Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Resuspension, Redistribution, And Deposition Of Oil-Residues To Offshore Depocenters After The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Arne R. Diercks, Isabel C. Romero, Rebekka A. Larson, Patrick Schwing, Austin Harris, Samantha Bosman, Jeffrey P. Chanton, Gregg Brooks

Faculty Publications

The focus of this study was to determine the long-term fate of oil-residues from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DwH) oil spill due to remobilization, transport, and re-distribution of oil residue contaminated sediments to down-slope depocenters following initial deposition on the seafloor. We characterized hydrocarbon residues, bulk sediment organic matter, ease of resuspension, sedimentology, and accumulation rates to define distribution patterns in a 14,300 km2 area southeast of the DwH wellhead (1,500 to 2,600 m water depth). Oil-residues from the DwH were detected at low concentrations in 62% of the studied sites at specific sediment layers, denoting episodic deposition of oil-residues …