Fate and Effects of Oil Pollutants in Extremely Cold Marine Environments.

Abstract

Petroleum degradation was studied using Prudhoe Bay crude oil incubated in situ in several Arctic ecosystems. Studies were conducted in water, ice and sediment ecosystems. No biodegradation of oil was found when oil was allowed to freeze into the ice matrix. When oil was spilled under ice evaporative losses were greatly restricted and biodegradation rates were very low. In sediment, biodegradative changes in the oil were found within a few days of spillage. When sediment was contaminated with oil there was extensive mortality of invertebrates. Recolonization of contaminated sediment occurred rapidly but recolonization was by different benthic invertebrate species than recolonized uncontaminated sediment.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 31, 1977
Accession Number
ADA048334

Entities

People

  • Ronald M. Atlas

Organizations

  • University of Louisville

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alkanes
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Bacteria
  • Biodegradation
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biology
  • Biomedical Research
  • California
  • Cells
  • Environment
  • Fungi
  • Medical Personnel
  • Microbiology
  • Microorganisms
  • Military Research
  • New York
  • Petroleum

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Groundwater Contamination Remediation.
  • Marine Ecotoxicology