Journal Article

Air quality implications of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Langridge, Justin M, McKeen, Stuart A, Meagher, James F, Warneke, Carsten, Fehsenfeld, Fred C, Holloway, John S, Schwarz, Joshua P, Murphy, Daniel M, Neuman, J. Andrew, Brioude, Jerome, de Gouw, Joost A, Perring, Anne E, Lueb, Rich A, Parrish, David D, Blake, Donald R, Nowak, John B, Meinardi, Simone, Ravishankara, A. R, Spackman, J. Ryan, Ahmadov, Ravan, Bahreini, Roya, Roberts, James M, Peischl, Jeff, Atlas, Elliot L, Middlebrook, Ann M, Lack, Daniel A, Pollack, Ilana B, Frost, Gregory J, Ryerson, Thomas B

2012

Overview

During the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, a wide range of gas and aerosol species were measured from an aircraft around, downwind, and away from the DWH site. Additional hydrocarbon measurements were made from ships in the vicinity. Aerosol particles of respirable sizes were on occasions a significant air quality issue for populated areas along the Gulf Coast. Yields of organic aerosol particles and emission factors for other atmospheric pollutants were derived for the sources from the spill, recovery, and cleanup efforts. Evaporation and subsequent secondary chemistry produced organic particulate matter with a mass yield of 8 ± 4% of the oil mixture reaching the water surface. Approximately 4% by mass of oil burned on the surface was emitted as soot particles. These yields can be used to estimate the effects on air quality for similar events as well as for this spill at other times without these data. Whereas emission of soot from burning surface oil was large during the episodic burns, the mass flux of secondary organic aerosol to the atmosphere was substantially larger overall. We use a regional air quality model to show that some observed enhancements in organic aerosol concentration along the Gulf Coast were likely due to the DWH spill. In the presence of evaporating hydrocarbons from the oil, NO ₓ emissions from the recovery and cleanup operations produced ozone.

• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences,National Acad Sciences
• Subject: Aerosols / Aerosols - analysis / Aerosols - toxicity / Air Pollutants - analysis / Air Pollutants - toxicity / Air pollution / Air quality / Aircraft / Atmospheric aerosols / Atmospheric chemistry / Average linear density / burning / Carbon dioxide emissions / Cleanup operations / coasts / Emissions / emissions factor / Environmental Monitoring / Evaporation / Gases - analysis / Gases - toxicity / Gulf of Mexico / Hazardous air pollutants / Humans / Hydrocarbons / mass transfer / Models, Theoretical / nitric oxide / Oil spills / oils / Organic Chemicals - analysis / Organic Chemicals - toxicity / Outdoor air quality / Ozone / Particulate emissions / Particulate matter / Particulate Matter - analysis / Particulate Matter - toxicity / particulate organic matter / Petroleum Pollution / Physical Sciences / Plumes / Pollutant emissions / pollutants / ships / Soot / surface water / United States