Neff & Associates LLC, Duxbury, MA 02332-2946 USA.
Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2012 Apr;8(2):301-19. doi: 10.1002/ieam.1247. Epub 2012 Jan 5.
An objective of a multiyear monitoring program, sponsored by the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management was to examine temporal and spatial changes in chemical and biological characteristics of the Arctic marine environment resulting from offshore oil exploration and development activities in the development area of the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. To determine if petroleum hydrocarbons from offshore oil operations are entering the Beaufort Sea food web, we measured concentrations of hydrocarbons in tissues of amphipods, Anonyx nugax, sediments, Northstar crude oil, and coastal peat, collected between 1999 and 2006 throughout the development area. Mean concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), saturated hydrocarbons (SHC), and sterane and triterpane petroleum biomarkers (StTr) were not significantly different in amphipods near the Northstar oil production facility, before and after it came on line in 2001, and in amphipods from elsewhere in the study area. Forensic analysis of the profiles (relative composition and concentrations) of the 3 hydrocarbon classes revealed that hydrocarbon compositions were different in amphipods, surface sediments where the amphipods were collected, Northstar crude oil, and peat from the deltas of 4 North Slope rivers. Amphipods and sediments contained a mixture of petrogenic, pyrogenic, and biogenic PAH. The SHC in amphipods were dominated by pristane derived from zooplankton, indicating that the SHC were primarily from the amphipod diet of zooplankton detritus. The petroleum biomarker StTr profiles did not resemble those in Northstar crude oil. The forensic analysis revealed that hydrocarbons in amphipod tissues were not from oil production at Northstar. Hydrocarbons in amphipod tissues were primarily from their diet and from river runoff and coastal erosion of natural diagenic and fossil terrestrial materials, including seep oils, kerogens, and peat. Offshore oil and gas exploration and development do not appear to be causing an increase in petroleum hydrocarbon contamination of the Beaufort Sea food web.
由美国内政部海洋能源管理局赞助的多年监测计划的目标是研究由于在阿拉斯加波弗特海开发区域的近海石油勘探和开发活动而导致的北极海洋环境的化学和生物特征的时间和空间变化。为了确定来自近海石油作业的石油烃是否进入了波弗特海的食物网，我们测量了 1999 年至 2006 年期间在整个开发区域采集的片脚类动物（Anonyx nugax）组织、沉积物、北极星原油和沿海泥炭中的烃浓度。在 2001 年北极星石油生产设施上线之前和之后，以及在研究区域的其他地方采集的片脚类动物体内，多环芳烃（PAH）、饱和烃（SHC）和甾烷和萜烷石油生物标志物（StTr）的平均浓度在北极星石油生产设施附近的片脚类动物体内没有显著差异。对 3 类烃的特征（相对组成和浓度）的法医分析表明，烃组成在片脚类动物、采集片脚类动物的表层沉积物、北极星原油和来自 4 条北坡河流三角洲的泥炭中有所不同。片脚类动物和沉积物中含有源自浮游动物的亲油、源自天然生源和化石生源的混合多环芳烃。片脚类动物中的 SHC 主要由源自浮游动物的姥鲛烷主导，表明 SHC 主要来自片脚类动物以浮游动物碎屑为食。石油生物标志物 StTr 特征与北极星原油的特征不相似。法医分析表明，片脚类动物组织中的烃不是来自北极星的石油生产。片脚类动物组织中的烃主要来自其饮食以及河流径流和海岸侵蚀带来的自然成岩和化石陆地物质，包括渗漏油、干酪根和泥炭。近海石油和天然气勘探与开发似乎并没有导致波弗特海食物网中石油烃污染的增加。
