|
Montara Oil Spill
The Montara oil spill was an oil and gas leak and subsequent slick that took place in the Montara oil field in the Timor Sea, off the northern coast of Western Australia. It is considered one of Australia's worst oil disasters. The slick was released following a blowout from the Montara wellhead platform on 21 August 2009, and continued leaking until 3 November 2009 (in total 75 days), when the leak was stopped by pumping mud into the well and the wellbore cemented thus "capping" the blowout. The West Atlas rig is owned by the Norwegian-Bermudan Seadrill, and operated by PTTEP Australasia (PTTEPAA), a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) which is in turn a subsidiary of PTT, the Thai state-owned oil and gas company was operating over on adjacent well on the Montara platform. Houston-based Halliburton was involved in cementing the well. The Montara field is located off the Kimberley coast, north of Truscott airbase, and west of Darwin. Sixty-nine workers we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oil Slick
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil. Oil spills penetrate into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. Cleanup and recovery from an oil spill is difficult and depends upon many factors, including the type of oil spilled, the temperature of the water (affecting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Wide Fund For Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. WWF is the world's largest conservation organization, with over five million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries and supporting around 3,000 conservation and environmental projects. They have invested over $1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives since 1995. WWF is a foundation with 65% of funding from individuals and bequests, 17% from government sources (such as the World Bank, DFID, and USAID) and 8% from corporations in 2020. WWF aims to "stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature." The Living Planet Report has been published every two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dispersant
A dispersant or a dispersing agent is a substance, typically a surfactant, that is added to a suspension of solid or liquid particles in a liquid (such as a colloid or emulsion) to improve the separation of the particles and to prevent their settling or clumping. Dispersants are widely used to stabilize various industrial and artisanal products, such as paints, ferrofluids, and salad dressings. The plasticizers or superplasticizers, used to improve the workability of pastes like concrete and clay, are typically dispersants. The concept also largely overlaps with that of detergent, used to bring oily contamination into water suspension, and of emulsifier, used to create homogeneous mixtures of immiscible liquids like water and oil. Natural suspensions like milk and latex contain substances that act as dispersants. Applications Automotive Automotive engine oils contain both detergents and dispersants. Metallic-based detergents prevent the accumulation of varnish like deposit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medevac, and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in other roles, including as a gunship (AC-130), for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refueling, maritime patrol, and aerial firefighting. It is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. More than 40 variants of the Hercules, including civilian versions marketed as the Lockheed L-100, operate in more than 60 nations. The C-130 entered service with the U.S. in 1956, followed by Australia and many other nations. During its years of service, the Hercules has participated in numerous military, civilian and humanitarian aid operations. In 2007, the C-130 beca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre
The Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) is an organisation set up by the petroleum industry to enable a quick and effective response to oil spills around the Australian coastline. The organisation is owned by the Australian Institute of Petroleum and is financed by nine participating oil companies and other industry-related companies. It was established in 1991 and the following year moved its base to Geelong, Victoria. Its establishment was a direct result of a review conducted by the Australian oil industry following the ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill. Accident response The Centre has an equipment stockpile on 24-hour stand-by. The AMOSplan is voluntary mutual aid arrangement where oil company equipment may be shared to best respond to a spill. AMOSplan replaced the former Marine Oil Spills Action Plan (MOSAP). The MOSAP was activated when an oil spill became too large for an individual company to adequately deal with. Integration with government responses to spills is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spawn (biology)
Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquatic mammals and reptiles, reproduce through the process of spawning. Spawn consists of the reproductive cells (gametes) of many aquatic animals, some of which will become fertilized and produce offspring. The process of spawning typically involves females releasing ova (unfertilized eggs) into the water, often in large quantities, while males simultaneously or sequentially release spermatozoa ( milt) to fertilize the eggs. Most fish reproduce by spawning, as do most other aquatic animals, including crustaceans such as crabs and shrimps, molluscs such as oysters and squid, echinoderms such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers, amphibians such as frogs and newts, aquatic insects such as mayflies and mosquitoes and corals, which are actually sma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. A coral "group" is a colony of very many genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in height. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening. Each polyp excretes an exoskeleton near the base. Over many generations, the colony thus creates a skeleton characteristic of the species which can measure up to several meters in size. Individual colonies grow by asexual reproduction of polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning: polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously overnight, often around a full moon. Fertilized eggs form planulae, a mobile early form of the coral polyp which, whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algal Bloom
An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompasses many types of aquatic photosynthetic organisms, both macroscopic multicellular organisms like seaweed and microscopic unicellular organisms like cyanobacteria. ''Algal bloom'' commonly refers to the rapid growth of microscopic unicellular algae, not macroscopic algae. An example of a macroscopic algal bloom is a kelp forest. Algal blooms are the result of a nutrient, like nitrogen or phosphorus from various sources (for example fertilizer runoff or other forms of nutrient pollution), entering the aquatic system and causing excessive growth of algae. An algal bloom affects the whole ecosystem. Consequences range from the benign feeding of higher trophic levels to more harmful effects like blocking sunlight from reaching other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Australia to the west ( 129th meridian east), South Australia to the south ( 26th parallel south), and Queensland to the east ( 138th meridian east). To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other islands of the Indonesian archipelago. The NT covers , making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 249,000 – fewer than half as many people as in Tasmania. The largest population center is the capital city of Darwin. The archaeological history of the Northern Territory may have begun more than 60,000 years ago when humans first sett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority has jurisdiction over Australia's exclusive economic zone which covers an area of . AMSA maintains Australia's shipping registries: the generalAMSARegister a vessel/ref> and the international shipping registers.AMSAAustralian international shipping register/ref> AMSA was established in 1990 under the ''Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990'' and governed by the ''Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997''. AMSA is an agency within the Department of Infrastructure and Transport. Directors are appointed by the minister. The international treaties which AMSA administers include the ''Navigation Act 2012'' and the ''Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983''. Organised sea rescue in Australia was w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WAtoday
WAtoday is an online newspaper, focusing its coverage on Perth and Western Australia. It was established on 10 June 2008, and is owned by Fairfax Digital (now Nine Publishing, under Nine Entertainment Co). The company employs ten journalists in Perth. It is based in the same building as radio station 6PR, at 169 Hay Street, Perth. It is in competition with the online services provided by ''The West Australian'' and PerthNow, both owned by Seven West Media. See also * ''Northern Territory News'' * Perth Now ''The Sunday Times'' is a tabloid Sunday newspaper published by Western Press Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Seven West Media, in Perth and distributed throughout Western Australia. Founded as The West Australian Sunday Times, it was renamed The Sund ... References External links''WAtoday'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Watoday Internet properties established in 2008 Australian news websites Fairfax Media 2008 establishments in Australia Newspapers published in Perth, Wes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Atlas Oil Spill 3
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in a place where magnetic north is the same dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
