196
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. A. Murawski et al. (eds.), Deep Oil Spills,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_12
Chapter 12
Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation
and Flocculent Accumulation (MOSSFA)
Events: Learning from the Past to Predict
the Future
Antonietta Quigg, Uta Passow, Kendra L. Daly, Adrian Burd,
David J. Hollander, Patrick T. Schwing, and Kenneth Lee
A. Quigg (*)
Texas A&M University at Galveston, Department of Marine Biology, Galveston, TX, USA
e-mail: quigga@tamug.edu
U. Passow
Memorial University, Ocean Sciences Centre, Logy Bay, NL, Canada
e-mail: uta.passow@mun.ca
K. L. Daly · D. J. Hollander · P. T. Schwing
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: kdaly@mail.usf.edu; davidh@usf.edu; pschwing@mail.usf.edu
A. Burd
University of Georgia, Department of Marine Sciences, Athens, GA, USA
e-mail: adrianb@uga.edu
K. Lee
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ecosystem Science Directorate, Ottawa, ON, Canada
e-mail: Ken.Lee@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
“I see always the steady, unremitting, downward drift of
materials from above, flake upon flake, layer upon layer — a
drift that has continued for hundreds of millions of years, that
will go on as long as there are seas and continents. For the
sediments are the materials of the most stupendous snowfall the
earth has ever seen….” (from Rachel Carson, The Sea Around
Us, 1951)
“Marine snow is a nearly ubiquitous phenomenon in oceanic
waters. The individual particles of marine snow are often
fragile, difficult to sample intact, and provide distinctive
microenvironments that support unique biological, chemical,
and physical processes.” (from Mary Silver 2015)
“Marine snow formation, incorporation of oil, and subsequent
gravitational settling to the seafloor (i.e., MOSSFA: Marine Oil
Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation) was a
significant pathway for the distribution and fate of oil,
accounting for as much as 14% of the total oil released” as a
result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
in 2010. (from Daly et al. 2016)
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. A. Murawski et al. (eds.), Deep Oil Spills,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_12
Chapter 12
Marine Oil Snow Sedimentation
and Flocculent Accumulation (MOSSFA)
Events: Learning from the Past to Predict
the Future
Antonietta Quigg, Uta Passow, Kendra L. Daly, Adrian Burd,
David J. Hollander, Patrick T. Schwing, and Kenneth Lee
A. Quigg (*)
Texas A&M University at Galveston, Department of Marine Biology, Galveston, TX, USA
e-mail: quigga@tamug.edu
U. Passow
Memorial University, Ocean Sciences Centre, Logy Bay, NL, Canada
e-mail: uta.passow@mun.ca
K. L. Daly · D. J. Hollander · P. T. Schwing
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: kdaly@mail.usf.edu; davidh@usf.edu; pschwing@mail.usf.edu
A. Burd
University of Georgia, Department of Marine Sciences, Athens, GA, USA
e-mail: adrianb@uga.edu
K. Lee
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ecosystem Science Directorate, Ottawa, ON, Canada
e-mail: Ken.Lee@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
“I see always the steady, unremitting, downward drift of
materials from above, flake upon flake, layer upon layer — a
drift that has continued for hundreds of millions of years, that
will go on as long as there are seas and continents. For the
sediments are the materials of the most stupendous snowfall the
earth has ever seen….” (from Rachel Carson, The Sea Around
Us, 1951)
“Marine snow is a nearly ubiquitous phenomenon in oceanic
waters. The individual particles of marine snow are often
fragile, difficult to sample intact, and provide distinctive
microenvironments that support unique biological, chemical,
and physical processes.” (from Mary Silver 2015)
“Marine snow formation, incorporation of oil, and subsequent
gravitational settling to the seafloor (i.e., MOSSFA: Marine Oil
Snow Sedimentation and Flocculent Accumulation) was a
significant pathway for the distribution and fate of oil,
accounting for as much as 14% of the total oil released” as a
result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
in 2010. (from Daly et al. 2016)