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Science Related to Oil Spills

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By Columbia Environmental Research Center February 25, 2019

Crude oil or oil distilled product (e.g. gasoline, diesel fuels, jet fuels) spills can occur during oil exploration, production, and transportation activities. Environmental impacts of spills are complex and can be difficult to assess. The chemical makeup of oil and oil products is diverse which affects oil behavior (e.g. volatilization, sinking). Oil degradation and fate are also influenced by environmental factors such as salinity, temperature, and surface vs underground spills. Oil can impact living organisms both directly (dermal contact, inhalation, ingestion) and indirectly (bioaccumulation in food sources, disruption of recreational activities). USGS scientists have decades of experience supporting assessment and restoration activities for the largest oil spills in U.S history, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Examples include oil spill remote sensing, vegetation surveys, ecotoxicological impacts, marsh ecology impacts, sea turtle modelling, immunosuppression of oiled biota, coral ecology, and avian and mammalian injury and recovery.  

 

To learn more about how USGS science supports the NRDAR program contact Jo Ellen Hinck, the USGS NRDAR Coordinator.

Return to USGS Science for DOI Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) Program

Browse USGS publications related to NRDAR oil spill cases.

 

Examples of assessment and restoration projects are below.

 

Assessment Projects

Media
An oiled Kemp's Ridley sea turtle after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
An oiled Kemp's Ridley sea turtle photographed during a boat-based survey by NOAA to collect oiled sea turtles during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response. Photograph credit: Kate Sampson, NOAA
  • Histopathology of Bird Carcasses

                 Principal Investigator - Julia Lankton

  • Ambient Water Concentrations of PAHs at an Oil Spill Using Semi-Permeable Membrane Devices (SPMDs)

                Principal Investigator - David Alvarez

  • PAH Analysis in Bile from Fish Near an Oil Spill

                Principal Investigator - David Alvarez

  • Remote Sensing Estimation of Surface Oil Volume During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Blowout in the Gulf of Mexico

                Principal Investigator - Gregg Swayze

 

 

Restoration Projects

Media
Kemp's ridley sea turtles
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Newly hatched Kemp's ridley sea turtles crawl to the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Population Dynamics Model for Least Bell's Vireo Restoration after the Santa Clara River Oil Spill

                Principal Investigator - Barbara Kus

  • Enhancing Prey Availability for Wintering and Migrating Surf Scoters Damaged by the Cosco Busan Oil Spill

                Principal Investigator - Susan De La Cruz

  • Marbled Murrelet at Sea Survey, Cosco Busan Oil Spill 

                Principal Investigator - Josh Adams

  • Detecting and Inferring Cause of Change in an Alaska Nearshore Marine Ecosystem

                Principal Investigator - James L Bodkin

 

 

 

Media
NRDAR Cases
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

 

 

Explore the NRDAR Case Map and Document Library to learn more about individual cases.

 

 

 

 

 

Return to USGS Science for DOI Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) Program

 


 

 

Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

Annual Marbled Murrelet Abundance and Productivity Surveys Off Central California (Zone 6), 1999-2021 (ver. 4.0, May 2022)

Since 2017, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center (USGS WERC) partnered with California State Parks to continue long-term, annual at-sea surveys to estimate at-sea abundance and juvenile (i.e. hatch-year) productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Zone 6 (central California: San Francisco Bay to...
By
Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Below are USGS publications for oil spills associated with specific NRDAR cases.

Filter Total Items: 123

Evaluating effects of tracking device attachment methods on Black Oystercatchers Haematopus bachmani

Advances in tracking technology are greatly improving our understanding of many aspects of avian ecology. However, the diversity of tracking devices and attachment methods necessitates better evaluation of how they affect particular taxa. We evaluated effects of tracking devices mounted on leg bands or attached using leg-loop harnesses on resighting rates of Black Oystercatchers...
Authors
Cole Rankin, Lena Ware, Brian H. Robinson, Daniel Esler, Heather Coletti, Mark Maftei, J. Mark Hipfner, David Green
By
Alaska Science Center

Toxicity of crude oil-derived polar unresolved complex mixtures to Pacific herring embryos: Insights beyond polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Crude oil toxicity to early life stage fish is commonly attributed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, it remains unclear how the polar unresolved complex mixture (UCM), which constitutes the bulk of the water-soluble fraction of crude oil, contributes to crude oil toxicity. Additionally, the role of photomodification-induced toxicity in relation to the polar UCM is not...
Authors
Maxwell L. Harsha, Yanila Salas-Ortiz, Alysha D. Cypher, Ed Osborn, Eduardo Turcios Valle, Jacob L. Gregg, Paul Hershberger, Yuri Kurerov, Sarah King, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Patrick G. Hatcher, Anastasia Konefal, T. Erin Cox, Justin Blaine Greer, James P. Meador, Matthew A. Tarr, Patrick L. Tomco, David C. Podgorski
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

Latitudinal gradients and sex differences in morphology of the Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani)

Environment and behavior are widely understood to affect bird morphology, which can lead to differences among subspecies or populations within a wide-ranging species. Several patterns of latitudinal gradients in morphology have been described, though Allen's and Bergmann's rules are the most well-known and have been tested and confirmed across a diversity of taxa and species. These state...
Authors
Hannah Roodenrijs, Lena Ware, Cole Rankin, Mark Maftei, Mark Hipfner, Brian H. Robinson, Daniel Esler, Heather Coletti, David Green
By
Alaska Science Center

Relative importance of macroalgae and phytoplankton to nearshore consumers and growth across climatic conditions in the northern Gulf of Alaska

Macroalgae and phytoplankton support the base of highly productive nearshore ecosystems in cold-temperate regions. To better understand their relative importance to nearshore food webs, this study considered four regions in the northern Gulf of Alaska where three indicator consumers were collected, filter-feeding mussels (Mytilus trossulus), pelagic-feeding Black Rockfish (Sebastes...
Authors
Katherine Corliss, Vanessa R. von Biela, Heather Coletti, James L. Bodkin, Daniel Esler, Katrin Iken
By
Alaska Science Center

Effects of elevated pCO2 on bioenergetics and disease susceptibility in Pacific herring Clupea pallasii

Ocean acidification can affect the immune responses of fish, but effects on pathogen susceptibility remain uncertain. Pacific herring Clupea pallasii were reared from hatch under 3 CO2 partial pressure ( pCO2) treatments (ambient, ∼650 µatm; intermediate, ∼1500 µatm; high, ∼3000 µatm) through metamorphosis (98 d) to evaluate the effects of ocean acidification on bioenergetics and...
Authors
Christopher Murray, Jacob L. Gregg, Ashley MacKenzie, Hiruni Jayasekara, Sophie Hall, Terrie Klinger, Paul Hershberger
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

Quantifying spatiotemporal variation of nearshore forage fish schools with aerial surveys in Prince William Sound, Alaska

ObjectiveChanges in abundance and distribution of schooling forage fish, such as the Pacific Sand Lance Ammodytes hexapterus and Pacific Herring Clupea pallasii, can be difficult to document using traditional boat-based methods, especially in the shallow, nearshore habitats frequented by these species. In contrast, nearshore fish schools are easily observed and quantified from aircraft...
Authors
Daniel Stephen Donnelly, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Scott Pegau, John F. Piatt
By
Alaska Science Center

A decade of death and other dynamics: Deepening perspectives on the diversity and distribution of sea stars and wasting

Mass mortality events provide valuable insight into biological extremes and also ecological interactions more generally. The sea star wasting epidemic that began in 2013 catalyzed study of the microbiome, genetics, population dynamics, and community ecology of several high-profile species inhabiting the northeastern Pacific but exposed a dearth of information on the diversity...
Authors
Michael Dawson, Paige Duffin, Melina Giakoumis, Lauren M Schiebelhut, Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Keith Bosley, Rita Castilho, Christine Ewers-Saucedo, Katie Gavenus, Aimee Keller, Brenda Konar, John L. Largier, Julio Lorda, Melissa Miner, Monica Moritsch, Sergio Navarette, Peter T. Raimondi, Sarah Beth Traiger, Monica Turner, John Wares
By
Alaska Science Center

Biological responses of Pacific herring embryos to crude oil are quantifiable at exposure levels below conventional limits of quantitation for PAHs in water and tissues

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), a cornerstone of marine food webs, generally spawn on marine macroalgae in shallow nearshore areas that are disproportionately at risk from oil spills. Herring embryos are also highly susceptible to toxicity from chemicals leaching from oil stranded in intertidal and subtidal zones. The water-soluble components of crude oil trigger an adverse outcome...
Authors
John P. Incardona, Tiffany L. Linbo, James R. Cameron, Barbara L. French, Jennie L. Bolton, Jacob L. Gregg, Carey E. Donald, Paul Hershberger, Nathaniel L. Scholz
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

Temporal, environmental, and demographic correlates of Ichthyophonus sp. infections in mature Pacific herring populations

Causes of population collapse and failed recovery often remain enigmatic in marine forage fish like Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) that experience dramatic population oscillations. Diseases such as ichthyophoniasis are hypothesized to contribute to these declines, but lack of long-term datasets frequently prevents inference. Analysis of pathogen surveillance and population assessment...
Authors
Maya Groner, Eliana D. Bravo-Mendosa, Ashley MacKenzie, Jacob L. Gregg, Carla M. Conway, John T. Trochta, Paul Hershberger
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

Characteristics of a sea louse (Caligus clemensi) epizootic in wild Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)

We characterized a natural sea louse epizootic of Caligus clemensi and the effects of parasitism on Pacific herring Clupea pallasii in Port Angeles Harbor, WA, USA. Infestation prevalence on newly metamorphosed age 0 Pacific herring reached 100% prevalence by mid-August. At this time, the mean louse intensity was 4.6 lice/fish, and a positive correlation occurred between louse intensity...
Authors
David James Páez, Jacob L. Gregg, Ashley MacKenzie, Sophie Amanda Hall, Paul Hershberger
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center, Marrowstone Marine Field Station (MMFS)

Age-0 sablefish size and growth indices from seabird diets at Middleton Island, Gulf of Alaska

Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is a commercially valuable groundfish species in Alaska, with the population assessed annually by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Sablefish recruit into the commercially fished population at 2 years old and are poorly sampled by most surveys before that age. However, information on the abundance...
Authors
Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Scott A. Hatch
By
Alaska Science Center

A comprehensive plan for in-water sea turtle data collection in the US Gulf of Mexico

The Deepwater Horizon Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group (OO TIG) released a Final Open Ocean Restoration Plan 2 in 2019, which included a project titled Developing a Gulf-wide Comprehensive Plan for In-water Sea Turtle Data Collection. This document, A Comprehensive Plan for In-water Sea Turtle Data Collection in the US Gulf of Mexico (Plan), is the culmination of that OO TIG...
Authors
Kristen Hart, Pamela T. Plotkin, Christopher Sasso, Blair E. Witherington
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Gulf of America

Crude oil or oil distilled product (e.g. gasoline, diesel fuels, jet fuels) spills can occur during oil exploration, production, and transportation activities. Environmental impacts of spills are complex and can be difficult to assess. The chemical makeup of oil and oil products is diverse which affects oil behavior (e.g. volatilization, sinking). Oil degradation and fate are also influenced by environmental factors such as salinity, temperature, and surface vs underground spills. Oil can impact living organisms both directly (dermal contact, inhalation, ingestion) and indirectly (bioaccumulation in food sources, disruption of recreational activities). USGS scientists have decades of experience supporting assessment and restoration activities for the largest oil spills in U.S history, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Examples include oil spill remote sensing, vegetation surveys, ecotoxicological impacts, marsh ecology impacts, sea turtle modelling, immunosuppression of oiled biota, coral ecology, and avian and mammalian injury and recovery.  

 

To learn more about how USGS science supports the NRDAR program contact Jo Ellen Hinck, the USGS NRDAR Coordinator.

Return to USGS Science for DOI Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) Program

Browse USGS publications related to NRDAR oil spill cases.

 

Examples of assessment and restoration projects are below.

 

Assessment Projects

Media
An oiled Kemp's Ridley sea turtle after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
An oiled Kemp's Ridley sea turtle photographed during a boat-based survey by NOAA to collect oiled sea turtles during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response. Photograph credit: Kate Sampson, NOAA
  • Histopathology of Bird Carcasses

                 Principal Investigator - Julia Lankton

  • Ambient Water Concentrations of PAHs at an Oil Spill Using Semi-Permeable Membrane Devices (SPMDs)

                Principal Investigator - David Alvarez

  • PAH Analysis in Bile from Fish Near an Oil Spill

                Principal Investigator - David Alvarez

  • Remote Sensing Estimation of Surface Oil Volume During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Blowout in the Gulf of Mexico

                Principal Investigator - Gregg Swayze

 

 

Restoration Projects

Media
Kemp's ridley sea turtles
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Newly hatched Kemp's ridley sea turtles crawl to the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Population Dynamics Model for Least Bell's Vireo Restoration after the Santa Clara River Oil Spill

                Principal Investigator - Barbara Kus

  • Enhancing Prey Availability for Wintering and Migrating Surf Scoters Damaged by the Cosco Busan Oil Spill

                Principal Investigator - Susan De La Cruz

  • Marbled Murrelet at Sea Survey, Cosco Busan Oil Spill 

                Principal Investigator - Josh Adams

  • Detecting and Inferring Cause of Change in an Alaska Nearshore Marine Ecosystem

                Principal Investigator - James L Bodkin

 

 

 

Media
NRDAR Cases
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

 

 

Explore the NRDAR Case Map and Document Library to learn more about individual cases.

 

 

 

 

 

Return to USGS Science for DOI Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) Program

 


 

 

Below are data or web applications associated with this project.

Annual Marbled Murrelet Abundance and Productivity Surveys Off Central California (Zone 6), 1999-2021 (ver. 4.0, May 2022)

Since 2017, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center (USGS WERC) partnered with California State Parks to continue long-term, annual at-sea surveys to estimate at-sea abundance and juvenile (i.e. hatch-year) productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Zone 6 (central California: San Francisco Bay to...
By
Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Below are USGS publications for oil spills associated with specific NRDAR cases.

Filter Total Items: 123

Evaluating effects of tracking device attachment methods on Black Oystercatchers Haematopus bachmani

Advances in tracking technology are greatly improving our understanding of many aspects of avian ecology. However, the diversity of tracking devices and attachment methods necessitates better evaluation of how they affect particular taxa. We evaluated effects of tracking devices mounted on leg bands or attached using leg-loop harnesses on resighting rates of Black Oystercatchers...
Authors
Cole Rankin, Lena Ware, Brian H. Robinson, Daniel Esler, Heather Coletti, Mark Maftei, J. Mark Hipfner, David Green
By
Alaska Science Center

Toxicity of crude oil-derived polar unresolved complex mixtures to Pacific herring embryos: Insights beyond polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Crude oil toxicity to early life stage fish is commonly attributed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, it remains unclear how the polar unresolved complex mixture (UCM), which constitutes the bulk of the water-soluble fraction of crude oil, contributes to crude oil toxicity. Additionally, the role of photomodification-induced toxicity in relation to the polar UCM is not...
Authors
Maxwell L. Harsha, Yanila Salas-Ortiz, Alysha D. Cypher, Ed Osborn, Eduardo Turcios Valle, Jacob L. Gregg, Paul Hershberger, Yuri Kurerov, Sarah King, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Patrick G. Hatcher, Anastasia Konefal, T. Erin Cox, Justin Blaine Greer, James P. Meador, Matthew A. Tarr, Patrick L. Tomco, David C. Podgorski
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

Latitudinal gradients and sex differences in morphology of the Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani)

Environment and behavior are widely understood to affect bird morphology, which can lead to differences among subspecies or populations within a wide-ranging species. Several patterns of latitudinal gradients in morphology have been described, though Allen's and Bergmann's rules are the most well-known and have been tested and confirmed across a diversity of taxa and species. These state...
Authors
Hannah Roodenrijs, Lena Ware, Cole Rankin, Mark Maftei, Mark Hipfner, Brian H. Robinson, Daniel Esler, Heather Coletti, David Green
By
Alaska Science Center

Relative importance of macroalgae and phytoplankton to nearshore consumers and growth across climatic conditions in the northern Gulf of Alaska

Macroalgae and phytoplankton support the base of highly productive nearshore ecosystems in cold-temperate regions. To better understand their relative importance to nearshore food webs, this study considered four regions in the northern Gulf of Alaska where three indicator consumers were collected, filter-feeding mussels (Mytilus trossulus), pelagic-feeding Black Rockfish (Sebastes...
Authors
Katherine Corliss, Vanessa R. von Biela, Heather Coletti, James L. Bodkin, Daniel Esler, Katrin Iken
By
Alaska Science Center

Effects of elevated pCO2 on bioenergetics and disease susceptibility in Pacific herring Clupea pallasii

Ocean acidification can affect the immune responses of fish, but effects on pathogen susceptibility remain uncertain. Pacific herring Clupea pallasii were reared from hatch under 3 CO2 partial pressure ( pCO2) treatments (ambient, ∼650 µatm; intermediate, ∼1500 µatm; high, ∼3000 µatm) through metamorphosis (98 d) to evaluate the effects of ocean acidification on bioenergetics and...
Authors
Christopher Murray, Jacob L. Gregg, Ashley MacKenzie, Hiruni Jayasekara, Sophie Hall, Terrie Klinger, Paul Hershberger
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

Quantifying spatiotemporal variation of nearshore forage fish schools with aerial surveys in Prince William Sound, Alaska

ObjectiveChanges in abundance and distribution of schooling forage fish, such as the Pacific Sand Lance Ammodytes hexapterus and Pacific Herring Clupea pallasii, can be difficult to document using traditional boat-based methods, especially in the shallow, nearshore habitats frequented by these species. In contrast, nearshore fish schools are easily observed and quantified from aircraft...
Authors
Daniel Stephen Donnelly, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Scott Pegau, John F. Piatt
By
Alaska Science Center

A decade of death and other dynamics: Deepening perspectives on the diversity and distribution of sea stars and wasting

Mass mortality events provide valuable insight into biological extremes and also ecological interactions more generally. The sea star wasting epidemic that began in 2013 catalyzed study of the microbiome, genetics, population dynamics, and community ecology of several high-profile species inhabiting the northeastern Pacific but exposed a dearth of information on the diversity...
Authors
Michael Dawson, Paige Duffin, Melina Giakoumis, Lauren M Schiebelhut, Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Keith Bosley, Rita Castilho, Christine Ewers-Saucedo, Katie Gavenus, Aimee Keller, Brenda Konar, John L. Largier, Julio Lorda, Melissa Miner, Monica Moritsch, Sergio Navarette, Peter T. Raimondi, Sarah Beth Traiger, Monica Turner, John Wares
By
Alaska Science Center

Biological responses of Pacific herring embryos to crude oil are quantifiable at exposure levels below conventional limits of quantitation for PAHs in water and tissues

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), a cornerstone of marine food webs, generally spawn on marine macroalgae in shallow nearshore areas that are disproportionately at risk from oil spills. Herring embryos are also highly susceptible to toxicity from chemicals leaching from oil stranded in intertidal and subtidal zones. The water-soluble components of crude oil trigger an adverse outcome...
Authors
John P. Incardona, Tiffany L. Linbo, James R. Cameron, Barbara L. French, Jennie L. Bolton, Jacob L. Gregg, Carey E. Donald, Paul Hershberger, Nathaniel L. Scholz
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

Temporal, environmental, and demographic correlates of Ichthyophonus sp. infections in mature Pacific herring populations

Causes of population collapse and failed recovery often remain enigmatic in marine forage fish like Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) that experience dramatic population oscillations. Diseases such as ichthyophoniasis are hypothesized to contribute to these declines, but lack of long-term datasets frequently prevents inference. Analysis of pathogen surveillance and population assessment...
Authors
Maya Groner, Eliana D. Bravo-Mendosa, Ashley MacKenzie, Jacob L. Gregg, Carla M. Conway, John T. Trochta, Paul Hershberger
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

Characteristics of a sea louse (Caligus clemensi) epizootic in wild Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii)

We characterized a natural sea louse epizootic of Caligus clemensi and the effects of parasitism on Pacific herring Clupea pallasii in Port Angeles Harbor, WA, USA. Infestation prevalence on newly metamorphosed age 0 Pacific herring reached 100% prevalence by mid-August. At this time, the mean louse intensity was 4.6 lice/fish, and a positive correlation occurred between louse intensity...
Authors
David James Páez, Jacob L. Gregg, Ashley MacKenzie, Sophie Amanda Hall, Paul Hershberger
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center, Marrowstone Marine Field Station (MMFS)

Age-0 sablefish size and growth indices from seabird diets at Middleton Island, Gulf of Alaska

Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is a commercially valuable groundfish species in Alaska, with the population assessed annually by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Sablefish recruit into the commercially fished population at 2 years old and are poorly sampled by most surveys before that age. However, information on the abundance...
Authors
Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Scott A. Hatch
By
Alaska Science Center

A comprehensive plan for in-water sea turtle data collection in the US Gulf of Mexico

The Deepwater Horizon Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group (OO TIG) released a Final Open Ocean Restoration Plan 2 in 2019, which included a project titled Developing a Gulf-wide Comprehensive Plan for In-water Sea Turtle Data Collection. This document, A Comprehensive Plan for In-water Sea Turtle Data Collection in the US Gulf of Mexico (Plan), is the culmination of that OO TIG...
Authors
Kristen Hart, Pamela T. Plotkin, Christopher Sasso, Blair E. Witherington
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Gulf of America
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