title: The effect of sand composition on the degradation of buried oil.
abstract: The potential effects of the mineralogical composition of sediment on the degradation of oil buried on sandy beaches were investigated. Toward that purpose, a laboratory experiment was carried out with sandy sediment collected along NW Iberian Peninsula beaches, tar-balls from the Prestige oil spill (NW Spain) and seawater. The results indicate that the mineralogical composition is important for the physical appearance of the oil (tar-balls or oil coatings). This finding prompted a reassessment of the current sequence of degradation for buried oil based on compositional factors. Moreover, the halo development of the oil coatings might be enhanced by the carbonate concentration of the sand. These findings open new prospects for future monitoring and management programs for oiled sandy beaches.
authors.affiliation: GEOMA.NET, Dpt. Geociencias Marinas, Universidad de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernández-Fernández
authors.affiliation: GEOMA.NET, Dpt. Geociencias Marinas, Universidad de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain. Electronic address: bernabeu@uvigo.es.
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bernabeu
authors.affiliation: GEOMA.NET, Dpt. Geociencias Marinas, Universidad de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rey
authors.affiliation: CIMAR/CIIMAR - Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Mucha
authors.affiliation: CIMAR/CIIMAR - Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: C Marisa R
authors.initials: CMR
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mathematics, cc 51, University of Montpellier/CNRS, 34095 Montpellier, France; Geosciences-Montpellier, cc 60, University of Montpellier/CNRS, 34095 Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bouchette
mesh_terms: D001493:Bathing Beaches; D002254:Carbonates / Q000032:analysis; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010316:Particle Size; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D002254:Carbonates; D010578:Petroleum
keywords: Buried oil; Mineralogical composition; Oil degradation; Oil spill; Sandy beaches; Scanning electron microscope