Knowledge of the droplet size distribution (DSD) from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout is an important step in predicting the fate and transport of the released oil. Due to the absence of measurements of the DSD from the DWH incident, we considered herein hypothetical scenarios of releases that explore the realistic parameter space using a thoroughly calibrated DSD model, VDROP-J, and we attempted to provide bounds on the range of droplet sizes from the DWH blowout within 200 m of the wellhead. The scenarios include conditions without and with the presence of dispersants, different dispersant treatment efficiencies, live oil and dead oil properties, and varying oil flow rate, gas flow rate, and orifice diameter. The results, especially for dispersant-treated oil, are very different from recent modeling studies in the literature.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.10.068 | DOI Listing |
Environ Sci Process Impacts
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Burning and flaring of oil and gas following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill generated high airborne concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM). Neurological effects of PM have been previously reported, but this relationship has received limited attention in the context of oil spills. We evaluated associations between burning-related PM and prevalence of self-reported neurological symptoms during, and 1-3 years after, the DWH disaster cleanup.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
December 2024
Department of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Background: Despite evidence from experimental studies linking some petroleum hydrocarbons to markers of immune suppression, limited epidemiologic research exists on this topic.
Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine associations of oil spill related chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and n-hexane (BTEX-H)) and total hydrocarbons (THC) with immune-related illnesses as indicators of potential immune suppression.
Methods: Subjects comprised 8601 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill clean-up and response workers who participated in a home visit (1-3 years after the DWH spill) in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up (GuLF) Study.
ISME J
December 2024
Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States.
Aqueous-soluble hydrocarbons dissolve into the ocean's interior and structure deep-sea microbial populations influenced by natural oil seeps and spills. n-Pentane is a seawater-soluble, volatile compound abundant in petroleum products and reservoirs and will partially partition to the deep-water column following release from the seafloor. In this study, we explore the ecology and niche partitioning of two free-living Cycloclasticus strains recovered from seawater incubations with n-pentane and distinguish them as an open ocean variant and a seep-proximal variant, each with distinct capabilities for hydrocarbon catabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
December 2024
Office of the Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, United States of America.
J Paleolimnol
April 2024
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, rue des Maraîchers 13, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
Unlabelled: For long time in the history of Earth, ferruginous conditions governed the oceans. With the rise of oxygen during the Proterozoic era and the subsequent evolution of living organisms, worldwide deposition of iron formations occurred. These sedimentary units reveal the transition into oxic oceans, passing by local and transitory euxinic conditions, especially in coastal shelves.
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