Marine discharge of waste associated to the petroleum and mining industry might result in increased pressure on the marine ecosystem and environmental deterioration. This requires detailed knowledge on changes and impact on the physical environment, pollution concentrations, and the possible impact of pollutants and physical disturbances on organisms living in the marine environment.
The purpose of this session is to bring together a wide cross-section of the marine sciences community working to determine the effects of petroleum and mining industry discharge on the marine environment. Special focus is placed on the effect of drill cutting and mine tailing discharge on the marine environment. We are interested in, but not restricted to, studies, which concentrate on examples of changes in the sedimentation rate, sediment grain-size, heavy metal content and bioindicator species.