Study of 22-Year-Old Arrow Oil Samples Using Biomarker Compounds by GC/MS

Wang, Zhendi.; Fingas, Merv; Sergy, Gary A.

doi:10.1021/es00058a027

Cited by 261 publications

(180 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(28 reference statements)

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“…Many of these compounds are resistant to evaporation, biodegradation, and photolysis. Hence, they have the potential to remain in the environment long after other oil components have been removed or degraded (21,22). Because many of these polar compounds are not typically analyzed in field samples, the resulting 0.41 million barrels of polar hydrocarbons released into the Gulf of Mexico may be overlooked in studies examining the fate of oil released during this spill.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition and fate of gas and oil released to the water column during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Reddy

Arey

Seewald

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

609

504

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Quantitative information regarding the endmember composition of the gas and oil that flowed from the Macondo well during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is essential for determining the oil flow rate, total oil volume released, and trajectories and fates of hydrocarbon components in the marine environment. Using isobaric gas-tight samplers, we collected discrete samples directly above the Macondo well on June 21, 2010, and analyzed the gas and oil. We found that the fluids flowing from the Macondo well had a gas-to-oil ratio of 1,600 standard cubic feet per petroleum barrel. Based on the measured endmember gas-to-oil ratio and the Federally estimated net liquid oil release of 4.1 million barrels, the total amount of C 1 -C 5 hydrocarbons released to the water column was 1.7 × 10 11 g. The endmember gas and oil compositions then enabled us to study the fractionation of petroleum hydrocarbons in discrete water samples collected in June 2010 within a southwest trending hydrocarbon-enriched plume of neutrally buoyant water at a water depth of 1,100 m. The most abundant petroleum hydrocarbons larger than C 1 -C 5 were benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylenes at concentrations up to 78 μg L −1 . Comparison of the endmember gas and oil composition with the composition of water column samples showed that the plume was preferentially enriched with water-soluble components, indicating that aqueous dissolution played a major role in plume formation, whereas the fates of relatively insoluble petroleum components were initially controlled by other processes.Gulf of Mexico | subsurface plumes D uring the 3 mo following April 20, 2010, the Macondo well emitted several million barrels of gas and oil at the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform. Relative to oil spills occurring at the sea surface, petroleum hydrocarbons experienced a unique set of processes following their release at 1.5-km depth (1-4). This spill demonstrates the importance of interwoven chemical, physical, and biological processes in regulating the transport and fate of hydrocarbons in the deep marine environment. Compositional information for petroleum (gas and oil) released by the well at the seafloor is essential for evaluating the fates of hydrocarbons in the sea. Moreover, such information provides direct constraints on estimates of the total mass of individual hydrocarbons released to the environment and the flow rates at the site of the spill (5). Gases are of particular interest because the gas fraction represents a large component of the carbon released, and it was biodegraded rapidly in the water column (3, 4). Compositional data for released oil is also necessary for forensic analyses when distinguishing Macondo well oil from hydrocarbons released from other sources in the Gulf of Mexico.Numerous studies have examined factors that influence the compositional evolution of oil spilled at the sea surface (6-10), where evaporation and dissolution may simultaneously remove hydrocarbons fr...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition and fate of gas and oil released to the water column during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Reddy

Arey

Seewald

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

609

504

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“…Several reasons HFOs are of particular interest include: controversy surrounding their use, increasing use, potentially long-lasting impacts on the environment (Wang et al, 1994) and lack of knowledge regarding their environmental fate. Recent studies have highlighted debate on the continued use of HFOs (Winebrake et al, 2007;Corbett and Winebrake 2008;Fuglestvedt et al, 2009).…”

Section: List Of Tablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Short-term (weeks to months) weathering studies indicate a rapid initial loss of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), followed by slower weathering rates after the first few months (Strand et al, 1992;Ezra et al, 2000). Longer-term studies support the stability of sterane and hopane biomarkers even decades after a spill (Wang et al, 1994). Data from these spills are often presented with little attention to the processes causing the observed changes or the timing of these processes.…”

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive study of a heavy fuel oil spill : modeling and analytical approaches to understanding environmental weathering

Lemkau¹

2012

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Driven by increasingly heavy oil reserves and more efficient refining technologies, use of heavy fuel oils for power generation is rising. Unlike other refined products and crude oils, a large portion of these heavy oils is undetectable using the traditional gas chromatography-based techniques on which oil spill science has been based. In the current study, samples collected after the 2007 M/V Cosco Busan heavy fuel oil spill (San Francisco, CA) were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC)-based techniques, numerical modeling and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) to examine natural weathering of the oil over a one and a half year period. Traditional GC techniques detected variable evidence of evaporation/ dissolution, biodegradation and photodegradation. Petroleum hydrocarbon compounds smaller than ~n-C 16 were rapidly lost due to evaporation and dissolution. Significant biodegradation was not detected until one month post spill while photodegradation was only observed at one field site. To further examine the processes of evaporation and dissolution, samples were analyzed with comprehensive two-dimensional GC (GC×GC) and a physiochemical model developed to approximate quantitative apportionment of compounds lost to the atmosphere and water. Model results suggest temperature is the primary control of evaporation. Finally, to examine the prominent non-GC amenable component of the oil, samples were analyzed with FT-ICR MS. Results showed expected clustering of samples, with those samples collected sooner after the spill having the most compositional similarity to the unweathered oil. Analysis of dominant heteroatom classes within the oil showed losses of high molecular weight species and the formation of stable core structures with time. These results highlight the susceptibility to weathering of these higher molecular weight components, previously believed to be recalcitrant in the environment. Research findings indicate that environmental weathering results in removal or alteration of larger alkylated compounds as well as loss of lower molecular weight species through evaporation/dissolution, biodegradation and photodegradation, with a resultant fraction of stable compounds likely to remain in the environment years after the spill. This research demonstrates the advantages of combining multiple analytical and modeling approaches for a fuller understanding of oil spill chemistry. AcknowledgementsThere are so many people that have helped me -personally and scientifically-along this journey. First I would like to thank my advisor Chris Reddy. You have been an amazing mentor, pushing me, allowing me to grow as a scientist and never wavering in your encouragement and support. I appreciate your willingness to explore the world outside of science through your public outreach. Although you may be a scientific workaholic (a topic of debate), you have always been tolerant of those of us who are less so, and I thank you for that. I appreciate the many people and experiences you...

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“…The sterane distribution dominated by high abundance of C 29 steranes is typical of crude oils generated from source rocks rich in terrigenous organic matter. The epimer ratios of 20S/(20S + 20R) and bb/ (aa + bb) for the C 29 -steranes are commonly used as maturity parameters (Mackenzie et al, 1980) and as source tracers of weathered oil residues (Wang et al, 1994;Kvenvolden et al, 1995).…”

Section: Steranes Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ratios of ba-moretane/ab-hopane and 22S/(22S + 22R) was typically used as maturity parameters in petroleum geochemistry (Kvenvolden et al, 1995). Moreover, the ratio of C 29 /C 30 was found to be a very good indicator for oil correlation and source tracking (Wang et al, 1994).…”

Section: Terpanes Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical characterization of naturally weathered oil residues in the sediment from Yellow River Delta, China

Wang

Gao

et al. 2011

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Study of 22-Year-Old Arrow Oil Samples Using Biomarker Compounds by GC/MS

Cited by 261 publications

References 14 publications

Composition and fate of gas and oil released to the water column during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Composition and fate of gas and oil released to the water column during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Comprehensive study of a heavy fuel oil spill : modeling and analytical approaches to understanding environmental weathering

Chemical characterization of naturally weathered oil residues in the sediment from Yellow River Delta, China

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