Tar balls as a floating substrate for long-distance species dispersal

Bérgamo, Davy Barbosa; Craveiro, Nykon; Magalhães, Karine Matos; Yogui, Gilvan Takeshi; Soares, Marcelo Oliveira; Zanardi-Lamardo, Eliete; Rojas, Lino Angel Valcarcel; Lima, Maria Cecília Santana de; Rosa Filho, José Souto

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115654

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Oil has reached the Brazilian coast, in particular the equatorial northern and northeastern shores, on a regular basis. 18 , 40 This conclusion is supported by a large number of oil spills of unrelated origin—invariably produced in foreign countries—that reach the Brazilian coast. 11 , 13 , 17 , 23 , 25 , 41 In addition, the coastal regions most vulnerable to oil spills are adjacent to oil tanker routes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Oil has reached the Brazilian coast, in particular the equatorial northern and northeastern shores, on a regular basis. , This conclusion is supported by a large number of oil spills of unrelated origininvariably produced in foreign countriesthat reach the Brazilian coast. ,,,,, In addition, the coastal regions most vulnerable to oil spills are adjacent to oil tanker routes. ,, Given this, we compared the fingerprint of the 2023 samples with the oil profiles from the leading crude oil exporting countries in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Oman), Africa (Angola, Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, and Gabon), and Latin American (Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela; Figure S6). , The South Atlantic Ocean is part of the maritime transportation routes for the crude oil trade of these countries (Figure S6).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 11 , 13 , 17 , 23 , 25 , 41 In addition, the coastal regions most vulnerable to oil spills are adjacent to oil tanker routes. 9 , 40 , 42 Given this, we compared the fingerprint of the 2023 samples with the oil profiles from the leading crude oil exporting countries in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Oman), Africa (Angola, Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, and Gabon), and Latin American (Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela; Figure S6 ). 43 , 44 The South Atlantic Ocean is part of the maritime transportation routes for the crude oil trade of these countries ( Figure S6 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forensic Geochemistry Reveals International Ship Dumping as a Source of New Oil Spill in Brazil’s Coastline (Bahia) in Late 2023

Martins,

Pereira,

Nascimento

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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In the present study, we applied forensic geochemistry to investigate the origin and fate of spilled oils like tarballs stranded at the beaches of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil, in September 2023, based on their fingerprints. Saturated and aromatic compounds were assessed by gas chromatography, and the oceanic surface circulation patterns were deciphered to determine the geographic origin of the spill. Contamination by petroleum represents an enormous threat to the unique, species-rich ecosystems of the study area. The geochemical fingerprint of the oil spilled in 2023 did not correlate with those of previous events, including the one in 2019, the one in early 2022 in Ceará, and an extensive spill across the Brazilian Northeast in late 2022. However, the fingerprint did correlate with crude oils produced by Middle Eastern countries, most likely Kuwait. The oil of the 2023 spill had a carbonate marine origin from early mature source rocks. These findings, together with the moderate weathering of the 2023 tarballs and the ocean circulation patterns at the time of the event, indicate that the oil was discharged close to the shore of Brazil, to the east or southeast of Salvador, by a tanker on an international route in the South Atlantic.

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