Research Square: Explosions at Nord Stream have led to the release of benthic toxins
Scientists at Aarhus University in Denmark have identified the likely environmental consequences of explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. The results of the study are published in the journal Research Square.
The porpoise population, numbering about 500 individuals, lives in the area of the explosions. Although this species lives safely in some parts of the world, it is endangered in the Baltic Sea. Injury to even one individual will significantly affect the population. The researchers note that seals and porpoises within a four-kilometer radius would be at high risk of being killed by the blast shock wave, with temporary hearing effects expected up to 50 kilometers away.
However, the area itself also poses an environmental threat. A stable benthic environment, weakly affected by strong currents, has contributed to the accumulation of heavy metals throughout most of the history of industrialized mankind. In addition, at the end of World War II, 11,000 tons of chemical warfare agents were dumped into the sea in this region.
A large near-bottom explosion could lead to dangerous ejections of their upper layer of near-bottom sediments five centimeters thick. Judging by the measured concentrations of arsenic and mustard gas taken 20 kilometers from the site of the explosion, the sabotage likely caused the re-weighing of 34.6 tons of chemical weapons remnants. The most notably dispersed toxin is likely to be tributyltin, a banned biocidal agent found in ship hull paint to prevent aquatic fouling.
Earlier, scientists from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed the climate damage from explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. According to forecasts, the amount of natural gas emitted into the atmosphere will make an insignificant contribution to global warming.
#Environmental #consequences #Nord #Stream #explosions #determined