Abstract:

Analysis of petroleum biomarker was used to identify Macondo Well (MW) oil in samples collected in the Gulf of Mexico. To this end, oiled samples were collected in the Gulf of Mexico during April 2010 through August 2012. This sample set comprises MW oil collected from the well on June 21, 2010, surface slicks and oiled floating Deepwater Horizon debris samples collected on the sea surface during the spill, and samples washed on beaches (oil-soaked sand samples or “sand patties”, oil samples scraped off rocks or “rock scrapings”, and sand-free asphalt pieces “tar balls”). Sand patties, rock scrapings, and asphalt pieces were extracted in dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol (90/10 v/v). All samples were dissolved in DCM or DCM/methanol at concentrations of 10−50 mg mL−1 for analysis on GCxGC-FID (two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography with flame ionization detector).

Suggested Citation:

Aeppli, Christoph. 2016. Petroleum biomarkers in oiled samples collected in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 - 2012. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7445JFC

Publications:

Aeppli, C., Nelson, R. K., Radović, J. R., Carmichael, C. A., Valentine, D. L., & Reddy, C. M. (2014). Recalcitrance and Degradation of Petroleum Biomarkers upon Abiotic and Biotic Natural Weathering of Deepwater Horizon Oil . Environ. Sci. Technol., 48(12), 6726–6734. doi:10.1021/es500825q

Aeppli, C., Nelson, R. K., Carmichael, C. A., Valentine, D. L., & Reddy, C. M. (2014). BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC OIL DEGRADATION AFTER THE DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER LEADS TO FORMATION OF RECALCITRANT OXYGENATED HYDROCARBONS: NEW INSIGHTS USING GC×GC . International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, 2014(1), 1087–1098. doi:10.7901/2169-3358-2014.1.1087

Ward, C. P., Sharpless, C. M., Valentine, D. L., French-McCay, D. P., Aeppli, C., White, H. K., … Reddy, C. M. (2018). Partial Photochemical Oxidation Was a Dominant Fate of Deepwater Horizon Surface Oil. Environmental Science & Technology, 52(4), 1797–1805. doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b05948

Purpose:

To identify Macondo Well oil in samples collected throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

Data Parameters and Units:

Sample ID; Sample type (sand patty, surface slick, rock scraping, tar ball, or crude oil); Sample Name; Collection date (M-D-YR); GPS latitude (decimal degrees); GPS Longitude (decimal degrees); biomarker abbreviation; biomarker compound (hopanes, steranes/diasteranes, triaromatic steroids, n-alkanes/isoprenoids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons); biomarker integration height

Methods:

Beside MW oil and field samples, five reference crude oils were analyzed: (i) a surrogate for MW oil provided by BP, produced from the Marlin Platform on Viosca Knoll lease block 915 (VK915),located 60 km NE of the MW; (ii) the EPA- API reference WP#681 Southern Louisiana Sweet crude (SLSC);(iii) crude oil from Eugene Island lease block 330 (EI330), located 340 km W of the MW; (iv) the petroleum standard reference material (SRM) 1582 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is a Wilmington crude from the Monterey formation; and (v) cargo oil from the Exxon Valdez (EVC). GCxGC-FID peak integration results (peak heights) are given for select biomarker compounds, alkanes, and PAHs.

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