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Project Number 20
Date of Summary September 30, 1982
Subject Toxic Effects of Drill Mud on Coral
Performing Activity U.S. Geological Survey - Fisher Island Station
Principal Investigator Mr. Gene Shinn
Contracting Agency U.S. Geological Survey
Estimated Completion Complete
Description To quantify the effects of whole drilling muds on corals and the extent and chemical make-up of mud plumes.
Progress Complete. Tests indicate that typical whole drilling muds used in the Gulf of Mexico are no more toxic to coral than standard mud (CaCo). Sampling of discharges from drilling operations indicate that at 100 meters from corals, effects will be minor at most. An analysis of the effects of drilling through a coral reef in the Philippines indicates little suppression of coral head growth. The project was transferred to the MMS Environmental Studies Program.
Reports
AA (56 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Thompson, Jr., Jack H., Effects of Drilling Mud on Seven Species of Reef-Building Corals as Measured in Field and Laboratory, Texas A&M University, Department of Oceanography, College Station, Texas, June 1979 (undated).
AB (26 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Hudson, J. H., Robbin, D. M., Effects of Drilling Mud on the Growth Rate of Reef-Building Coral, Monastraea Annularis, The R&D Program for OCS Oil and Gas Operations, U.S. Geological Survey, 1980.
AC (44 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Shinn, E. A., Hudson, J. H., and Lec, C. K., Drilling Mud Plumes from Exploratory and Production in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Implications for Coral Survival, The R&D Program for OCS Oil and Gas Operations, U.S. Geological Survey, 1980.
AD (19 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Hudson, J. H., Shinn, E. A., and Robbin, D. M., Effects of Offshore Drilling on Philippine Reef Corals, MMS, July 1982.
 

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