title: Sustained deposition of contaminants from the Deepwater Horizon spill.
abstract: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in 1.6-2.6 × 10(10) grams of petrocarbon accumulation on the seafloor. Data from a deep sediment trap, deployed 7.4 km SW of the well between August 2010 and October 2011, disclose that the sinking of spill-associated substances, mediated by marine particles, especially phytoplankton, continued at least 5 mo following the capping of the well. In August/September 2010, an exceptionally large diatom bloom sedimentation event coincided with elevated sinking rates of oil-derived hydrocarbons, black carbon, and two key components of drilling mud, barium and olefins. Barium remained in the water column for months and even entered pelagic food webs. Both saturated and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon source indicators corroborate a predominant contribution of crude oil to the sinking hydrocarbons. Cosedimentation with diatoms accumulated contaminants that were dispersed in the water column and transported them downward, where they were concentrated into the upper centimeters of the seafloor, potentially leading to sustained impact on benthic ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964; yanbz@LDEO.columbia.edu uta.passow@lifesci.ucsb.edu.
authors.forename: Beizhan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106; yanbz@LDEO.columbia.edu uta.passow@lifesci.ucsb.edu.
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Passow
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306;
authors.forename: Jeffrey P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Chanton
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany;
authors.forename: Eva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Nöthig
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Science, The University of Southern Mississippi, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529.
authors.forename: Vernon
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Asper
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106;
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sweet
authors.affiliation: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964;
authors.forename: Masha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pitiranggon
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Science, The University of Southern Mississippi, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diercks
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106;
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pak
mesh_terms: D020387:Food Chain; D060851:Gulf of America; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Deepwater Horizon; diatom bloom; drilling mud; hydrocarbon; oil spill