Project Information

Title: Pre-Spill and Post-Spill Concentrations of Hydrocarbons in Sediments and Mussels at Intertidal Sites in PWS and GOA CH1-B

Project Year and Number: 1992: CH1-B

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 1996: 96086, 1995: 95086-C, 1994: 94086, 1993: 93039, 1992: CH1-A, 1991: CH1-A, 1991: CH1-B, 1990: CH1, 1989: CH1

Principal Investigator (PI): Malin Babcock (NOAA )

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: Jeff Short

Research Location: Prince William Sound & Gulf of Alaska

Restoration Category: Damage Assessment

Injured Resources Addressed: Intertidal Organisms, Mussels, Sediments

Abstract: On March 26, 1989, sampling began at 10 historically established intertidal hydrocarbon baseline sites in Prince William Sound in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Ten additional sites were established in Prince William Sound and on the Kenai Peninsula along the spill trajectory before oiling. These sites were also sampled after oiling to measure the change in hydrocarbon levels in sediments and mussels resulting from the spill. This project has documented that levels of hydrocarbons in sediments and mussels in intertidal areas in Prince William Sound in 1989 before the Exxon Valdez oil spill were similar to concentrations measured by an earlier NOAA/NMFS project (1977-1980) which established a hydrocarbon baseline for sediments and mussels for the same general geographical area. Subsequent sampling in 1989 and 1990 indicates some sites were impacted by crude oil. Preliminary sediment analyses at 3 sites showed impact by Exxon Valdez oil with different patterns of changes in petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) concentrations over time. Mussels from one site had extremely high concentrations of PHCs in 1990 samples while mussels from 4 other sites showed intermediate PHC levels in 1989. There were no detectable aromatic hydrocarbons in mussel samples from 1977-1980. The limited data (from only 25 samples of >300 samples) currently available from 1989-91 samples precludes reliable interpretation at this time.


Proposal: View (17 KB)

Reports:
Final Report: View (4,367 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available

Datasets:
Auke Bay Laboratory (Hydrocarbon Samples): Hydorcarbon sample results from this project are included in NOAA’s final hydrocarbon database. The database includes sample collection information, hydrocarbon analyses and numerical correlations directly related to oil. dbf Availability: This database is accessible through Auke Bay Lab (907) 789-6000 and will be included on the Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources GIS Information Management CD-ROM available fall 1996.