Collaborative Research: Chemical Changes Accompanying Petroleum Weathering in the Coastal Ocean

石油烃在近海的风化作用是海洋化学家和环境化学家们三十多年来一直感兴趣的一个现象。虽然有无数关于这个主题的研究，但由于传统分析技术提供的分析窗口狭窄，进展停滞不前，留下了一些基本问题没有答案。在这一项目中，圣巴巴拉的加州大学和伍兹霍尔海洋研究所的研究人员将通过协调应用两种先进的方法-全面的二维气相色谱法和傅立叶变换离子回旋共振质谱法-以新的方式研究这一问题，以提供关于数百至数千种石油碳氢化合物风化的前所未有的详细资料。具体来说，这项研究将确定和分配的作用，光解，蒸发，溶解和生物降解与石油风化在天然石油渗漏关闭圣巴巴拉，加利福尼亚州，其中超过500万升的石油每年渗入海洋。这项工作直接针对美国国家研究理事会2003年报告《海洋中的石油III》的建议，并将由两个首要假设驱动：（1）慢性浮油中的烃质量损失主要由蒸发生物降解溶解光氧化作用决定;石油中的高分子量和极性化合物主要在浅层沉积物中通过微生物作用转化，产生高分子量溶解的有机分子和残余焦油。这些假设将通过收集和分析来自圣巴巴拉渗漏的石油样品来解决。每个样品中分子分布的变化将作为环境暴露的函数进行评估，以提供假设检验。还将开发和验证新的数据分析工具。更广泛的影响：这项研究的结果将广泛有助于了解地球系统中的石油风化和碳循环，并将通过大众渠道广泛传播。从这项研究中获得的知识也将直接转化为联邦机构，包括国家海洋和大气管理局的评估和恢复司，这些信息对于石油泄漏后的短期和长期决策至关重要。这项研究的直接教育影响包括本科生和研究生的培训和教育。

The weathering of petroleum hydrocarbons in the coastal ocean is a phenomenon that marine chemists and environmental chemists have been interested in for more than three decades. While there have been countless studies on this topic, advances have stalled due to the narrow analytical windows provided by traditional analytical techniques, leaving fundamental questions unanswered. In this project, researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will look at this problem in a new way through a concerted application of two advanced approaches: comprehensive, two-dimensional gas chromatography and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, to provide an unprecedented level of detail on the weathering of hundreds to thousands of petroleum hydrocarbons. Specifically, this research will identify and apportion the role of photolysis, evaporation, dissolution, and biodegradation associated with oil weathering at the natural oil seeps off Santa Barbara, CA, where more than 5 million liters of oil seep annually into the ocean. This effort directly addresses recommendations by the US National Research Council's 2003 report Oil in the Sea III, and will be driven by two overarching hypotheses: (1) Hydrocarbon mass loss in chronic oil slicks is dominated by evaporation biodegradation dissolution photo-oxidation; and (2) High-molecular-weight and polar compounds in petroleum are transformed primarily in shallow sediments by microbiological processes, yielding high molecular weight dissolved organic molecules and a residual tar. These hypotheses will be addressed by collecting and analyzing oil samples from the Santa Barbara seeps. Changes in the distribution of molecules within each sample will be assessed as a function of environmental exposure to provide tests of the hypotheses. New data analysis tools will also be developed and validated. Broader Impacts: Results from this research will contribute broadly to an understanding of petroleum weathering and carbon cycling in the Earth system, and will be broadly disseminated through popular outlets. Knowledge gained from this research will also be translated directly to federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Assessment and Restoration Division where such information is critical for short and long-term decision making following oil spills. Direct educational impacts of this research include the training and education of undergraduate and graduate students.