Long term fate and behaviour of oil in an Arctic shoreline - Part 2, activities in 2024

Abstract

In this work, analysis of sediment samples collected from an oil-contaminated beach at Svalbard has been performed. Chemical fingerprinting analyses in combination with analysis of the microbial communities present have yielded insights into the long term effect of an oil spill on a shoreline which has been left uncleaned for more than 25 years. In autumn 2023, sediment samples were collected from a beach by the Credner moraine where an experimental oil spill was performed in 1997. Chemical analyses of sediment samples collected in 1999-2011 indicated microbial degradation of the oil components. Samples collected in 2023 from both the oiled area and a nearby reference area have now been subjected to chemical and microbial analyses to characterize the long-term natural (bio)degradation of oil and the microbial community composition in a non-treated experimental oil spill in an Arctic shoreline.