Constraining the Spatial Extent of Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation Following the Deepwater Horizon Event Using an Excess 210Pb Flux Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 5962-5968 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. T. Schwing ◽  
G. R. Brooks ◽  
R. A. Larson ◽  
C. W. Holmes ◽  
B. J. O’Malley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Spatial Extent ◽  
Marine Oil ◽  
Excess 210Pb

Marine Oil Fate: Knowledge Gaps, Basic Research, and Development Needs; A Perspective Based on the Deepwater Horizon Spill

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis J. Thibodeaux ◽  
Kalliat T. Valsaraj ◽  
Vijay T. John ◽  
Kyriakos D. Papadopoulos ◽  
Lawrence R. Pratt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Marine Oil

scholarly journals Biogeochemical Processes Affecting the Fate of Discharged Deepwater Horizon Gas and Oil: New Insights and Remaining Gaps in Our Understanding

Oceanography ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-97
Author(s):  
John Farrington ◽  
◽  
Edward Overton ◽  
Uta Passow
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Microbial Degradation ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Oxidation Products ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
Marine Oil ◽  
Photo Oxidation ◽  
Research Initiative

Research funded under the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative provided new insights into the biogeochemical processes influencing the fate of petroleum chemicals entering the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) accident. This overview of that work is based on detailed recent reviews of aspects of the biogeochemistry as well as on activities supported by the US Natural Resource Damage Assessment. The main topics presented here are distribution of hydrocarbons in the water column; the role of photo-oxidation of petroleum compounds at the air-sea interface; the role of particulates in the fate of the DWH hydrocarbons, especially marine oil snow (MOS) and marine oil snow sedimentation and flocculent accumulation (MOSSFA); oil deposition and accumulation in sediments; and fate of oil on beaches and in marshes. A brief discussion of bioaccumulation is also included. Microbial degradation is addressed in a separate paper in this special issue of Oceanography. Important future research recommendations include: conduct a more robust assessment of the mass balance of various chemical groupings and even individual chemicals during specific time intervals; seek a better understanding of the roles of photo-oxidation products, MOS, and MOSSFA and their relationships to microbial degradation; and determine the fates of the insoluble highly degraded and viscous oil residues in the environment.

scholarly journals State of the art satellite and airborne marine oil spill remote sensing: Application to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill

2012 ◽  
Vol 124 ◽  
pp. 185-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ira Leifer ◽  
William J. Lehr ◽  
Debra Simecek-Beatty ◽  
Eliza Bradley ◽  
Roger Clark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽  
Remote Sensing Application ◽  
Marine Oil ◽  
Sensing Application

The Complexity of Spills: The Fate of the Deepwater Horizon Oil

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-136
Author(s):  
Uta Passow ◽  
Edward B. Overton
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Ocean Water ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Marine Oil ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
Oil Expression ◽  
Spilled Oil ◽  
Intrusion Layer

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest, longest-lasting, and deepest oil accident to date in US waters. As oil and natural gas jetted from release points at 1,500-m depth in the northern Gulf of Mexico, entrainment of the surrounding ocean water into a buoyant plume, rich in soluble hydrocarbons and dispersed microdroplets of oil, created a deep (1,000-m) intrusion layer. Larger droplets of liquid oil rose to the surface, forming a slick of mostly insoluble, hydrocarbon-type compounds. A variety of physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms helped to transform, remove, and redisperse the oil and gas that was released. Biodegradation removed up to 60% of the oil in the intrusion layer but was less efficient in the surface slick, due to nutrient limitation. Photochemical processes altered up to 50% (by mass) of the floating oil. The surface oil expression changed daily due to wind and currents, whereas the intrusion layer flowed southwestward. A portion of the weathered surface oil stranded along shorelines. Oil from both surface and intrusion layers were deposited onto the seafloor via sinking marine oil snow. The biodegradation rates of stranded or sedimented oil were low, with resuspension and redistribution transiently increasing biodegradation. The subsequent research efforts increased our understanding of the fate of spilled oil immensely, with novel insights focusing on the importance of photooxidation, the microbial communities driving biodegradation, and the formation of marine oil snow that transports oil to the seafloor.

scholarly journals Crude oil and particulate fluxes including marine oil snow sedimentation and flocculant accumulation: Deepwater Horizon oil spill study

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonietta Quigg ◽  
Chen Xu ◽  
Wei-Chun Chin ◽  
Manoj Kamalanathan ◽  
Jason Sylvan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Suspended Particle ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Phytoplankton Production ◽  
Marine Snow ◽  
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽  
Marine Oil ◽  
Total Oil ◽  
Ultimate Fate

Abstract The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the largest in US history in terms of oil released and the amount of dispersants applied. It is also the first spill in which the incorporation of oil and/or dispersant into marine snow was directly observable. Marine snow formation, incorporation of oil (MOS – marine oil snow) and subsequent settling to the seafloor, has been termed MOSSFA: Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation. This pathway accounts for a significant fraction of the total oil returning back to the sea floor. GOMRI funded studies have determined that important drivers of MOSSFA include, but are not limited to, an elevated and extended Mississippi River discharge, which enhanced phytoplankton production and suspended particle concentrations, zooplankton grazing, and enhanced mucus formation (operationally defined as EPS, TEP, marine snow). Efforts thus far to understand the mechanisms driving these processes are being used to aid in the development of response strategies. These include modeling efforts towards predicting plume dynamics. Although much has been learned during the GOMRI program (reviewed herein and elsewhere), there are still important unknowns that need to be addressed. Understanding of the conditions under which significant MOSSFA events occur, the consequences to the biology, the sinking velocity and distribution of the MOSSFA as well as its ultimate fate are amongst the most important consideration for future studies. Also important is the modification of the oil and dispersant within the MOS and its transport as part of MOSSFA. Ongoing studies are needed to further develop our understanding of these complex and interrelated phenomena.

scholarly journals Why Sunlight Matters for Marine Oil Spills

Eos ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Collin Ward ◽  
Christopher Reddy ◽  
Edward Overton
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Marine Oil ◽  
Marine Oil Spills

A decade of research since the Deepwater Horizon disaster has revealed how sunlight—its importance long understated in oil spill science—substantially alters petroleum floating at the sea surface.

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