title: The M/V Cosco Busan spill: source identification and short-term fate.
abstract: Understanding the fate of heavy fuel oils (HFOs) in the environment is critical for sound decisions regarding its usage and spill cleanup. To study weathering of HFOs, we examined the M/V Cosco Busan spill (November 2007; San Francisco Bay, CA, USA). In this baseline report, we identified which ruptured tank (port tank 3 or 4) was the source of the spilled oil and characterized changes in the oil composition across location and time. Samples from three impacted shorelines, collected within 80 days of the spill, were analyzed using one- and two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC and GC × GC, respectively). Weathering varied across sites, but compounds with GC retention times less than n-C(16) were generally lost by evaporation and dissolution. Changes in n-C(18)/phytane and benz[a]anthracene/chrysene ratios indicated some biodegradation and photodegradation, respectively.
authors.affiliation: MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, USA. klemkau@whoi.edu
authors.forename: Karin L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Lemkau
authors.forename: Emily E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Peacock
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: G Todd
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kovecses
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005648:Fuel Oils; D012495:San Francisco; D012623:Seawater; D014872:Water Movements; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005648:Fuel Oils; D014873:Water Pollutants