Project information
Project aim
Petroleum contamination poses a major threat to Antarctic and subantarctic ecosystems because diesel and lubricants are persistent and, at poorly defined concentrations, are toxic in marine environments. This project will asses how quickly important components in these products are naturally depleted using a model field experiment. We will identify and quantify the non-degrading portions of the fuels, and assess the longevity and rate of removal of these. We will relate the chemical analysis data with biological data on organisms in the sea-bottom sediments, in order to assess which components of the fuels do most harm to the organisms.
Related publications
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Hydrocarbons in Antarctic marine sediment: expect the unexpected. 24th International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry, Bremen, Germany, 6-11 September 2009, 2009
(Ref: 14970)
Authors:Category 3: Verbal presentation
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The rate of removal and the compositional changes of diesel in Antarctic marine sediment. Science of the Total Environment, 2011
(Ref: 14735)
Category 1: Peer-reviewed literature
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How Does Depth Affect the Preferential Degradation Process in Antarctic Marine Sediments Polluted by Diesel? 16th Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference, Canberra, Australia, 7-10 December 2010, 2010
(Ref: 14413)
Authors:Category 3: Conference paper
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Long-term Degradation of Lubricant Oil in Antarctic
Sediments. 16th Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference, Canberra, Australia, 7-10 December 2010, 2010
(Ref: 14412)
Category 3: Conference paper
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Effects of diesel and lubricant oils on Antarctic
benthic microbial communities over five years. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 2010
(Ref: 14227)
Category 1: Peer-reviewed literature
A 5 yr field experiment was carried out comparing the effects of Special Antarctic Blend (SAB) diesel, synthetic lubricant (Mobil 0W40), used synthetic lubricant (used Mobil 0W40) and a biodegradable lubricant (Titan GT1) on Antarctic benthic microbial communities.