Environmental Monitoring of Arctic Waters with Unmanned Bivalve Biosensor Technology: One Year of Background Data Acquisition in the Barents Sea (Russian)

• Published in: SPE Russian Petroleum Technology Conference
• Main Authors: MASSABUAU, Jean-Charles, GUDIMOV, Alexander, BLANC, Philippe
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Upstream Oil & Gas; Valvometry; France; information; biological rhythm; bivalve; Barent Sea; data quality; Massabuau; mussel; Arctic; Barents Sea; Murmansk
• Online Access: https://oskar-bordeaux.fr/handle/20.500.12278/200144; https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12278/200144; https://doi.org/10.2118/176681-ru

Adequate and efficient environmental monitoring is a key element of the environmental risk reduction process in the Oil & Gas industry, all the more where sensitive areas in harsh environmental conditions are at stake. This is the case in remote and extreme cold places such as the Arctic, where robust systems are required to withstand adverse climatic conditions and minimize intervention of man. Sharing clear and easily understandable information (as biological indicators) in total transparency with stakeholders, including local population, is an essential issue for both environmental and societal purposes. Working with public research organizations under the responsibility of governments is another key issue. Within this scope, an innovative online biomonitoring technology, High Frequency Non Invasive Valvometry, based on the use of bivalves equipped with light electrodes has been successfully tested during one year in a bay located in the North-East of Murmansk (Barents Sea). This has been done through a joined project between CNRS, the French National Center for Scientific Research, MMBI, the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute in Russia, and TOTAL Exploration & Production. Groups of bivalves (Icelandic scallops and Blue mussels) were placed at 15-18m under sea level, with minute electromagnets glued to each of their valves to record opening and closing activity. A remote intelligent device composed of a waterproof case next to the animals and a card out of water (the whole thing is a low power, 1W, fully-rugged Linux-running microcomputer) was installed. The master unit where data are automatically handled is in Arcachon, France. The connection uses GPRS & internet. The data are publically monitored on MolluSCAN Eye website (google molluscan eye). Daily acquisition of data during one year has demonstrated the ability of the technology to automatically rebuild easily understandable biological rhythms, growth rates and spawning activities of the bivalves. This includes activity during the harsh ...