Publications by authors named "Lloyd D Potts"
Article Synopsis
- Acute environmental changes lead to quick shifts in microbial communities, while ongoing disturbances tend to stabilize these communities into new, alternative states.
- Research involving pristine and hydrocarbon-contaminated sediments shows that acute perturbations significantly alter community structure, while chronically polluted sediments maintain their original structure due to a historical legacy.
- Despite these variations, both community types demonstrate functional resilience, effectively degrading hydrocarbons, indicating that the history of pollution affects how communities respond to environmental changes.
Drill cuttings (DC) are produced during hydrocarbon drilling operations and are composed of subsurface rock coated with hydrocarbons and drilling fluids. Historic disposal of DC at sea has resulted in the formation of large piles on the seabed that may be left in situ following infrastructure decommissioning. This study provides a first insight into the microbial abundance, diversity and community structure of two DC piles from North Sea oil and gas installations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Hatton-Rockall Basin (North-East Atlantic) is an area with potential for deep-sea (2,900 m) hydrocarbon exploration. Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, many investigations into the responses of sediment microbial communities to oil pollution have been undertaken. However, hydrostatic pressure is a parameter that is often omitted due to the technical difficulties associated with conducting experiments at high pressure (>10 MPa).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdvective pore-water transport of hydrocarbons in North East Scotland coastal sands.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
October 2018
Article Synopsis
- * The use of Superdispersant-25 was tested in a lab to see how it affects the movement and concentration of hydrocarbons in sandy sediments.
- * Findings revealed that while the dispersant reduces hydrocarbon buildup on the surface, it also allows hydrocarbons to penetrate deeper into sediments, suggesting that dispersants can have unexpected effects and more research is needed for effective spill response.
Oil reserves in deep-sea sediments are currently subject to intense exploration, with associated risks of oil spills. Previous research suggests that microbial communities from deep-sea sediment (>1000m) can degrade hydrocarbons (HCs), but have a lower degradation ability than shallow (<200m) communities, probably due to in situ temperature. This study aimed to assess the effect of marine origin on microbial HC degradation potential while separating the influence of temperature, and to characterise associated HC-degrading bacterial communities.
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