Fate and effects of crude oil spilled on permafrost terrain. Annual progress report No. 2, Jun 76-Jul 77
A study was initiated in 1975 to evaluate the fate and effects of crude oil spilled on a taiga-covered permafrost site in Alaska. During this second year of the study the logistical portion of the experiments was completed with a spill of hot Prudhoe Bay crude oil in July 1976. This spill was compared with one that took place in February 1976 (reported upon in the first annual progress report). Studies on the differences in the fate of the oil, its effects on the permafrost, and its impact on the biological communities were continued and expanded. Oil moved downslope at a much faster rate during the summer spill than during the winter spill. In the winter the oil cooled and pooled rapidly. The summer spill covered approximately one-third more surface area than did the winter spill in the final configuration, even though the two spills were of almost identical volume. Increases in microbial populations and activities during the months following the spill were evident. Increased counts of bacteria, yeasts, denitrifying bacteria, and petroleum-degrading bacteria following the oil spills were particularly evident. Analysis of the oil's decomposition using gas chromatography techniques indicated that the low molecular weight fractions, methane and ethane, were lost almost immediately after the spill in each case.
- Research Organization:
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab., Hanover, NH (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6257008
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-061779
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Fate and effects of crude oil spilled on subarctic permafrost terrain in interior Alaska: Fifteen years later
Fate and effects of crude oil spilled on permafrost terrain. First year progress report. Special report
Related Subjects
02 PETROLEUM
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
OIL SPILLS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
PETROLEUM
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
ALASKA
BIODEGRADATION
ETHANE
LAND POLLUTION
METHANE
MICROORGANISMS
PERMAFROST
PIPELINES
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
ALKANES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
DECOMPOSITION
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION
POLLUTION
USA
VARIATIONS
510200* - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)
020900 - Petroleum- Environmental Aspects
560302 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Microorganisms- (-1987)