Floating oil-covered debris from Deepwater Horizon : identification and application

Abstract

The discovery of oiled and non-oiled honeycomb material in the Gulf of Mexico surface waters and along coastal beaches shortly after the explosion of Deepwater Horizon sparked debate about its origin and the oil covering it. We show that the unknown pieces of oiled and non-oiled honeycomb material collected in the Gulf of Mexico were pieces of the riser pipe buoyancy module of Deepwater Horizon. Biomarker ratios confirmed that the oil had originated from the Macondo oil well and had undergone significant weathering. Using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's records of the oil spill trajectory at the sea surface, we show that the honeycomb material preceded the front edge of the uncertainty of the oil slick trajectory by several kilometers. We conclude that the observation of debris fields deriving from damaged marine materials may be incorporated into emergency response efforts and forecasting of coastal impacts during future offshore oil spills, and ground truthing predicative models.

Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico

“…18. jj Not determined due to collection protocol of flocculent onto filters, which did not allow for dry weights of the flocculent material to be taken post collection and before extraction.…”

“…18) were also obtained on May 31, 2010 from a saltmarsh ≈175 km from the spill near Cocodrie Louisiana (29.29°N; −90.49°W) as a 2-cm-diameter droplet of surface oil (M1) and from a scraping of Spartina alterniflora saltmarsh grass taken within meters of the droplet (M2). Another sample (S1) was collected on June 20, 2010 with the R/V Endeavor from a 1-cm-thick layer of oil floating on the surface water at 28.74°N, 88.38°W (18). All samples were placed in combusted glass jars and frozen until further analysis.…”

Fallout plume of submerged oil from Deepwater Horizon

“…slicks (33), 0.11 for thin slicks after several hours of weathering (34), and 0.29 for floating debris (35). We determined the pristane:phytane ratio for the 84 available locations, finding a median value of 1.68 (mean = 2.2, SD = 1.8), with only one value below 0.97.…”

Optimization of crude oil degradation by Dietzia cinnamea KA1, capable of biosurfactant production

“…We took advantage of GC/MS Chromatography as it is widely used for comparing and analysis of crude oil [26,27]. GC/MS analysis was performed using Agilient 7890A GC System, equipped with a 5973N mas selective detector, split/splitless injector and column DB-5MS, 30 m  0.25 mm.…”