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Foam production as a side effect of an offshore liquefied natural gas terminal: how do plankton deal with it?

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Abstract

The future growing demand of fossil fuels likely will lead to an increased deployment of liquefied natural gas terminals. However, some concerns exist about their possible effects on the marine environment and biota. Such plants showed to cause the production of foam, as occurred at the still operative terminal of Porto Viro (northern Adriatic Sea). Here, we present results from two microcosm experiments focused on the effects of such foam on microbially mediated degradation processes and its consequent incorporation within the pelagic food web. Such material could be considered as a heterogeneous matrix of both living and non-living organic matter, which constitutes an important substrate for exoenzymes as suggested by the faster hydrolytic rates measured in the treatment microcosms. In the second experiment, a quite immediate and efficient carbon transfer to planktonic biomass through prokaryotic incorporation and consequent predation by heterotrophic flagellates was highlighted. Although no negative effect was evidenced on the overall microbes’ growth and foam-derived C seemed to be easily reworked and transferred to higher trophic levels, an important reduction in biodiversity was evidenced for microalgae. Among them, mixotrophic organisms seemed to be favoured suggesting that the addition of foam could cause a modification of the microbial community structure.

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Acknowledgments

A special thanks goes to the crew of the ‘Hippos’ tug boat. We would like to thank C. De Vittor for TOC analysis and C. Comici, G. Ingrosso and E. Cociancich for sampling and analytical support. The study was partially supported by fundings from the Autonomous Region Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Ethical statements

This research follows the ethical standards and the rules of good scientific practice. The manuscript has not been published previously nor submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration. All data are original and have not been fabricated or manipulated (including images) to support our conclusions. There are no potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), and the research did not involve human participants and/or animals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sezione Oceanografia, OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica Sperimentale), v. A. Piccard 54, 34151, Trieste, Italy

    Annalisa Franzo, Ana Karuza, Mauro Celussi, Daniela Fornasaro, Alfred Beran, Elena Di Poi & Paola Del Negro

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  1. Annalisa Franzo
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  2. Ana Karuza
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  3. Mauro Celussi
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  4. Daniela Fornasaro
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  5. Alfred Beran
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  6. Elena Di Poi
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  7. Paola Del Negro
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Correspondence to Annalisa Franzo.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Franzo, A., Karuza, A., Celussi, M. et al. Foam production as a side effect of an offshore liquefied natural gas terminal: how do plankton deal with it?. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 8763–8772 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4499-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4499-2

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