NET ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT ANALYSIS (NEBA) OF DISPERSED OIL ON NEARSHORE TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS DERIVED FROM THE 20 YEAR “TROPICS” FIELD STUDY1

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 453-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Baca ◽  
Greg A. Ward ◽  
Christine H. Lane ◽  
Paul A. Schuler
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Tropical Ecosystems ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
Prudhoe Bay

ABSTRACT In November 1984, non-treated Prudhoe Bay crude oil and dispersed Prudhoe Bay crude oil were intentionally released into two separate sites, representative of near shore mangrove, seagrass and coral ecosystems, as part of the TRopical Oil Pollution Investigations in Coastal Systems (TROPICS) field study in Bahia de Almirante, Panama. Data on the relative effects of non-treated crude oil and dispersed crude oil on these ecosystems (compared to a reference site) were acquired and analyzed over various periods (30 days, 3 months, and 2.6, 10, 17, 18, and 20 years). In the short term, the oil caused mortality to invertebrate fauna, seagrass beds, and corals at both sites. At the non-treated crude oil site, there was also significant mortality to the mangrove forest. Twenty-year observations and mangrove substrate core samples reveal the continued presence of oil and diminished mangrove repopulation, as well as substrate erosion, at the non-treated crude oil site. No oil was detected and no long-term impacts were observed at the dispersed crude oil and reference sites. These results provide baseline scientific data for developing a Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) of dispersant use in nearshore tropical systems. This paper is a review of TROPICS data and its application to NEBA preparation. Data and NEBA from the 20-year TROPICS study clearly show that the use of dispersant in the near shore environment is a sound strategy for both minimizing environmental damage to tropical ecosystems and for providing the best opportunity for recovery and repopulation in this environment. Results of this work should be applicable to similar tropical ecosystems.

scholarly journals Tropical Oil Pollution Investigations in Coastal Systems [TROPICS]: A 32-year Review of Response and Recovery

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Abigail Renegar ◽  
Paul Schuler ◽  
Nicholas Turner ◽  
Richard Dodge ◽  
Anthony Knap ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Coastal Systems ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Nearshore Environments ◽  
Comparative Risk

ABSTRACT In 1984, the Tropical Oil Pollution Investigations in Coastal Systems (TROPICS) experiment began in Bahia Almirante on the Caribbean coast of Panama. This study sought to compare the impacts of a severe, but realistic spill of untreated crude oil versus chemically treated (dispersed) crude oil on tropical marine reef, sea-grass, and mangrove ecosystems. The aim of the study was to identify and evaluate the environmental trade-offs of dispersant use in tropical marine and subtidal systems. As a result of continuing research at the site, the study became one of the most comprehensive field experiments examining the long-term impacts of oil and dispersed oil exposures in nearshore tropical communities. Consequently, TROPICS has been the foundational and seminal field study which served as the historical antecedent for Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA), as well as the basis for follow-on Spill Impact Mitigation Analysis (SIMA) and Comparative Risk Analysis (CRA) for oil spill planning, preparation, and response. From the initial experiment in 1984, through three decades of study and data collection visits, the coral reef, seagrass, and mangrove communities have exhibited significantly different damage and recovery regimes, depending on whether the sites were exposed to non-treated crude oil or dispersed crude oil. While this study does not definitively determine whether or not dispersants should be applied in tropical nearshore environments, it is illustrative of the environmental and ecosystem trade-offs between surface oil impacts to the shoreline, compared to water column exposure from chemically dispersed oil. This paper provides an overview of the results and observations reported in numerous previous TROPICS publications, as a progression of damage and recovery over time. With this perspective, planners and responders can use this study to predict what damages/recoveries may be expected from an oil spill incident in this environment. The results of the TROPICS experiment are examined within the context of this recent parallel research from the perspective of ongoing implications for oil spill preparedness and response.

TROPICS: 30-year Follow-up and Analysis of Mangroves, Invertebrates, and Hydrocarbons

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1734-1748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Baca ◽  
Eric Rosch ◽  
Erik D. DeMicco ◽  
Paul A. Schuler
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Reference Site ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Ecosystem Recovery ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Baseline Levels ◽  
Prudhoe Bay

ABSTRACT TROPICS (TRopical Oil Pollution Investigations in Coastal Systems) has been the seminal study on trade-offs for Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) for dispersant use in tropical ecosystems. The study began in 1983/84 with the identification of suitable tropical island sites in Bahia Almirante, Bocas del Toro, Panama that contained mangrove, seagrass and coral habitats in close enough proximity to establish three 30m X 30m test sites. Controlled releases of Prudhoe Bay crude oil (dosed at 1L/m2) and Prudhoe Bay crude oil pre-dispersed with Corexit 9527 (to maintain 50 ppm water soluble fraction), were introduced into the Non- dispersed oil (Site O) and the Dispersed oil (Site D) sites, respectively, for 48 hours. A nearby Reference site (Site R) was not treated with oil/dispersed oil. Treatments were designed to simulate a realistic oil spill in adjoining mangrove, seagrass, and coral habitats. Following exposure and removal of oil, sites were studied periodically over 30 years for relative effects of dispersed and non-dispersed oil in coral, seagrass, mangrove, and invertebrate populations, as well as hydrocarbon presence. Early research focused on short- and mid-term effects compared to the Reference site (R), while later work focused on long-term effects and ecosystem recovery. In general, researchers found that Site O exhibited more overall long-term ecosystem disruption than Site D, and that Site D had recovered quickly to Site R and baseline levels. In November 2013 (29 years after oil and dispersed oil exposure), the TROPICS sites were re-visited under a grant provided by Clean Caribbean & Americas. Researchers collected data on mangroves, mangrove invertebrates, and hydrocarbons. The density of mangrove trees at Site D had remained at Site R and baseline levels. Site O, which had experienced early die off of trees, followed by peak production at 10 years (far in excess of Site R and baseline levels), exhibited a decline dominated by small trees. Mangrove snails and oysters increased sharply at Site O after the spill, but declined over 10-20 years. Sites D and R maintained gradual invertebrate increases during this time. This paper focuses on research from the November 2013 visit and draws on previous observations and TROPICS papers on overall ecosystem disruption and recovery as it pertains to the NEBA for nearshore dispersant use in tropical marine ecosystems.

TOXICITY OF DISPERSED AND UNDISPERSED PRUDHOE BAY CRUDE OIL FRACTIONS TO SHRIMP AND FISH

1987 ◽  
Vol 1987 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack W. Anderson ◽  
Robert Riley ◽  
Steve Kiesser ◽  
James Gurtisen
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Hydrocarbon Composition ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Stage I ◽  
Stage Ii ◽  
Sand Lance ◽  
Ammodytes Hexapterus ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Reduced Toxicity ◽  
Prudhoe Bay

ABSTRACT Many previous studies of oil toxicity used high oil concentrations and water soluble fractions (WSF). The aim of this study was to approximate field conditions, in which weathering and chemical dispersions reduce the volatile fractions of spilled crude oil. The objective was to determine the extent of toxicity reduction produced by decreased concentrations of monoaromatics and diaromatics. The study measured the relative toxicity of fresh Prudhoe Bay crude (PBC) oil and two distillation fractions (Stage I and Stage II) and their chemical dispersions to the shrimp Pandalus danae and the fish Ammodytes hexapterus (sand lance). The hydrocarbon composition of the three oils, the WSF of the oils, and the chemical dispersions were measured. Distillation of fresh PBC oil produced a Stage I oil containing very low amounts of monoaromatics (benzene and alkylbenzenes) but with the diaromatics relatively unchanged. Further distillation produced a Stage II oil which contained only higher molecular weight aromatics of three rings (phenanthrenes) and greater. Saturate hydrocarbons with corresponding boiling points also were removed. Bioassays on shrimp with dispersed oils showed that the removal of monoaromatics (Stage I) reduced toxicity about sevenfold. The WSF of Stage I oil and both WSF and dispersions of Stage II oil were not toxic to shrimp. Toxicity from fresh PBC oil WSF and dispersions was likely the result of the combination of monoaromatic and diaromatic compounds. Sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) mortality did not correlate with the aromatic content of the oils, but appeared to be affected by dispersed oil droplets of all three oils to about the same degree. The fish were more resistant to dispersed oil than the shrimp (higher toxicity index). However, when latent mortality is considered, the data show that the fish may be more sensitive than shrimp to dispersed oil.

RESPONSES OF THE CLAM MACOMA BALTHICA TO PRUDHOE BAY CRUDE OIL

1977 ◽  
Vol 1977 (1) ◽  
pp. 493-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Shaw ◽  
A. J. Paul ◽  
E. R. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Macoma Balthica ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Intertidal Sediments ◽  
Tissue Weight ◽  
Indirect Indicator ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Prudhoe Bay

ABSTRACT The responses of the bivalve mollusk Macoma balthica to crude oil have been studied under laboratory conditions designed to simulate the stranding of oil on intertidal sediments in which this animal resides. The relationship of dry tissue weight to shell length, an indirect indicator of general health and fitness, was not significantly altered by exposure to oil at a level which did result in significant mortalities. This suggests that death is caused by a metabolically specific mode of poisoning rather than by a general weakening of the animal. In a second experiment, animals were subjected to two temporarily separated oiling events. Neither in mortalities nor in gas chromatographic analysis of tissues for hydrocarbons were cumulative effects observed. It was also found that a previously-reported tendency of M. balthica to burrow to the sediment surface in the presence of oil increases with decreasing depth of available sediment. We suggest that this behavior may be used as a convenient indicator of oil pollution.

A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF TAPIS CRUDE OIL AND DISPERSED CRUDE OIL ON SUBTIDAL ZOSTERA CAPRICORNI

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 859-864
Author(s):  
K. G. Wilson ◽  
P. J. Ralph
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Pulse Amplitude ◽  
Exposure Period ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Pigment Analysis ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Zostera Capricorni

ABSTRACT Oil spill mitigation managers need to know the effects of chemical dispersants on subtidal seagrass in order to determine the least net environmental impact of their actions. The decision-making process for chemical dispersant use in Australia, known as Net Environmental Benefit Analysis, is compromised in near shore areas due to a lack of information on dispersed oil impacts on subtidal seagrasses. This study aimed to determine the toxic effects of crude oil, dispersed and non-dispersed, on subtidal seagrass and to quantify the exposure amount. Zostera capricorni plants were exposed to a range of concentrations of different oil and dispersant combinations in the field. ?hotosynthetic health was measured using Pulse Amplitude Modulated (PAM) fluorometry and chlorophyll pigment analysis. Oil concentration was calculated in relative oil units using Ultraviolet Fluoresence (UVF) spectrophotometry. Limited photo synthetic impact was detected in Z. capricorni exposed to the water soluble fraction of the non-dispersed Tapis crude oil treatments. No significant photo synthetic impact was evident in the dispersed Tapis crude oil treatment even though the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration in these treatments was higher than in the non-dispersed Tapis crude oil treatments. Plants from both treatments recovered following replenishment from the surrounding seawater. A substantial reduction of the total petroleum hydrocarbons within the mesoscosms over the 10 hour exposure period was evident and would likely suggest a rapid loss of the toxic mixture to the sediments rather than assimilation by the seagrass.

Continuing Long-Term Studies of the Tropics Panama Oil and Dispersed Oil Spill Sites

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg A. Ward ◽  
Bart Baca ◽  
Wendy Cyriacks ◽  
Richard E. Dodge ◽  
Anthony Knap
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Bocas Del Toro ◽  
The Past ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Present Information ◽  
The Tropics

ABSTRACT The TROPICS (Tropical Oil Pollution Investigations in Coastal Systems) oil spill experiment was conducted on the Caribbean coast of Panama, near Bocas del Toro. In November 1984, crude and dispersed crude oil were released in two separate boom-enclosed areas representative of intertidal mangrove and subtidal seagrass/coral ecosystems. The present information is based on site visits over the past two years, including 2002. Following the degradation of oil over the past 18 years, sheen identified from the spilled oil in 1994 is still visible in non-dispersed Oil Site sediments. In mangroves, previously denuded areas exposed to crude oil are currently occupied by new seedlings and saplings, which are growing rapidly but with morphological prop-root deformations. Tree mortality occurred in both the Dispersed Oil and Reference Sites, but was non-localized and appeared as natural mortality in aged trees. Recent data have revealed an invasion of seagrass beds by finger coral at the Oil Site. Since treatment, percent coverage of corals at this site has grown from a pretreatment value of 33.5% in March 1984 to 67.5% in June 2001.

TROPICS FIELD STUDY (PANAMA), 32-YEAR SITE VISIT: OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS FOR NEAR SHORE DISPERSANT USE NEBA AND TRADEOFFS

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 3030-3050 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Abigail Renegar ◽  
Paul Schuler ◽  
Nicholas Turner ◽  
Richard Dodge ◽  
Bernhard Riegl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Core Samples ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Technology ◽  
Near Shore

ABSTRACT (#2017-141) The Tropical Oil Pollution Investigations in Coastal Systems (TROPICS) experiment initiated in 1984 on the Caribbean coast of Panama has become one of the most comprehensive field experiments examining effects of oil exposure to a combination of tropical marine reef, seagrass, and mangrove communities. The experimental dosage was chosen to simulate a severe but realistic spill scenario so that results could be useful in decisions about the extent to which dispersants reduced or exacerbated the effects of an oil spill on tropical environments of mangroves, seagrasses, and corals. Research has been conducted in the area prior to and 30+ years following exposure to evaluate long term effects. In July 2016, an international research team revisited the TROPICS field sites. In previous data collection visits, visual observations and core samples of the mangrove substrate at the non-treated (Oil only) site revealed the presence of oil. This “trapped” oil also apparently resulted in lower recovery rates for mangroves in that site. Of particular interest in the 2016 revisit was to determine the presence/non-presence of oil in core samples via new petroleum biomarker triple quadrupole mass spectrometry technology. Additionally, data collection and observations of the extent, diversity, and health of the shallow coral reefs, seagrass, and mangroves were conducted at the three sites. The focus was on the initial disruption and recovery of the study ecosystem over 32 years from the original dosing with crude oil or dispersed crude oil. Analysis qualitatively compared the 2016 results to 1984 pre-spill and post-spill conditions of each site. This paper discusses the results of the 2016 TROPICS study site revisit and conclusions for oil spill preparedness and response, particularly as it applies to the trade-offs for the use of dispersants in near shore tropical marine ecosystems.

scholarly journals Net environmental benefit analysis — a tool of decision-making at oil spill response

2017 ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
G.N. Semanov ◽  
◽  
A.N. Gutnik ◽  
S.N. Zatsepa ◽  
A.A. Ivchenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Surface Film ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mechanical Recovery

Development of oilfields started in Arctic requires adequate response preparedness to potential oil spills. Mechanical recovery due to specific conditions of Arctic has a lot of limitation in application and cannot prevent pollution of Special protected areas (SPA). It is necessary to consider application of dispersants and in situ burning (ISB). Oil spill dispersants are mixtures of nontoxic surface active agents in organic solvent, specifically formulated to enhance the natural dispersion of oil into the sea water column thus enhancing the biodegradation processes. Dispersed oil is practically non adhesive to feather of birds and hair of mammals. The treatment of oil with dispersants requires a cautious strategy in making decisions. It can be achieved by usage of special tool –Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) procedures. The decision of dispersants application should be based on the following comparison: “What would be the impact of the pollution when treated with dispersant and when non treated with dispersant?” The NEBA should consider the behaviour of the treated non-treated oil, assess consequently the different resources which will be concerned either by the treated oil or by the surface film oil, assess the sensitivity of the different resources at concern towards the dispersed oil and toward the floating oil film. These analyses assist decision makers when considering whether or not the use of dispersants is appropriate to minimize the environmental/economic damage. This article describes the experience of NEBA application to substantiate decisions how to respond to potential oil spills at the sites on Aniva bay of Sakhalin-2 project at different oil spills scenarios. It was used incremental approach to choose them. Based on sensitivity maps, information about level of impact dispersed and floating oil on bioresources and results of mathematical modelling efficacy of different response methods application: monitoring (no actions to recover spilt oil), mechanical recovery and mechanical recovery together with dispersants application it was shown that SPA can be protected from pollution in most scenarios only in case of dispersants application. Amount of oil stranded on shore in case of application of response method was used as criteria of efficacy of method application level of damage.

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