Transcriptomic Responses of Deep-Sea Corals Experimentally Exposed to Crude Oil and Dispersant

Effects of Crude Oil, Dispersant, and Oil-Dispersant Mixtures on Human Fecal Microbiota in an In Vitro Culture System

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 raised concerns that dispersant and dispersed oil, as well as crude oil itself, could contaminate shellfish and seafood habitats with hazardous residues that had potential implications for human health and the ecosystem. However, little is known about the effects of crude oil and dispersant on the human fecal microbiota. The aim of this research was to ev...

Seamounts, deep-sea corals and fisheries Vulnerability of deep-sea corals to fishing on seamounts beyond areas of national jurisdiction

Deep-sea bacteria enriched by oil and dispersant from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in a massive influx of hydrocarbons into the Gulf of Mexico (the Gulf). To better understand the fate of the oil, we enriched and isolated indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria from deep, uncontaminated waters from the Gulf with oil (Macondo MC252) and dispersant used during the spill (COREXIT 9500). During 20 days of incubation at 5°C, CO(2) evolut...

U-Th dating of deep-sea corals

Th, Th, U and U compositions of several deep-sea solitary corals, mainly the species Desmophyllum cristagalli, were determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). It is possible to obtain high precision ages on modern pristine corals that have low [Th] (5 to a few hundred ppt). However, because older deep-sea corals tend to have higher [Th] compared to surface corals, and the initia...

Comparative toxicity of oil, dispersant, and oil plus dispersant to several marine species.

Dispersants are a preapproved chemical response agent for oil spills off portions of the U.S. coastline, including the Texas-Louisiana coast. However, questions persist regarding potential environmental risks of dispersant applications in nearshore regions (within three nautical miles of the shoreline) that support dense populations of marine organisms and are prone to spills resulting from hum...