Microbial community response and migration of petroleum compounds during a sea-ice oil spill experiment in Svalbard

This paper concerns the migration of oil through sea-ice and the biodegradation of different hydrocarbons in sea-ice and seawater following in situ oil spills in megacosms exposed to winter and spring conditions in Svalbard (80 degrees N). Hydrocarbon-degrading microbes were detected in ice cores and the analysis of metabolically active bacterial populations in the different layers of sea-ice indicate significant population shifts following oil exposure, whether dispersant addition or oil burning was carried out or not. The presence of dispersant in the system was associated with the most pronounced and fastest population shifts out of all exposures, as well as lower bacterial diversity as measured by the Shannon index. Microorganisms were metabolically most active in the bottom layer of the sea ice and our data confirmed the predominance of Oleispira and Colwellia aestuarii in sea-ice. Migration of polycyclic aromatics through the sea-ice layer was observed when dispersant was added to the oil, and the presence of oil degrading organisms below the ice-layer was consistent with biodegradation taking place. Given the thickness and concentration of the oil-layer frozen into the ice, the bioavailability of the hydrocarbons was nevertheless limited. Consequently, much of the bulk of the oil remained intact.