University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Apr;165:112154. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112154. Epub 2021 Mar 15.
Disappearing sea ice in the Arctic region results in a pressing need to develop oil spill mitigation techniques suitable for ice-covered waters. The uncertainty around the nature of an oil spill in the Arctic arises from the ice-covered waters and sub-zero temperatures, and how they may influence natural attenuation efficiency. The Sea-ice Environmental Research Facility was used to create a simulated Arctic marine setting. This paper focuses on the potential for biodegradation of the bulk crude oil content (encapsulated in the upper regions of the ice), to provide insight regarding the possible fate of crude oil in an Arctic marine setting. Cheaper and faster methods of chemical composition analysis were applied to the samples to assess for weathering and transformation effects. Results suggest that brine volume in ice may not be sufficient at low temperatures to encompass biodegradation and that seawater is more suitable for biodegradation.
北极地区海冰的消失导致迫切需要开发适用于冰覆盖水域的溢油缓解技术。北极溢油的性质存在不确定性，原因是冰覆盖水域和零下的温度，以及它们可能如何影响自然衰减效率。利用海冰环境研究设施创建了一个模拟的北极海洋环境。本文重点研究了大块原油含量（包裹在冰的上部区域）的生物降解潜力，以深入了解原油在北极海洋环境中的可能归宿。对样品应用了更便宜、更快的化学成分分析方法，以评估风化和转化效应。结果表明，在低温下，冰中的盐水体积可能不足以进行生物降解，而海水更适合生物降解。
