title: Oil residue contamination of continental shelf sediments of the Gulf of Mexico.
abstract: We have investigated the distribution of a heavy oil residue in the coastal sediments of the Gulf of Mexico. The amount of the contamination was determined by high-temperature pyrolysis coupled with the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) of air-dried sediments. The pyrolysis products contain straight-chain saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, such as dodecane and 1-dodecene, resulting in a very characteristic pattern of double peaks in the GCMS. Hydrocarbons containing 8 to 23 carbon atoms were detected in the pyrolysis products. Using thermal pyrolysis we have found that the sediment samples collected along Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi shores contain no detectable traces of oil residue, but most of the samples collected along Alabama and Florida shores contain ~200ppm of heavy oil residue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Earth Sciences, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 362652, United States.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Earth Sciences, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 362652, United States.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Camp
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Earth Sciences, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 362652, United States.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Earth Sciences, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL 362652, United States. Electronic address: gryko@jsu.edu.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gryko
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D060851:Gulf of America; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: BP oil spill; Gulf of Mexico; Oil contamination; Pyrolysis