GEOMA.NET, Dpt. Geociencias Marinas, Universidad de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
J Hazard Mater. 2013 Apr 15;250-251:82-90. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.01.057. Epub 2013 Feb 1.
Yearly monitoring in one of the most affected coastal zones by the Prestige oil spill, namely Nemiña and O Rostro beaches (NW Spain), has been carried out since 2004. Topographic data of beaches revealed seasonal altimetric changes up to 4m that would prevent the on shore persistence of oil. However, surficial and subsurficial oil was detected in the intertidal area of both beaches in all campaigns. The hydrocarbon analysis confirmed that this oil corresponded to the Prestige oil, even nine years after the accident. Tar balls were highly biodegraded suggesting that the oil was accumulated on the subtidal sediments for a long time and transported to the coast by the action of waves. The present work provides new evidence of the long term persistence of deep oil spills from wrecks in marine areas where the hydrodynamic conditions play a twofold key role, in determining the exposed coastal area to recurrent contamination and in burying and resurfacing the oil in the intertidal zone.
自 2004 年以来，一直对受“威望号”石油泄漏影响最严重的沿海地区之一——西班牙西北部的内米尼亚和奥罗斯特罗海滩进行年度监测。海滩的地形数据显示，季节性高程变化高达 4 米，这将阻止石油在岸上的持续存在。然而，在所有的考察中，都在两个海滩的潮间带区域检测到了表面和次表面的石油。烃类分析证实，这种石油与“威望号”石油相符，即使在事故发生九年后也是如此。焦油球高度生物降解，表明石油在亚潮带沉积物中积累了很长时间，并在波浪的作用下被运送到海岸。本研究提供了新的证据，证明沉船造成的深海溢油在水动力条件起双重关键作用的海域中会长期存在，这种水动力条件决定了经常受到污染的暴露海岸区域，并在潮间带埋藏和重新浮现石油。
