atmosphere and ocean currents is also crucial to the distribution of life in the ocean, since it regulates, among other factors, (as said above) temperature, salinity, oxygen content, absorption of carbon dioxide and the penetration of light and (in addition to these) the distribution of nutrients. 

The distribution of nutrients throughout the ocean is the result of the interaction of a number of different processes. Nutrients are introduced to the ocean from the land through riverine discharges, through inputs direct from pipelines and through airborne inputs (see Chapter 20). Within the ocean, these external inputs of nutrients suffer various fates and are cycled. Nutrients that are adsorbed onto the surface of particles are likely to fall into sediments, from where they may either be remobilised by water movement or settle permanently. Nutrients that are taken up by plants and mixotrophic biota for photosynthesis will also eventually sink towards the seabed as the plants or biota die; en route or when they reach the seabed, they will be broken up by bacteria and the nutrients released. As a result of these processes, the water in lower levels of the ocean is richer in nutrients. "
"Extreme climate events 

A tropical cyclone is the general term for a strong, cyclonic-scale disturbance that originates over the tropical ocean. Based on one-minute maximum sustained wind speed, the cyclonic disturbances are categorized into tropical depressions (? 17 m/s), tropical storms (18–32 m/s) and tropical cyclones (? 33 m/s, category 1 to category 5) (Knutson and others, 2010). A tropical cyclone is called a hurricane, typhoon or cyclone, depending on geographic location. 

Anthropogenic climate change has increased precipitation, winds and extreme sea level events associated with a number of observed tropical cyclones. For example, studies have shown that the rainfall intensity of tropical cyclone (Hurricane) Harvey increased by at least 8 per cent (8–19 per cent) owing to climate change (Risser and Wehner, 2017; Van Oldenborgh and others, 2017). Anthropogenic climate change may have contributed to a poleward migration of maximum tropical cyclone intensity in the western North Pacific in recent decades related to anthropogenically forced tropical expansion (Sharmila and Walsh, 2018). There is emerging evidence of a number of regional changes in tropical cyclone behaviour, such as an increase in the annual global proportion of category 4 or 5 tropical cyclones in recent decades, extremely severe tropical cyclones occurring in the Arabian Sea, cyclones making landfall in East and South-East Asia, an increase in frequency of moderately large storm surge events in the United States since 1923 and a decrease in frequency of severe tropical cyclones making landfall in eastern Australia since the late 1800s. There is low confidence that they represent detectable anthropogenic signals. Extreme wave heights, which contribute to extreme sea level events, coastal erosion and flooding, have increased in the Southern Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean by about 1.0 cm per year and 0.8 cm per year over the period 1985–2018 (Young and Ribal, 2019). 

An increase in the average intensity of tropical cyclones, and the associated average precipitation rates, is projected for a 2°C global temperature rise, although there is low confidence in future frequency changes at the global scale (Yamada and others, 2017). Rising sea levels will contribute to higher extreme sea levels associated with tropical cyclones in the future (Garner and others, 2017). Projections suggest that the proportion of category 4 and 5 tropical cyclones will increase (Knutson and others, 2015; Park and others, 2017). Such changes will affect storm surge frequency and intensity, as well as coastal infrastructure and mortality. 

Investment in disaster risk reduction, flood management (ecosystem and engineered) and early warning systems decreases economic loss from tropical cyclones that occur near coasts and islands. However, such investments may be hindered by limited local capacities (e.g., ageing infrastructure and other non-climatic factors) that, for example, can lead to increased losses and mortality from extreme winds and storm surges in developing countries despite adaptation efforts. There is emerging evidence of increasing risks for locations affected by unprecedented storm trajectories. Management of risk from such changing storm trajectories and intensity proves challenging because of the difficulties of early warning and its receptivity by affected populations.  "
" 

The present chapter provides an update to chapter 23 of the first World Ocean Assessment (United Nations, 2017a) in terms of shallow-water aggregate, placer deposits, ironsand deposits and phosphorite deposits. It focuses on exploration licences for deepwater seabed mineral resources, the number of which has increased significantly since the first Assessment. 

New technologies to reduce impacts on the marine environment are now envisaged for the exploitation of placer deposits, traditionally mined by dredging. Prospects for mining phosphorite deposits have faced opposition from stakeholders and have yet to become a reality. 

Seabed mineral deposits covered in the present chapter (polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts) are being considered for mining and the object of 30 contracts for exploration awarded by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). 

One driver for those activities is that deepwater seabed mineral resources contain diverse rare and critical metals that would support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. 

The environmental impacts of the exploitation of those seabed mineral resources are a scientific community focus, and regulations are now being developed by ISA. 

A lack of information on biodiversity, connectivity and ecosystem services exists, and a robust collection of baseline ecological data is necessary for predictions related to the future deepwater seabed mining activities, given the risk of irreversible damage to deep-sea ecosystems. 

ISA has considered various financial models for the commercial mining of polymetallic nodules. Metal prices are difficult to predict, which can create significant risk that may delay commercial mining. 

Deepwater seabed mineral resources are typically located far from human communities and the social impacts of their exploitation may be less than those of terrestrial mining. However, significant concerns exist about loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, including the role of the deep ocean in climate regulation. Those legitimate concerns constitute the basis for a “social licence to operate”. 

 "
"Technological advances 

As maritime activities have expanded and demands on resources have increased, technological advances have been key to increasing efficiencies, expanding markets and enhancing economic growth associated with activities. Such innovations have led to both positive and negative outcomes for the marine environment. Some advances in fishing technologies have led to an overall increase in capacity and, in many regions in Asia, Europe and North America, to overcapacity (Eigaard and others, 2014). Increased efficiencies generated through the use of technologies (also known as “technological creep”), for example, allowing for more efficient and accurate targeting of catches, have also resulted in effort gains within fisheries, thus contributing to overfishing of stocks (Finkbeiner and others, 2017). Conversely, advances in remote sensing, camera technologies, field deployment of genetic approaches to species identification and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches are now contributing to better monitoring of illegal, unregulated and unreported catches (Detsis and others, 2012), improving the reporting of catches (Ruiz and others, 2014), allowing for the traceability of products (Lewis and Boyle, 2017) and reducing wastage along supply chains (Hafliðason and others, 2012). Such technologies are also assisting in improved monitoring of the movements of fishing fleets, thus ensuring more effective management of protected areas (Rowlands and others, 2019). 

Technological advances, including digitalization, are modernizing energy efficiency by reducing energy use, shifting demand from peak to off-peak periods, increasing connectivity and providing flexible loads (which account for increasing shares of intermittent energy generation in the renewable sector), with positive outcomes in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (IEA, 2019a). Improvements in vehicle engines to burn fossil fuels more efficiently and innovations in solar and wind energy to produce clean energy are also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "
"Ecosystems, including marine ecosystems, provide services to people, which are lifesustaining and contribute to human health and well-being (Millennium Ecosyste Assessment, 2005; de Groot, 2011). The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment defines an ecosystem as “a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit” and goes on to define ecosystem services as “the benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems” (p. 27). This definition encompasses both the benefits people perceive and those benefits that are not perceived (van den Belt et al., 2011b). In other words, a benefit from ecosystems does not need to be explicitly perceived (or empirically quantified) to be considered relevant in an ecosystem services approach. Similarly, ecosystems and their processes and functions can be described in biophysical (and other) relationships whether or not humans benefit from them. Ecosystem services reflect the influence of these processes on society’s wellbeing; including people’s physical and mental well-being. While ecosystems provide services not only to people, the evaluations of services are, by definition anthropocentric. 

The deliberate interlinking between human and natural systems is not new, but over the past few decades interest in “ecosystem services” as a concept has surged, with research and activities involving natural and social scientists, governments and businesses alike (Costanza et al., 1997; Daily, 1997; Braat and de Groot, 2012). This interest is in part driven by the growing recognition that the collective impact of humans on the earth is pushing against the biophysical limits of many ecosystems to sustain the well-being of humankind. Such pressures are well recognized (e.g., Halpern et al., 2008; Rockstrom et al., 2009) and are felt by pelagic, coastal, and intertidal ecosystems. 

The human system – comprising built, human and social capital –ultimately is fully dependent on natural capital. Ecosystems can exist without humans in them, but humans cannot survive without ecosystems. Therefore, the human system can usefully be considered as a sub-system of natural capital. An ecosystem services approach then becomes an organizing principle to make visible the relative contribution of natural capital toward the goal of human well-being. The use of such an organizing principle can be the basis for investments to maintain and enhance natural capital to ensure a flow of ecosystem services (Costanza et al., 2014).   "
"Cultural services and other social benefits of marine and coastal ecosystems 

Heritage is also part of the cultural services provided by the ocean, with significant, though often unquantified, social and economic benefits (Firth, 2015). The iconic nature of underwater cultural heritage, such as historic shipwrecks, captures archaeological and historical information, revealing unique aspects of past human seafaring and behaviour, to be shared through museums, documentaries and public research. Shipwrecks can also yield valuable information about the sociocultural, historical, economic and political contexts on various scales of reference (local, regional or global) between the date of the vessel’s construction (e.g., hull design, rig, materials used or purpose) and the reason for its eventual demise in the sea (e.g., warfare, piracy, privateering, intentional abandonment or natural weather events) (Gould, 1983). The remains of prehistoric and historic landscapes submerged by changing sea levels and the continuing destruction of important coastal sites by exposure and erosion are important reminders of climate change in the human past and of the impact of the climate crisis today (Harkin and others, 2020). 

Wreck site tourism plays a role in the recreational diving industry. Services to memorialize vessel losses, such as wreath-laying ceremonies at submerged warship gravesites, are an expression of the deep connection to sacrifice at sea. The diversity of cultural services arising from shipwrecks and other historic structures in the sea is complemented by the role that underwater cultural heritage can play as artificial reef, providing habitats that are important for nature conservation, sea angling and commercial fishing, for example (Firth, 2018). 

Finally, there is a sense of place engendered in onlookers by the ocean. The sense of openness and exposure to the elements can be very important to those who live by the sea or visit it as tourists. As discussed in chapter 8B on human health and the ocean, there is growing evidence that the sense of openness engendered by the ocean can improve human health. The ocean has also been an important source of inspiration to artists, composers and writers, often reflecting economically important aspects of society. Some studies reveal the deep emotional attachment of people to the marine environment (e.g., the Black Sea in Fletcher and others (2014) and the North Sea in Gee and Burkhard (2010)), as well as the importance of maintaining that relationship to preserve both nature and culture (Fletcher and others, 2014). However, despite progress to date, marine research and management have until recently largely neglected the critically important role of the sense of place, including how it influences the success and efficacy of management interventions (Van Putten and others, 2018; Hernandez and others, 2007). 

Opportunities for income generation and employment opportunities, for education and recreation and for scientific and artistic information and inspiration are also part of the wider range of social benefits that marine and coastal ecosystems provide and upon which the well-being of populations, regardless of their distance from the shore, hinges directly and indirectly. "
"In the present chapter, the current physical and chemical state of the ocean and its trends are analysed using seven key climate change indicators: 

 

Sea level.Sea level integrates changes occurring in the Earth’s climate system in response to unforced climate variability, as well as natural and anthropogenic influences. It is therefore a leading indicator of global climate change and variability. 

Ocean circulation. Ocean circulation plays a central role in regulating the Earth’s climate and influences marine life by transporting heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients. The main drivers of ocean circulation are surface winds and density gradients (determined by ocean temperature and salinity), and any changes in those drivers can induce changes to ocean circulation. 

Sea temperature and ocean heat content. The rapid warming of the global ocean over the past few decades has affected the weather, climate, ecosystems, human society and economies (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019). More heat in the ocean is manifested in many ways, including an increasing interior ocean temperature (Cheng and others, 2019b), a rising sea level caused by thermal expansion, melting ice sheets, an intensified hydrological cycle, changing atmospheric and oceanic circulations and stronger tropical cyclones with heavier rainfall (Trenberth and others, 2018). 

Salinity. With the advent of improved observational salinity products, more attention has been paid to ocean salinity in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports (fourth report, Bindoff and others, 2007; and fifth report, Rhein and others, 2013) and in the first World Ocean Assessment (United Nations, 2017). Changes to ocean salinity are important given that the global ocean covers 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface and contains 97 per cent of the Earth’s free water (Durack, 2015). Any global water changes will be expressed in the changing patterns of ocean salinity, a water cycle marker of the largest reservoir of the climate system. 

Ocean acidification. Rising concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere also have a direct effect on the chemistry of the ocean through the absorption of CO2. The ocean absorbed roughly 30 per cent of all CO2 emissions in the period from 1870 to 2015 (Le Quéré and others, 2016; Gruber and others, 2019), and the increased CO2 level in the water lowers its pH through the formation of carbonic acid. 

Dissolved oxygen. Variations in oceanic oxygen have a profound impact on marine life, from nutrient cycling to pelagic fish habitat boundaries (e.g., Worm and others, 2005; Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008; Stramma and others, 2012; Levin, 2018) and can influence climate change through emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas (e.g., Voss and others, 2013). 

Sea ice. Sea ice in the polar regions covers about 15 per cent of the global ocean and affects the global climate system through its influence on global heat balance and global thermohaline circulation. In addition, sea ice has a high albedo, reflecting more sunlight than the liquid ocean, and its melt releases fresh water, which slows the global ocean conveyor belt (the constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity). 

 

The present chapter, using those indicators, contains details of the impacts of climate change on the physical and chemical state of the ocean and its evolution and spatial patterns. It is to be read in conjunction with chapter 9, in which extreme climate events (marine heatwaves, extreme El Niño events and tropical cyclones) are analysed and the pressures of some of the physical and chemical changes on marine ecosystems and human populations are described in more detail. Some additional aspects are covered in the section on high-latitude ice in chapter 7 on trends in the state of biodiversity in marine habitats. "
"Increased use of ocean space 

Offshore hydrocarbon industries 

 The growth of the offshore oil and gas industry has increased the demand by that sector for access to ocean space within areas under national jurisdiction (including space for pipelines to bring the hydrocarbon products ashore). More than 620,000 km² (almost 9 per cent) of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Australia is subject to oil and gas leases. In the United States, about 550,000 km² of the whole EEZ is subject to current oil and gas leases, including 470,000 km² in the Gulf of Mexico, representing 66 per cent of the EEZ of the United States in that area. When such significant proportions of the ocean areas under national jurisdiction are thus subject to such prior claims, overlaps in sectoral interests become inevitable. 

Offshore mining 

Offshore mining is currently confined to shallow-water coastal regions, although growing exploration activity is focused on deep-sea minerals. About 75 per cent of the world’s tin, 11 per cent of gold, and 13 per cent of platinum are extracted from the placer deposits near the surface of the coastal seabed, where they have been concentrated by waves and currents. Diamonds are also an important mining target. Aggregates (sand, coral, gravel and seashells) are also important: the United Kingdom, the world’s largest producer of marine aggregates, currently extracts approximately 20 million tons of marine aggregate per year, meeting around 20 per cent of its demand. Those activities are all concentrated in coastal waters, where other demands for space are high. Deep-water deposits that have generated continuing interest, but are not currently mined, include ferromanganese nodules and crusts, polymetallic sulphides, phosphorites, and methane hydrates. Demands for deep-sea space are likely to develop in the future. "
"The Earth’s ocean and atmosphere are parts of a single, interactive system that controls the global climate. The ocean plays a major role in this control, particularly in the dispersal of heat from the equator towards the poles through ocean currents. The heat transfer through the ocean is possible because of the larger heat-capacity of water compared with that of air: there is more heat stored in the upper 3 metres of the global ocean than in the entire atmosphere of the Earth. Put another way, the oceans hold more than 1,000 times more heat than the atmosphere. Heat transported by the major ocean currents dramatically affects regional climate: for example, Europe would be much colder than it is without the warmth brought by the Gulf Stream current. The great ocean boundary currents transport heat from the equator to the polar seas (and cold from the polar seas towards the equator), along the margins of the continents. Examples include: the Kuroshio Current in the northwest Pacific, the Humboldt (Peru) Current in the southeast Pacific, the Benguela Current in the southeast Atlantic and the Agulhas Current in the western Indian Ocean. The mightiest ocean current of all is the Circumpolar Current which flows from west to east encircling the continent of Antarctica and transporting more than 100 Sverdrups (100 million cubic meters per second) of ocean water (Rintoul and Sokolov, 2001). As well as the boundary currents, there are five major gyres of rotating currents: two in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific (in each case one north and one south of the equator) and one in the Indian Ocean. "
" 

Thermal expansion from a warming ocean and land ice melt are the main causes of the accelerating global rise in the mean sea level. 

Global warming is also affecting many circulation systems. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has already weakened and will most likely continue to do so in the future. The impacts of ocean circulation changes include a regional rise in sea levels, changes in the nutrient distribution and carbon uptake of the ocean and feedbacks with the atmosphere, such as altering the distribution of precipitation. 

More than 90  per  cent of the heat from global warming is stored in the global ocean. Oceans have exhibited robust warming since the 1950s from the surface to a depth of 2,000 m. The proportion of ocean heat content has more than doubled since the 1990s compared with long-term trends. Ocean warming can be seen in most of the global ocean, with a few regions exhibiting long-term cooling. 

The ocean shows a marked pattern of salinity changes in multidecadal observations, with surface and subsurface patterns providing clear evidence of a water cycle amplification over the ocean. That is manifested in enhanced salinities in the near-surface, high-salinity subtropical regions and freshening in the low-salinity regions such as the West Pacific Warm Pool and the poles. 

An increase in atmospheric CO2 levels, and a subsequent increase in carbon in the oceans, has changed the chemistry of the oceans to include changes to pH and aragonite saturation. A more carbon-enriched marine environment, especially when coupled with other environmental stressors, has been demonstrated through field studies and experiments to have negative impacts on a wide range of organisms, in particular those that form calcium carbonate shells, and alter biodiversity and ecosystem structure. 

Decades of oxygen observations allow for robust trend analyses. Long-term measurements have shown decreases in dissolved oxygen concentrations for most ocean regions and the expansion of oxygen-depleted zones. A temperature-driven solubility decrease is responsible for most near-surface oxygen loss, though oxygen decrease is not limited to the upper ocean and is present throughout the water column in many areas. 

Total sea ice extent has been declining rapidly in the Arctic, but trends are insignificant in the Antarctic. In the Arctic, the summer trends are most striking in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean, while, in the Antarctic, the summer trends show increases in the Weddell Sea and decreases in the West Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean. Variations in sea ice extent result from changes in wind and ocean currents. 

 "
"Regulating services of marine and coastal ecosystems 

Oceans perform fundamental regulating services. They influence biologically mediated processes, such as carbon fixation and oxygen release, enabling climate mitigation and regulation. Similarly, coastal fringes perform a key role in sequestering carbon. Those services have an indirect use value for humans as they enable the maintenance of favourable and stable climate conditions (e.g., temperatures and precipitation) to which livelihood activities have adapted (e.g., crop cultivations), the preservation of human health, and infrastructure and other assets on which livelihoods depend. The role of coastal ecosystems in controlling pests and animal populations through trophic-dynamic relations and supporting pollination helps to keep at bay pests and diseases that can have an impact on cultivations, aquaculture activities and, potentially, human health. 

Coastal ecosystems play an important role in the prevention of coastal erosion and can act as both shoreline stabilization and protection against storms, attenuating the strength of the waves and reducing the vulnerability of coastal settlements to sea surges and flooding events. For example, it was estimated that the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 caused greater damage to areas that had been converted to shrimp ponds and other uses than those where the mangrove had remained intact (FEnvironmental Justice Foundation, 2006) and that, overall, the thicker the mangrove fringes were, the greater the protection to economic activity that they offered (Hochard and others, 2019). Albeit to a lesser extent, coral reefs, seagrass beds and other vegetated coastal ecosystems can also have a significant impact in dissipating wave action and offering shoreline protection (Spalding and others, 2014) provided that they are in a healthy state themselves. 

Supporting services of marine and coastal ecosystems 

Photosynthesis occurring in marine and coastal ecosystems enables the conversion of solar energy into plants and animals and the maintenance of the net primary productivity of the ecosystems. Coastal ecosystems perform a key role in maintaining biodiversity and suitable reproductive habitats and nursery grounds for aquatic species. The ecological niches and refuge for wild animals and plants that they provide directly support the provisioning services of marine and coastal ecosystems. For example, seagrass beds in the Mediterranean are estimated to contribute 30 to 40 per cent of the value of commercial fisheries landings and approximately 29 per cent of recreational fisheries expenditure (Jackson and others, 2015). Coastal ecosystems also act as pollution sinks, enable the storage and recycling of nutrients and support water cycling. "
"The major ocean currents connect geographic regions and also exert control on ocean life in other ways. Currents form natural boundaries that help define distinct habitats. Such boundaries may isolate different genetic strains of the same species as well as different species. Many marine animals (for example, salmon and squid) have migration patterns that rely upon transport in major ocean current systems, and other species rely on currents to distribute their larvae to new habitats. Populations of ocean species naturally fluctuate from year to year, and ocean currents often play a significant role. The survival of plankton, for example, is affected by where the currents carry them. Food supply varies as changing circulation and upwelling patterns lead to higher or lower nutrient concentrations. 

The heterogeneity of the oceans, its water masses, currents, ecological processes, geological history and seafloor morphology, have resulted in great variations in the spatial distribution of life. In short, biodiversity is not uniformly distributed across the oceans: there are local and regional biodiversity “hotspots” (see Chapters 33 and 35). Figure 3 shows a way in which the diversity of species is consequently distributed around the world. Various classification systems have been devised to systematize this variety, including the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) (Davies and Moss, 1999; Connor et al., 2004) and the Global Open Ocean and Deep Sea-habitats (GOODS) classification and its refinements (Agnostini 2008; Rice et al 2011)). 
 "
"Human activities affecting the incidence of coastal erosion and sedimentation include the substantial growth in the number and scale of dams on major waterways, land-use changes leading to catchment deforestation and increased human occupation of the coastal zone, coincident with a proliferation of coastal structures (Rangel-Buitrago and others, 2018a, 2018c). The evaluation of global coastal change is not sufficiently mature to establish metrics for human-induced change to secular trends. However, identified hotspots of shoreline displacement, mostly associated with coastal erosion and accretion, are areas that are strongly linked to human activity, producing estimated 33-year trends exceeding 5 m per year for approximately 4 per cent of the world’s coasts (Luijendijk and others, 2018a). Compared with the knowledge of preceding conditions, substantial coastal erosion has been observed for a majority of deltas owing to a significant reduction in riverine sediment loads from 1970 to 2014 (Besset and others, 2019). Overall decreases in riverine sediment supply to the coast are expected to reduce the stability of adjacent downdrift coasts and, for parts of the coast, will reverse long-term accretive trends, which will exacerbate the demand for coastal management works and reduce the effectiveness of existing works, in particular those that act to redistribute sediment supply. Furthermore, that situation will increase the proliferation of coastal works, which have historically been developed in response to increased coastal population levels and a corresponding low tolerance for coastal change. As demonstrated by shoreline monitoring, the increased manipulation of coastal dynamics and the strict regulation of sand mining permits provide opportunities for substantial secular change to coastal trends, including both accretion and erosion (Williams and others, 2018; Bergillos and others, 2019). With sea level rise and an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events owing to climate change, coastal erosion will be more serious for islands where riverine sediment does not exist. "
"Marine heatwaves are shown to be increasing in frequency and intensity owing to climate change caused by human activities and are having a mostly negative impact on marine ecosystems. Marine heatwaves and their impacts are projected to increase in the future but those increases can be strongly limited by efforts to mitigate climate change. Forecasting systems may be employed in adapting to the effects of marine heatwaves. 

Extreme El Niño and La Niña events have been observed but, because they occur infrequently, a human influence has not been detected. Nevertheless, models indicate an increase in the frequency of both phases of the oscillation under future scenarios of global warming. As in the case of marine heatwaves, forecasting systems, which already exist, may be employed in risk management and adaptation. 

While changes in the frequency and spatial distribution of tropical cyclones are hard to detect in the observational record, studies of individual cyclones have shown a human influence on their intensity, in particular, the associated rainfall. Changes in intensity are projected to increase in the future, with associated impacts on storm surges and coastal infrastructure. 

Although all coastal cities are already facing rising sea levels, low-lying cities and developing countries that lack the ability to invest in coastal defence measures and natural barrier restoration will suffer damage and losses of a higher degree. Global population studies suggest that people are relocating to coastal areas and will continue to do so, thereby putting more people at risk economically and socially. Although cities are typically centres for innovation and investment, key examples demonstrate the difficulty in solving such complex problems in vulnerable locations. 

Damage and losses are also driven by existing vulnerabilities in coastal infrastructure and may not be solely attributed to rising sea levels. Rather, increasing sea levels may exacerbate existing issues, increasing risk. 

The complex interactions of temperature and salinity with nutrients and chemical cycles of the ocean imply that variations in those variables owing to climate change and anthropogenic impact thus affect marine ecosystems, population, coastal communities and the related economy. Ocean warming is causing significant damage to marine ecosystems, and species are losing their habitats, forcing them to adapt or relocate to new temperatures or look for new feeding, spawning or nursery areas. 

Ocean acidity and the availability of sufficient oxygen both underpin the provision of marine ecosystem services to human society. Rapid changes in ocean acidity and falling oxygen levels caused by climate change and anthropogenic CO2 emissions are, however, now being observed, which is changing marine habitats and ecosystems worldwide. Warming is causing oxygen levels to fall, and acidification is rapidly changing the carbonate chemistry of surface ocean waters, which together are reducing the growth and survival of many organisms and degrading ecosystem resilience. Closing knowledge gaps in ocean science by supporting capacity-building efforts that increase the understanding of how the ocean and its ecosystems are responding to changes in ocean physical and chemical properties is an important pathway to reducing the impacts of such changes and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 14. "
"Outlook 

The management of marine litter pollution is exceptionally complex and requires an integrated approach, encompassing science, legislation, economics, ocean literacy, education, social participation and international cooperation on capacity-building, and technology transfer, as well as technical and financial support at multiple levels, from the global to the regional and local levels, owing to the diversity of the actors, sources, materials, socioeconomic aspects and regulatory frameworks involved. Without improved international policies and mobilization, plastic pollution will only worsen (Jambeck and others, 2015). It is estimated that, if current consumption patterns and waste management practices do not improve, there will be about 12 billion tons of plastic litter in landfills and the natural environment by 2050 (Geyer and others, 2017). The consequences will not be purely economic, and the environmental impact will be huge. 

A variety of options exist to deal with critical levels of marine litter, some of which include approaches to address the issue, while understanding that not all are applicable to or supported by every country and some do not consider adverse impacts: the reduction of plastic consumption; support for eco-design and innovation (especially research into end-of-life plastic issues and alternatives); resource efficiency and better management of waste and water; long-term, efficient and viable recycling targets for municipal waste, packaging and plastic waste; greater use of policy instruments and control measures, including incentives, taxes and other regulatory measures, such as bans or extended producer responsibility schemes; and the adoption of remanufacturing initiatives and the coordination of policy investments in the waste sector (Ten Brink and others, 2018). There is also a need for tight regulation and supervision of global waste trading, especially scrap plastic. 

Plastic pollution is also a gateway to effective environmental education. The challenge is to change people’s perceptions and understanding of the issue, so that they can see plastic pollution as a vector of education, awareness and literacy, as well as to find potential strategies to overcome political, economic and cultural barriers. Within the context of marine litter science, the objectives may be related to policy-relevant goals and thus increase the stimulus to citizens (GESAMP, 2019). "
"Technological advances

Areas beyond national jurisdiction have become increasingly accessible owing to technological advancements that facilitate the exploration and exploitation of deep-sea resources, including biodiversity, minerals, oil and gas. Ensuring the sustainable development of those regions will require international cooperation in order to manage them effectively. Negotiations on a legally binding international instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of the marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction are focused on ensuring the sustainable development and conservation of those areas (see also chap. 28). The International Seabed Authority has a dual mandate of promoting the development of deep-sea minerals, while ensuring that such development is not harmful to the environment. In areas beyond national jurisdiction, appropriate planning will be required to minimize impacts on the marine environment. The uptake of technological advances for accessing and utilizing marine resources, sustainably developing marine industries and effectively managing those uses is not globally even. Many regions, in particular those where the least developed countries are located, still lack access to technologies that can assist with the sustainable use of marine resources.

Changing governance structures and geopolitical instability

There has been an increase in nationalism and protectionism over the past decade, contributing to changing trade agreements and, more recently, the implementation of tariffs on goods between specific countries. The Democracy Index fell from 5.55 in 2014 to 5.44 in 2019, largely driven by the regional deterioration of conditions in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. When indices for individual countries are calculated, stark regional differences are evident. Countries in Scandinavia, the far north of North America and the South-West Pacific had the highest indices, while those in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia had the lowest. Those differences have an impact on the implementation of global and regional treaties and agreements, thereby affecting economic growth, the transfer of technologies and the implementation of frameworks for managing ocean use, including the development of national ocean-related policies. That, therefore, affects the sustainability of human activities and the protection of marine ecosystems in those areas.

Climate change

Climate change effects are not uniform across the global ocean. A number of regions are warming at higher rates than the global average and are identified as marine hotspots (Hobday and Pecl, 2014). A number of those hotspots are located where human dependence on marine resources is greatest, such as South-East Asia and Western Africa, with substantive implications for food security compared with other regions. The Arctic is another region where the ocean is warming at 2 to 3 times above the global average (IPCC, 2018). Similarly, decreases in the pH and carbonate ion concentrations of the ocean, associated with ocean acidification, and other effects of climate change, such as deoxygenation, stratification and sea level rise, are regionally variable, with highly variable impacts on the marine environment. Regional differences in such changes are described in detail in chapter 5, and the pressures that they are generating, including socioeconomic impacts, are described in detail in chapter 9. "
"Patterns of biodiversity 

Biodiversity and economic activity 

Sometimes, because of the special physical features that contribute to high biodiversity, and sometimes because of the concentration of biodiversity itself, many societies and industries are most active in areas that are also biodiversity hotspots. As on land, humanity has found the greatest social and economic benefits in the places in the ocean that are highly productive and structurally complex. For example, 22 of the 32 largest cities in the world are located on estuaries; mangroves and coral reefs support smallscale (artisanal) fisheries in developing countries. Biodiversity hotspots tend to attract human uses and become socioeconomic hotspots. Hence biodiversity-rich areas have a disproportionately high representation of ports and coastal infrastructure, other intensive coastal land uses, fishing activities and aquaculture. This is one of the major challenges to the sustainable use of marine biodiversity. 

Some marine features, such as seamounts, often found in areas beyond national jurisdiction, have high levels of biodiversity, frequently characterized by the presence of many species not found elsewhere. Significant numbers of the species mature late, and therefore reproduce slowly. High levels of fishing have rapidly undermined the biodiversity of many such features, and risk continuing to do so in the absence of careful management. 

New forms of economic activity in the open ocean, such as seabed mining, and the expansion of existing forms of activity, such as hydrocarbon extraction, have the potential to have major impacts on its biodiversity, which is to date poorly known. Without careful management of those activities, there is a risk that the biodiversity of areas affected could be destroyed before it is properly understood. "
"Impacts of climate change and related changes in the atmosphere 

Loss of sea ice in high latitudes and associated ecosystems 

The high-latitude ice-covered ecosystems host globally significant arrays of biodiversity, and the size and nature of those ecosystems make them critically important to the biological, chemical and physical balance of the biosphere. Biodiversity in those systems has developed remarkable adaptations to survive both extreme cold and highly variable climatic conditions. 

High-latitude seas are relatively low in biological productivity, and ice algal communities, unique to those latitudes, play a particularly important role in system dynamics. Ice algae are estimated to contribute more than 50 per cent of the primary production in the permanently ice-covered central Arctic. As sea-ice cover declines, this productivity may decline and open water species may increase. The high-latitude ecosystems are undergoing change at a rate more rapid than in other places on earth. In the past 100 years, average Arctic temperatures have increased at almost twice the average global rate. Reduced sea ice, especially a shift towards less multi-year sea ice, will affect a wide range of species in those waters. For example, owing to low reproductive rates and long lifetimes, some iconic species (including the polar bear) will be challenged to adapt to the current fast warming of the Arctic and may be extirpated from portions of their range within the next 100 years. "
" 

Coastal and marine infrastructures are necessary for the use, exploitation and protection of the coastal and marine natural resources and environment for socioeconomic development. 

In general, if well-designed and well-built, coastal infrastructure development can be ecologically as well as economically and socially sustainable, increase the resilience of coasts and lead to sustainable economic growth. 

Infrastructures can influence natural systems and their use and create pressures and conflicts or favourable conditions. 

Between 2010 and 2020, there was an upward trend in newly developed, renovated or upgraded marine and coastal infrastructure. 

The most significant changes are coastal and offshore land reclamation, especially in East Asian countries, for new coastal urban development, roads, coastal defence structures, port and harbour facilities and tourist facilities. 

Depending on the case, coastal and marine infrastructures may cause substantial damage or reduce damage to coastal and marine ecosystems. 

The new coastal infrastructure development approach, known as “blue infrastructure development”, can harmonize coastal protection and development, as well as habitat and ecological protection, thereby reducing ecological damage. 

Coastal and marine infrastructure development in general has created new opportunities for coastal dwellers and supported sustainable socioeconomic coastal development. 

 "
"Pressures from changes in ocean chemistry 

Ocean uptake of carbon dioxide emissions is rapidly changing seawater chemistry in a process known as ocean acidification (see chap.  5). As the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in seawater increases, it causes the carbonate saturation state to fall below levels suitable for globally important reef-forming taxa (Albright and others, 2018). Most coral reefs (shallow and deep) are vulnerable to rising CO2 concentrations (Lam and others, 2019). Ocean acidification is causing the depth at which seawater is corrosive to carbonate to shoal, threatening deepwater coral reefs worldwide through dissolution and intensified bioerosion (Gómez and others, 2018). Ocean acidification combines with warming, rising sea level and more severe storms to reduce reef resilience on a global scale and augment reef destruction. In the Arctic, there has been a rapid expansion in the area where surface seawater is corrosive to calcareous organisms (Brodie and others, 2014). 

Ocean acidification may affect all marine life, for example, through changes in gene expression, physiology, reproduction and behaviour (Riebesell and Gattuso, 2015; IPCC, 2019). Between 2005 and 2009, ocean acidification jeopardized a $270 million shellfish aquaculture industry that provided 3,200 jobs per year in Washington State, United States. Billions of oysters died in hatcheries because seawater had become corrosive to larval shells (Ekstrom and others, 2015). In addition to its negative impacts on calcifying phyto- and zooplankton, acidification can lower the nutritional value of seafood. 

Ocean acidification also affects ecosystem properties, functions and services. Some groups of organisms do well in acidified conditions, but many taxa do not (Agostini and others, 2018). Many algae are resilient to the levels of ocean acidification projected under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change RCP 8.5 scenario, yet shifts in community composition greatly alter seaweed habitats (Brodie and others, 2014; Enochs and others, 2015). Increased carbon availability stimulates primary production and can increase the standing stock of kelps and seagrasses (Russell and others, 2013; Linares and others, 2015; Cornwall and others, 2017), although microalgae and turf algae dominate acidified waters in exposed conditions (Agostini and others, 2018; Connell and others, 2018). 

Research at natural marine CO2 seeps has shown that there is about a 30  per  cent decrease in macrofaunal biodiversity as average pH declines from 8.1 to 7.8 (Agostini and others, 2018; Foo and others, 2018), which is attributable to direct effects, such as increased metabolic costs of coping with hypercapnia, or indirect effects, such as increased susceptibility to predation (Sunday and others, 2017). Some corals grow well in seawater with elevated CO2 concentrations, but the habitats they form lack diversity as reefs are degraded by ocean acidification owing to chemical dissolution and enhanced bioerosion, causing a shift to less diverse ecosystems. Chapter 7D also reviews the impacts of ocean acidification on coral reefs. The dual effects of increased CO2 and decreased carbonate alter trophic interactions. Reductions in the abundance and size of calcareous herbivores contribute to the overgrowth of weedy turf algae and a simplification of food webs, with losses in functional diversity (Vizzini and others, 2017; Teixidó and others, 2018). "
"Population growth and demographic changes 

Although the global human population increased from 7 billion in 2011 to 7.7 billion in 2019, the growth rate has been steadily decreasing, from 2.1 per cent in 1968 to 1.08 per cent in 2019. Projections of global population growth suggest an uneven but continuing increase, at a lower rate of change, to a mean population size of 9.7 billion by 2050. The decrease in the growth rate is associated with declining numbers of births and, combined with lower mortality rates and increasing longevity associated with increasing health standards, means that the average age of the global population is rising (Baxter and others, 2017). 

The number of international migrants has increased from 2.8 per cent of the global population in 2000 to 3.5 per cent in 2019 (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (UNDESA), 2019a). Most migrations have occurred between countries within the same region, with the exception of North America and Oceania, where, 97.5 per cent and 87.9 per cent, respectively, of international migrants were born in another region (UNDESA, 2019a). 

More than 600 million people live in coastal regions that are less than 10 m above sea level, and nearly 2.5 billion people live within 100 km of the coast (UNDESA, 2019b). Those regions are experiencing higher rates of population growth and urbanization than inland regions (Neumann and others, 2015). Such growth has resulted in many economic benefits to coastal regions, including improved transportation and increased trade, tourism and food production, as well as social, recreational and cultural benefits (Clark and Johnston, 2017). However, as the population in those regions grows, it is placing ever more pressure on coastal ecosystems. The extent to which an increasing global population places pressures on the marine environment varies and depends on a variety of factors, including where and how people live, the amount that is consumed and the technologies used to produce energy, food and materials, provide transport and manage the waste produced. The implications of changes to the global population on coastal regions, the use of marine resources and the generation of waste are described in detail in chapter 8 and Part 5. "
"Theme G 

Adverse impacts on marine ecosystems come from the cumulative impacts of a number of human activities. Ecosystems, and their biodiversity, that might be resilient to one form or intensity of impact can be much more severely affected by a combination of impacts: the total impact of several pressures on the same ecosystem often being much larger than the sum of the individual impacts. Where biodiversity has been altered, the resilience of ecosystems to other impacts, including climate change, is often reduced. Thus the cumulative impacts of activities that, in the past, seemed to be sustainable are resulting in major changes to some ecosystems and in a reduction in the ecosystem services that they provide. 

Theme H 

The distribution around the world of the benefits drawn from the ocean is still very uneven. In some fields, this unevenness is due to the natural distribution of resources in areas under the jurisdiction of the various States (for example, hydrocarbons, minerals and some fish stocks). The distribution of some benefits is becoming less skewed: for example, the consumption of fish per capita in some developing countries is growing; the balance between cargoes loaded and unloaded in the ports of developing countries is moving closer to those in developed countries in tonnage terms. In many fields, however, including some forms of tourism and the general trade in fish, an imbalance remains between the developed and developing parts of the world. Significant differences in capacities to manage sewage, pollution and habitats also create inequities. Gaps in capacity-building hamper less developed countries in taking advantage of what the ocean can offer them, as well as reduce their capability to address the factors that degrade the ocean. "
"Patterns of biodiversity 

Perhaps the most common large-scale biodiversity pattern on the planet is the “latitudinal gradient”, typically expressed as a decline in the variety of species from the equator to the poles. Adherence to that pattern varies among marine taxa. Although coastal species generally peak in abundance near the equator and decline towards the poles, seals show the opposite pattern. Furthermore, strong longitudinal gradients (east-west) complicate patterns, with hotspots of biodiversity across multiple species groups in the coral triangle of the Indo-Pacific, in the Caribbean and elsewhere. 

Oceanic organisms, such as whales, differ in pattern entirely, with species numbers consistently peaking at mid-latitudes between the equator and the poles. This pattern defies the common equator-pole gradient, suggesting that different factors are at play. Various processes may also control the difference in species richness between the oceanic and coastal environments (for example, in terms of dispersal, mobility or habitat structure), but general patterns appear to be reasonably consistent within each group. 

However, across all groups studied, ocean temperature is consistently related to species diversity, making the effects of climate change likely to be felt as a restructuring factor of marine community diversity. "