Abstract
The 1991 Gulf War resulted in the deliberate release of unprecedented quantities of oil into the Gulf. The degradation of over 750 km of shoreline and adjacent wetlands within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the consequence. The beaches, tide flats, lagoons, rocky shores, and salt marshes along the Kingdom’s Gulf shoreline remain severely more than a decade after the oil release. As part of the Remediation Technology Assessment Project (RTA) (Weishar et al. 2004) the applicability of various remediation technologies on salt marsh ecosystems was evaluated. A demonstration restoration project was designed to restore an arid salt marsh after collecting and assessing baseline biological, chemical, and sediment data. The most effective restoration included removal of surface tarcrete/oil impregnated microbial mats, construction of new tidal channels, and transplantation of native species.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abuzinada, A. H. and Krupp, F. (eds) 1994. The status of coastal and marine habitats two years after the Gulf War oil spill. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 166, 80 pp.
Al Muzaini, A. H., N. Beg and Moghissi, A.A. (eds) 1998. The long-term environmental effects of the Gulf War oil spill. Environment International, 24(1–2): 1.
Barth, H.-J. 2008. Indicators for rapid oil spill regeneration assessment in salt marsh ecosystems In: Abuzinada, A.H., Barth, H.-J., Krupp, F., Böer, B. and Al Abdessalaam, T.Z. (eds), Protecting the Gulf’s marine ecosystems from pollution. Birkhäuser, Switzerland, pp. 255–264.
Höpner, T. 2008. Shoreline bioremediation after the 1991 Gulf War oil spill. In: Abuzinada, A.H., Barth, H.-J., Krupp, F., Böer, B. and Abdelsalaam, T.Z. (eds), Protecting the Gulf’s marine ecosystems from pollution. Birkhäuser, Switzerland, pp. 265–272.
Jones, D.A., Hayes, M., Krupp, F., Sabatini, G., Watt, I., and Weishar, L. 2008. The impact of the Gulf War (1990–91) oil release upon the intertidal Gulf coast line of Saudi Arabia and subsequent recovery. In: Abuzinada, A.H., Barth, H.-J., Krupp, F., Böer, B. and Al Abdessalaam, T.Z. (eds), Protecting the Gulf’s marine ecosystems from pollution. Birkhäuser, Switzerland, pp. 237–254.
Jones, D.A., J. Plaza, I. Watt, and Al-Sanei, M. 1998. Long-term (1991–1995) monitoring of the intertidal biota of Saudi Arabia after the 1991 Gulf War oil spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 36(6): 472–489.
Krupp, F., Abuzinada, A.H. and Nader, I.A. (eds) 1996. A marine wildlife sanctuary for the Arabian Gulf — environmental research and conservation following the 1991 Gulf War Oil Spill. National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development /Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft, Riyadh/Frankfurt.
Price, A. R. and Robinson, J.H. 1993 (eds). The 1991 Gulf War: Coastal and marine environmental consequences. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 27, 1–380.
Sell, D., L. Conway, T. Clark, G. B. Picken, J. M. Baker, G. M. Dunnet, A. D. McIntyre, and Clark, R.B. 1995. Scientific criteria to optimize oil spill cleanup. Proceedings of the 1995 Oil Spill Conference, pp. 595–611. American Petroleum Institute.
Weishar, L., D. G. Aubrey and Watt, I. 2004. Final Report-Design Considerations for Remediation and Restoration of Marine and Coastal and Terrestrial Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Woods Hole Group.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Birkhäuser Verlag/Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Weishar, L., Watt, I., Jones, D.A., Aubrey, D. (2008). Evaluation of arid salt marsh restoration techniques. In: Abuzinada, A.H., Barth, HJ., Krupp, F., Böer, B., Al Abdessalaam, T.Z. (eds) Protecting the Gulf’s Marine Ecosystems from Pollution. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-7947-6_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-7947-6_16
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser Basel
Print ISBN: 978-3-7643-7946-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-7643-7947-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)