| NSF Org: |
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 18, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 18, 2013 |
| Award Number: | 1333162 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Henrietta Edmonds
hedmonds@nsf.gov (703)292-7427 OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO Directorate For Geosciences |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2013 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2018 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $341,714.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $341,714.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
3227 CHEADLE HALL SANTA BARBARA CA US 93106-0001 (805)893-4188 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
MC 6150, UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA US 93106-6150 |
| Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Chemical Oceanography |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
More than 400,000 tons of petroleum hydrocarbons are released annually into the ocean, where they are subject to physical, chemical and biological processes, known as weathering, that are known to remove select hydrocarbons from the ocean. However, little attention has been given to the residues left by the weathering of oil, and studies indicate that oxygenation of these hydrocarbons can play a part in the formation of recalcitrant tar and toxic compounds. To address this gap, researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Mary Washington, and University of California Santa Barbara will conduct research to lay a scientific foundation for understanding 1) which processes control the formation of oxygenated hydrocarbons, 2) the rates of these processes, 3) the identity of the major products, 4) the rates at which they are formed and destroyed, and 5) for distinguishing photochemical oxygenation from biological oxygenation. The results from these experiments will contribute to a better understanding of the petroleum oxygenation processes and the environmental fate of understudied oxygenation products.
Broader Impacts: This study will provide for several undergraduates and two postdoctoral scholars to be trained in innovative analytical and experimental techniques. The results of this effort will help regulatory agencies to define new analytical methods and target compounds for oil spill research, and will add to our understanding regarding the fate and impacts of hydrocarbons released into the ocean.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The intellectual merit associated with this project includes the findings presented in nine resulting publications. Key findings focus on an improved understanding of the processes that impact hydrocarbons in the ocean, notably, the interplay between chemical processes driven by sunlight and biological processes. The findings of this work identify reactivity and tendencies for inventories of chemical compounds, including those that are spilled to the ocean through accidental spills. As example, this work effectively differentiated the behavior of hydrocarbons that sink to the deep ocean versus those that float at the ocean’s surface. In the deep ocean there is no sunlight, but nutrients tend to be abundant, and hydrocarbons are subject to biodegradation by microbes. However, the process by which microbes degrade oil was found to be sensitive to key factors related to the extent of contamination, temperature, and to the chemical structures of the compounds. In contrast, the surface of the open ocean presents a different setting, where sunlight can directly degrade hydrocarbons and where nutrient deprivation can prevent microbial degradation. Through this research project we have developed an improved understanding of the interplay between these various processes in the context of the ocean.
Broader impacts associated with this project included training of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. This work also resulted in impacts on a broader community, including participation of project personnel in a military exercise, where they were brought in to provide topical expertise relating to the fate and impact of ocean hydrocarbons related to mitigating the environmental impacts of a military strike on a refueling vessel. Furthermore, this project enabled project personnel to continue engagement providing unbiased information to policy makers considering issues related to hydrocarbons and the ocean, including participation on two study panels of the National Research Council. Finally, the research expedition associated with this project provided a formal opportunity for undergraduate students to learn about oceanographic research, through participation in a two quarter course series culminating in the research expedition.
Last Modified: 12/18/2018
Modified by: David L Valentine
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