Abstract
The expected increase in offshore oil exploration and production in the Arctic may lead to crude oil spills along arctic shorelines. To evaluate the potential effectiveness of bioremediation to treat such spills, oil spill bioremediation in arctic sediments was simulated in laboratory microcosms containing beach sediments from Barrow (Alaska), spiked with North Slope Crude, and incubated at varying temperatures and salinities. Biodegradation was measured via respiration rates (CO2 production); volatilization was quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS) analysis of hydrocarbons sorbed to activated carbon, and hydrocarbons remaining in the sediment were quantified by GC/flame ionization detector (FID). Higher temperature leads to increased biodegradation by naturally occurring microorganisms, while the release of volatile organic compounds was similar at both temperatures. Increased salinity had a small positive impact on crude oil removal. At higher crude oil dosages, volatilization increased, however CO2 production did not. While only a small percentage of crude oil was completely biodegraded, a larger percentage was volatilized within 6–9 weeks.
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Acknowledgments
Funding was provided by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Water and Environmental Research Center and a grant by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the US government. Thanks go to Flint Hills for providing the crude oil, Shane Billings for help with chemical analyses, as well as Anna Iverson and Andy Chamberlain for collecting sediment samples.
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Sharma, P., Schiewer, S. Assessment of crude oil biodegradation in arctic seashore sediments: effects of temperature, salinity, and crude oil concentration. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 14881–14888 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6601-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6601-9