TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of brine discharge from desalination plants on shallow marine ecosystems: Benthic Foraminifera as a case study.
AU - Kenigsberg, Chen
AU - Hyams-Kaphzan, Orit
AU - Abramovich, Sigal
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast of Israel currently
provide 587 million m3 drinking water/year, and their production is
planned to increase to 750 million and 1.8 billion m3 drinking
water/year by 2020 and 2050, respectively. A nearly equivalent volume of
brine with a salinity of 80 is discharged into the shallow coastal
water, where the normal marine salinity is up to 40. Brine-waste is
often denser than the receiving environment, and therefore sinks and
flows as a saline plume in adjacency to the sea floor where mixing is
limited. The brine-waste and other desalination-associated discharged
contaminants (such as anti-scalants, ferrous oxides and nutrients) can
potentially impact marine ecosystems. Hence, the overarching goal of
this study was to examine whether benthic foraminifera, which are known
to be a sensitive marine proxy, are affected by this discharge. With
this aim, the chronic effects of brine were investigated seasonally
during 4 cruises between 2016 and 2017 near three operating desalination
facilities along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, from south to north:
Ashkelon, Sorek and Hadera. Sediment samples were collected in
triplicates by grabs from the outfall (in immediate proximity to the
discharge site), the brine-plume (where elevated salinity was measured
in real-time) and an unimpacted reference station at each study site.
Our results highlight that the most robust responses were observed when
the brine was discharged along with other anthropogenic stressors (i.e.
thermal stress of nearby power plants). The most common species (over
40% of the sample) found in the shallower stations at Ashkelon and
Hadera (4 m water depth; high thermal pollution) are Ammonia
parkinsoniana (Ashkelon and Hadera), and Pararotalia calcariformata
(just Hadera), whilst the Sorek Station (20 m water depth; no thermal
pollution) was characterized by the presence of Ammonia parkinsoniana,
Ammonia tepida, Tretomphalus bulloides, Haynesina depressula, and the
agglutinated Spiroplectammina sp. 1. The total foraminiferal abundance
and diversity were, in most cases, lower near the outfalls, and
increased towards the control stations. Changes in the abundance of
selected species indicate their sensitivity to the brine-waste. For
example, agglutinates with the organic cement species were present in
very high numbers at the control stations, while at the outfall they
were almost completely missing.
AB - Desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast of Israel currently
provide 587 million m3 drinking water/year, and their production is
planned to increase to 750 million and 1.8 billion m3 drinking
water/year by 2020 and 2050, respectively. A nearly equivalent volume of
brine with a salinity of 80 is discharged into the shallow coastal
water, where the normal marine salinity is up to 40. Brine-waste is
often denser than the receiving environment, and therefore sinks and
flows as a saline plume in adjacency to the sea floor where mixing is
limited. The brine-waste and other desalination-associated discharged
contaminants (such as anti-scalants, ferrous oxides and nutrients) can
potentially impact marine ecosystems. Hence, the overarching goal of
this study was to examine whether benthic foraminifera, which are known
to be a sensitive marine proxy, are affected by this discharge. With
this aim, the chronic effects of brine were investigated seasonally
during 4 cruises between 2016 and 2017 near three operating desalination
facilities along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, from south to north:
Ashkelon, Sorek and Hadera. Sediment samples were collected in
triplicates by grabs from the outfall (in immediate proximity to the
discharge site), the brine-plume (where elevated salinity was measured
in real-time) and an unimpacted reference station at each study site.
Our results highlight that the most robust responses were observed when
the brine was discharged along with other anthropogenic stressors (i.e.
thermal stress of nearby power plants). The most common species (over
40% of the sample) found in the shallower stations at Ashkelon and
Hadera (4 m water depth; high thermal pollution) are Ammonia
parkinsoniana (Ashkelon and Hadera), and Pararotalia calcariformata
(just Hadera), whilst the Sorek Station (20 m water depth; no thermal
pollution) was characterized by the presence of Ammonia parkinsoniana,
Ammonia tepida, Tretomphalus bulloides, Haynesina depressula, and the
agglutinated Spiroplectammina sp. 1. The total foraminiferal abundance
and diversity were, in most cases, lower near the outfalls, and
increased towards the control stations. Changes in the abundance of
selected species indicate their sensitivity to the brine-waste. For
example, agglutinates with the organic cement species were present in
very high numbers at the control stations, while at the outfall they
were almost completely missing.
M3 - Meeting Abstract
SN - 1029-7006
VL - 21
JO - Geophysical Research Abstracts
JF - Geophysical Research Abstracts
ER -