328
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. A. Murawski et al. (eds.), Deep Oil Spills,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_20
Chapter 20
40 Years of Weathering of Coastal Oil
Residues in the Southern Gulf of Mexico
Jagoš R. Radović, Isabel C. Romero, Thomas B. P. Oldenburg,
Stephen R. Larter, and John W. Tunnell Jr.
Abstract The oil spill from the Ixtoc 1 well in 1979 in the southern Gulf of Mexico
(sGoM) was in many aspects very similar to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout offshore Louisiana 30 years later (2010), most importantly because of the subsurface nature of the oil release, the amount of oil released, and the extensive
environmental distribution of the spilled oil, including coastal impacts. Because of
that, the Ixtoc 1 spill can serve as an excellent analog to study and model the longterm oil weathering processes in coastal environments. In 2016, a research expedition sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) visited many
coastal sites in the sGoM, previously known to be impacted by the Ixtoc 1 spill, and
collected oil residues. The residues were analyzed using targeted (GC-MS/MS) and
non-targeted (FTICR-MS) approaches in order to assess their origin and the nature
of weathering transformation products. The initial results suggest multi-decadal
preservation potential of Ixtoc 1 spill residues in certain low-energy environments,
such as coastal mangrove forests. These results provide valuable input for the modelling of long-term fate and impacts of the DWH spill.
Keywords Ixtoc 1 · Southern GoM · FTICR-MS · GC-MS/MS · Oil spill · Coast ·
Biomarkers · Fingerprinting · Weathering
J. R. Radović (*) · T. B. P. Oldenburg · S. R. Larter
University of Calgary, PRG, Department of Geoscience, Calgary, AB, Canada
e-mail: Jagos.Radovic@ucalgary.ca; toldenbu@ucalgary.ca; slarter@ucalgary.ca
I. C. Romero
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: isabelromero@mail.usf.edu
J. W. Tunnell Jr. (Deceased)
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies,
Corpus Christi, TX, USA
e-mail: Wes.Tunnell@tamucc.edu
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. A. Murawski et al. (eds.), Deep Oil Spills,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_20
Chapter 20
40 Years of Weathering of Coastal Oil
Residues in the Southern Gulf of Mexico
Jagoš R. Radović, Isabel C. Romero, Thomas B. P. Oldenburg,
Stephen R. Larter, and John W. Tunnell Jr.
Abstract The oil spill from the Ixtoc 1 well in 1979 in the southern Gulf of Mexico
(sGoM) was in many aspects very similar to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout offshore Louisiana 30 years later (2010), most importantly because of the subsurface nature of the oil release, the amount of oil released, and the extensive
environmental distribution of the spilled oil, including coastal impacts. Because of
that, the Ixtoc 1 spill can serve as an excellent analog to study and model the longterm oil weathering processes in coastal environments. In 2016, a research expedition sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) visited many
coastal sites in the sGoM, previously known to be impacted by the Ixtoc 1 spill, and
collected oil residues. The residues were analyzed using targeted (GC-MS/MS) and
non-targeted (FTICR-MS) approaches in order to assess their origin and the nature
of weathering transformation products. The initial results suggest multi-decadal
preservation potential of Ixtoc 1 spill residues in certain low-energy environments,
such as coastal mangrove forests. These results provide valuable input for the modelling of long-term fate and impacts of the DWH spill.
Keywords Ixtoc 1 · Southern GoM · FTICR-MS · GC-MS/MS · Oil spill · Coast ·
Biomarkers · Fingerprinting · Weathering
J. R. Radović (*) · T. B. P. Oldenburg · S. R. Larter
University of Calgary, PRG, Department of Geoscience, Calgary, AB, Canada
e-mail: Jagos.Radovic@ucalgary.ca; toldenbu@ucalgary.ca; slarter@ucalgary.ca
I. C. Romero
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: isabelromero@mail.usf.edu
J. W. Tunnell Jr. (Deceased)
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies,
Corpus Christi, TX, USA
e-mail: Wes.Tunnell@tamucc.edu