Alkanes in benthic organisms from the Buccaneer oil field
About 200 g per day of alkanes are present in brine discharged from each of two production platforms in the Buccaneer oil field in the NW Gulf of Mexico. These alkanes disperse rapidly in the water column, so that seawater concentrations of petroleum alkanes in this region are generally very low. They can be taken up to some extent by plankton, fish, and barnacles, but the petroleum alkane concentrations in these organisms are also relatively low. The largest pool of petroleum alkanes is in the surficial sediments, where concentrations of up to 25 ppM are observed, with concentration gradients extending more than 20 m from the production platforms. Organisms are examined which are exposed to these sediments and, for comparison, other specimens from control sites around structures from which there are no discharges.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Houston, TX
- OSTI ID:
- 6941445
- Journal Information:
- Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States), Vol. 24:6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Alkanes in fish from the Buccaneer oilfield
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
02 PETROLEUM
ALKANES
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BENTHOS
FISHES
FOOD CHAINS
PETROLEUM
PLANKTON
WASTE DISPOSAL
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ECOSYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
MANAGEMENT
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
VERTEBRATES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
560305* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Vertebrates- (-1987)
520302 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Aquatic Ecosystems & Food Chains- (-1987)
520200 - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)
020900 - Petroleum- Environmental Aspects