High temperature and solar radiation in the Red Sea enhance the dissolution of crude oil from surface films

Sreejith Kottuparambil; Ananya Ashok; Patricia López; Maan H. Amad; Carlos M. Duarte; Susana Agusti

doi:10.1007/s11356-024-33864-z

High temperature and solar radiation in the Red Sea enhance the dissolution of crude oil from surface films

Sreejith Kottuparambil^*, Ananya Ashok, Patricia López, Maan H. Amad, Carlos M. Duarte, Susana Agusti

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The Red Sea is a hotspot of biodiversity susceptible to oil pollution. Besides, it is one of the warmest seas on the Earth with highly transparent waters. In this study, we estimated the oil dissolution rates under natural sunlight spectra and temperature conditions using coastal oil slicks collected after the 2019 Sabiti oil spill in the Red Sea. Optical analyses revealed the significant interactive effect of sunlight and temperature in enhancing the dissolution of oil into dissolved organic matter (DOM). The highest oil dissolution rate (38.68 g C m⁻³ d⁻¹) was observed in full-spectrum sunlight. Oil dissolution significantly enhanced total organic carbon (TOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seawater. High nucleic acid (HNA) bacteria, likely the oil degraders, proliferated from 30 to 70 – 90% after 4 days. The heavier stable carbon isotopic composition of methane (δ¹³C-CH₄) and lighter stable carbon isotopic composition of carbon dioxide (δ¹³C-CO₂) indicate the putative role of bacterial processes in the natural degradation of crude oil. The results indicated that the combined effect of temperature and solar radiation enhanced the biological and photochemical dissolution of oil on the Red Sea surface.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	42034-42048
Number of pages	15
Journal	Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Volume	31
Issue number	29
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33864-z
State	Published - Jun 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Keywords

CDOM
Fluorescence
HNA bacteria
Oil spill
PAHs
Photooxidation
δC

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Environmental Chemistry
Pollution
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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10.1007/s11356-024-33864-z

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title = "High temperature and solar radiation in the Red Sea enhance the dissolution of crude oil from surface films",

abstract = "The Red Sea is a hotspot of biodiversity susceptible to oil pollution. Besides, it is one of the warmest seas on the Earth with highly transparent waters. In this study, we estimated the oil dissolution rates under natural sunlight spectra and temperature conditions using coastal oil slicks collected after the 2019 Sabiti oil spill in the Red Sea. Optical analyses revealed the significant interactive effect of sunlight and temperature in enhancing the dissolution of oil into dissolved organic matter (DOM). The highest oil dissolution rate (38.68 g C m−3 d−1) was observed in full-spectrum sunlight. Oil dissolution significantly enhanced total organic carbon (TOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seawater. High nucleic acid (HNA) bacteria, likely the oil degraders, proliferated from 30 to 70 – 90% after 4 days. The heavier stable carbon isotopic composition of methane (δ13C-CH4) and lighter stable carbon isotopic composition of carbon dioxide (δ13C-CO2) indicate the putative role of bacterial processes in the natural degradation of crude oil. The results indicated that the combined effect of temperature and solar radiation enhanced the biological and photochemical dissolution of oil on the Red Sea surface.",

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author = "Sreejith Kottuparambil and Ananya Ashok and Patricia L{\'o}pez and Amad, {Maan H.} and Duarte, {Carlos M.} and Susana Agusti",

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AU - Ashok, Ananya

AU - López, Patricia

AU - Amad, Maan H.

AU - Duarte, Carlos M.

AU - Agusti, Susana

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

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N2 - The Red Sea is a hotspot of biodiversity susceptible to oil pollution. Besides, it is one of the warmest seas on the Earth with highly transparent waters. In this study, we estimated the oil dissolution rates under natural sunlight spectra and temperature conditions using coastal oil slicks collected after the 2019 Sabiti oil spill in the Red Sea. Optical analyses revealed the significant interactive effect of sunlight and temperature in enhancing the dissolution of oil into dissolved organic matter (DOM). The highest oil dissolution rate (38.68 g C m−3 d−1) was observed in full-spectrum sunlight. Oil dissolution significantly enhanced total organic carbon (TOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seawater. High nucleic acid (HNA) bacteria, likely the oil degraders, proliferated from 30 to 70 – 90% after 4 days. The heavier stable carbon isotopic composition of methane (δ13C-CH4) and lighter stable carbon isotopic composition of carbon dioxide (δ13C-CO2) indicate the putative role of bacterial processes in the natural degradation of crude oil. The results indicated that the combined effect of temperature and solar radiation enhanced the biological and photochemical dissolution of oil on the Red Sea surface.

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High temperature and solar radiation in the Red Sea enhance the dissolution of crude oil from surface films

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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