Abstract:

Data set contains total organic C, total N, alkane, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations in a number of oil-impacted (showing plant die-off) and nonimpacted (no plant die-off) reference sites in Barataria Bay, Louisiana over the first 18 months after the spill. Concentrations of alkanes and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at oil-impacted sites significantly decreased over this time period.

Suggested Citation:

Zimmerman, Andrew, and Brian Silliman. 2014. Marsh surface sediment organic chemistry in Barataria Bay, LA, Oct. 2010 - Oct. 2011. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7MC8X00

Purpose:

This was a survey of oil coverage and its ecological effects in Barataria Bay, LA, following oiling from the Deepwater Horizon Spill April of 2010.

Data Parameters and Units:

Zimmerman_organic_chemistry.xlsx-- FIO data: Code, Site Coordinates Latitude and Longitude (decimal degrees), Site Location Name, Site Status (die off [level 1,2,3,4], no die off [level 1,2,3,4]), Distance from marsh edge (meters), Sample Date (MM/DD/YY), Total PAH (mg/kg Dry Sed), Total alkane (mg/kg Dry Sed), Unresolved Complex Mixture UCM (mg/kg Dry Sed), Total Organic Carbon TOC %, Total Nitrogen TN %. polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH, mg/kg dry sediment), alkane (total of individual compounds, mg/kg dry sediment), unresolved complex mixture (UCM, mg/kg dry sediment), total organic carbon (TOC, weight % dry sediment), total nitrogen (TN, weight % dry sediment)

Methods:

Two tidal soil samples per site, each from 3m and 15m transects from the shoreline were collected at each time point. A sub-sample was obtained by compositing four soil cores (0-5cm) and thoroughly mixing the sample in a glass beaker with a stainless steel spatula. The subsamples were kept in pre-ashed glass jars, with caps lined with Aluminum foil. The subsamples were transported on ice from the field and stored in a freezer set at -80 °C until analysis.

Instruments:

TOC and TN were measured on an elemental analyzer, lipids were extracted using an accelerated solvent extractor (ASE) with four cycles of 50/50 hexane-acetone mixture at 100 °C and a pressure of 1500 psi. A Shimadzu GC-2010 coupled with an FID equipped with a DB-5 column (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 μm), was used for n-alkanes analysis. A Shimadzu GC-2010 coupled with MS GCMS-QP2010S equipped with a Restex DB5 column (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 μm) in electron impact mode (70 eV) using selective ion monitoring (SIM), was used for PAHs analysis.

Individual Files: