Composition and depth distribution of hydrocarbons in Barataria Bay marsh sediments after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

In 2010, an estimate 4.1 million barrels of oil were accidentally released into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Oil Spill. One and a half years after this incident, a set of subtidal and intertidal marsh sediment cores were collected from five stations in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA, and analyzed to determine the spatial and vertical distributions and source of hydrocarbon residues based on their chemical composition.

Concentrations and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface coastal sediments of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Background: Coastal sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico have a high potential of being contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), due to extensive petroleum exploration and transportation activities. In this study we evaluated the spatial distribution and contamination sources of PAHs, as well as the bioavailable fraction in the bulk PAH pool, in surface marsh and shelf sediments (top 5 cm) of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Results: PAH concentrations in this region ranged from 100 to 856 ng g-1, with the highest concentrations in Mississippi River mouth sediments followed by marsh sediments and then the lowest concentrations in shelf sediments.

Biotic and abiotic controls on sediment aggregation and consolidation: implications for geochemical fluxes and coastal restoration.

This study examined the influence of particle size and organic matter on aggregation and compaction of 3 hydraulically dredged sediments from coastal Louisiana (clay, silt loam, sandy loam) saturated under a range of salinity regimes (1 and 5 PSU, 5 and 10 PSU, and 15 and 25 PSU) for 4 time periods (1, 8, 16, and 26 weeks). Particle sizes were determined using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer, which allowed us to develop high-resolution results indicating changes in aggregate size across a spectrum of experimental conditions. The sediments with greater organic matter content exhibited approximately 60% aggregation, as indicated by fewer aggregates in the clay size fraction, and subsequently more aggregates in the sand size fraction, when organic matter remained in the sediment.

Impacts of diverted freshwater on dissolved organic matter and microbial communities in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, U.S.A.

Here we present results of an initial assessment of the impacts of a water diversion event on the concentrations and chemical composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and bacterioplankton community composition in Barataria Bay, Louisiana U.S.A, an important estuary within the Mississippi River Delta complex.