Identification of sources of tar balls deposited along the Goa coast, India, using fingerprinting techniques

Oil spills are one of the environmental pollutions that commonly occur along coastal areas. Tar-balls are one of the products that come from the oil spill pollution. In this study, tar-ball pollution was monitored at 10 points along the coastline of Marintaman Beach in Sipitang, Sabah, Malaysia. This research determined the physical characteristics, composition, and concentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tar-balls. The total number of tar-balls collected was 227 (n=227). The tar-balls were observed in various shapes and the sizes were recorded in the range of 0.1 cm to 6.9 cm. The composition and concentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the outer and inner layer of tar-balls were determined. The results showed that the main Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) compounds were found in inner layers of the tar-balls with benzo (g,h,i) perylene (72.26 mg/kg), flourene (59.87 mg/kg), dibenzo (a,h) anthracene (44.48 mg/kg), indeno (1,2,3-c,d) pyrene (78.18 mg/kg), and benzo (e) fluoranthene (45.70 mg/kg), respectively. Further research was done with the bioaugmentation study of locally isolated beneficial microorganisms (LIBeM) consortium for treatment of tar-balls in an Aerated Static Pile (ASP) bioreactor system. The results showed that, after 84 days of treatment, this consortium, consisting of C. tropicalis-RETL-Cr1, C. violaceum-MAB-Cr1, and P. aeruginosa-BAS-Cr1, was able to degrade total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) by 84% as compared to natural attenuation (19%). The microbial population of this consortium during the biodegradation study is also discussed in this paper.

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Dynamic changes in optical and chemical properties of tar ball aerosols by atmospheric photochemical aging

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-19-139-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 139-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Chunlin Li ◽

Quanfu He ◽

Julian Schade ◽

Johannes Passig ◽

Ralf Zimmermann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Weight ◽

High Molecular Weight ◽

Light Absorption ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Oh Radical ◽

Dynamic Changes ◽

Photochemical Process ◽

Tar Balls ◽

Photochemical Aging ◽

And Chemical Properties

Abstract. Following wood pyrolysis, tar ball aerosols were laboratory generated from wood tar separated into polar and nonpolar phases. Chemical information of fresh tar balls was obtained from a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and single-particle laser desorption/resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry (SP-LD-REMPI-MS). Their continuous refractive index (RI) between 365 and 425 nm was retrieved using a broadband cavity enhanced spectroscopy (BBCES). Dynamic changes in the optical and chemical properties for the nonpolar tar ball aerosols in NOx-dependent photochemical process were investigated in an oxidation flow reactor (OFR). Distinct differences in the chemical composition of the fresh polar and nonpolar tar aerosols were identified. Nonpolar tar aerosols contain predominantly high-molecular weight unsubstituted and alkyl-substituted polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), while polar tar aerosols consist of a high number of oxidized aromatic substances (e.g., methoxy-phenols, benzenediol) with higher O : C ratios and carbon oxidation states. Fresh tar balls have light absorption characteristics similar to atmospheric brown carbon (BrC) aerosol with higher absorption efficiency towards the UV wavelengths. The average retrieved RI is 1.661+0.020i and 1.635+0.003i for the nonpolar and polar tar aerosols, respectively, with an absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) between 5.7 and 7.8 in the detected wavelength range. The RI fits a volume mixing rule for internally mixed nonpolar/polar tar balls. The RI of the tar ball aerosols decreased with increasing wavelength under photochemical oxidation. Photolysis by UV light (254 nm), without strong oxidants in the system, slightly decreased the RI and increased the oxidation state of the tar balls. Oxidation under varying OH exposure levels and in the absence of NOx diminished the absorption (bleaching) and increased the O : C ratio of the tar balls. The photobleaching via OH radical initiated oxidation is mainly attributed to decomposition of chromophoric aromatics, nitrogen-containing organics, and high-molecular weight components in the aged particles. Photolysis of nitrous oxide (N2O) was used to simulate NOx-dependent photochemical aging of tar balls in the OFR. Under high-NOx conditions with similar OH exposure, photochemical aging led to the formation of organic nitrates, and increased both oxidation degree and light absorption for the aged tar ball aerosols. These observations suggest that secondary organic nitrate formation counteracts the bleaching by OH radical photooxidation to eventually regain some absorption of the aged tar ball aerosols. The atmospheric implication and climate effects from tar balls upon various oxidation processes are briefly discussed.

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Some aspects of geomorphic processes along the Goa coast through remote sensing

Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing ◽

10.1007/bf03003669 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 49-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

V. K. Anand ◽

G. Venkataraman ◽

S. Vishwanathan ◽

G. S. K. Rao

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Goa Coast ◽

Geomorphic Processes

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Pre-monsoon hydrodynamic modeling of Goa coast, West coast of India

ISH Journal of Hydraulic Engineering ◽

10.1080/09715010.2015.1017747 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 276-286

Author(s):

P.S. Niraj ◽

R. Balaji ◽

P. Vethamony

Keyword(s):

West Coast ◽

Hydrodynamic Modeling ◽

West Coast Of India ◽

Goa Coast

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Tar Balls: The End State

Spill Science & Technology Bulletin ◽

10.1016/s1353-2561(03)00045-8 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 117-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Ron Goodman

Keyword(s):

Tar Balls

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HYDROCARBON DISTRIBUTION AND WEATHERING CHARACTERISTICS AT A TROPICAL OIL SPILL SITE

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-1979-1-709 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 1979 (1) ◽

pp. 709-712 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

David S. Page ◽

Dana W. Mayo ◽

Judith F. Cooley ◽

Edmund Sorenson ◽

Edward S. Gilfillan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Puerto Rico ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Biogenic Hydrocarbons ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Tropical Area ◽

Tar Balls ◽

Spill Site ◽

High Resolution Gas Chromatography ◽

Hydrocarbon Distribution

ABSTRACT A study was performed on the state of an oil spill site on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico. The location of the study was Bahia Sucia, the site of the Zoe Colocotroni spill of 17 March, 1973. Particular attention was given to the weathering characteristics of the stranded oil remaining at the sites and to the presence of biogenic hydrocarbons in the sediments. High resolution gas chromatography of the aliphatic and aromatic fractions of the sediment hydrocarbons was used to distinguish the types of hydrocarbons present and their distribution. It was observed that oil weathers much more rapidly in a tropical environment as compared with spills in temperate areas. Even in the most heavily impacted areas, the Zoe Colocotroni oil had weathered practically to the point of being tar. It was also observed that a tropical site has a significant chronic input of hydrocarbons from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Gas chromatograms of extracts of leaf waxes from live mangroves compared with biogenic hydrocarbons observed in the sediments. Tar-balls also account for a significant fraction of the hydrocarbon burden in the sites studied. The conclusion is that a tropical area has the potential for making a much more rapid recovery from an oil spill than a temperate one. Moreover, in assessing the effects of a tropical oil spill, care must be taken to distinguish the relative contribution to the total hydrocarbon burden in a spill area by oil, pelagic tar, and biogenic sources.

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