RAPID: Mass Spectral Characterization of the Water-Soluble Component of Crude Oil Released During Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

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The oil spill resulting from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig has released an unprecedented amount of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The oil is entering the sea from the bottom and either settles into a neutrally-buoyant subsurface layer or transits to the surface. During expulsion from the primary leak, transport and weathering, water-soluble components of the crude oil are slowly dissolving into the seawater. The composition and reactivity of these components are poorly constrained but are critically important to predicting the possible impact of this spill on marine life and ecosystem dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico. With funding from this Grant for Rapid Response Research (RAPID), a research team at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will use ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry to assess the composition of the water-soluble component of the leaking crude oil. The study will provide an initial assessment of compositional variability along temporal and spatial gradients near the active spill. The analytical capabilities of the Woods Hole team complement other planned analyses, and the results will be integrated with other chemical and biological data to provide a more complete analysis of the weathering and degradation of this oil spill. Broader Impacts: An undergraduate summer will be part of the team working on this project, affording the student an opportunity to be involved in timely research on an environmental disaster. In addition, it will provide the student with experience with cutting-edge analytical chemical techniques and their synthesis with other physical, chemical and biological data available through collaboration with other scientists who are already funded to conduct research on the environmental aspects of the oil spill.