Fate of crude oil in eroding marsh substrates: field measurements

The fate of crude oil components in eroding marsh substrates was examined by performing field measurements across a transect in a heavily oiled marsh in Bay Jimmy, Louisiana. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) concentrations were measured in cores collected onshore, nearshore and offshore the marsh environment. The nearshore sample was just adjacent to the marsh edge (&lt;1 m) in a shallow embayment while the offshore sample was located further into the bay (10 m) from the shoreline. Nutrient concentrations were measured in dialysis samples placed when the cores were taken and incubated for approximately 2 months. Microbial populations were measured using DNA extraction followed by Illumina Mi-Seq analysis followed by bioinformatics conducted using the Mothur protocol.本研究通过沿路易斯安那州吉米湾（Bay Jimmy）一处重度溢油沼泽的样带开展野外实测，探究侵蚀性沼泽基质中原油组分的归趋行为。研究人员采集沼泽环境岸带、近岸与远岸区域的岩心样本，测定其中多环芳烃（Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, PAHs）的浓度。其中，近岸样本取自紧邻沼泽边缘（<1米）的浅湾区域，远岸样本则设置于距岸线约10米的海湾更深水域。在采集岩心的同时放置透析样本，经约2个月的培养后，测定其中的营养盐浓度。通过DNA提取、Illumina Mi-Seq测序分析，以及基于Mothur流程的生物信息学分析，完成微生物种群的测定。