TY - JOUR
T1 - Biodegradation of crude oil in Arctic subsurface water from the Disko Bay (Greenland) is limited
AU - Scheibye, Katrine
AU - Christensen, Jan H.
AU - Johnsen, Anders R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2017/4
Y1 - 2017/4
N2 - Biological degradation is the main process for oil degradation in a subsurface oil plume. There is, however, little information on the biodegradation potential of Arctic, marine subsurface environments. We therefore investigated oil biodegradation in microcosms at 2 °C containing Arctic subsurface seawater from the Disko Bay (Greenland) and crude oil at three concentrations of 2.5–10 mg/L. Within 71 days, the total petroleum hydrocarbon concentration decreased only by 18 ± 18% for an initial concentration of 5 mg/L. The saturated alkanes nC13-nC30 and the isoprenoids iC18-iC21 were biodegraded at all concentrations indicating a substantial potential for biodegradation of these compound classes. Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) disappeared from the oil phase, but dissolution was the main process of removal. Analysis of diagnostic ratios indicated almost no PAC biodegradation except for the C1-naphthalenes. To conclude, the marine subsurface microorganisms from the Disko Bay had the potential for biodegradation of n-alkanes and isoprenoids while the metabolically complex and toxic PACs and their alkylated homologs remained almost unchanged.
AB - Biological degradation is the main process for oil degradation in a subsurface oil plume. There is, however, little information on the biodegradation potential of Arctic, marine subsurface environments. We therefore investigated oil biodegradation in microcosms at 2 °C containing Arctic subsurface seawater from the Disko Bay (Greenland) and crude oil at three concentrations of 2.5–10 mg/L. Within 71 days, the total petroleum hydrocarbon concentration decreased only by 18 ± 18% for an initial concentration of 5 mg/L. The saturated alkanes nC13-nC30 and the isoprenoids iC18-iC21 were biodegraded at all concentrations indicating a substantial potential for biodegradation of these compound classes. Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) disappeared from the oil phase, but dissolution was the main process of removal. Analysis of diagnostic ratios indicated almost no PAC biodegradation except for the C1-naphthalenes. To conclude, the marine subsurface microorganisms from the Disko Bay had the potential for biodegradation of n-alkanes and isoprenoids while the metabolically complex and toxic PACs and their alkylated homologs remained almost unchanged.
KW - Arctic marine environment
KW - Oil biodegradation
KW - Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs)
KW - Subsurface oil spill
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85011320528&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.12.032
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2016.12.032
M3 - Article
VL - 223
SP - 73
EP - 80
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
SN - 0269-7491
ER -