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Crude Oil Infiltration and Movement in First-year Sea Ice: Impacts on Ice-associated Biota and Physical Constraints (AK-13-03-06)

The Arctic marine environment is facing increasing risks of oil spills due to growing maritime activities such as tourism and resource exploration. Entrainment and migration of oil through the sea ice brine channel system may pose a considerable risk to the biota that rely on the ice for food and shelter. These ice-associated biological communities are the base of an Arctic food chain that supports a hugely productive community of polar bears, birds, walruses, whales, and ultimately humans. Mesocosms were used to investigate the possible impacts of oil, allowing for the careful growth of artificial sea ice that would be reflective of natural sea ice. These mesocosms were inoculated with biological cultures collected from landfast sea ice near Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), AK. Environmentally-similar ice conditions were established in the tanks to evaluate the impact of Alaska North Slope crude oil on transplanted sea ice biota using two different oiling scenarios: discrete oil lenses and dispersed emulsions. North Slope crude oil penetrated farther into overlying sea ice than observed in previous experiments (NORCOR, 1975, Glaeser and Vance, 1972, Dickens 2011). The presence of oil resulted in notable negative impacts on the biological community, with complete inhibition of ice algal growth. These findings suggest that an oil spill in ice-covered waters could have substantial and lasting negative impacts on the microorganisms at the base of this critical Arctic food chain.

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Additional Info

Field Value
ISO Topics environment, oceans
Primary Contact Heather Crowley (heather.crowley@boem.gov)
Primary Organization US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Funding Organizations US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Other Organizations Coastal Marine Institute UAF
Organization Types Academic, Federal
Start Date 2014-04-21
Created February 23, 2016, 01:41 (AKST)
Last Updated September 13, 2021, 14:53 (AKDT)