Natural Gas in Lake Erie: A Reconnaissance Survey of Discharges from an Offshore Drilling Rig

摘要

Field studies were conducted May 28-June 1, 1979, to determine the chemical composition and physical behavior of discharges from an offshore gas drilling rig in the central basin of Lake Erie. The drilling operation was observed for four days, from rig jackup to the circulation of mud through the borehole after drilling had been completed. Resuspension studies using nephelometry, supplemented with chemical analyses, indicated little resuspension of lake bottom materials or release of metals to the water column during rig jack-up. Portions of the turbidity plumes generated during drilling were buoyant. Three surface turbidity plumes were mapped with nephelometry to a point at which particulate concentrations reached background levels in the Lake. Detectable plumes were approx. 400 to 1500 m in length and had maximum widths