The Significant Impact of Weathering on MC252 Oil Chemistry and Its Fingerprinting of Samples Collected from the Sea Surface and Shore between May and November 2010

Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A Tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History

“… 34 , 35 Analyses of surface oil samples from the source toward the shore showed that volatile organic compounds were either dissolved or evaporated from the Macondo oil near the source, and oil that approached the near shore environment no longer had BTEX compounds present. 34 − 36 Photooxidation may also have been important for oil on the surface as it moved shoreward. In samples that were analyzed for BTEX, these compounds were never detected in Macondo oil that reached the shore, nor were BTEX compounds detected in near shore sediments.…”

“…With regard to surface oil and shorelines, up to 40% of the oil was lost in the water column between the wellhead and the surface, largely due to dissolution and mixing as the oil moved to the surface and evaporation as soon as it reached the surface which lowered the hydrocarbon concentrations and changed the composition of the oil. , Analyses of surface oil samples from the source toward the shore showed that volatile organic compounds were either dissolved or evaporated from the Macondo oil near the source, and oil that approached the near shore environment no longer had BTEX compounds present. − Photooxidation may also have been important for oil on the surface as it moved shoreward. In samples that were analyzed for BTEX, these compounds were never detected in Macondo oil that reached the shore, nor were BTEX compounds detected in near shore sediments .…”

“…In samples that were analyzed for BTEX, these compounds were never detected in Macondo oil that reached the shore, nor were BTEX compounds detected in near shore sediments . Dissolution and evaporation appear to have been more important than biodegradation in the weathering of the surface slick. , Evaporation resulted in the loss of alkanes with chain lengths up to C20. Clearly physical dispersion and evaporation competed with biodegradation so that the overall weathering of the oil that did reach the shore was the result of multiple processes.…”