Bacteria-Oil Microaggregates Are an Important Mechanism for Hydrocarbon Degradation in the Marine Water Column

Vast quantities of oil-associated marine snow (MOS) formed in the water column as part of the natural biological response to the Deepwater Horizon drilling accident. Despite the scale of the event, uncertainty remains about the mechanisms controlling MOS formation and its impact on the environment.

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An approach for extraction, characterization and quantitation of microplastic in natural marine snow using Raman microscopy

Analytical Methods ◽

10.1039/c6ay02302a ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 1470-1478 ◽

Cited By ~ 81

Author(s):

Shiye Zhao ◽

Meghan Danley ◽

J. Evan Ward ◽

Daoji Li ◽

Tracy J. Mincer

Keyword(s):

Water Column ◽

Raman Microscopy ◽

Marine Water ◽

Marine Snow ◽

Particulate Carbon ◽

Sea Floor ◽

Predominant Form

Marine snow is a predominant form of sinking particulate carbon in the marine water column and represents a mechanism for transporting microplastics to the sea floor.

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Marine Snow Aggregates are Enriched in Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Oil Contaminated Waters: Insights from a Mesocosm Study

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering ◽

10.3390/jmse8100781 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. 781

Author(s):

Hernando P. Bacosa ◽

Manoj Kamalanathan ◽

Joshua Cullen ◽

Dawei Shi ◽

Chen Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Molecular Weight ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽

Water Column ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Marine Snow ◽

Total Pahs ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic ◽

Water Accommodated Fraction

Marine snow was implicated in the transport of oil to the seafloor during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but the exact processes remain controversial. In this study, we investigated the concentrations and distributions of the 16 USEPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine snow aggregates collected during a mesocosm experiment. Seawater only, oil in a water accommodated fraction (WAF), and Corexit-enhanced WAF (DCEWAF) were incubated for 16 d. Both WAF and DCEWAF aggregates were enriched in heavy molecular weight PAHs but depleted in naphthalene. DCEWAF aggregates had 2.6 times more total 16 PAHs than the WAF (20.5 vs. 7.8 µg/g). Aggregates in the WAF and DCEWAF incorporated 4.4% and 19.3%, respectively of the total PAHs in the mesocosm tanks. Our results revealed that marine snow sorbed and scavenged heavy molecular weight PAHs in the water column and the application of Corexit enhanced the incorporation of PAHs into the sinking aggregates.

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Sustained deposition of contaminants from the Deepwater Horizon spill

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1513156113 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 113 (24) ◽

pp. E3332-E3340 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Beizhan Yan ◽

Uta Passow ◽

Jeffrey P. Chanton ◽

Eva-Maria Nöthig ◽

Vernon Asper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon ◽

Water Column ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Diatom Bloom ◽

Drilling Mud ◽

Deep Sediment ◽

Pelagic Food Webs ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic ◽

Large Diatom ◽

Benthic Ecosystems

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in 1.6–2.6 × 1010 grams of petrocarbon accumulation on the seafloor. Data from a deep sediment trap, deployed 7.4 km SW of the well between August 2010 and October 2011, disclose that the sinking of spill-associated substances, mediated by marine particles, especially phytoplankton, continued at least 5 mo following the capping of the well. In August/September 2010, an exceptionally large diatom bloom sedimentation event coincided with elevated sinking rates of oil-derived hydrocarbons, black carbon, and two key components of drilling mud, barium and olefins. Barium remained in the water column for months and even entered pelagic food webs. Both saturated and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon source indicators corroborate a predominant contribution of crude oil to the sinking hydrocarbons. Cosedimentation with diatoms accumulated contaminants that were dispersed in the water column and transported them downward, where they were concentrated into the upper centimeters of the seafloor, potentially leading to sustained impact on benthic ecosystems.

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