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In September 1927, residents of the Crimea watched the Black Sea burn in literally the words. “It was as if a fire was burning, the bright light of which passed through a smoke screen,” wrote hydrologist P. Dvoichenko. Columns of flame, according to eyewitnesses, rose to a height of 500-800 meters. At the same time, the smell of rotten eggs was felt on the coast. This is exactly what hydrogen sulfide smells like, which is found in abundance in the Black Sea.
In those days, an earthquake occurred near Yalta. Its hearth was located under the seabed, and a thunderstorm raged in the sky. According to experts, as a result of seismic tremors, hydrogen sulfide escaped from the bottom and caught fire from a lightning bolt.
big sump
Gennady Bugrin lived in the USA for 6 years, worked as a foreman on the construction of roads - perfectly smooth autobahns, which are made almost using jewelry technologies. In Russia, as you know, roads are one of the two main troubles. Returning to his homeland, Bugrin set about building a high-quality highway using ... Black Sea hydrogen sulfide: “Suggestions on how this gas can be used in national economy have sounded before. The USSR even had a scientific state program on this subject. The inventor Lev Yutkin, who is considered the “Russian Tesla”, proposed a project in 1979: to raise the bottom layers of the Black Sea water and subject it to electro-hydraulic shocks, releasing hydrogen sulfide. Burn the resulting gas. Burning, a kilogram of hydrogen sulfide gives about 4 thousand kcal. Calculations show that such a technology would satisfy the needs of the entire country for electricity.”
The project of Bugrin himself is not limited. From the Black Sea water, he argues, you can get a whole range of useful products. First, it is hydrogen - an environmentally friendly fuel, the demand for which is growing. The Institute for Hydrogen Economics has already expressed its interest in buying it. Nizhny Novgorod region. Secondly, the rare earth elements of the periodic table. Third, gold and silver.
If you extract all the silver from the Black Sea, its weight will be 540 thousand tons. Gold - 270 thousand tons, - says Bugrin. - And when the installation is brought to its design capacity, it will be able to produce up to a ton of heavy water every day. There are enough people who want to buy it both in Russia and abroad. Heavy water is used in any nuclear reactor: it slows down the reaction and serves as a coolant.
And yet, the main thing that Gennady Bugrin needs from the Black Sea water is sulfur. It is used in Europe and North America as an astringent. Thanks to sulfur, bitumen costs are reduced by 25-35%, and the strength of the coating and its heat resistance increase. In our weather conditions this is especially important: the addition of sulfur to the roadway will significantly increase its service life.
Thus, due to hydrogen sulfide from the Black Sea in any direction. First of all, of course, to Moscow, - continues the engineer. - We will receive important ingredients for construction from water (including a derivative for concrete), electricity and, along the way, clean the sea, preventing a natural disaster. The economic effect in the first year should be $625 million.
The details of the technology have not yet been disclosed. Victor Klimenko, chemist, candidate of technical sciences, it is only admitted that this is a plasma torch method: “A special device will be installed on the platform in the sea - a plasma torch. With the help of electricity, hydrogen sulfide molecules will be "cut" in it into two elements - sulfur and hydrogen. By the way, such pure sulfur can be used in medicine and various industries, and not only in road construction.”
Klimenko is one of Gennady Bugrin's like-minded people, whom he has already recruited a whole team. There is an agreement with two enterprises where they are ready to take on the first plasma torch, and in Krasnodar Territory promise to allocate land for production. It remains to find investors - and this is more difficult. But he does not give up, knocks on the thresholds of bureaucratic offices. And, like all Russian Kulibins, he hopes that he will be heard "at the very top."
Black Sea. It would seem so familiar and absolutely safe. Nothing like this. In its waters, not only poisonous marine life awaits you, but there is a more serious threat - suffocating poisonous fumes.
Dead zone
Not everyone knows that 90% of the Black Sea waters are saturated with hydrogen sulfide. This discovery was made back in 1890 by the Russian geologist Nikolai Andrusov. In some places, the hydrogen sulfide layer is located at a distance of 50 meters from the sea surface, and it constantly continues to strive upward. Periodically, a liquid lens of "dead" water approaches very close to the surface layers, which has a detrimental effect on the inhabitants of the underwater world.
However, there is still life in the hydrogen sulfide cloud, although in the absence of oxygen, only certain types of marine worms and anaerobic bacteria can exist here, which are involved in the decomposition of the remains of living organisms.
Hydrogen sulfide in water is not a unique phenomenon; it is also found in other seas and oceans. But given that the Black Sea is actually isolated from the World Ocean by the shallow Bosphorus and there is practically no normal water exchange, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide here is off scale.
Sometimes, as a result of storms, hydrogen sulfide vapors break out, and then in the gas outlet zone there is a specific smell of rotten eggs. This is extremely dangerous. If a large amount of hydrogen sulfide comes into contact with air, an explosion can occur. According to experts, the explosion of all hydrogen sulfide contained in the Black Sea can be compared with the consequences of the fall of an asteroid weighing half the mass of the moon.
But something like that already happened. Late at night on September 12, 1927, the Crimean peninsula experienced the full power of an 8-magnitude earthquake. The epicenter lay 25 kilometers south of Yalta, giant landslides were recorded, almost the entire crop died, many buildings were destroyed.
As eyewitnesses testified, the vibrations of the earth's surface were accompanied by a disgusting stench and flashes that soared from the surface of the sea to the sky. Pillars of fire, shrouded in smoke, reached several hundred meters in height. So the Black Sea burned. Most scientists have no doubt that hydrogen sulfide was to blame.
Experts are seriously puzzled by the problem of hydrogen sulfide accumulating in the surface layers of the Black Sea. Any tectonic shift can lead to the release of a huge amount of toxic substances, and then the consequences can be much more serious than during the Crimean earthquake.
Oceanologist Alexander Gorodnitsky is convinced that such a threat is quite real: "The Black Sea is a seismically active region, there are earthquakes that provoke the release of gas hydrates - accumulations of methane and other combustible gases compressed under high pressure."
In an unfavorable scenario, tons of concentrated sulfuric acid will enter the atmosphere: thousands of people will die from suffocation, millions will have to move away from the coast, but even there they will be overtaken by hydrogen sulfide, spilling acid rain.
A few years ago, a hydrogen sulfide release was recorded at the Koblevo resort in the Nikolaev region (Ukraine). At that time, more than 100 tons of dead fish turned out to be on the shore. Engineer Gennady Bugrin, who participated in the aftermath of the disaster, warns that such an emergency could happen again at any time and on a larger scale.
Toxic water
The situation with the ecological situation in the waters of the Black Sea is no better, primarily because of the constantly incoming waste from the Danube, Prut and Dnieper. Industrial enterprises and public utilities without a twinge of conscience pour tons of production and human waste into rivers, which leads to the gradual extinction of many species of flora and fauna of the Black Sea. coastal waters. In Russia, the most polluted maritime zone is located in the area of the ports of Novorossiysk and Taman.
Together with river water Pesticides, heavy metals, phosphorus, nitrogen enter the Black Sea, as a result of which phytoplankton rapidly reproduces and the water begins to bloom. And this leads to the destruction of bottom microorganisms, which in turn causes hypoxia and the subsequent death of many inhabitants of the seabed - squid, mussels, oysters, young sturgeon, crabs. According to environmentalists, the kill area sometimes exceeds 40 thousand square meters. km.
Of course, all this does not pass without a trace for a person. Head of the department of extreme natural phenomena and man-made disasters of the UNC Ph.D. in Biology Oleg Stepanyan warns and reminds that the Black Sea is not a pool with filtered water and you need to choose the right places for swimming, because often even on city beaches you can see how they are poured into the sea wastewater from nearby cafes and eateries.
And although, according to Stepanyan, special services they monitor the cleanliness of the beaches, the bacterial situation on them, it is important to be vigilant. Especially dangerous in such cases are sandy and pebble beaches large resort towns, where the process of self-purification of water is slowed down.
Deputy Coordinator public organization"Environmental watch in the North Caucasus" Dmitry Shevchenko notes that there are such polluted areas in the Black Sea, for example, in the Gelendzhik or Anapa bays that it is simply risky for health to enter the water.
Today, the massive development of green filamentous and lamellar algae, including the so-called sea lettuce (Ulva), has become a constant problem for the Black Sea. Eating such algae is fraught with serious poisoning, since they grow in places overflowing with organic substances coming through sewage.
Doctors also warn about possible harm for the body of mussels and rapans caught in the large port waters of Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Sevastopol. Mussels actively filter poisoned sea water, and rapans are predators that eat them. But if, nevertheless, someone decides to feast on Black Sea delicacies, then one should pay attention to the color of their meat. Light yellow or pinkish indicates, most likely, its suitability for eating, but blue, black or just very bright indicates that the molluscs have accumulated heavy metals, oil hydrocarbons and other toxicants.
Dangerous inhabitants
In the waters of the Black Sea, of course, there are not as many poisonous inhabitants as in tropical seas, but still, extreme caution must be exercised here. First of all, we are talking about large jellyfish with a diameter exceeding 30 centimeters. In no case should they be touched, as you can get burned from stinging cells. A "kiss" of such a jellyfish in the throat or chest area can cause respiratory paralysis or heart failure.
On the sandy shallows Anapa Bank, in the area from the village of Volna to the village of Blagoveshchensky, there is often a stingray, the poisonous spike of which is able to pierce even a thick rubber coating and inflict a very sensitive wound, followed by swelling of the damaged part of the body.
A small scorpion fish, or, as it is also called, sea ruff, is also a serious danger. She mainly hunts among the rocks, and hypothetically, she can be stepped on. A prick of its poisonous thorns will be very painful and it will take several weeks to heal the wound.
The sea dragon, although it does not look intimidating, carries no less of a threat than a stingray or scorpionfish. Poison glands are located on its first dorsal fin. Fishermen or divers sometimes inadvertently grab a thorn, and as a result, excruciating sharp pains in the wound area and a feverish state, accompanied by a rise in temperature. In this case, it will not be possible to do without a doctor.
Some people know, and for some, maybe this is news, but: in the Black Sea, at a level of 50-100 meters from the surface, there is a giant layer of hydrogen sulfide. In some seas there is a similar, but not on such a scale. Yes, and the layer increases and at the same time rises to the surface.
It is because of this layer that the sea has the smallest number of inhabitants: there is a dead zone under the layer. Where is this layer from? There are several equivalent hypotheses for this, but none of them falls short of a full-fledged theory. What will happen when hydrogen sulfide comes to the surface? Yes, there will be mass deaths.
Under the cut - a couple of articles on this topic, which I found the most interesting.
Danger lurks in seabed!
The Black Sea, shining under the rays of the warm southern sun - what could be more beautiful? Huge, alluring, clean, transparent and incredibly beautiful... Surely, these are the epithets that come to each of us at the mere thought of this sea - a source of inspiration for poets and a favorite vacation spot for many modern citizens. But few people know what is at the bottom amazing sea with the proud name of Chernoye lurked a mortal danger - a lifeless abyss filled with poisonous, flammable, explosive gas with a disgusting smell of rotten eggs.
As a result of a large-scale oceanographic expedition carried out back in 1890, it was found that about 90% of the volume of the sea is filled with hydrogen sulfide and only 10% - clean water not contaminated with poisonous gas. In the lower layer of the sea, neither animals nor plants are able to survive, but only certain types of bacteria can exist. A deadly gas fills a huge space, killing all life in its path. The entire volume of sea water is divided into two parts, surface water can reach the bottom of the sea only after hundreds of years. This property is unique, in the whole world there is not a single sea without a solid bottom.
The maximum depth of the Black Sea is just over two kilometers. The upper layer of water, where the life of marine life is concentrated, has a depth of only 100 meters, and in some places the thickness of the clear water layer barely reaches 50 meters. Under it is a liquid lens of "dead" water, periodically breaking out and showing its destructive essence. Major breakthroughs are rare enough, but each of them brings a lot of harm. marine life. According to experts, the explosion of all hydrogen sulfide can be compared to the meeting of the Earth with an asteroid that has a mass half that of the Moon.
About the causes of the appearance of hydrogen sulfide
Disputes over the cause of the appearance of hydrogen sulfide at the bottom of the Black Sea have not subsided so far. The poisonous gas could have come from cracks in the seafloor, or it could have come from the specific action of bacteria. Without oxygen in the deep layers of the Black Sea, only anaerobic bacteria, which are involved in the decomposition of the remains of living organisms, can survive. As a result of this decomposition, hydrogen sulfide can be formed. According to another version, poisonous gas could be formed due to the specific communication of the sea with the oceans through the narrow Bosporus. A certain amount of water penetrates from the Mediterranean Sea into the Black Sea, turning it into a kind of sump, which has accumulated a large amount of hydrogen sulfide over many years.
Even 10 years ago, the issue of poisonous gas was considered one of the top priorities in the Black Sea countries, but today the hydrogen sulfide threat seems to have been completely forgotten. However, this problem has not disappeared and is not going to disappear. But how real is the danger? Perhaps everything is not so scary and hydrogen sulfide, hidden in the depths of the seabed, will remain there forever, without disturbing anyone? And what forces can contribute to the explosion of a huge amount of poisonous gas? These questions can be answered by the following reasoning.
The first reason for a possible explosion
Imagine hypothetically that at the bottom Black Sea there was an explosion. Is it worth specifying what consequences will be experienced by marine organisms and inhabitants of coastal areas? At a minimum, the first ones will die, as a maximum - alas, both of them ... It sounds intimidating, but who needs to blow up the Black Sea? There are hardly any good reasons for this, even among the most notorious terrorists. But here is the time to remember what causes all the troubles on our planet? That's right - from human actions, often uncontrolled and irresponsible. One has only to wait for the moment when oil and gas companies will lay pipelines along the bottom of the Black Sea. The complexity of the repair and maintenance of such structures in an explosive environment will sooner or later lead to their failure and, as a result, to a large-scale explosion in the hydrogen sulfide layer. What happens next is easy to guess. The Black Sea region can become a zone of ecological disaster, dangerous for people's lives. Innocent people will pay for someone's rash actions and neglect of questions. environmental safety.
The second reason for a possible explosion
The cause of the explosion of hydrogen sulfide can be not only human irresponsibility, but also the vagaries of nature. The last such explosion occurred in 1927 during a strong earthquake in Yalta. Two months before the incident, a phenomenon occurred that surprised local residents- local fishermen noticed a strange roughness of the water and a small swell, as if boiling for unknown reasons. A few minutes later, the eyewitnesses were deafened by an underwater roar - it was a "preparatory" push coming from the depths of the sea.
In the dead of night on September 12, 1927, the Crimean peninsula experienced the full power of an eight-magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was located near Yalta, but many other Crimean cities also suffered, serious damage to buildings and communications was recorded, crops died in the fields, and collapses and landslides occurred in the mountains.
But the most incredible phenomena occurred at sea. Eyewitnesses testified that the perturbations of the earth's crust were accompanied by a disgusting stench and flashes directed from the surface of the sea surface to the heavens. Pillars of fire, shrouded in smoke, reached several hundred meters in height. The Black Sea was burning, the same smell of rotten eggs was in the air. Lightning discharges hit precisely those places where hydrogen sulfide was concentrated. There were many versions about the reasons for this phenomenon, according to one of them, it was poisonous gas on the seabed that became the source of the explosion.
If the Crimean earthquake happened in our time, when hydrogen sulfide is under a thin film of water, everything would turn into a global catastrophe. Experts who are seriously puzzled by this problem paint a sad picture: an explosion of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea can lead to strong tectonic shifts and the release of a large amount of sulfuric acid into the atmosphere. acid rain, poisoned air, a series of earthquakes - that's what the population of coastal areas can expect.
The third reason for a possible explosion
Hydrogen sulfide can explode for another reason. Over time, the top layer can simply become thinner, especially since in recent times there is a constant tendency towards a slow but sure emaciation of the layer of pure water. According to scientists, in a few years the thickness of the protective layer will be no more than 15 meters. All the fault will be anthropogenic pollution of sea water, which occurs regularly. Already, in some places, the presence of hydrogen sulfide is recorded at such a depth, but experts assure that the poisonous gas does not come from the bottom of the sea at all, but from the surface of the earth. Hydrogen sulfide, formed from fertilizers that have fallen into the sea, disappears during autumn storms.
Ways to solve the problem
Experts say that the tragedy can be avoided, it is enough to act competently and in a coordinated manner for the benefit of the Black Sea. Scientists are not sitting idle - they already have some developments in stock, the main idea of which is to use the Black Sea hydrogen sulfide as a fuel, because the poisonous gas releases a huge amount of heat during combustion. Sounds tempting, but how do you extract hydrogen sulfide from the seafloor? According to a group of scientists from Kherson, this is not difficult to do: it is enough to lower a strong pipe to a depth of about 80 meters and raise water through it once. Due to the pressure difference, a fountain is formed, consisting of gas and water. Simply put, an effect similar to opening a bottle of champagne will occur. In 1990, the authors of the idea made an experiment proving the possibility of such a fountain to work for a long period until hydrogen sulfide comes out.
Another method has also been developed for lifting hydrogen sulfide to the sea surface. Scientists proposed to pipe fresh water with a lower density than sea water. Several of these pipes, creating the effect of artificial aeration, would stop the spread of hydrogen sulfide and gradually completely eliminate it. Such manipulations are already being effectively carried out for cleaning aquariums and small ponds.
Similar developments, like many others in countries former Union, have remained unclaimed. People who have the opportunity to solve the problem turn a blind eye to it. I would like to hope that such self-confidence will not lead to sad consequences, and the Black Sea will remain for us as clean, transparent and incredibly fabulously beautiful.
When in my distant childhood I read a poem by K.I. Chukovsky's "Confusion", I was most surprised by the pictures of the burning sea. It seemed like something really incredible, absurd. However, recently I learned that the sea can really catch fire, and the facts of its ignition are already known to history.
So, in 1927, when there was a major earthquake in the Crimea, fires in the Black Sea were recorded near Evpatoria and Sevastopol. However, then the fire at sea was caused by the release of methane - natural gas, the release of which from the bowels was provoked by an earthquake. The spectacle was amazing. Of course, this news was not advertised, but when journalists got their hands on information about those events in the 90s of the 20th century, the newspapers burst into sensationalism. The explosion in popularity of these articles was caused not so much by a methane release as by a distortion of facts: the newspapers wrote about the fire not of methane, but of hydrogen sulfide, after which it was concluded that a global catastrophe was possible.
There was something to be desperate about. Hydrogen sulfide, as you know, is a fairly stable combination of hydrogen and sulfur (decomposes only at a temperature of 500 degrees), a colorless poisonous gas with a pungent smell of rotten eggs. The hydrogen sulfide zone in the Black Sea was discovered in 1890 by N.I. Andrusov. Already then guessed about the large quantities of deposits of this gas. So, if you lower a metal load on a rope into the depths, then it will return completely black due to deposits of sulfites on it - salts that hydrogen sulfide forms with metals. (One of the hypotheses says that the Black Sea owes its name to this phenomenon).
However, at the beginning of the 20th century, it turned out that there is not just a lot of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea, but a lot - below a depth of 150-200 m, a continuous hydrogen sulfide zone begins. It is distributed, however, unevenly: near the coast, its upper boundary reaches 300 m, while in the center, hydrogen sulfide approaches a depth of about 100 m. The total amount of hydrogen sulfide dissolved in the Black Sea reaches 90%, so that all life is concentrated in a small surface layer, and there is no deep-sea fauna in the Black Sea.
Hydrogen sulfide is not some unique property of the Black Sea only, it is found in soft residues at the bottom of all seas. The accumulation of this gas is due to the fact that oxygen practically does not penetrate into the water column and the processes of decay of organic residues prevail over oxidative processes. Sometimes hydrogen sulfide zones can form quite extensive accumulations. So, for example, the rift zone, discovered in 1977 in the zone of the underwater ridge Pacific Ocean, south of the Galapagos Islands, also contains hydrogen sulfide in large quantities; there are hydrogen sulfide zones in some deep closed bays.
One of the theories of the origin of hydrogen sulfide (the so-called "geological theory") suggests that hydrogen sulfide is released during underwater volcanic activity, and it can enter the seas through tectonic faults in the earth's crust. Hydrogen sulfide lakes in Kamchatka can serve as proof of this theory. Another theory - biological - says that we owe the production of hydrogen sulfide to bacteria, which, processing organic remains that have fallen to the bottom of the sea, form a substance from soil salts (sulphates), which, when combined with sea water, forms hydrogen sulfide.
However, one should not think that hydrogen sulfide is stored in the seas as a chemical substance in a warehouse, sealed in boxes. The sea is a constantly working biochemical laboratory. Thanks to the work of bacteria, plants and animals, some elements in the sea are constantly transformed into others. Ecological chains are formed in which a balance is maintained that determines the integrity of the entire structure. Bacteria play a huge role in the decomposition of organic remains into forms consumed by plants. Some bacteria can live without oxygen and light (anaerobic bacteria), others need sunlight, still others recycle organic compounds using both light and oxygen. Getting into different layers of the sea, organic matter enters the corresponding cycle of its processing and, ultimately, the cycle closes - the system returns to its original state.
Therefore, when the layers of the sea move (mixing), hydrogen sulfide is gradually converted into other compounds. In the Black Sea, water is mixed very weakly. The reason for this is the sharp changes in salinity, separating sea water, as in a glass of cocktail, into separate layers. main reason the appearance of such layers is the insufficient connection of the sea with the ocean. The Black Sea is connected to it by two narrow straits - the Bosphorus, leading to the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, which maintains contact with a fairly salty mediterranean sea. Such isolation leads to the fact that the salinity of the Black Sea does not exceed 16-18 ppm (a value equal to the salt content in human blood), while the salinity of normal ocean water should be in the range of 33-38 ppm (the Sea of Marmara, having an intermediate salinity of about 26 ppm, acts as a kind of buffer that prevents the highly saline waters of the Mediterranean from flowing directly into the Black Sea). Salty water from the Sea of Marmara, as a heavier one, when meeting with the waters of the Black Sea, it sinks to the bottom and enters its lower layers in the form of an undercurrent. In the area of the boundary layer, there is not only a sharp change in salinity - "halocline", but also a sharp change in water density - "pinocline" and temperature - "thermocline" (deeper, denser layers of water always have a constant temperature - 8-9 degrees above zero) . Such heterogeneous layers make our sea cocktail a real layer cake, and, of course, it becomes very difficult to “stir” it. So, in order for water from the surface of the water to reach the bottom of the sea, hundreds of years are needed. All these factors lead to the fact that hydrogen sulfide, constantly accumulating in the depths of the Black Sea, gradually formed a vast lifeless zone.
Unfortunately, recently a huge amount of fertilizers and untreated sewage water has been thrown into the sea, which caused a glut of the nutrient medium of the Black Sea. This was the reason for the rapid flowering of phytoplankton and the decrease in water transparency. The insufficiency of solar energy supply, necessary for the respiration of plants, led to the mass death of algae, and, along with them, of many living beings. Underwater forests gave way to thickets of primitive, fast-growing sea grass (filamentous and lamellar algae). Organic remains, not processed by bacteria, fall to the seabed in countless quantities. There is a mass death of flora and fauna.
In 2003, a unique accumulation of the red algae phyllophora (Zernov's phyllophora field), with an area of 11 thousand square meters, was completely destroyed. km., which occupied almost the entire part of the northwestern shelf of the Black Sea. This "green belt" of the sea produced about 2 million cubic meters. m of oxygen per day and, of course, with its destruction, the kingdom of hydrogen sulfide has lost one of its main competitors in the struggle for natural resources - oxygen that oxidizes it.
The high rate of death of algae and sea grass, the mass death of living beings, the decrease in the level of oxygen in the water - all these factors inexorably lead to the accumulation of a huge amount of decaying residues in the depths of the Black Sea and to an increase in the amount of hydrogen sulfide in the water.
So far, we are not afraid of hydrogen sulfide, since in order for the gas bubble to come to the surface, its concentration is needed, which is 1000 times higher than the existing level. However, you should not relax. Too many factors speed up this process. Among them: the construction of breakwaters that reduce the speed of water circulation, work to deepen the seabed, laying oil pipelines, discharging fertilizers and sewage into the sea, and mining. Human activity is on such a scale that no ecosystem can withstand it. What threatens us?
Studying the archaeological layers, scientists have discovered the amazing fact of the almost instantaneous disappearance of the vast majority of life forms in the Permian period. One of the theories explaining such a catastrophe states that the massive death of fauna and flora was due to an explosion of a poisonous gas, presumably hydrogen sulfide, which could have been formed both due to numerous eruptions of underwater volcanoes, and as a result of the activity of hydrogen sulfide-producing bacteria. Research by Lee Kamp from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, showed that a decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the sea provokes an increased reproduction of bacteria that produce hydrogen sulfide. When a critical concentration is reached, this process can lead to the release of toxic gas into the atmosphere. Of course, it is too early to talk about any specific conclusions, the dynamics of changes in hydrogen sulfide levels is not exactly clear yet (it may take about 10 years to conduct a comprehensive analysis), but one cannot but feel a hidden threat in the facts presented. Nature has always been too patient with us. Can we expect salvation from her this time too?
4. Well, about hydrogen sulfide as a source of energy, one more thing:
The advantages of hydrogen as a fuel over gasoline are summarized as follows:
Inexhaustibility. The total mass of hydrogen atoms is 1% of the total mass of the Earth;
Environmental friendliness. When burned, hydrogen turns into water and returns to the Earth's cycle. The greenhouse effect is not enhanced, there are no emissions of harmful substances during combustion;
The weight calorific value of hydrogen is 2.8 times higher than that of gasoline;
The ignition energy is 15 times lower than that of gasoline, the flame radiation during combustion is 10 times less.
It would be possible to store the resulting hydrogen with the help of an energy storage substance. This topic is well developed in theory. There are many different EAVs. Such a substance (for example, wood) is created (emerges) under the influence of energy (solar), and then, as a result of oxidation (combustion), it gives off this energy (heat). Another example of such a substance is silicon. Only, unlike wood, it can be restored from oxide (the so-called "Varshavsky-Chudakov cycle").
So, according to scientists, there real opportunity extract and accumulate hydrogen from the Black Sea hydrogen sulfide with its subsequent use in the energy sector. True, the energy system of the country is completely unprepared to take advantage of this opportunity at the current stage. Meanwhile, the situation with conventional fuels is becoming increasingly threatening. Hydrogen could become an alternative to gasoline.
And some more numbers. One ton of hydrogen sulfide contains 58 kg of hydrogen. When burning 58 kg of hydrogen, the same amount of energy is released as when burning 222 liters of gasoline. The Black Sea contains at least a billion tons of hydrogen sulfide, which is equivalent to 222 billion liters of gasoline.
5 . Well, a little history and, again, some theories,
The information in the articles is repeated in places, I just chose the most interesting of them.
Man is an integral part of nature. She can be favorable, friendly to us. We drink water, breathe air, get heat and food from environment. This is the source of our life.
But our planet can not only give its wealth to people, but also bring destruction, misfortune and deprivation. Earthquakes, fires and floods, tornadoes and volcanic eruptions claim the lives of many people. Hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea can become a natural disaster. There are a lot of them in these waters.
The proximity to the Black Sea can cause tragedy for many people. What are the options for the development of events, as well as how to avoid them, scientists find out. It is interesting to know about their opinion to every inhabitant of our country and the whole world.
What is hydrogen sulfide?
Without going into chemical formulas, you should consider what properties hydrogen sulfide has. It is a colorless gas, which is characterized by stable and hydrogen. It is destroyed only at temperatures above 500 ºС.
It is poisonous to all living organisms. Only a few types of bacteria survive in this environment. The gas is known for its peculiar smell of rotten eggs. There is no flora and fauna in the water in which hydrogen sulfide is dissolved. The waters of the Black Sea contain it in huge quantities. The hydrogen sulfide zone is simply impressively huge.
It was discovered back in 1890 by N.I. Andrusov. True, in those days it was not yet known exactly in what quantities it was contained in these waters. The researchers lowered metal objects to different depths. In hydrogen sulfide water, the indicators are covered with a black sulfide layer. Therefore, there is an assumption that this sea got its name precisely because of this feature of its waters.
Features of the Black Sea
Some people have a question: where does hydrogen sulfide come from in the Black Sea? But it should be noted that this is not an exclusive feature of the presented reservoir. Researchers find this gas in many seas and lakes around the world. It accumulates in natural layers due to the absence of oxygen at great depths.
Organic remains, sinking to the bottom, do not oxidize, but rot. This contributes to the formation of poisonous gas. In the Black Sea, it is dissolved in 90% of the water mass. Moreover, the layer of occurrence is uneven. Near the coast, it begins at a depth of 300 m, and in the center it is already found at a level of 100 m. But in some areas of the Black Sea, the layer of clear water is even less.
There is another theory of the origin of hydrogen sulfide. Some scientists claim that it is formed due to the tectonic activity of volcanoes active at the bottom. But there are still more adherents of the biological theory.
Movement of water masses
In the process of mixing, hydrogen sulfide is processed and changes its form in the Black Sea. The reasons why it nevertheless accumulates are the different levels of salinity in the water. The layers mix very little, since the sea does not have sufficient communication with the ocean.
Only two narrow straits contribute to the process of water exchange. The Bosphorus Strait connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles with the Mediterranean. The closure of the reservoir leads to the fact that the Black Sea has a salinity of only 16-18 ppm. Oceanic masses are characterized by this indicator at the level of 34-38 ppm.
The Sea of Marmara acts as an intermediary between these two systems. Its salinity is 26 ppm. The water of Marmara enters the Black Sea and sinks to the bottom (since it is heavier). The difference in temperature, density and salinity of the layers leads to the fact that they mix very slowly. Therefore, hydrogen sulfide accumulates in the natural masses.
Ecological catastrophy
Hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea has become the subject of close attention of scientists for a number of reasons. The ecological situation here has deteriorated significantly in recent decades. Mass discharges of waste of various origins led to the death of many species of algae and plankton. They began to sink to the bottom faster. Also, scientists found that in 2003 a colony of red algae was completely destroyed. This representative of the flora produced about 2 million cubic meters. m of oxygen per year. This curbed the growth of hydrogen sulfide.
Now the main competitor of poisonous gas simply does not exist. Therefore, environmentalists are worried about the current situation. So far, it does not threaten our safety, but over time, a gas bubble may come to the surface.
When hydrogen sulfide comes into contact with air, an explosion occurs. It destroys all living things in the radius of destruction. No ecosystem can withstand human activity. This brings a possible catastrophe closer.
Explosion at sea
Sad incidents are known in history when the waters of the sea blazed with fire. The first recorded case occurred in 1927, 25 kilometers from Yalta. At this time, the city was destroyed by a powerful earthquake of eight points.
But it was also remembered by the affected residents by a terrible fire that engulfed the expanses of water. People then had no idea why the Black Sea was burning. Hydrogen sulfide, the explosion of which was caused by tectonic activity, came to the surface. But such incidents can happen again.
Hydrogen sulfide, coming to the surface, comes into contact with air. This results in an explosion. It can destroy entire cities.
The first factor of a possible explosion
An explosion that can take the lives of thousands, millions of people and all living organisms in the affected area can occur with a high degree of probability. And that's why. In the Black Sea, hydrogen sulfide is not processed, accumulating under the ever-decreasing thickness of clean water. Humanity treats this problem irresponsibly. Instead of using technology to process poisonous gas, we dump waste into the water. The decay process is getting worse.
Telephone, oil and gas pipelines run along the bottom of the Black Sea. They are damaged, fires occur. This may cause an explosion. Therefore, human activity can be considered the first factor in a possible catastrophe.
The second cause of the explosion
Natural disasters can also trigger an explosion. Tectonic activity in the area is not uncommon. Hydrogen sulfide at the bottom of the Black Sea can be disturbed by an earthquake or volcanic eruptions. Scientists argue that if the same disaster occurred today as in September 1927, the explosion would be so strong that a huge number of people would die. Further, a huge amount of sulfur would have fallen into the atmosphere. would do a lot of harm.
The thin layer of pure water is getting smaller. Hydrogen sulfide comes especially close to the surface in the southeast of the Black Sea. With rocks in this area, a terrible catastrophe is possible. But today, an explosion is possible in any area.
The third cause of the disaster
The thinning of a clean layer of sea water can lead to a spontaneous release of a bubble of poisonous gas from the bowels. Why there is so much hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea is not surprising. Main deterioration factors environmental situation have been reviewed earlier.
Scientists say that if all the hydrogen sulfide resting on the bottom rises to the surface, the explosion will be comparable to the impact of an asteroid the size of half the moon. This would change the face of our planet forever.
In some areas, it approaches the surface at a distance of 15 m. Scientists say that at this level, hydrogen sulfide disappears on its own during autumn storms. But this trend is still alarming. As time goes by, the situation, unfortunately, only gets worse. From time to time, a huge amount of dead fish washed up to the shores, caught in a hydrogen sulfide cloud. Plankton and algae also die. This is a formidable warning to mankind of an impending catastrophe.
Similar disasters
Toxic gas is found in many bodies of water around the world. This is far from a unique phenomenon that characterizes the bottom of the Black Sea. Hydrogen sulfide has already shown its destructive power to people. From history you can learn about such misfortunes.
For example, in Cameroon, in a village on the shores of Lake Nyos, the entire population died due to gas rising to the surface. The people who were caught by the disaster were found after a while by the guests of the village. This misfortune claimed the lives of 1,746 people in 1986.
Six years earlier, in Peru, fishermen going out to sea returned empty-handed. Their ships were black due to the oxide film. People were starving as a large population of fish died.
In 1983 for unknown reasons dead water the sea darkened. It seemed to be turned over, and hydrogen sulfide from the bottom rose to the surface. If such a process took place in the Black Sea, all life in the surrounding areas would die as a result of an explosion or poisoning with poisonous fumes.
The real situation today
In the Black Sea, hydrogen sulfide constantly makes itself felt. Upwellings (updrafts) lift gases to the surface. They are not uncommon in the Crimean, Caucasian regions. Near Odessa, there are frequent cases of mass death of fish that fell into a hydrogen sulfide cloud.
Very when such emissions occur in a thunderstorm. Lightning caught in a large hearth provokes a fire. The smell of rotten eggs that people feel indicates that the permissible concentration of a toxic substance in the air has been exceeded.
This can lead to poisoning and even death. Therefore, the deterioration of the ecological situation should be noticed by us. It is necessary to take measures to reduce the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the waters of the Black Sea.
Ways to solve the problem
Specialists are developing several methods to eliminate hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea. A group of Kherson scientists proposes to use gas as a fuel. To do this, lower the pipe to the depth and once raise the water to the surface. It will be like opening a bottle of champagne. Sea water, mixing with gas, will seethe. Hydrogen sulfide will be extracted from this stream and used for economic purposes. When burned, the gas releases a large amount of heat.
Another idea is to carry out aeration. To do this, fresh water is pumped into deep pipes. It has a lower density and will contribute to the mixing of marine layers. This method has been successfully used in aquariums. When using water from wells in private homes, it is sometimes necessary to purify it from hydrogen sulfide. In this case, aeration is also successfully applied.
Which way to choose is not so important. The main thing is to work on a solution environmental problem. In the Black Sea, hydrogen sulfide can be used for the benefit of mankind. The problem cannot be ignored. Complexity in its decision will be the most reasonable action. If you do not take the right steps now, in time it may happen big disaster. It is in our power to prevent it and save ourselves and other living organisms from death.
- 17238All sailing directions and atlases indicate that the average depth of the Black Sea is 1300 meters. From the surface of the water to the bottom of the sea basin, indeed, on average, almost one and a half kilometers, but what we used to consider the sea has a depth that is several times less, about 100 meters. Below lurked a lifeless and deadly poisonous abyss. This discovery was made by a Russian oceanographic expedition in 1890.
Soundings have shown that the sea is almost entirely filled with dissolved hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous gas with the smell of rotten eggs. In the center of the sea, the hydrogen sulfide zone approaches the surface by about 50 meters; closer to the shores, the depth from where the dead zone begins increases to 300 meters. In this sense, the Black Sea is unique, it is the only one in the world without a solid bottom.
A liquid convex lens of dead water underlies a thin top layer, where all marine life is concentrated. The underlying lens breathes, swells, breaking through to the surface from time to time due to driving winds. Major breakthroughs are less common, the last one occurred during the Yalta earthquake of 1928, when even far from the sea there was a strong smell of rotten eggs and thunder lightning flashed on the sea horizon, leaving burning pillars in the sky (H2S hydrogen sulfide is a combustible and explosive poisonous gas).
Until now, there are disputes about the source of hydrogen sulfide in the depths of the Black Sea. Some consider the reduction of sulfates by sulfate-reducing bacteria during the decomposition of dead organic matter as the main source. Others adhere to the hydrothermal hypothesis, i.e. hydrogen sulfide inflows from cracks in the seabed. However, there are no contradictions here, apparently, both reasons are at work. The Black Sea is arranged in such a way that its water exchange with the Mediterranean Sea goes through the shallow Bosphorus threshold. The Black Sea water, desalinated by river runoff, and therefore lighter, goes into the Sea of Marmara and further, and towards it, more precisely under it, through the Bosphorus threshold into the depths of the Black Sea, saltier and heavier Mediterranean water rolls down. It turns out something like a giant sump, in the depths of which hydrogen sulfide has gradually accumulated over the past six to seven thousand years.
Today, this dead layer makes up over 90 percent of the volume of the sea. In the 20th century, as a result of sea pollution with organic anthropogenic matter, the boundary of the hydrogen sulfide zone rose from the depth by 25-50 meters. Simply put, oxygen from the upper thin layer of the sea does not have time to oxidize the hydrogen sulfide that supports it from below. Ten years ago, this problem was considered one of the priorities in the countries of the Black Sea region. Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic and explosive substance. Poisoning occurs at a concentration of 0.05 to 0.07 mg/m3. The maximum permissible concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the air of populated areas is 0.008 mg/m3. According to a number of experts and scientists, a charge equivalent to Hiroshima is enough to detonate hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea. At the same time, the consequences of the catastrophe will be comparable to those if an asteroid with a mass 2 times less than the mass of the Moon crashed into our Earth.
Total hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea is more than 20 thousand cubic kilometers. Now the problem has been forgotten due to unclear circumstances. True, this problem has not disappeared. In the early 1950s, in Walvis Bay (Namibia), an upwelling current (upwelling) brought a hydrogen sulfide cloud to the surface. Up to a hundred and fifty miles inland, the smell of hydrogen sulfide was felt, the walls of houses darkened. The smell of rotten eggs already means exceeding the MPC (maximum permissible concentration). In fact, the inhabitants of South West Africa survived then a "soft" gas attack. In the Black Sea, a gas attack could be much more severe. Suppose someone comes up with the idea of mixing the sea, or at least part of it. Unfortunately, this is technically feasible. In the relatively shallow northwestern part of the sea, somewhere halfway between Sevastopol and Constanta, you can conduct an underwater nuclear explosion relatively low power. On the shore, it will be noticed only by instruments. But after a few hours there, on the shore, they will smell rotten eggs. Under the most favorable set of circumstances, in a day, two-thirds of the sea will turn into a fraternal cemetery marine organisms. In case of unfavorable conditions, coastal cemeteries will also turn into fraternal cemeteries. settlements where non-marine organisms live. In the previous two phrases, the evaluative adjectives “prosperous” and “unfavorable” can be interchanged, this is from what position to look.
If from the position of a person or a group of people who set themselves the goal of paralyzing the peoples of half a dozen countries at once with horror, then it is necessary to change. However, the greed of the oil and gas companies is worse than any Ben with his Frankincense. Feeling that the end of the era of hydrocarbon raw materials is very close, and is measured in a couple of decades, after which the era of total stagnation will come, and the complete decline of the raw materials economy, businessmen from the state in agony and in desperation threw pipes to hell high pressure for a fuel pipeline right along the bottom of the Black Sea. Greater obscurantism was hard to expect. This is such a one-time weekend construction, which cannot be repaired and prevented in the conditions of explosive hydrogen sulfide. Everyone still remembers passenger train Adler-Novosibirsk, completely burned down due to a fuel line failure. You don't have to be an expert chemist or physicist to understand what will happen if a fuel line breaks in the deep layers of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea. No comment.
Thousands of businessmen who make resort money on the exploitation of the Black Sea do not suspect that their business will soon end, and the Black Sea coast will turn from a resort zone into an ecological disaster zone dangerous for human habitation. This is especially true of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, where, according to scientists, a large amount of hydrogen sulfide is most likely to be released into the atmosphere. Twenty years ago, having familiarized themselves with the calculations of scientists on the Black Sea, scientists built a graph of the decrease in the surface layer of water from 1890 to 2020. The continuation of the graph curve reached 15 meters of layer thickness by 2010. And it was already noted near the Caucasus in 2007. This was even reported on May 30, 2007 on the radio in Sochi. There were also reports of mass deaths of dolphins in the Black Sea. And the local people themselves felt a certain dead spirit from the sea. In the area of New Athos, the sea is already different than it was 20-30 years ago, in the afternoon the water is muddy, yellow, dead fish and even dead animals.
Many businessmen realized the whole pointlessness of their ideas of participation in investing in the resort business on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. No one thinks about the fact that a catastrophe is coming, and it is not far off, but very close. Many local residents feel that the 2014 Olympics will be held as a farewell of an unreasonable person to the Black Sea. Millions of people living on Black Sea coast will be forced to move away from the coast because of the danger of dying as a result of suffocation from hydrogen sulfide and lack of oxygen in the air. And before this total flight of residents from resort cities, mass diseases of residents of the coastal zone may begin with deaths. The end of the Black Sea resorts will come! This will be a worthy retribution of people for their admiration for the power of the Golden Calf, for their contempt for nature, for their ignorance of environmental safety issues. Indeed, with a reasonable approach to business, it is possible to turn the threatening troubles to the benefit of the economy and energy.
The water of the Black Sea contains silver and gold. If we extract all the silver in the water of the Black Sea, then this would amount to approximately 540 thousand tons. If all the gold was extracted, it would amount to approximately 270 thousand tons. Methods for extracting gold and silver from the waters of the Black Sea have long been developed. The very first primitive installations were based on ion exchangers, special ion-exchange resins that are capable of attaching ions of substances dissolved in water to themselves. But industrial way, according to their special technologies, only Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania extract silver and gold from the waters of the Black Sea.
It is known that at a depth below 50 meters, the deep layers of the Black Sea are a colossal storehouse of hydrogen sulfide (about a billion tons). Hydrogen sulfide is a combustible gas that, when burned, gives a corresponding amount of heat. In other words, it is a fuel that can and should be used. During the combustion of hydrogen sulfide according to the reaction: 2H2S + 3O2 \u003d 2H2O + 2SO2, heat is released in an amount of about 268 kcal (with an excess of oxygen). Compare with the amount of heat released during the combustion of hydrogen in oxygen according to the reaction: H2 + 1/2 O2 > H2O (about 68.4 kcal/mol is released). Since sulfur dioxide (a harmful product) is formed in the first reaction, it is of course better to use hydrogen as a fuel in the composition of hydrogen sulfide, which can be obtained by heating hydrogen sulfide according to the reaction:
H2S H2+S3
For the decomposition of hydrogen sulfide, its slight heating is required. Reaction (3) will also make it possible to obtain sulfur from the Black Sea water. If we carry out reactions for the combustion of hydrogen sulfide in atmospheric oxygen:
2H2S + 3O2 \u003d 2H2O + 2SO2,
then by burning the resulting sulfur dioxide:
SO2+? O2 = SO3
then by the interaction of three sulfur oxides with water:
SO3 + H2O = H2SO4,
then, as you know, we can get sulfuric acid with the associated production of heat in the appropriate amount. In the production of sulfuric acid, about 194 kcal / mol is released. Thus, either hydrogen and sulfur or sulfuric acid can be obtained from the water of the Black Sea with the associated production of heat in the appropriate amount. It remains only to extract hydrogen sulfide from the deep layers of the sea. This is confusing at first.
One of the scientific developments proceeds from the fact that in order to lift the deep layers of sea water saturated with hydrogen sulfide, it is not at all necessary to expend energy on pumping it. According to this scientific development, it is proposed to lower a pipe with strong walls to a depth of up to 80 meters and once raise water through it from a depth in order to obtain a gas-water fountain in the pipe due to the difference hydrostatic pressure of water in the sea at the level of the lower section of the channel and the pressure of the gas-water mixture at the same level inside the channel (recall that every 10 meters the pressure in the sea rises by one atmosphere). This is an analogy with a bottle of champagne. By opening the bottle, we lower the pressure in it, because of which the gas begins to be released in the form of bubbles, and so intensely that the bubbles, as they rise, push the champagne in front of them. Pumping out the first time a column of water from the pipe - this will just be the opening of the cork.
It is reported that a group of scientists from Kherson conducted a ground experiment back in 1990, confirming the operation of such a fountain until hydrogen sulfide in the sea runs out. The full-scale marine experiment also ended successfully. A very revealing example, when the existence of life is under threat, the planet is saved by a bunch of lone heroes, who, in addition, are hindered by the government and everything around. And where is the whole state potential, with its scientific power, computers, programs, being asked at this time?
Skeptics can easily check the data on their fingers by sailing further into the sea and lowering a thick hose with a load on the end into the water. It is not only recommended to smoke at this time, so that it does not work out, as in Chukovsky's poems. Many probably remember the words of Korney Chukovsky's poem: "And the chanterelles took matches, went to the blue sea, lit the blue sea." But few people know that children's poems by Korney Chukovsky are very carefully studied by astrologers: as in the quatrains of Michel Nostradamus, these poems contain a lot of interesting predictions. Leonid Utyosov helped with geo-referencing of the "place of arson": "The bluest in the world is my Black Sea!" Until recently, this sea was practically the only place of rest for the inhabitants of the whole country - the USSR. Even the great strategist, Ostap Bender, marked himself there in search of twelve chairs. And he did not pay for the small with his life in Yalta at the time of the famous Crimean earthquake of 1928. Coincidentally, there was a thunderstorm at the time of the earthquake. Lightning struck everywhere. Including at sea. And suddenly something completely unexpected happened: columns of flame began to break out of the water to a height of 500-800 meters. Here are such matches and chanterelles. Chemists know two types of hydrogen sulfide oxidation reactions: H2S + O = H2O + S;
H2S + 4O + to = H2SO4.
As a result of the first reaction, free sulfur and water are formed. The second type of H2S oxidation reaction proceeds explosively during the initial thermal shock. As a result, sulfuric acid is formed. It was the second course of the H2S oxidation reaction that was observed by the inhabitants of Yalta during the earthquake in 1928. Seismic tremors stirred deep-sea hydrogen sulfide to the surface. Electrical conductivity aqueous solution H2S is higher than pure sea water. Therefore, electric lightning discharges most often fell into areas of hydrogen sulfide raised from the depth. However, a significant layer of pure surface water extinguished the chain reaction. By the beginning of the 20th century, the upper inhabited water layer in the Black Sea was 200 meters. Thoughtless technogenic activity has led to a sharp reduction in this layer. Currently, in some places its thickness does not exceed 10-15 meters. During a severe storm, hydrogen sulfide rises to the surface, and vacationers can smell a characteristic smell.
At the beginning of the century, the Don River supplied up to 36 km3 to the Azov-Black Sea basin. fresh water. By the beginning of the 1980s, this volume had decreased to 19 km3: the metallurgical industry, irrigation facilities, field irrigation, and city water pipes. The commissioning of the Volgodonsk nuclear power plant took another 4 km3 of water. A similar situation occurred during the years of industrialization in other rivers of the basin. As a result of the thinning of the surface inhabited water layer, there has been a sharp reduction in biological organisms in the Black Sea. So, for example, in the 50s, the number of dolphins reached 8 million individuals. Nowadays, meeting dolphins in the Black Sea has become a rarity. Fans of underwater sports sadly observe only the remnants of miserable vegetation and rare flocks of fish, rapans have disappeared. Few people think, for example, that all marine souvenirs sold along the Black Sea coast (decorative shells, mollusks, sea stars, corals, etc.) have nothing to do with the Black Sea. Traders bring these goods from other seas and oceans. And in the Black Sea, even mussels have almost disappeared. Since ancient times, sturgeon, horse mackerel, mackerel, and bonito, harvested since ancient times, disappeared back in the 1990s as a commercial species.
