Slightly weathered Exxon Valdez oil persists in Gulf of Alaska beach sediments after 16 years.
Oil stranded by the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill has persisted in subsurface sediments of exposed shores for 16 years. With annualized loss rates declining from approximately 68% yr(-1) prior to 1992 to approximately 4% yr(-1) after 2001, weathering processes are retarded in both sediments and residual emulsified oil ("oil mousse"), and retention of toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is prolonged. The n-alkanes, typically very readily oxidized by microbes, instead remain abundant in many stranded emulsified oil samplesfrom the Gulf of Alaska. They are less abundant in Prince William Sound samples, where stranded oil was less viscous. Our results indicate that, at some locations, remaining subsurface oil may persist for decades with little change.
Short
Jeffrey W
JW
Auke Bay Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 11305 Glacier Highway, Juneau, Alaska 99801-8626, USA. Jeff.Short@noaa.gov
Irvine
Gail V
GV
Mann
Daniel H
DH
Maselko
Jacek M
JM
Pella
Jerome J
JJ
Lindeberg
Mandy R
MR
Payne
James R
JR
Driskell
William B
WB
Rice
Stanley D
SD
D000059:Accidents; D000413:Alaska; D000473:Alkanes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000266:history; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000266:history; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000266:history; D012767:Ships
D000473:Alkanes; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons