scholarly journals Long-Term Ecological Impacts from Oil Spills: Comparison of Exxon Valdez, Hebei Spirit, and Deepwater Horizon

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 6456-6467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mace G. Barron ◽  
Deborah N. Vivian ◽  
Ron A. Heintz ◽  
Un Hyuk Yim
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Exxon Valdez

Advanced oil sorbents using sequential infiltration synthesis

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 2929-2935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Barry ◽  
Anil U. Mane ◽  
Joseph A. Libera ◽  
Jeffrey W. Elam ◽  
Seth B. Darling
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Oil Sorbents

Disasters on the scale of the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon serve as harrowing reminders of the devastating effects uncontrolled oil spills have on the environment.

The Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spills

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Sylves ◽  
Louise K. Comfort
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Exxon Valdez

Electrical resistivity imaging for long-term autonomous monitoring of hydrocarbon degradation: Lessons from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Geophysics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. B1-B11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Heenan ◽  
Lee D. Slater ◽  
Dimitrios Ntarlagiannis ◽  
Estella A. Atekwana ◽  
Babu Z. Fathepure ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Hydrocarbon Degradation ◽  
Shallow Subsurface ◽  
Beach Sediments ◽  
Resistivity Variation ◽  
Degradation Activity

Conceptual models for the geophysical responses associated with hydrocarbon degradation suggest that the long-term evolution of an oil plume will result in a more conductive anomaly than the initial contamination. In response to the Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, an autonomous resistivity monitoring system was deployed on Grand Terre, Louisiana, in an attempt to monitor natural degradation processes in hydrocarbon-impacted beach sediments of this island. A 48-electrode surface array with a 0.5-m spacing was installed to obtain twice-daily images of the resistivity structure of the shallow subsurface impacted by oil. Over the course of approximately 18 months, we observed a progressive decrease in the resistivity of the DH spill-impacted region. Detailed analysis of pixel/point resistivity variation within the imaged area showed that long-term decreases in resistivity were largely associated with the DH-impacted sediments. A microbial diversity survey revealed the presence of hydrocarbon-degrading organisms throughout the test site. However, hydrocarbon degradation activity was much higher in the DH-impacted locations compared to nonimpacted locations, suggesting the presence of active hydrocarbon degraders, supporting biodegradation processes. The results of this long-term monitoring experiment suggested that resistivity might be used to noninvasively monitor the long-term degradation of crude oil spills.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Triploid Oysters as a Tool to assess Short- and Long-term Seafood Contamination of Oil Spill-impacted Areas

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1958-1971
Author(s):  
M. Scott Miles ◽  
Ronald F. Malone ◽  
John E. Supan
Keyword(s):  
Crassostrea Virginica ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Chemical Spills ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
South Louisiana

ABSTRACT The objective of this field and laboratory study was to evaluate the use of triploid Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, as a bioindicator of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in oil spill-impacted areas. Bivalve mollusks have shown to be valuable tools for assessing the short-term (weeks to months) bioavailability and impact of hydrophobic contaminants following oil and chemical spills. Approximately 1-year after the initial Deepwater Horizon spill, PAH concentrations were measured in sediment and caged oysters at sites within the Northern Barataria Bay. Two (2) seven-week large-scale mesocosm studies were conducted with diploid and triploid oysters to assess the effects of multiple whole South Louisiana crude (SLC) oil concentrations and seasonal water temperature variation on the PAH bioaccumulation and depuration rates within the test populations. Tissue analyses from the mesocosm study showed that PAH concentrations were generally higher and less variable in triploids than diploids. The studies showed that triploid Crassostrea virginica can be an appropriate organism to serve as a bioindicator of PAH contamination as they are abundant, stationary filter-feeders that provide ample tissue for analysis, and accumulate PAHs in response to contamination. Although diploid oysters are more representative of ecological impacts, triploid oysters are the only ploidy to have the capability to accurately assess oil and chemical spill impacts during oyster breeding season.

Long-Term Fate and Persistence of Oil from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Lessons Learned or History Repeated?

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Boehm ◽  
David S. Page ◽  
John S. Brown ◽  
Jerry M. Neff ◽  
Erich Gundlach
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Intertidal Sediments ◽  
Exxon Valdez ◽  
Weathering Processes ◽  
Rapid Removal ◽  
Or History

ABSTRACT For over 20 years, scientists have studied the shorelines of Prince William Sound (PWS) to understand the distribution, fate, persistence, and bioavailability of Exxon Valdez oil residues that stranded on the shore in 1989. Shoreline surveys in 1989 found that approximately 783 km (16%) of the 4,800 km of the shoreline in PWS, Alaska, and another 1,300 km (13%) of the roughly 10,000 km of shoreline in the western Gulf of Alaska were oiled to varying degrees. The remaining buried subsurface oil (SSO) has been observed on the shorelines in the middle and upper tide zones of a small fraction of the shores where it was originally documented in 1991. Few locations remain with any significant SSO, but the presence of these SSO residues (SSORs) continues to support the hypothesis of continuing harm to wildlife. Our most recent surveys, from 2007–2009, found SSOR in only isolated patches on a very small percentage of shoreline. They were sequestered and largely isolated from the natural weathering processes that would result in their complete and rapid removal. The SSORs are highly weathered and are not accessible or bioavailable to wildlife that forage on the shore. These findings confirm the lessons learned from all previous crude oil spills: 1) weathered SSOR can be sequestered for decades in intertidal sediments at locations where the subsurface water flow required for erosion, dissolution, and biodegradation of the oil is low 2) sequestration limits the exposure of biota to the potentially harmful fractions of the SSO.

scholarly journals Evidence for Ecosystem-Level Trophic Cascade Effects Involving Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) Triggered by the Deepwater Horizon Blowout

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 190
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Short ◽  
Christine Voss ◽  
Maria Vozzo ◽  
Vincent Guillory ◽  
Harold Geiger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Web ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Trophic Cascade ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Brevoortia Patronus

Unprecedented recruitment of Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) followed the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout (DWH). The foregone consumption of Gulf menhaden, after their many predator species were killed by oiling, increased competition among menhaden for food, resulting in poor physiological conditions and low lipid content during 2011 and 2012. Menhaden sampled for length and weight measurements, beginning in 2011, exhibited the poorest condition around Barataria Bay, west of the Mississippi River, where recruitment of the 2010 year class was highest. Trophodynamic comparisons indicate that ~20% of net primary production flowed through Gulf menhaden prior to the DWH, increasing to ~38% in 2011 and ~27% in 2012, confirming the dominant role of Gulf menhaden in their food web. Hyperabundant Gulf menhaden likely suppressed populations of their zooplankton prey, suggesting a trophic cascade triggered by increased menhaden recruitment. Additionally, low-lipid menhaden likely became “junk food” for predators, further propagating adverse effects. We posit that food web analyses based on inappropriate spatial scales for dominant species, or solely on biomass, provide insufficient indication of the ecosystem consequences of oiling injury. Including such cascading and associated indirect effects in damage assessment models will enhance the ability to anticipate and estimate ecosystem damage from, and provide recovery guidance for, major oil spills.

scholarly journals Oil Pollution Affects the Central Metabolism of Keystone Vachellia (Acacia) Trees

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6660
Author(s):  
Marco Ferrante ◽  
Anuma Dangol ◽  
Shoshana Didi-Cohen ◽  
Gidon Winters ◽  
Vered Tzin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Desert Ecosystem ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Central Metabolism ◽  
Adult Trees ◽  
Metabolite Profiles ◽  
One Year

Vachellia (formerly Acacia) trees are native to arid environments in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, where they often support the local animal and plant communities acting as keystone species. The aim of this study was to examine whether oil pollution affected the central metabolism of the native keystone trees Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) and V. raddiana (Savi), as either adults or seedlings. The study was conducted in the Evrona Nature Reserve, a desert ecosystem in southern Israel where two major oil spills occurred in 1975 and in 2014. Leaf samples were collected to analyze the central metabolite profiles from oil-polluted and unpolluted adult trees and from Vachellia seedlings growing in oil-polluted and unpolluted soils in an outdoor setup. We found that oil pollution had a stronger effect on one-year-old seedlings than on adult trees, reducing the levels of amino acids, sugars, and organic acids. While adult trees are mildly affected by oil pollution, the effects on young seedlings can cause a long-term reduction in the population of these keystone desert trees, ultimately threatening this entire ecosystem.

Designing Effective Wolbachia Release Programs for Mosquito and Arbovirus Control

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perran Ross
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Endosymbiotic Bacteria ◽  
Dengue Transmission ◽  
Awareness Programs ◽  
Population Suppression ◽  
Male Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes carrying endosymbiotic bacteria called Wolbachia are being released in mosquito and arbovirus control programs around the world. Open field releases of Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes have achieved over 95% population suppression, while the replacement of populations with Wolbachia-infected females is self-sustaining and can greatly reduce local dengue transmission. Despite many successful interventions, significant questions and challenges lie ahead. Wolbachia, viruses and their mosquito hosts can evolve, leading to uncertainty around the long-term effectiveness of a given Wolbachia strain, while few ecological impacts of Wolbachia releases have been explored. Wolbachia strains are diverse and the choice of strain to release should be made carefully, taking environmental conditions and the release objective into account. Mosquito quality control, thoughtful community awareness programs and long-term monitoring of populations are essential for all types of Wolbachia intervention. Releases of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes show great promise, but existing control measures remain an important way to reduce the burden of mosquito-borne disease.

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