Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, P.O. Box 248294, Coral Gables, FL, 33124-0630, USA.
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149-1031, USA.
Environ Pollut. 2020 Apr;259:113858. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113858. Epub 2019 Dec 24.
Oil spills can result in changes in chemical contaminant concentrations along coastlines. When concentrations are measured along the Gulf of Mexico over time, this information can be used to evaluate oil spill shoreline exposure dates. The objective of this research was to identify more accurate oil exposure dates based on oil spill chemical concentrations changes (CCC) within sediments in coastal zones after oil spills. The results could be used to help improve oil transport models and to improve estimates of oil landings within the nearshore. The CCC method was based on separating the target coastal zone into segments and then documenting the timing of large increases in concentration for specific oil spill chemicals (OSCs) within each segment. The dataset from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was used to illustrate the application of the method. Some differences in exposure dates were observed between the CCC method and between oil spill trajectories. Differences may have been caused by mixing at the freshwater and sea water interface, nearshore circulation features, and the possible influence of submerged oil that is unaccounted for by oil spill trajectories. Overall, this research highlights the benefit of using an integrated approach to confirm the timing of shoreline exposure.
溢油会导致沿海水域化学污染物浓度发生变化。当随时间测量墨西哥湾沿岸的浓度时，这些信息可用于评估溢油的海岸线暴露日期。本研究的目的是根据溢油后沉积物中化学污染物浓度变化（CCC）来确定更准确的油污暴露日期。研究结果可用于帮助改进油污运移模型，并提高近岸范围内油污上岸量的估算。CCC 方法基于将目标沿海区域划分为多个区段，然后记录每个区段中特定溢油化学物质（OSC）浓度的大幅增加时间。使用深水地平线（DWH）溢油事件的数据说明了该方法的应用。在暴露日期方面，CCC 方法和溢油轨迹之间存在一些差异。差异可能是由淡水和海水界面的混合、近岸环流特征以及溢油轨迹未考虑的水下油污的可能影响造成的。总体而言，这项研究强调了采用综合方法来确认海岸线暴露时间的好处。
