Using Stable and Radiocarbon Analyses as a Forensic Tool to Find Evidence of Oil in the Particulates of the Water Column and on the Seafloor Following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2018
Keywords
POCsusp, POCsink, sediment, Deepwater Horizon, methane, petrocarbon, isotopes
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804434-6.00029-X
Abstract
Over 600 million liters of oil and copious amounts of methane were released into the Gulf of Mexico between April 20, 2010 and July 15, 2010. We used stable and radiocarbon analyses as a forensic tool to trace these hydrocarbons from the Deepwater Horizon (DwH) well into suspended particulate organic carbon (POCsusp), sinking particulate organic carbon (POCsink), and sedimentary organic carbon on the seafloor. POCsusp samples were considerably depleted both in δ13C and Δ14C relative to surface production, with δ13C and Δ14C values as low as −37.2‰ and −618‰, respectively. POCsink time series data revealed a modern Δ14C value due to a large diatom bloom in early September 2010, but values became depleted as oil contaminated particles continued to descend in the water column until the end of the year. Sediment cores collected in the vicinity of the DwH wellhead revealed evidence of oil contamination in the surface layer (0–1 cm), as indicated by a depletion in Δ14C values compared to the layers below the surface. In addition to providing evidence of oil contamination using stable and radiocarbon analyses, our study was consistent with the existence of a pathway by which spilled oil was deposited onto the seafloor.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Using Stable and Radiocarbon Analyses as a Forensic Tool to Find Evidence of Oil in the Particulates of the Water Column and on the Seafloor Following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, in S. Stout & Z. Wang (Eds.), Oil Spill Environmental Forensics Case Studies, Butterworth-Heinemann, p. 639-650
Scholar Commons Citation
Bosman, Samantha H.; Chanton, Jeffrey; and Rogers, Kelsey L., "Using Stable and Radiocarbon Analyses as a Forensic Tool to Find Evidence of Oil in the Particulates of the Water Column and on the Seafloor Following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill" (2018). C-IMAGE Publications. 28.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cimage_pubs/28
Comments
Data used in this book chapter are available for download.
Sediment trap (Kiel 21- trap, KUM) particle flux measurements, Gulf of Mexico, August 2010 to October 2011
Isotope Data from OC-26 sediment trap, Gulf of Mexico, August 25, 2010 to August 30, 2012
Organic data (alkane, PAHs, olefin, biomarkers, and black carbon) in sediment traps deployed in 2010 to 2011
Radiocarbon measurements on surface sediment organic matter following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, 2010-2012