The Fate of the Oil Spilled from the Exxon Valdez

Wolfe, Douglas A.; Hameedi, M. J.; Galt, J. A.; Watabayashi, Glen; Short, Jeffrey W.; O'claire, C.; Rice, Stanley D.; Michel, Julien; Payne, J. R.; Braddock, Joan F.; Hanna, S.R.; Sale, D.

doi:10.1021/es00062a712

Cited by 173 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Harlequin ducks are marine birds that spend most of their annual cycle in intertidal and shallow subtidal zones of temperate and subarctic areas of the Pacific coast of North America. They are common in Prince William Sound during the nonbreeding season (average of 14,500 individuals between 1990 and 2005 [17]) and are at higher risk of exposure to residual Exxon Valdez oil than many other seabirds, given their exclusive occurrence in near-shore habitats where a disproportionate amount of oil was deposited [18] and where lingering oil has remained [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cytochrome P4501A biomarker indication of oil exposure in harlequin ducks up to 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Esler

Trust

Ballachey

et al. 2010

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Abstract-Hydrocarbon-inducible cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) expression was measured, as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, in livers of wintering harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) captured in areas of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, oiled by the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and in birds from nearby unoiled areas, during 2005 to 2009 (up to 20 years following the spill). The present work repeated studies conducted in 1998 that demonstrated that in harlequin ducks using areas that received Exxon Valdez oil, EROD activity was elevated nearly a decade after the spill. The present findings strongly supported the conclusion that average levels of hepatic EROD activity were higher in ducks from oiled areas than those from unoiled areas during 2005 to 2009. This result was consistent across four sampling periods; furthermore, results generated from two independent laboratories using paired liver samples from one of the sampling periods were similar. The EROD activity did not vary in relation to age, sex, or body mass of individuals, nor did it vary strongly by season in birds collected early and late in the winter of 2006 to 2007, indicating that these factors did not confound inferences about observed differences between oiled and unoiled areas. We interpret these results to indicate that harlequin ducks continued to be exposed to residual Exxon Valdez oil up to 20 years after the original spill. This adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that oil spills have the potential to affect wildlife for much longer time frames than previously assumed. Environ. Toxicol.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cytochrome P4501A biomarker indication of oil exposure in harlequin ducks up to 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Esler

Trust

Ballachey

et al. 2010

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Numerous studies have examined factors that influence the compositional evolution of oil spilled at the sea surface (6)(7)(8)(9)(10), where evaporation and dissolution may simultaneously remove hydrocarbons from the floating oil. Because these competing processes complicate efforts to differentiate aqueous dissolution from other loss processes, few studies have attempted to quantify aqueous dissolution of hydrocarbons to the water column (11).…”

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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.

607

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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“…The oil slicks from the Exxon Valdez began to exit PWS about one week after the beginning of the spill (Wolfe et al 1994). By April 1989, floating oil within PWS had fallen to primarily surface sheens (Wolfe et al 1994).…”

Section: Oil Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

Hypotheses concerning the decline and poor recovery of Pacific herring in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Pearson¹,

Deriso

Elston³

et al. 2011

Rev Fish Biol Fisheries

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This paper updates previous reviews of the 1993 stock decline of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and focuses on hypotheses about subsequent poor recovery. Recent age structured assessment modeling with covariate analysis indicates that the population dynamics of the sound's herring are influenced by oceanic factors, nutrition, and, most substantially, hatchery releases of juvenile pink salmon. For the 1993 decline, poor nutrition remains the most probable cause with disease a secondary response. Concerning poor recovery, we examined 16 potential factors and found three to be causal: oceanic factors, poor nutrition, and hatchery releases of juvenile pink salmon. Absences of strong year classes at both Sitka and Prince William Sound after 1993 indicate the action of large-scale ocean processes. Beyond regional-scale environmental factors, two factors specific to the sound influence the population dynamics of herring and are likely impeding recovery. First, pink salmon fry releases have increased to about 600 million annually and may disrupt feeding in young herring, which require adequate nutrition for growth and overwintering survival. Juvenile pink salmon and age-1 herring co-occur in nearshore areas of bays in late spring and summer, and available data on dietary overlap indicates potential competition between the age-1 juvenile herring and juvenile pink salmon. Field studies demonstrate that juvenile herring reduce food intake substantially in the presence of juvenile pink salmon. Second, overwintering humpback whales may consume potentially large amounts of adult herring, but further studies must confirm to what extent whale predation reduces herring biomass.

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The Fate of the Oil Spilled from the Exxon Valdez

Cited by 173 publications

References 6 publications

Cytochrome P4501A biomarker indication of oil exposure in harlequin ducks up to 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Cytochrome P4501A biomarker indication of oil exposure in harlequin ducks up to 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

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

Hypotheses concerning the decline and poor recovery of Pacific herring in Prince William Sound, Alaska

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