Natural Removal of Crude and Heavy Fuel Oil on Rocky Shorelines in Arctic Climate Regimes

Facilitated by a receding sea ice extent, new and shorter routes have led to increased maritime traffic in Arctic areas with an inherent risk for oil spills along Arctic rocky shorelines. To estimate natural oil removal under Arctic conditions, a crude oil and a heavy fuel oil were applied to slate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water, air, and soil pollution air, and soil pollution, 2020-09, Vol.231 (9), Article 479
Main Authors: Gustavson, Kim, Hansson, Sophia V., van Beest, Floris M., Fritt-Rasmussen, Janne, Lassen, Pia, Geertz-Hansen, Ole, Wegeberg, Susse
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arctic research
Arctic zone
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Chemical composition
Chemical spills
Climate
Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts
Crude oil
Earth and Environmental Science
Environment
Environmental monitoring
Environmental Sciences
Fuel oil
Fuel oil industry
Fuel oils
Hydrogeology
Mimicry
Oil removal
Oil spills
Petroleum mining
Pollution control
Risk assessment
Rocky shores
Sea ice
Shorelines
Soil Science & Conservation
Substrata
Tiles
Water Quality/Water Pollution
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Summary:Facilitated by a receding sea ice extent, new and shorter routes have led to increased maritime traffic in Arctic areas with an inherent risk for oil spills along Arctic rocky shorelines. To estimate natural oil removal under Arctic conditions, a crude oil and a heavy fuel oil were applied to slate tiles, mimicking rocky shore substratum, and placed at four levels within and just above the tidal zone on two rocky shorelines in West Greenland. Tiles were regularly sampled (within 95 days) to determine natural oil removal and chemical composition of the remaining oil. We found that natural oil removal on the rocky shorelines depends on (1) level position on the shoreline, i.e., within and above the tidal zone where ample exposure to water and wave-wash increases oil removal rate and efficiency, and (2) physical and chemical oil properties with the crude oil being removed more readily than the heavy fuel oil. These findings can help improve the risk assessment of oil spills in Arctic areas and facilitate the development of effective oil spill response strategies in Arctic seas.
ISSN:0049-6979
1573-2932
DOI:10.1007/s11270-020-04850-1