TY - JOUR
T1 - History of human impact on Lake Kutubu, Papua New Guinea
T2 - the geochemical signatures of oil and gas mining activities in sediments
AU - Schneider, Larissa
AU - Haberle, Simon
AU - MAHER, Bill
AU - Krikowa, Frank
AU - Zawadzki, Atun
AU - Heijnis, Henk
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to acknowledge Professor Geoff Hope and James Klaudt for kindly reviewing this manuscript. We thank the local Foe-Fasu landowners, WWF (Moro Office, PNG) and Oil Search Limited (Moro) for assistance in the field. Geochemical analyses were supported by the Ecochemistry Laboratory at the University of Canberra . 210 Pb dating analysis was conducted at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Sydney, and the analysis was funded through two Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering grants ( AINGRA08028 and AINGRA10113 ). L. Schneider was financed by a postdoctoral fellowship funded by Programa Ciências sem Fronteira process 205042/2014-7 .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2016/4/1
Y1 - 2016/4/1
N2 - Lake Kutubu, a large tropical lake in Papua New Guinea, is well known for its ecological importance; however, there have been recent changes to the pristine nature of this lake due to activities associated with the largest oil and gas project in PNG. The aim of this study was to determine the geochemical profile of sediment cores of Lake Kutubu and to comprehend the contamination changes undergone in this lake due to mining activities utilising the hydraulic fracturing method. Sediment core profiles of Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Cd, Ba, Ce, Pb and U, grain size and dating analyses were conducted for five sites in the lake. Grain size and dating demonstrated that the northwest side of Lake Kutubu has sediments of allocthonous origin while the southeast sediments are of autochthonous origin. Ba was the element with the largest changes in concentrations since 1990 and the best tracer of mining activities near the lake. Sites KTB 02 and KTB 10 northwest of the lake showed the most distinct changes in element concentrations. Element enrichment factors (EF = 2.8, 4.2 and 3.2 respectively) demonstrated that Mn, Se and Ba have undergone a moderate enrichment in the lake since mining activities started. Ni, Cd and Se concentrations exceed sediment guidelines in some samples. No guideline is available for Ba, and special attention should be given to this element in this lake. This study demonstrated that Lake Kutubu oil/gas extraction activities are significant sources of elements to this lake and highlights the need for studies on the partitioning and speciation of elements to understand organism metal exposure.
AB - Lake Kutubu, a large tropical lake in Papua New Guinea, is well known for its ecological importance; however, there have been recent changes to the pristine nature of this lake due to activities associated with the largest oil and gas project in PNG. The aim of this study was to determine the geochemical profile of sediment cores of Lake Kutubu and to comprehend the contamination changes undergone in this lake due to mining activities utilising the hydraulic fracturing method. Sediment core profiles of Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Cd, Ba, Ce, Pb and U, grain size and dating analyses were conducted for five sites in the lake. Grain size and dating demonstrated that the northwest side of Lake Kutubu has sediments of allocthonous origin while the southeast sediments are of autochthonous origin. Ba was the element with the largest changes in concentrations since 1990 and the best tracer of mining activities near the lake. Sites KTB 02 and KTB 10 northwest of the lake showed the most distinct changes in element concentrations. Element enrichment factors (EF = 2.8, 4.2 and 3.2 respectively) demonstrated that Mn, Se and Ba have undergone a moderate enrichment in the lake since mining activities started. Ni, Cd and Se concentrations exceed sediment guidelines in some samples. No guideline is available for Ba, and special attention should be given to this element in this lake. This study demonstrated that Lake Kutubu oil/gas extraction activities are significant sources of elements to this lake and highlights the need for studies on the partitioning and speciation of elements to understand organism metal exposure.
KW - Gas
KW - Hydraulic fracturing
KW - Metals
KW - Oil
KW - Well produced water
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960434966&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.12.086
DO - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.12.086
M3 - Article
SN - 0045-6535
VL - 148
SP - 369
EP - 379
JO - Chemosphere
JF - Chemosphere
ER -