Collaborative Research: Geochemical and isotopic time-series of marine and terrestrial degradation of petroleum in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill

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The proposed research aims to document organic geochemical and isotopic changes of petroleum over time following the April 20, 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The objectives of this study are to document the geochemical fate of petroleum in the wake of the marine oil spill using the analytical arsenal of organic geochemistry, in particular by using mass-spectrometric identification and quantification, and isotopic characterization. These techniques record the history of chemical change of spilled oil through time, and also forensically discriminate between residual oil from the BP spill and unrelated hydrocarbon pollutants that would otherwise go undetected. As oil washes ashore and is degraded in different littoral and terrestrial environments, the PIs will characterize the residual organic compounds as a function of exposure time to test whether published models for anaerobic biodegradation of crude oils in oil reservoirs fit the recorded trends of aerobic biodegradation from each sampling site. Their compositional and isotopic data from a variety of repeatedly visited sampling sites representing ecologically different environments will evaluate possible acceleration or retardation of oil degradation that result from environmental factors. One doctoral and several undergraduate students will participate in fieldwork, subsequent sample preparations, and analyses, educating students that across boundaries of organic, stable isotope and environmental geochemistry. Results of this study will be communicated to the scientific community through publications and presentations at conferences and will serve as a public outreach project at Grand Isle State Park, LA. Their data and interpretations will be used to help construct either a display or an informational pamphlet to educate the general public and K-12 students. Knowing which coastal environments have superior geochemical self-cleaning capability will help optimize the deployment of limited resources during future cleanup efforts.