An experimental marine ecosystem response to crude oil and corexit 9527: Part 1—Fate of chemically dispersed crude oil

The fate of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. labelled with n(1−¹⁴C)-hexadecane and dispersed with Corexit 9527, was studied for 24 days in a polyethylene bag enclosure of sea water by time-series observations of the alkane composition of the crude oil, oil fluorescence, ¹⁴C-labelled hexadecane in the particulate phase, bacterial biomass, amounts of sedimented material and parameters of temperature, salinity, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, and nutrients. By the seventh day, convective and diffusive mixing, important mechanisms for the dispersion of oil, resulted in a fairly homogeneous distribution of oil throughout the enclosed water column. Rapid bacterial biodegradation removed the n-alkane fraction initially, while oil-Corexit dispersion suppressed phytoplankton growth. After 7 days, with the recovery of phytoplankton growth, much of the aged oil sedimented with sinking of diatoms.