Collaborative Research: Oxygenation of Hydrocarbons in the Ocean

每年有超过40万吨的石油碳氢化合物被释放到海洋中，在那里它们受到物理、化学和生物过程的影响，即所谓的风化作用，众所周知，这些过程会从海洋中去除某些碳氢化合物。然而，很少有人注意到石油风化后留下的残留物，研究表明，这些碳氢化合物的氧化作用可能在形成难降解的焦油和有毒化合物中起作用。为了解决这一差距，来自伍兹霍尔海洋研究所、玛丽华盛顿大学和加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的研究人员将开展研究，为以下方面奠定科学基础：1)哪些过程控制含氧碳氢化合物的形成；2)这些过程的速率；3)主要产物的特性；4)它们形成和破坏的速率；5)区分光化学氧化和生物氧化。这些实验结果将有助于更好地理解石油氧化过程和氧化产物的环境命运。更广泛的影响：本研究将为几名本科生和两名博士后提供创新分析和实验技术的培训。这项工作的结果将有助于监管机构为石油泄漏研究确定新的分析方法和目标化合物，并将增加我们对释放到海洋中的碳氢化合物的命运和影响的了解。

More than 400,000 tons of petroleum hydrocarbons are released annually into the ocean, where they are subject to physical, chemical and biological processes, known as weathering, that are known to remove select hydrocarbons from the ocean. However, little attention has been given to the residues left by the weathering of oil, and studies indicate that oxygenation of these hydrocarbons can play a part in the formation of recalcitrant tar and toxic compounds. To address this gap, researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Mary Washington, and University of California Santa Barbara will conduct research to lay a scientific foundation for understanding 1) which processes control the formation of oxygenated hydrocarbons, 2) the rates of these processes, 3) the identity of the major products, 4) the rates at which they are formed and destroyed, and 5) for distinguishing photochemical oxygenation from biological oxygenation. The results from these experiments will contribute to a better understanding of the petroleum oxygenation processes and the environmental fate of understudied oxygenation products.Broader Impacts: This study will provide for several undergraduates and two postdoctoral scholars to be trained in innovative analytical and experimental techniques. The results of this effort will help regulatory agencies to define new analytical methods and target compounds for oil spill research, and will add to our understanding regarding the fate and impacts of hydrocarbons released into the ocean.