Abstract:

The Deepwater Horizon blowout resulted in the deposition of substantial amount of oil in the seafloor. The hydrocarbon concentration near the wellhead was very high immediately after the spill, but returned to the background level a few years after the spill. The microbial communities in the deep-sea are thought to be responsible for the intrinsic degradation of hydrocarbons. To investigate the oil degradation potential and examine the bacterial communities during oil degradation, we collected deep-sea sediment close to the DWH site. We amended the sediments with oil and both oil and Corexit dispersant and incubated for 6 months at 5ºC. Residual hydrocarbons and DNA were periodically extracted and analyzed. The data showed the concentrations of residual alkanes (C11-C35) and residual PAHs(16 priority PAHs) at the beginning of the experiment, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 6 months of incubation. All values are normalized based on C30- hopane as a conservative biomarker.

Suggested Citation:

Hernando Bacosa. 2016. Residual hydrocarbons during the degradation of light Louisiana sweet crude oil by deep-sea sediment bacterial communities. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7Q81B3J

Publications:

Bacosa, H. P., Erdner, D. L., Rosenheim, B. E., Shetty, P., Seitz, K. W., Baker, B. J., & Liu, Z. (2018). Hydrocarbon degradation and response of seafloor sediment bacterial community in the northern Gulf of Mexico to light Louisiana sweet crude oil. The ISME Journal. doi:10.1038/s41396-018-0190-1

Purpose:

To determine the rates of degradation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon in the deep-sea by bacteria, and the hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria.

Data Parameters and Units:

residual hydrocarbons in percent relative to time 0, months of incubation (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6)

Methods:

About 5 g of sediment was added with 10 mL of seawater. Oil was added at a final concentration of 200 ppm. Dispersant oil ratio was 1:20.

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