Employing extant stable carbon isotope data in Gulf of Mexico sedimentary organic matter for oil spill studies

Rosenheim, B. E.; Pendergraft, Matthew A.; Flowers, George C.; Carney, Robert S.; Sericano, José L.; Amer, Reda; Chanton, Jeff; Dincer, Zeynep; Wade, Terry L.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.03.020

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Sediment radiocarbon values varied from Δ 14 C = −106 to −501‰, δ 13 C = −22.9 to −17.9‰, and % organic carbon = 1.3 to 3.0% in the 0–1 cm interval ( n = 62, Table ). For surface samples the mean value for Δ 14 C is −219.6 ± 73.7, which is 14 C enriched relative to sediments collected further west of ours and prior to the oil spill at −308.6 ± 84.3. ,− There is a significant trend of radiocarbon depletion from east to west ( p = 0.0003). Consistent with this finding, Rosenheim et al reported significant differences in POC age, with the more western Atchafalaya River values depleted in Δ 14 C by 70‰ relative to the more eastern Mississippi River POC.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Indeed, the results of White et al indicated that discrepancy between a radioisotope mass balance and identification of petroleum hydrocarbons using flame ionization gas chromatography (GC) increased due to the growth of a non GC amenable fraction in the petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments. Using 14 C is a more powerful approach to trace oil content in the sediments than stable isotope composition, δ 13 C, because of its greater dynamic range in 14 C composition between oil and its weathering products and possible natural sources of carbon to the sediments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using Natural Abundance Radiocarbon To Trace the Flux of Petrocarbon to the Seafloor Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Chanton

Zhao

Rosenheim

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon accident released 4.6–6.0 × 10(11) grams or 4.1 to 4.6 million barrels of fossil petroleum derived carbon (petrocarbon) as oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Natural abundance radiocarbon measurements on surface sediment organic matter in a 2.4 × 10(10) m(2) deep-water region surrounding the spill site indicate the deposition of a fossil-carbon containing layer that included 1.6 to 2.6 × 10(10) grams of oil-derived carbon. This quantity represents between 0.5 to 9.1% of the released petrocarbon, with a best estimate of 3.0–4.9%. These values may be lower limit estimates of the fraction of the oil that was deposited on the seafloor because they focus on a limited mostly deep-water area of the Gulf, include a conservative estimate of thickness of the depositional layer, and use an average background or prespill radiocarbon value for sedimentary organic carbon that produces a conservative value. A similar approach using hopane tracer estimated that 4–31% of 2 million barrels of oil that stayed in the deep sea settled on the bottom. Converting that to a percentage of the total oil that entered into the environment (to which we normalized our estimate) converts this range to 1.8 to 14.4%. Although extrapolated over a larger area, our independent estimate produced similar values.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Natural Abundance Radiocarbon To Trace the Flux of Petrocarbon to the Seafloor Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Chanton

Zhao

Rosenheim

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Self Cite

190

151

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“…The DWH spill added radiocarbon-free fossil carbon to a surficial ecosystem dominated by modern photosynthetic production. Unfortunately, the balance between old and modern carbon in the differing carbon pools of the Gulf of Mexico was poorly quantified prior to the oil spill (Rosenheim et al, 2016).…”

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confidence: 99%

Isotopic composition of sinking particles: Oil effects, recovery and baselines in the Gulf of Mexico, 2010–2015

Chanton

Giering

Bosman

et al. 2018

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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The extensive release of oil during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico perturbed the pelagic ecosystem and associated sinking material. To gauge the recovery and post-spill baseline sources, we measured D We interpret this depletion period, also observed in d 13C data, as caused by the incorporation of naturally seeped oil into sinking particles. Determination of post-spill baselines for these isotopic signatures allows for evaluation of anthropogenic inputs in future.

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“…Baseline data on sediment isotopic composition provides vital information that can be used to determine the impacts to and recovery of the environment after a major disturbance. Rosenheim et al [26] compiled stable carbon isotope data of sedimentary organic material across the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) prior to the DWH oil spill. While there was extensive 13 C coverage in the GoM, there was little radiocarbon data so that baseline prior to the spill was underdetermined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sources of carbon to the sediments of the sGoM include marine production, which dominates the 13 C signal [26], terrestrial carbon from rivers, hydrocarbon from oil spills, and hydrocarbons added from natural oil seeps, which occur throughout the GoM [28]. Seeps would be a source of 13 C and 14 C depleted organic material [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The southern Gulf of Mexico: A baseline radiocarbon isoscape of surface sediments and isotopic excursions at depth

et al. 2020

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The southern Gulf of Mexico (sGoM) is home to an extensive oil recovery and development infrastructure. In addition, the basin harbors sites of submarine hydrocarbon seepage and receives terrestrial inputs from bordering rivers. We used stable carbon, nitrogen, and radiocarbon analyses of bulk sediment organic matter to define the current baseline isoscapes of surface sediments in the sGoM and determined which factors might influence them. These baseline surface isoscapes will be useful for accessing future environmental impacts. We also examined the region for influence of hydrocarbon deposition in the sedimentary record that might be associated with hydrocarbon recovery, spillage and seepage, as was found in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010. In 1979, the sGoM experienced a major oil spill, Ixtoc 1. Surface sediment δ 13 C values ranged from-22.4‰ to-19.9‰, while Δ 14 C values ranged from-337.1‰ to-69.2‰. Sediment δ 15 N values ranged from 2.8‰ to 7.2‰, while the %C on a carbonate-free basis ranged in value of 0.65% to 3.89% and %N ranged in value of 0.09% to 0.49%. Spatial trends for δ 13 C and Δ 14 C were driven by water depth and distance from the coastline, while spatial trends for δ 15 N were driven by location (latitude and longitude). Location and distance from the coastline were significantly correlated with %C and %N. At depth in two of twenty (10%) core profiles, we found negative δ 13 C and Δ 14 C excursions from baseline values in bulk sedimentary organic material, consistent with either oil-residue deposition or terrestrial inputs, but likely the latter. We then used 210 Pb dating on those two profiles to determine the time in which the excursion-containing horizons were deposited. Despite the large spill in 1979, no evidence of hydrocarbon residue remained in the sediments from this specific time period.

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Employing extant stable carbon isotope data in Gulf of Mexico sedimentary organic matter for oil spill studies

Abstract: truefalse2016-03-16T23:02:09

Cited by 15 publications

References 41 publications

Using Natural Abundance Radiocarbon To Trace the Flux of Petrocarbon to the Seafloor Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Using Natural Abundance Radiocarbon To Trace the Flux of Petrocarbon to the Seafloor Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Isotopic composition of sinking particles: Oil effects, recovery and baselines in the Gulf of Mexico, 2010–2015

The southern Gulf of Mexico: A baseline radiocarbon isoscape of surface sediments and isotopic excursions at depth

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