Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 5, Issue 4, Pages -Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/5/4/045301
Keywords
zooplankton; petroleum hydrocarbon; stable isotope; Gulf of Mexico
Funding
- National Science Foundation [OCE-1043413]
- Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Richard C Shelby Center for Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management
- BP's Gulf Research Initiative
- Division Of Ocean Sciences
- Directorate For Geosciences [1043413] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was unprecedented in total loading of petroleum hydrocarbons accidentally released to a marine ecosystem. Controversial application of chemical dispersants presumably accelerated microbial consumption of oil components, especially in warm Gulf of Mexico surface waters. We employed delta(13)C as a tracer of oil-derived carbon to resolve two periods of isotopic carbon depletion in two plankton size classes. Carbon depletion was coincident with the arrival of surface oil slicks in the far northern Gulf, and demonstrated that subsurface oil carbon was incorporated into the plankton food web.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available