title: Characterization of the microbial community structure and the physicochemical properties of produced water and seawater from the Hibernia oil production platform.
abstract: Hibernia is Canada's largest offshore oil platform. Produced water is the major waste byproduct discharged into the ocean. In order to evaluate different potential disposal methods, a comprehensive study was performed to determine the impact from the discharge. Microorganisms are typically the first organisms to respond to changes in their environment. The objectives were to characterize the microbial communities and the chemical composition in the produced water and to characterize changes in the seawater bacterial community around the platform. The results from chemical, physicochemical, and microbial analyses revealed that the discharge did not have a detectable effect on the surrounding seawater. The seawater bacterial community was relatively stable, spatially. Unique microorganisms like Thermoanaerobacter were found in the produced water. Thermoanaerobacter-specific q-PCR and nested-PCR primers were designed, and both methods demonstrated that Thermoanaerobacter was present in seawater up to 1000 m from the platform. These methods could be used to track the dispersion of produced water into the surrounding ocean.
authors.affiliation: Energy, Mining and Environment, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount Ave., Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada. williamcyeung@yahoo.com.|Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada. williamcyeung@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: C William
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.affiliation: Oceans and Atmosphere National Research Flagship, Australian Resources Research Centre, CSIRO, 26 Dick Perry Avenue, Kensington, WA, 6151, Australia.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, PO Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cobanli
authors.affiliation: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, PO Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, PO Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada.
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bugden
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada.
authors.forename: Lyle G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Whyte
authors.affiliation: Energy, Mining and Environment, National Research Council Canada, 6100 Royalmount Ave., Montreal, QC, H4P 2R2, Canada.
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Greer
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002170:Canada; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D058889:Molecular Typing; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D010802:Phylogeny; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: DGGE; Microbial communities; Petroleum waste byproduct; Produced water; Thermoanaerobacter; q-PCR