Project Information

Title: LTM Program - Tracking of oil levels and weathering in PWS through time 14120114-S

Project Year and Number: 2014: 14120114-S

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2016: 16120114-S, 2015: 15120114-S, 2013: 13120114-S, 2012: 12120114-S

Principal Investigator (PI): Mark Carls

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: Mandy Lindeberg (NOAA Fisheries)

Project Website: https://gulfwatchalaska.org/monitoring/completed-projects/lingering-oil/lingering-oil-weathering-and-tracking/

Research Location: Prince William Sound

Restoration Category: Monitoring

Injured Resources Addressed: Clams, Harlequin Ducks, Intertidal Organisms, Mussels, Sea Otters, Sediments, Subtidal Organisms

Abstract:

This project is a component of the integrated Long-term Monitoring of Marine Conditions and Injured Resources and Services submitted by McCammon et al. This project fills three needs: understanding exposure levels (past and present) for species such as mussels, intertidal invertebrates, sea otters, and harlequin ducks, (2) understanding the natural degradation of quantity and composition of PAH over a long time course, and 3) definitive long-term source identification by measurement of geochemical biomarkers (triterpanes, hopanes, and steranes). The objectives are 1) to determine oil quantity and weathering in 12 PWS beaches 25 years post spill (with repeats every 5 years thereafter), 2) provide supplementary support analyses for other long-term monitoring collaborators, 3) maintain and expand the hydrocarbon database, and 4) produce annual, final, and published reports. The subset of PWS beaches to be monitored are those where sequestered oil is expected to linger for decades. At least three predictive data sets will be considered in determining which beaches are monitored: (1) mussel bed time series started in the early 1990s, (2) beach surveys that were continued up to 2004, and spatial modeling analysis that was initiated in 2008.


Proposal: View (19,995 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY14: View (151 KB)
Final Report: See Project 16120114-S

Publications from this Project: None Available