In situ biodegradation, photooxidation and dissolution of petroleum compounds in Arctic seawater and sea ice
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In situ biodegradation, photooxidation and dissolution of petroleum compounds in Arctic seawater and sea ice. / Vergeynst, Leendert; Christensen, Jan H.; Kjeldsen, Kasper Urup; Meire, Lorenz; Boone, Wieter; Malmquist, Linus M.V.; Rysgaard, Søren.
In: Water Research, Vol. 148, 01.01.2019, p. 459-468.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - In situ biodegradation, photooxidation and dissolution of petroleum compounds in Arctic seawater and sea ice
AU - Vergeynst, Leendert
AU - Christensen, Jan H.
AU - Kjeldsen, Kasper Urup
AU - Meire, Lorenz
AU - Boone, Wieter
AU - Malmquist, Linus M.V.
AU - Rysgaard, Søren
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - In pristine sea ice-covered Arctic waters the potential of natural attenuation of oil spills has yet to be uncovered, but increasing shipping and oil exploitation may bring along unprecedented risks of oil spills. We deployed adsorbents coated with thin oil films for up to 2.5 month in ice-covered seawater and sea ice in Godthaab Fjord, SW Greenland, to simulate and investigate in situ biodegradation and photooxidation of dispersed oil. GC-MS-based chemometric methods for oil fingerprinting were used to identify characteristic signatures for dissolution, biodegradation and photooxidation. In sub-zero temperature seawater, fast degradation of n-alkanes was observed with estimated half-life times of ∼7 days. PCR amplicon sequencing and qPCR quantification of bacterial genes showed that a biofilm with a diverse microbial community colonised the oil films, yet a population related to the psychrophilic hydrocarbonoclastic gammaproteobacterium Oleispira antarctica seemed to play a key role in n-alkane degradation. Although Oleispira populations were also present in sea ice, we found that biofilms in sea ice had 25 to 100 times lower bacterial densities than in seawater, which explained the non-detectable n-alkane degradation in sea ice. Fingerprinting revealed that photooxidation, but not biodegradation, transformed polycyclic aromatic compounds through 50 cm-thick sea ice and in the upper water column with removal rates up to ∼1% per day. Overall, our results showed a fast biodegradation of n-alkanes in sea ice-covered seawater, but suggested that oils spills will expose the Arctic ecosystem to bio-recalcitrant PACs over prolonged periods of time.
AB - In pristine sea ice-covered Arctic waters the potential of natural attenuation of oil spills has yet to be uncovered, but increasing shipping and oil exploitation may bring along unprecedented risks of oil spills. We deployed adsorbents coated with thin oil films for up to 2.5 month in ice-covered seawater and sea ice in Godthaab Fjord, SW Greenland, to simulate and investigate in situ biodegradation and photooxidation of dispersed oil. GC-MS-based chemometric methods for oil fingerprinting were used to identify characteristic signatures for dissolution, biodegradation and photooxidation. In sub-zero temperature seawater, fast degradation of n-alkanes was observed with estimated half-life times of ∼7 days. PCR amplicon sequencing and qPCR quantification of bacterial genes showed that a biofilm with a diverse microbial community colonised the oil films, yet a population related to the psychrophilic hydrocarbonoclastic gammaproteobacterium Oleispira antarctica seemed to play a key role in n-alkane degradation. Although Oleispira populations were also present in sea ice, we found that biofilms in sea ice had 25 to 100 times lower bacterial densities than in seawater, which explained the non-detectable n-alkane degradation in sea ice. Fingerprinting revealed that photooxidation, but not biodegradation, transformed polycyclic aromatic compounds through 50 cm-thick sea ice and in the upper water column with removal rates up to ∼1% per day. Overall, our results showed a fast biodegradation of n-alkanes in sea ice-covered seawater, but suggested that oils spills will expose the Arctic ecosystem to bio-recalcitrant PACs over prolonged periods of time.
KW - Arctic
KW - Bacterial community
KW - Biodegradation
KW - Oil spill
KW - Photooxidation
KW - Sea ice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055965605&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.watres.2018.10.066
DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2018.10.066
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 30408732
AN - SCOPUS:85055965605
VL - 148
SP - 459
EP - 468
JO - Water Research
JF - Water Research
SN - 0043-1354
ER -
ID: 213663072