032123-C-8 Corresp. Jeffers3.pdf — Long Beach City Council, March 21, 2023 (part 1 of 2)

C-8 Correspondence – Emily Jeffers

From: Emily Jeffers [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 3:19 PM
To: CityClerk <[email protected]>
Subject: CBD Sources Part 3.2

-EXTERNAL-

Please see attached sources for our comment letter.

1 Analysis of Hydrocarbons in Samples Provided from the Cruise of the R/V WEATHERBIRD II, May 23‐26, 2010

Robert Haddad, Ph.D.

Steven Murawski, Ph.D.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910

Summary
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) undertook, through a certified testing laboratory, an
independent analysis of 25 water samples provided from the cruise of the R/V WEATHERBIRD II during its mission to sample for hydrocarbons associated with the Mississippi Canyon 252 (MC‐252) incident. One liter samples were provided in amber bottles from six to 12 depths at three discrete sampling locations: Station 01 was 142 nautical miles southeast of the MC‐252 incident; Station 07 was 45 n. miles northeast of the incident, and the Station labeled “slick1” was 40 n. miles northeast.

Concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were less than 0.5 mg/L (parts per million) at all stations and depths. TPH concentrations in these 25 samples ranged from 0.085 to 0.480 mg/L (parts per million), with a median value of 0.203 mg/L (mean 0.223 mg/L). Concentrations of the individual 16 EPA priority pollutants1 ranged from below reporting limits (< 10‐13 ng/L or parts per trillion) to 79.2 ng/L (naphthalene, DSH Slick1‐09). Five samples had reportable concentrations of these 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with Total concentrations for the 16 priority pollutant PAHs (Total PAH16 or TPAH16) ranging from 17.7 to 79.2 ng/L. PAH concentrations were estimated below the reporting limits (but above the minimum detection limits – MDLs).2 For TPAH16, PAHs were detected above the MDLs in all samples, ranging from 9 to 112 ng/L with a median value for all 25 samples of 26 ng/L.

1 EPA Priority Pollutants: naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene, and indeno[1,2,3- cd]pyrene.

2 Note that reporting limit is defined as the lowest level to which the analytical instrumentation is calibrated.

Although instrumentation has a defined “lower limit”, it is still possible to detect compounds below this lowest 2 A comparison of TPH and TPAH16 concentrations among the three stations (see Table 1, Figures 2 and 3) suggests that all three locations have similar depth distributions of TPH and TPAH16 concentrations.

Further, comparisons of the individual PAH16 concentrations to eco‐toxicological benchmarks pulled together from the literature (e.g., NOAA SQuiRTs Tables), illustrate that the PAH concentrations measured in these 25 water samples are well below these eco‐toxicological benchmarks.

Despite low overall concentrations several samples had sufficient concentrations of petroleum biomarkers that allowed for a preliminary assessment with the MC 252 source oil:
a. At the station labeled “slick1”, surface samples had hydrocarbons present3 and based on the distribution of diagnostic petroleum compounds these hydrocarbons are CONSISTENT with an MC 252 source.
b. At Station DHS‐01 at 100 meters depth, and at 300 meters depth, hydrocarbons were detected, but based on the distribution of diagnostic petroleum compounds these hydrocarbons are INCONSISTENT with an MC 252 source
c. At station DSH‐07, samples from the surface, 50, and 400 meters depth appear to have trace oil present, but concentrations are too low to allow for source determination. d. The petroleum concentrations in the remaining samples are too low for correlation.

Report
A recent
joint USF/NOAA cruise was recently conducted by the R/V Weatherbird II. One of the objectives of the cruise was to evaluate if reflecting layers identified by acoustics were related to subsea petroleum. Of immediate concern was the ability to identify and potentially track deep subsurface

calibration level, but still meet the criteria for determining if a compound is actually present. If these criteria are met as determined by seasoned analysts, these compound(s) are confirmed to be present and the concentration is reported but qualified with a “J” to denote an estimated value.

The method detection limit (MDL) is defined in 40CFR part 136. Laboratories determine a MDL for each compound analyzed by processing a series of laboratory‐spiked replicates through the entire sample extraction and analytical process. Statistics – as defined in 40CFR part 136 ‐ are then applied to the results in order to mathematically determine the MDL for each compound.
3 See Table 1 for sample hydrocarbons concentrations.
3 plumes that may be derived from the dispersed MC 252 oil. To accomplish this, the crew conducted fluorometry, salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and conducted acoustic analyses, in addition to collecting water samples for chemical identification of the signals derived from their onboard instrumentation. Seawater samples were collected by scientist from the University of South Florida (USF) at each sampling station, and 130 one liter splits were provided to NOAA for independent analysis.

USF scientists identified the 25 highest priority samples from three stations (Figure 1). Station DSH‐01 was located 142 nautical miles southeast of the MC‐252 incident; Station DHS‐07 was 45 n. miles northeast of the Deepwater Horizon MC 252 incident, and the Station labeled “slick1” was 40 n. miles northeast of the location of the Deepwater Horizon MC 252 site. NOAA sent these samples to Alpha Analytical for quantification of TPH and PAHs using EPA SW846 for TPH and a modified method 8270c for PAHs.

In light of the Deepwater Horizon MC252 (DWH‐MC252) release, including the unprecedented use of surface and subsurface applied dispersants, it’s important for NOAA to understand the distribution and magnitude of any sub surface dispersed oil derived from this release. The measurement of TPH and PAH concentrations provide a quantitative evaluation of the amount of any hydrocarbons in these samples.

Additionally, NOAA is interested in understanding if hydrocarbons found at depth are from the DWH‐ MC252 release or from natural or other anthropogenic sources of oil. To accomplish the source identification, results from the Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) analysis were evaluated by experienced petroleum geochemists who developed their conclusions based on review of the m/z 85, 191, and 217 ion traces4. An important consideration with these analyses is to understand that they require a minimum amount of hydrocarbons in the samples to ensure that the diagnostic hydrocarbon signal is strong enough to measure.

Results and Discussion
TPH
Results for TPH are presented in Table 1 and Figure 2. TPH concentrations for all water samples are fairly low; ranging from 0.085 to 0.48 mg/L (parts per million) with a median value of 0.203 mg/L. As illustrated in Figure 1, there is a general decrease in TPH concentrations with increasing depth at all three stations. For DHS‐01, the TPH concentration decreases from 0.35 mg/L at the surface to 0.14 mg/L at 500 m. For DSH‐07, the TPH concentrations generally decrease with depth, with an elevated concentration of 0.40 mg/L at a depth of 300 m. At station Slick1, TPH concentrations are highest at a depth of 50 m (0.48 mg/L), and generally constant with depth from 100 m to 400 m.

PAHs
Total PAH concentrations for all 16 EPA priority pollutants are presented in Table 2. Concentrations of individual PAHs were measured above the reporting limits in only 5 of the 25 samples. In these samples, TPAH16 range from 17.7 to 18.7 ng/L. For 4 of the 5 samples, the TPAH16 concentrations are supported

4 The mass to charge ratios for 85 is for n‐alkanes and isoprenoids, 191 is the ion used for terpanes, and 217 is for steranes and diasteranes. Which are diagnostic of petroleum. 4 by one or two, two or three‐ring PAH compounds. Only one of the samples analyzed has reportable concentrations of the EPA priority pollutant PAHs in the high molecular weight range (i.e., 4 to 6 ring PAHs).

Considering the potential for subsurface dispersed oil and the presence of surface oil and mousse at stations Slick1 and DHS 07, the TPH and PAH concentrations measured in these samples are relatively low. As noted above, the TPH and TPAH16 concentration profiles from all three stations are similar, even though station DHS‐01 is far to the south (see figure 1) and surface oil was found at stations Slick1 and DSH07. Comparison of the maximum individual PAH concentrations (or estimated concentrations where it fell below the reporting limit) to benchmark exposure concentrations from the literature (e.g., NOAA SQuiRTs) supports the contention that these hydrocarbon concentrations are low.

Source
Evaluation of the mass spectra from these analyses indicates that for most of the samples, the hydrocarbons present are at concentrations too low to discern a pattern.  However, despite low overall concentrations several samples had sufficient concentrations of diagnostic petroleum hydrocarbons that allowed for a preliminary assessment with the MC 252 source oil:
a.    At the station labeled “slick1”, surface samples had trace hydrocarbons present5 and based on the distribution of diagnostic petroleum compounds these hydrocarbons are CONSISTENT with an MC 252 source (Fig. 4).
b.    At Station DHS‐01 at 100 meters depth, and at 300 meters depth, trace hydrocarbons were detected, but based on diagnostic petroleum compounds these hydrocarbons are INCONSISTENT with an MC 252 source.
c. At station DSH‐07, samples from the surface, 50, and 400 meters depth appear to have trace oil present, but concentrations were too low to allow for source determination. d. Concentrations of diagnostic petroleum compounds in the remaining samples were too low for correlation.

5 See Table 1 for sample hydrocarbons concentrations.
5 Interim conclusions
Hydrocarbons are present in a number of the water samples collected from all three stations. TPH concentrations measured in these samples are low, with none being above 0.5 mg/L. Individual PAH concentrations are also low, being in the ng/L or parts per trillion range. Only 5 of the 25 samples had reportable levels of any of the 16 EPA priority pollutant PAHs, and of these, the highest TPAH16 value was 79 ng/L (Station DHS‐07, 200 m depth). The next highest TPAH16 value was 49 ng/L (slick1, 350 m depth).

These data do not show a substantial difference between the hydrocarbon concentrations or distributions measured in samples from station DHS‐01, 142 nautical miles southeast of the Deepwater Horizon MC 252 well head and stations DHS‐07 and Slick1 located 45 and 40 nautical miles (respectively) to the northeast of the well site. The Slick1 station does have an elevated TPH concentration at 50 m, while station DHS‐07 has an elevated TPH concentration at 300 m depth. Neither of these depths corresponds with an elevated TPAH16 concentration.

Mass spectral analysis of the m/z 85, 191, and 217 mass spectra suggest the surface sample from the Slick1 station contains hydrocarbons consistent with a Deepwater Horizon MC252 source.

Hydrocarbons are also present in samples from station DHS‐01 at 100 m and 300 m depths that are inconsistent with a Deepwater Horizon MC 252 source. Finally, results from station DHS‐07 indicate that trace hydrocarbons are present in water samples from the surface, 50 m, and 400 meters depth; but that the concentrations are too low to allow for source determination.

While this data set does not conclusively demonstrate that hydrocarbons found in waters collected from northeast and southwest of the Deepwater Horizon MC 252 well site are derived from a specific source, it does demonstrate that the concentrations of hydrocarbons in these waters are generally low. These data further indicate that concentrations of TPH and PAH16 from waters collected from stations 142 n. miles southeast of the wellhead and from stations 40 and 45 n. miles northeast of the wellhead are not substantially different.

Additional work is needed to better understand the fate and transport of hydrocarbons within the deeper waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico. As well, a more complete and robust understanding of the fate and transport of hydrocarbons at depths will be critical to evaluating and correlating hydrocarbons found throughout the water column with the varying sources of hydrocarbons, both natural and anthropogenic, that are present in the waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

6 Table 1. Analysis of WEATHERBIRD II Data from three stations Station Lat. Long. Date
Sample
Name
Depth
(m)
Total
Petroleum
Hydrocarbons
(C9-C44)
RL1 TPAH-
162 RL
LMW3
TPAH-
16 HMW4 TPAH-
16 mg/L mg/L ng/L ng/L ng/L ng/L

Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -0 0 0.306 0.00109 20.5 10.9 ND 20.5 Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -1 50 0.480 0.00123 12.3 ND ND Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -2 100 0.114 0.00114 11.4 ND ND Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -3 150 0.184 0.00122 12.2 ND ND Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -4 200 0.206 0.00118 11.8 ND ND Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -5 250 0.232 0.00118 11.8 ND ND Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -7 350 0.203 0.00118 48.68 11.8 48.68 ND Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -8 400 0.180 0.00120 12.0 ND ND Slick 1 29 13.82 87 49.85 5/26/10 -9 425 0.235 0.00112 17.7 11.2 17.7 ND 01 27 28.67 86 06.50 5/23/10 -0 0 0.349 0.00118 11.8 ND ND 01 27 28.67 86 06.50 5/23/10 -10 100 0.259 0.00116 11.6 ND ND 01 27 28.67 86 06.50 5/23/10 -9 200 0.257 0.00108 79.17 10.8 79.17 ND 01 27 28.67 86 06.50 5/23/10 -8 300 0.163 0.00119 11.9 ND ND 01 27 28.67 86 06.50 5/23/10 -7 400 0.112 0.00119 11.9 ND ND 01 27 28.67 86 06.50 5/23/10 -6 500 0.140 0.00118 11.8 ND ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -0 0 0.425 0.00114 36.31 11.4 36.31 ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -1 50 0.174 0.00127 12.7 ND ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -2 100 0.237 0.00128 12.8 ND ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -3 150 0.189 0.00114 11.4 ND ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -4 200 0.153 0.00122 12.2 ND ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -5 250 0.210 0.00122 28.2 12.2 28.2 ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -6 300 0.404 0.00119 11.9 ND ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -7 350 0.085 0.00119 11.9 ND ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -8 400 0.141 0.00111 11.1 ND ND 07 29 15.20 87 44.07 5/25/10 -9 423 0.146 0.00120 12.0 ND ND Notes: 1 – Reporting Limit, 2 – Summation of 16 EPA Priority Pollutants, 3 – LMW – 2+3 Ring PAHs, 4 – HMW – 4+5+6 ring PAHs 7 Table 2. Statistics of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs) in 25 samples obtained from three locations where WEATHERBIRD II collected water.

Station Count Median Standard Deviation Minimum Maximum All Stations Combined 25 0.203 0.10 0.085 0.480
Station DHS‐01 6 0.210 0.09 0.112 0.349
Station DHS‐07 10 0.182 0.11 0.085 0.425
“Slick1” 9 0.206 0.10 0.114 0.480
8 Figure 1 Sampling locations tested by NOAA from the R/V WEATHERBIRD II cruise. 9 Figure 2. TPH concentrations at depth for three WEATHERBIRD II stations 10 Figure 3. Total PAH compounds measured at depth in three WEATHERBIRD II stations 11 Figure 4. Chromatographic Comparisons of Source Oil, Slick 1‐0 (Surface), and DSH 01‐10 (100 m)

5.0010.0015.0020.0025.0030.0035.0040.0045.0050.0055.0060.0065.0070.00 200000
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5.0010.0015.0020.0025.0030.0035.0040.0045.0050.0055.0060.0065.0070.00 10000
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5.0010.0015.0020.0025.0030.0035.0040.0045.0050.0055.0060.0065.0070.00 20000
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Signal: C23182.D\ FID2A.CH
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12 Fig 4 (cont.) m/z 85

10.0015.0020.0025.0030.0035.0040.0045.0050.0055.0060.0065.0070.00 0 50000
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Ion 85.00 (84.70 to 85.70): a801849.D\ data.ms

10.0015.0020.0025.0030.0035.0040.0045.0050.0055.0060.0065.0070.00 0 500
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46.00 48.00 50.00 52.00 54.00 56.00 58.00 60.00 62.00 64.00 66.00 3000
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14 Fig. 4 (cont.) m/z 217

45.5046.0046.5047.0047.5048.0048.5049.0049.5050.0050.5051.0051.50 600
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45.5046.0046.5047.0047.5048.0048.5049.0049.5050.0050.5051.0051.50 60 80
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45.0045.5046.0046.5047.0047.5048.0048.5049.0049.5050.0050.5051.0051.50 150
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DSH Slick 1‐0
DSH 1‐10
Oil Spills in
Marshes

PLANNING & RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS
September 2013

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service · Office of Response and Restoration

AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE
Oil Spills in
Marshes

ANNING & RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS

Sept
ember 2013

Jacqueline Michel1 and Nicolle Rutherford2

1Research Planning, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina
2Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service · Office of Response and Restoration

SPECIAL NOTES AND DISCLAIMERS
American Petroleum Institute
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION i

Chapters
CHAPTER 1. MARSH ECOLOGY 1-1
Key Points 1-1
What are Marshes? 1-1
Types of Marshes 1-4
Freshwater Non-Tidal Marshes 1-4
Tidally Influenced Marshes 1-5
General Life History Information 1-10
Fauna 1-11
For Further Reading 1-12
CHAPTER 2. OIL TOXICITY AND EFFECTS ON MARSHES 2-1
Key Points 2-1
Oil Groups 2-1
Factors Affecting the Impacts of Oil on Marsh Vegetation 2-1 Oil Type 2-1
Extent of Contamination of the Vegetation 2-9
Degree of Contamination of the Marsh Soils 2-10
Exposure to Currents and Waves 2-12
Time of Year of the Spill 2-15
Species Sensitivity 2-15
Impacts of Oil on Marsh Fauna 2-17
Summary and Response Implications 2-18
For Further Reading 2-21
CHAPTER 3. RESPONSE 3-1
Key Points 3-1
On-Water Response Options to Prevent Marsh Oiling 3-1
Mechanical Recovery 3-1
Offshore Dispersant Application 3-2
Offshore In Situ Burning 3-3
Response Options for Oiled Marshes 3-3
Natural Recovery 3-4
Barrier Methods 3-6
Manual and Debris Removal 3-8
Mechanical Removal 3-9
Sorbents 3-9
Vacuuming 3-11
Vegetation Cutting 3-13
Flooding and Low-Pressure Ambient-Temperature Flushing 3-17 Shoreline Cleaning Agents 3-18
Enhancing Bioremediation (Nutrient Enrichment and Soil Oxidants) 3-20 Selecting Appropriate Cleanup Endpoints for Marshes 3-31 Restoration as Part of the Response 3-31
Selecting Appropriate Response Options for Speeding Recovery of Oiled Marshes 3- 33 For Further Reading 3-35
CHAPTER 4. MARSH CASE STUDIES 4-1
Barge Florida, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, September 1969 4-1 Amoco Cadiz, Brittany, France, March 1976 4-2
Chalk Point, Patuxent River, Maryland, April 2000 4-4
Deepwater Horizon, Northern Gulf of Mexico, 2010 4-5
For Further Reading 4-10

Appendices
Appendix A. Summary of the literature on impacts of light refined oils on marshes. A-1 Appendix B. Summary of selected light to medium crude oil spills and experiments in marshes. B-1 Appendix C. Summary of selected heavy fuel oil spills and experiments in marshes. C-1 Appendix D. Spills and experiments where in situ burning was conducted in marshes. D-1

Plates
Plate 1: Representative marsh plants 1-2
Plate 2: Representative marsh fauna 1-3
Figures
Figure 1-1. Tidal salt marsh zonation 1-9
Figure 2-1. Effect of No. 2 fuel oil on the aboveground (left) and belowground (right) biomass of S. alterniflora three months after transplantation into soils mixed with different levels of oil 2-10
Figure 2-2. Examples of long-term persistent oiling in highly sheltered marshes 2-13 Figure 2-3. Examples of the role of natural removal processes 2-14 Figure 2-4. Heavily oiled S. patens marsh during the T/V Julie N spill of an IFO 380 in Portland, Maine in October 1996 2-16
Figure 2-5. Years to recovery for spills and a few field experiments color-coded by oil group, from shortest to longest recovery 2-20
Figure 3-1. T/V Julie N spill of IFO 380 into the Fore River, Portland Maine where natural recovery was very effective 3-5
Figure 3-2. Boom stranded on salt marshes 3-7
Figure 3-3. Shoreline barriers used during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 3-8 Figure 3-4. The extensive network of trenches dug during the Chalk Point oil spill in April 2000 3-9 Figure 3-5. Workers using snares on poles to remove thick oil floating on the water surface 3- 10 Figure 3-6. Use of loose organic sorbents during the Deepwater Horizon spill in Louisiana on 9 July 2011 3-11
Figure 3-7. Vacuuming of thick oil from the water surface in a marsh channel 3-12 Figure 3-8. Vegetation cutting time series 3-14
Figure 3-9. Time-series photographs of a spill in the Mississippi River birdsfoot delta 3-15 Figure 3-10. Intensive flushing operations along one of the trenches excavated at the Chalk Point, Maryland spill in April 2000 3-17
Figure 3-11. The barge-mounted flushing system that had a long-reach mechanical boom with a spray bar attached, Deepwater Horizon oil spill 3-18 Figure 3-12. Mosquito Bay, Louisiana in situ burning of a condensate spill in a brackish water marsh 3-23
Figure 3-13. Chevron facility near Empire, Louisiana where in situ burning was conducted in a brackish water marsh 3-23
Figure 3-14. In situ burning will not remove oil that has penetrated into the marsh soils 3- 25 Figure 3-15. Tulane University research project where S. alterniflora was planted (bare root) along the heavily oiled and highly erosional shoreline in N. Barataria Bay, Louisiana 3- 32 Figure 3-16. Restoration of the area of trenching and flushing at the Chalk Point spill site 3- 33 Figure 4-1. Heavily oiled marsh at Ile Grande, France from the Amoco Cadiz oil spill 4-3 Figure 4-2. The two zones of heavy oiling along the marshes in N. Barataria Bay, Louisiana after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 4-6
Figure 4-3. Manual cutting and raking heavily oiled wrack removal in 2011 treatment of heavily oiled marshes in N. Barataria Bay, Louisiana 4-8
Figure 4-4. Mechanical treatment methods used to remove the thick oil and oiled vegetation mats on the marsh surface in N. Barataria Bay, Louisiana 4-9

Tables
Table 1-1. Adaptations of salt marsh plants to salt stress 1-7 Table 2-1. Oil groups and their characteristics 2-2
Table 3-1. Recommendations for response options in oiled marshes by oil group 3-4 Table 3-2. Summary of the relative effects of oiled marsh cutting for all studies and those studies with direct comparisons with cut and uncut vegetation 3-16 Table 3-3. Behavior of burn residues by oil type for on-land burns 3-30 Table 3-4. Guidance on selecting appropriate response options for oiled marshes 3-33

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

T
his report is intended to assist those who work in spill response and planning where fresh and salt marshes are at risk of oil spills. By understanding the basics of the ecology of marshes and learning from past oil spills in marshes, we can better plan for, protect, and make appropriate decisions for how to respond to future oil spills. Along coastal areas, marshes occur in intertidal to supratidal zones, and the marsh fringe is often contaminated by spills on water. In many areas of the country, pipelines cross under, through, or adjacent to marshes, making them at risk of interior oiling.

M
arshes provide many important ecological services and functions and are habitat to many species.

When an oil spill affects these habitats, impacts can be severe; however, impacts from inappropriate response methods can increase these impacts and slow overall recovery.

T
his report is intended to be a technical “job-aid” for spill response scientists. Our goal was to summarize as much of the scientific literature and experience at past spills in a format that balances between too much detail and too many generalizations. Every spill is a unique combination of conditions–oil type, amount of oil, location of oiling, extent of oiling on the soils and vegetation, vegetation types, time of year, presence of species of concern, degree of exposure to natural removal processes, etc. Responders have to evaluate all of these factors and make a decision on the best course of action, quickly. We don’t have the ready answer for how to respond for every spill. However, we hope that we have provided the reader with practical and useful information gleaned from a large number of studies to help them make informed decisions.

W
e have organized the topics by chapter, with all the references provided at the end of each chapter.

Chapter 1, Marsh Ecology, provides an overview of marshes and their associated communities. Chapter 2, Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes, provides information on oil types and summarizes what we know about how oil affects marsh vegetation. In Chapter 3, Response, we discuss what is known on the effectiveness and effects of the different response options appropriate for marshes. Lastly, Chapter 4, Case Studies, includes four of the important case studies from which we have learned so much.

W
e acknowledge associates who reviewed drafts of this report, in alphabetic order: Rene Bernier, Robert Castle, Robyn Conmy, Rebecca Hoff, Jim Jeansonne, Alan Mearns, Irv Mendelssohn, Ed Owens, Heather Parker-Hall, Gary Shigenaka, Ruth Yender, and Scott Zengel. Wendy Early and Joe Holmes of Research Planning, Inc. prepared the text, graphics, and bibliographic database. The American Petroleum Institute funded the work by Research Planning, Inc. NOAA provided funding for its staff. i
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
CHAPTER 1. MARSH ECOLOGY
Key Points
•
•
•
Marshes are wetlands dominated by emergent herbaceous vegetation that are regularly, frequently, or continually flooded.

Marshes are highly productive ecosystems that support a complex food chain of plants, microbes, and animals.

Marshes vary widely in type of vegetation, soils, inundation frequency, salt tolerance, and seasonality.

What are Marshes?
The word “marsh” describes a wide range of habitats. In general, marshes are wetlands that are dominated by herbaceous (in contrast to woody), “emergent” vegetation where the vegetation is erect and extends above the water or very wet soils. There are many different types of marshes, ranging from freshwater to saltwater, but all are inundated with water for extended periods of time or on a regular basis. Marshes can be coastal or inland, connected to a water body or isolated, and are generally fed by surface water, although many are also fed by groundwater. Marsh plants have adaptations that allow them to grow in waterlogged soils; vegetation growing in salt water has adaptations to deal with salt stress.

M
arshes support a rich and diverse flora and fauna, serving as important nesting, breeding, spawning, rearing, and feeding habitats for many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, shellfish, and other invertebrates. They also provide many ecological services, including primary production, food web support, nutrient recycling, water filtration, sediment and storm water retention, shoreline stabilization, storm-surge protection, and soil development. Plates 1 and 2 show representative plant and animal species in marshes.
1-1
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology

Plate 1: Representative marsh plants. All images reproduced with permission, with rights reserved. A: Green arrow arum ( R.A.

Howard, Smithsonian Institute) . B: Pacific silverweed ( Arthur Haines ). C: Smooth cordgrass stem with salt meadow cordgrass behind (Sandy Richard). D: Salt crystals on smooth cordgrass stem (Sandy Richard) . E: Virginia glasswort (Sandy Richard). F: Wild rice (Eli Sagor).

1-2
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology

Plate 2: Representative marsh fauna. All images reproduced with permission, with rights reserved. A: Blue crab ( Brian Henderson). B: Light-footed clapper rail ( Nick Chill). C: Juvenile chinook salmon (NOAA) . D: Hine's emerald dragonfly (P.

Burton/USFWS). E: Ruddy ducks (Tom Koerner/USFWS) . F: Salt marsh harvest mouse (Judy Irving) . G: Gulf killifish ( Dr.

Stephen “Ash” Bullard). H: Whooping crane (Mehgan Murphy).

1-3
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
Types of Marshes
Freshwater Non-Tidal Marshes
Freshwater, non-tidal marshes are common, widespread, and diverse. They are similar in that they are dominated by grasses and sedges, but otherwise differ in their geologic origins, hydrology, and size (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986). They are often found in poorly drained depressions or basins, near streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes, in oxbows, on floodplains, on deltas, and at the base of steep slopes (Fretwell et al. 1996). Freshwater marshes can be permanently or periodically flooded with inches to feet of water, and some may dry out completely on a seasonal or periodic basis. Water levels are controlled both directly and indirectly by precipitation, with many marshes intercepting flood waters from lakes and rivers, surface runoff, or groundwater (Fretwell et al. 1996).

F
reshwater, non-tidal marshes are found throughout the United States and Canada and include prairie potholes, wet meadows, wet prairies, playas, and vernal pools. Prairie potholes are numerous, shallow depressions associated with the formerly glaciated landscape of central North America, particularly Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota (van Der Valk and Pederson 2003). Wet meadows and wet prairies are grasslands with very wet soils but without standing water most of the year that are common to the Midwest and southeastern United States. Playas are circular, shallow depressions that are typically found in the southwestern United States, particularly in northern Texas and New Mexico (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986; Tiner et al. 2002). Vernal pools are small, seasonally flooded wetlands that dry up completely in the summer and are found throughout the United States, but occur in the highest numbers on the Pacific coast (Zedler 2003). The Florida Everglades contain the largest single freshwater marsh system in the United States (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986). Although each of these systems has unique features, they share characteristic soils, vegetation, and wildlife.

So
ils in freshwater non-tidal marshes are typically alkaline, highly organic, mineral soils of sand, silt, and clay with high concentrations of calcium. Nutrient levels in the soils are high, resulting in highly active bacterial communities that rapidly decompose vegetative litter and fix nitrogen (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986). They vary in exposure to physical processes such as water currents and waves.

A
lthough geographically and geologically diverse, freshwater non-tidal marshes are dominated by similar types of grasses, sedges, rushes, and other water-adapted plants. Dominant grasses include common reed (Phragmites australis), prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), wild rice (Zizania aquatic), and maidencane (Panicum hemitomon). Typical sedges include Carex spp., Cladium spp., and the bulrushes (Scirpus spp.). Other common plants include various rushes (Juncus spp.), cattails (Typha 1-4
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
spp.), arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.), pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), and horsetail (Equisetum spp.) (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986)1.

T
hese marshes provide important habitat for migrating, breeding, and overwintering birds. According to Smith et al. (1964), in Tiner et al. (2002), over half of North America’s waterfowl are produced in the prairie pothole region in an average year, while playas provide overwintering grounds for between 1 to 3 million birds, or greater than 90% of the region’s waterfowl. Numerous species of reptiles and amphibians also depend on these habitats to breed and for refuge, as do many mammals, including muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), weasels (Mustela frenata and M. nivalis), mink (Mustela vison), and raccoons (Procyon lotor) (Haukos and Smith 1992).

Tidally Influenced Marshes
Tidally influenced marshes represent a salinity continuum from freshwater to fully marine waters with several different salinity regimes in between. For the purposes of this document, tidally influenced marshes will be divided into tidal freshwater marshes and saltwater marshes.

Tidal Freshwater Marshes
Tidal freshwater marshes occur close enough to the coast to undergo daily changes in water levels driven by tides, but whose waters are fresh, with salinity less than 0.5 parts per thousand (ppt). They occur in the uppermost portion of the estuarine zone. Tidal freshwater marshes can experience significant tidal ranges, often of a greater amplitude than those tides experienced at the mouth of the river due to constriction of the water as it moves inland (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986; Odum 1988).

T
idal freshwater marshes can be found on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts of North America, and are usually associated with large river systems (Leck et al. 2009; Mitsch and Gosselink 1986; Odum 1988). They are most extensive on the middle and southeast Atlantic coasts, northern Gulf of Mexico coast, and in Alaska. On the west coast, generally steep topography and mountains limit the size and drainage of the estuaries, leaving few areas with broad drowned river basins that permit the development of extensive freshwater systems. Consequently, the only extensive tidal freshwater marshes are found in San Francisco Bay Delta, Columbia River, and Puget Sound (Leck et al. 2009).

1 All plant names are from the USDA Plant Database (2013). 1-5

Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
Sediments in tidal freshwater marshes typically contain clay, silt, and fine organic matter with minor amounts of sand that have been deposited from upriver and terrestrial sources (Odum et al. 1984). The amount of organic material varies greatly, with Atlantic and Gulf coast sediments containing between 10 to 40% organic matter, and west coast sediments ranging from 5% to around 60% (Thom et al. 2002; Josselyn 1983).

Ti
dal freshwater marshes are characterized by salt-intolerant plant species, typically a diverse community of emergent grasses, sedges, rushes, and herbaceous flowering plants. Typical plants in Atlantic coast tidal freshwater marshes include wild rice, cattails, and green arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), as well as pickerelweed, and broadleaf arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia). On the Pacific coast, typical plant species include mountain rush (Juncus arcticus), Pacific silverweed (Argentina egedii), hardstem bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus), and cattails. Tidal freshwater marsh plant communities are highly influenced by flooding duration, changes in salinity and/or precipitation, and changes in elevation as well as other factors, and vary seasonally, between years, and over longer time frames (Leck et al. 2009). The marsh fringe can be exposed to riverine and tidal currents and some wave action, whereas the inner marsh is very sheltered.

B
ecause tidal freshwater marshes contain such a wide diversity of habitats and plant communities, they support many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. More birds use tidal freshwater marshes for breeding, nesting, rearing, and feeding than any other type of marsh.

Likewise, numerous species of fish use these marshes as breeding, spawning, and nursery grounds, ranging from year round residents like sunfishes, minnows, and catfish, to anadromous fish such as salmon, herring, and shad (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986).

Tidal Saltwater Marshes
There are several types of tidal saltwater marshes, including salt, brackish, and intermediate marshes.

They are defined by their average salinity. Salt marshes are regularly flooded by salt water, while brackish and intermediate marshes experience irregular tidal flooding. The varying tidal regime influences the composition of the plant community found within each. For the purposes of this document, these specific types of saltwater marshes will be referred to collectively as salt marshes.

Sa
lt marshes are tidally influenced and experience salinities ranging from 0.5 ppt up to seawater (≥30 ppt). The salinity gradient is nearly continuous from the ocean to the head of the saltwater intrusion into the estuary, until the saltwater signature is drowned by the inflow of freshwater. Tidal ranges in salt marshes are from less than 0.5 meters (m) on the Gulf Coast, to 2-3 m on the East Coast, and in 1-6
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
some areas of the West coast, greater than 3 m (Pennings and Bertness 2001; Seliskar and Gallagher 1983). Salt marshes have many adaptations to tolerate salt stress, as listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1. Adaptations of salt marsh plants to salt stress (modified from Tiner 1999).

Adaptation Type Examples
Morphological
Salt secretion glands (to eliminate excess salt; see Plate 1D) Succulent stems and leaves (increased water retention to maintain internal salt balance
Waxy leaf coatings (to minimize contact with sea water) Salt concentration in specialized hairs
Reduced leaves (to minimize exposure to salt and evapotranspiration) Physiological
Salt exclusion (reduced salt update by roots)
High ion update (lowers osmotic potential of cell sap)
Dilution of salts
Accumulation of salt in cell vacuoles
Other Salt stress avoidance (by occupying higher levels of salt marsh) Periodic shedding of salt-saturated organs

S
alt marshes are found on all tidally influenced coasts of the United States, but the vast majority of the nation’s salt marshes (97%) are located on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. 58% of the nation’s total salt marsh area is located on the Gulf Coast, while the middle and south Atlantic coast contains 37% of the nation’s salt marsh area. Of the Gulf Coast states, Louisiana contains the most salt marsh habitat, with 42% of the nation’s total, while South Carolina has the largest total area of salt marsh (>9%) of the Atlantic states. In total, the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts contain nearly 80% of the nation’s salt marshes (Field 1991).

In
contrast, the Pacific coast (excluding Alaska) has few large saltwater tidal habitats, contributing only 3% of the nation’s salt marshes. Of the 3%, 75% of those salt marshes are located in California (Field 1991). As described earlier for tidal freshwater marshes, on the west coast, mountains limit the location and size of the estuaries, with estuaries and lagoon constituting less than 20% of the shoreline (Macdonald 1977).

Sa
lt marsh sediments vary widely in their composition and are determined by the sediment source and tidal current patterns. Sediments may be river silt, organic material, or sand and clay originating from marine sources. Large variations in sediment organic content across regions and within individual marshes can occur as a result of different rates of production and below-ground 1-7
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
decomposition (Odum 1988; Zedler and Callaway 2001). The organic content of the sediment, in addition to the elevation and drainage, are more important than the source of mineral sediment in determining marsh productivity (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986).

Sal
t marshes are characterized by salt-tolerant flowering plants, including salt-tolerant grasses, rushes, and sedges. In salt marshes of the entire east coast and much of the Gulf coast, smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) is the most dominant species. In some Gulf coast marshes, needlegrass rush (Juncus roemerianus) is dominant. Other species common in east and Gulf coast salt marshes include salt meadow cordgrass (Spartina patens), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), Virginia glasswort (Salicornia depressa), and turtleweed (Batis maritima) (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986; Odum 1988; Wiegert and Freeman 1990; Zedler and Callaway 2001).

O
n the Pacific coast, smooth cordgrass is a non-native, invasive species. In the California marshes, California cordgrass (Spartina foliosa), pickleweed (Salicornia spp.), saltgrass, and turtleweed are common species (Macdonald 1977; Zedler 1982). The plant communities of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska share some species in common with the California marshes, including Virginia glasswort and saltgrass, but have no California cordgrass or turtleweed (Zedler 1982). Alkaligrass (Puccinellia spp.) and extensive stands of sedges (Carex spp., Scirpus validus, Scirpus americanus) and rushes are common (Macdonald 1977; Seliskar and Gallagher 1983).

S
alt marsh species and forms differ depending on the frequency and duration of flooding, as shown in Figure 1-1. The lower, regularly flooded zone (“low marsh”) is usually dominated by one species, such as cordgrass along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. On the Pacific coast, the low marsh may be dominated by nearly monotypic stands of Lyngbye’s sedge (Carex lyngbyei), the northwest analogue to the cordgrass marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Or, as depicted in Figure 1-1, it may host a mixed community of plants that includes saltgrass, marsh jaumea (Jaumea carnosa), and pickleweed, among others (Seliskar and Gallagher 1983). The higher, irregularly flooded zone (“high marsh”) has more diverse vegetation because the plants have less inundation stress and fewer fluctuations in salinity and temperature than the plants in the low marsh. The salt marsh fringe is exposed to tidal currents and wave action, whereas the inner marsh is sheltered from these processes.

S
alt marshes are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world, typically exceeding the production of the most successful agricultural activities. These highly productive habitats support abundant invertebrates, fish, and wildlife, and produce large quantities of organic material that play an important role in the marsh food web. They are important feeding, breeding, nesting, and rearing 1-8
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology

Figure 1 -1. Tidal salt marsh zonation. A: Mid- Atlantic salt marshes based on frequency of tidal flooding. The low marsh is flooded at least one daily; the high marsh is flooded less often (from Tiner and Burke 1995). B: Typical zonation of marsh plants in a Pacific Northwest tidal salt marsh. The lateral extent of the zones depends on the slope and may range from a few meters to hundreds of meters (from Seliskar and Gallagher 1983).

hab
itat for numerous fish, mammals, invertebrates (e.g., crabs, shrimp, insects), and birds, including migratory waterfowl. Salt marshes are particularly valuable habitat as nurseries for commercial and recreationally important fish and shellfish species, especially for native and at-risk species (Gewant and Bollens 2012).
1-9
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
General Life History Information
Annuals vs. Perennials
Annuals are plants that complete their entire life cycle within a year. They germinate, flower, produce flowers, and die within one year. All of their roots, stems, and leaves die annually.

P
erennials live for two or more years, overwintering and producing flowers and seeds from the same rootstock. In some perennials, the leaves, stems, and flowers die back in the fall or winter, and the plant regrows in the spring from the rootstock. In other perennials, the plant retains its aboveground structures year round. Perennials can reproduce by seeds, but have evolved a variety of vegetative cloning strategies, including the production of bulbs, tubers, woody crowns, and rhizomes (thick parts of plants that grow horizontally under or on the ground and send out roots and shoots). Vegetative cloning strategies such as rhizome growth allow the development of dense, single-species stands of vegetation as seen in the smooth cordgrass-dominated salt marshes of the east and Gulf coasts.

Seasonality
As discussed earlier, annual plants complete their entire life cycle in one year or less. Some summer annuals sprout, flower, seed, and die in less than one month. Other annual plants may take several months to complete their life cycle. Their seeds persist until the environmental conditions are right for germination, thus starting a new generation. Annual plants come in two forms: summer and winter.

Summer annuals germinate and die in a single season (spring, summer, or fall). Winter annuals germinate in the fall or winter, bloom in the winter or early spring, and then die once they set seeds.

The seeds of annuals are the sole source of the next year’s growth.

P
erennial plants, on the other hand, live through multiple seasons and years. In warm climates, perennials may grow year round, while in climates with pronounced seasonality, growth is limited to the growing season. In these instances, the perennials enter a period of dormancy with associated senescence (die back) of the aboveground vegetation. Other perennials may not be truly dormant, but just stop or slow growth if the temperatures are too low or there isn’t enough light. In these instances, once the environmental conditions are correct, the plant resumes growth. Most vegetative growth of plants in the tidal marshes of the east and Gulf coasts occurs from March to November (Eleuterius 1990). However, S. alterniflora, the dominant plant in east and Gulf coast saltwater tidal marshes, grows year round, but more slowly in the winter months (Gosselink 1984).

1-10
Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
Most of the plants found in freshwater non-tidal and tidal habitats are a mix of annuals and perennials.

These marshes exhibit pronounced seasonality with changes in plant community dominance as the seasons progress. As the annuals flower and die, their seeds are dispersed to lie dormant until the environmental conditions are right for germination, thus starting a new generation. Salt marshes, on the other hand, are dominated by perennial plants, which have adapted to handle the more extreme environment created by high or fluctuating salinities and varying flooding regimes.

Fauna
Marshes support a rich and diverse assortment of animals. The high productivity, diverse habitat structure, and flood regimes of these transitional areas between terrestrial and aquatic habitats attract and support numerous invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Marshes are critically important habitats for migratory and resident bird species including numerous ducks, wading birds, and shorebirds, and are used by nearly one-third of North American birds for shelter, resting, feeding, nesting, breeding, and rearing habitat (Fretwell et al. 1996 in Stewart, 1996). Nearly two-thirds of the continental United States’ waterfowl reproduce in the prairie pothole marshes of the Midwest. In addition, tidally influenced marshes function as the nursery grounds for numerous species important for and as recreational and commercial fisheries including shrimp, crabs, and wide variety of fish species. Freshwater marshes also provide refuge, spawning, and rearing habitat to a variety of amphibians and reptiles including the American alligator, and numerous species of turtle, snakes, and frogs. Common mammals that either live in marshes or visit frequently include muskrats, otters, minks, and raccoons.

M
arshes are home to numerous threatened and/or endangered species. In fact, some estimates are that greater than 40% of the nations endangered and threatened species rely directly or indirectly on wetlands for survival (Department of Environmental Conservation, Vermont 2011; Environmental Law Institute 2011). Although the term wetlands encompasses more than just marshes, this statistic illustrates the importance of these habitat types. Examples of threatened and endangered species that rely on marsh habitats include the Everglades snail kite, Lower Keys marsh rabbit, wood stork, chinook salmon, salt marsh harvest mouse, light-footed clapper rail, Yuma clapper rail, Hine’s emerald dragonfly, and the whooping crane.

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Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
For Further Reading
Department of Environmental Conservation Vermont. 2011. Wetlands - threatened and endangered species habitat. Internet website: http://www.vtwaterquality.org/wetlands/htm/wl_func- endangeredsp.htm. February 2011. Accessed on March 1, 2013.

Eleuterius, L.N. 1990. Tidal Marsh Plants. Firebird Press. 168 pp.

Environmental Law Institute. 2011. Wetlands endangered species. Internet website:
http://www.nationalwetlandsawards.org/wetlandfacts/endangeredspecies.pdf. Accessed on March 1, 2013.

Field, D.W. 1991. Coastal wetlands of the United States: An accounting of a valuable national resource:

A special NOAA 20th anniversary report. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, Rockville, MD. 59 pp.

Fretwell, J.D., J.S. Williams and P.J. Redman. 1996. National water summary on wetland resources. U.S.

Geological Survey, Water Supply Paper 2425. 431 pp.

Gewant, D. and S. Bollens. 2012. Fish assemblages of interior tidal marsh channels in relation to environmental variables in the upper San Francisco Estuary. Environmental Biology of Fishes 94(2):483-499.

Gosselink, J.G. 1984. The ecology of delta marshes of coastal Louisiana: A community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS/OBS-84/09. 134 pp.

Haukos, D.A. and L.M. Smith. 1992. Ecology of playa lakes. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Fish and Wildlife Leaflet 13. 1-7 pp.

Josselyn, M. 1983. The ecology of San Francisco Bay tidal marshes: a community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS/OBS-83/23. 102 pp.

Leck, M.A., A.H. Baldwin, V.T. Parker, L. Schile and D.F. Whighma. 2009. Tidal Freshwater Wetlands. In:

Barendregt, A., D.F. Whigham and A.H. Baldwin, (eds.) Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands. pp. 320.

Macdonald, K.B. 1977. Plant and animal communities of Pacific North American salt marshes. Wet Coastal Ecosystems. Elsevier North-Holland Inc., New York, pp. 167-191.

Mitsch, W.J. and J.G. Gosselink. 1986. Wetlands. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 539 pp.

Odum, W.E. 1988. Comparative ecology of tidal freshwater and salt marshes. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19(1):147-176.
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Chapter 1. Marsh Ecology
Odum, W.E., T.J. Smith, III, J.K. Hoover and C.C. Mcivor. 1984. Ecology of tidal freshwater marshes of the United States east coast: A community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS/OBS-83/17. 177 pp.

Pennings, S.C. and M.D. Bertness. 2001. Salt Marsh Communities. In: Bertness, M.D., S.D. Gaines and M.

Hay, (eds.) Marine Community Ecology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, pp. 289-316.

Seliskar, D.M. and J.L. Gallagher. 1983. The ecology of tidal marshes of the Pacific Northwest coast: A community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS/OBS-82/32. 65 pp.

Thom, R.M., R. Zeigler and A.B. Borde. 2002. Floristic development patterns in a restored Elk River estuarine marsh, Grays Harbor, Washington. Restoration Ecology 10(3):487-496.

Tiner, R.W. 1999. Wetland Indicators: A Guide to Wetland Identification, Delineation, Classification, and Mapping. Lewis Publishers. 397 pp.

Tiner, R.W., H.C. Bergquist, G.P. Dealessio and M.J. Starr. 2002. Geographically isolated wetlands: A preliminary assessment of their characteristics and status in selected areas of the United States.

Hadley, MA. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region. 270 pp.

Tiner, R.W. and D.G. Burke. 1995. Wetlands of Maryland. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA and Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD, Annapolis, MD. Cooperative Publication. 193 pp.

USDA Plants Database. 2013. http://plants.usda.gov/java/ Internet access on May 30, 2013. van Der Valk, A.G. and R.L. Pederson. 2003. The SWANCC Decision and its implications for prairie potholes. Wetlands 23(3):590-596.

Wiegert, R.G. and B.J. Freeman. 1990. Tidal salt marshes of the southeast Atlantic coast: A community profile. Biological Report 85(7.29). 70 pp.

Zedler, J.B. 1982. The ecology of southern California coastal salt marhes: A community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS/OBS-81/54. 110 pp.

Zedler, J.B. and J.C. Callaway. 2001. Tidal wetland functioning. Journal of Coastal Research:38-64.

Zedler, P.H. 2003. Vernal pools and the concept of "isolated wetlands". Wetlands 23(3):597-607. 1-13
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
CHAPTER 2. OIL TOXICITY AND EFFECTS ON MARSHES
Key Points
•
•
•
•
•
Oil type is one of the major factors determining the degree and type of impacts on marshes.

Lighter oils are more acutely toxic than heavier oils; however, when spilled offshore, light oils are seldom cause extensive damage because they spread into thin slicks.

Heavy refined oils and most crude oils affect marshes through physical smothering of both leaves and soils. The oil weathering and emulsification prior to landfall reduces the initial toxicity of the oil.

The extent of oiling on the vegetation is a key factor. If only parts of the leaves are oiled, often the marshes recover quickly, within one growing season.

Exposure to waves and currents that speed oil removal is another key factor. Other factors include degree of contamination of the soils, time of year, and different sensitivities among plant species.

Oil Groups
Oils can be divided into five groups as shown in Table 2-1 based on their general behavior, persistence, and properties. Each group is defined by a range in specific gravity, defined as the ratio of the mass of the oil to the mass of freshwater, for the same volume and at the same temperature. If the specific gravity of the oil is less than the specific gravity for the receiving water (freshwater = 1.00 at 4°C; seawater = 1.03 at 4°C), it will float on the water surface. API gravity2 is another property that is often reported and can be used to characterize an oil’s behavior.

Factors Affecting the Impacts of Oil on Marsh Vegetation Oil Type
The type of oil spilled influences the potential type and degree of impacts to marshes because of differences in behavior, persistence, and toxicity. In this section, case histories and summaries are provided to indicate the likely impacts from spills of: 1) light refined products (mostly Group 2 oils because Group 1 oils usually evaporate quickly); 2) light to medium crude oils (mostly Group 3 oils); and 3) heavy crude oil and refined products (Group 4 oils). 2 API = (141.5/specific gravity) - 131.5. An API of 10 is equal to a specific gravity of 1.00; an API of 45 is equal to a specific gravity of 0.80. Note that API gravity has an inverse relationship with specific gravity. 2-1

Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes

Tab
le 2-1. Oil groups and their characteristics.

Group 1: Gasoline products
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Specific gravity is less than 0.80; API gravity >45
Very vol
atile and highly flammable
Evaporate and dissolve rapidly (in a matter of hours)
Narrow cut fraction with no residues
Low viscosity; spread rapidly into thin sheens
Will penetrate substrates but are not sticky
High acute toxicity to animals and plants
Group 2: Diesel-like Products and Light Crude Oils
•
•
•
•
•
•
Specific gravity is 0.80-0.85; AP I gravity 35-45
Moderately volatile and soluble
Refined products can evaporate to no residue
Crude oils can have residue after evaporation is complete Low to moderate viscosity; spreads rapidly into thin slicks; not likely to form stable emulsions Are more bioavailable than lighter oils (in part because they persist longer), so are more likely to affect animals in water and sediments
Group 3: Medium Crude Oils and Intermediate Products
•
•
•
•
•
•
Specific gravity of 0.85-0.95; AP I gravity 17.5-35
Moderately volatile
For crude oils, up to one-third will evaporate in the first 24 hours Moderate to high viscosity; will spread into thick slicks Are more bioavailable than lighter oils (because they persist longer), so are more likely to affect animals and plants in water and sedi
ments
Can form stable emulsions and cause long-term effects via smothering or coating Group 4: Heavy Crude Oils and Residual Products
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Specific gravity of 0.95-1.00; AP I gravity of 10-17.5
Very little product loss by evaporation or dissolution
Very viscous to semi-solid; may be heated during transport Can form stable emulsions and become even more viscous
Tend to break into tarballs quickly
Low acute toxicity to biota
Penetration into substrates will be limited at first, but can increase over time Can cause long-term effects via smothering or coating, or as residues on or in sediments Group 5: Sinking Oils
•
•
•
•
•
•
Specific gravity of >1.00; API gravity <10
Very li
ttle product loss by evaporation or dissolution
Very viscous to semi-solid; may be heated during transport or blended with a diluent that can evaporate once spilled Low acute toxicity to biota (though may have some toxicity if blended with a lighter, more - toxic diluent) Penetration into substrates will be limited at first, but can increase over time Can cause long-term effects via smothering or coating, and as residues on or in sediments 2-2
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes

Light Refined Oil Products
Light refined products, such as jet fuel, kerosene, No. 2 fuel oil, home heating oil, and diesel, have been shown to have the highest acute toxic effects on marsh vegetation. Appendix A is a summary of the results of spill studies and field/greenhouse experiments of light refined products on marshes.

These types of oil have low viscosity and high rates of loss by evaporation and dispersion into the water column under even low-to-moderate wave energy. When spilled on open water, they usually spread into thin slicks and sheens and often do not persist long enough to cause significant shoreline oiling. As noted in the case studies discussed below, those spills that did result in extensive plant mortality and long-term impacts involved large volumes released to sheltered waterbodies, resulting in heavy oiling of marsh habitats.

T
he 185,000 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil from the T/B Florida in 1969 in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts is one of the most famous spills in the literature, partially because many plants and animals were killed, but also because it was close to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute where many then- or now- famous scientists became involved in studies of the spill for nearly 40 years. Thus, it is discussed in detail as one of the case studies included in Chapter 4.

I
n 1974, there was another spill in Buzzards Bay of 3.17 million gallons of No. 2 fuel oil from the T/B Bouchard 65 that affected a different marsh and has also been well studied. Three years later, Hampson and Moul (1978) documented complete mortality in heavily oiled marshes and significant erosion of the marsh edge. The number of infaunal species was reduced by 92%. By 1991, Hampson (2000) reported that the salt marsh vegetation had slowly recovered, but the peat substrate had been permanently eroded, leaving only a sand and gravel beach.

B
urger (1994) and chapters therein summarized the impacts of a release of 567,000 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil from a pipeline at the Exxon Bayway refinery into the Arthur Kill on 1-2 January 1990. By the In all the tables in the Appendices, the last column shows what the study results reported as years to “recovery,” which usually meant vegetative growth (mostly aboveground biomass or stem density) that is comparable to unoiled vegetation. It should be noted that this definition of recovery is incomplete because it is based on just one metric of marsh services and functions. Very few studies considered other metrics, particularly animals living in the marsh.

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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
first summer, they documented that 7.6 hectares (ha) of mostly S. alterniflora had been killed (15% of the affected area), and 2.8 ha were oiled but recovering. There was also high mortality (>67%) of ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) close to the spill source, and fiddler crab (Uca spp.) mortality and sublethal effects were noted. In 1993, after three growing seasons, there was no recovery of most of the dead vegetation (Burger 1994).

Many field and greenhouse experiments where marsh plants were exposed to No. 2 fuel oil (see Appendix A for details) have found that:
•
•
•
•
No. 2 fuel oil can be highly toxic to salt marsh vegetation and more toxic than other types of oil under similar exposure conditions.

The severity of impacts was directly related to the amount of plant covered by the oil. Studies by Booker (1987) supported the hypothesis that oil exposure affected cell membrane permeability, which would reduce tissue viability through an impaired ability to maintain chemical balances and metabolism in the cells.

There was a dose-response relationship between the degree of oil in the marsh soils and impacts to plants.

Both direct physical damage to contacted tissues plus translocation of toxic components of the oil from stems to the root system caused death or a reduction in the ability of the root system to regenerate shoots.

However, not all spills of light refined products result in high mortality of vegetation. NOAA responds to many spills of diesel from fishing vessels, where most of the oil quickly spreads into thin slicks and is dispersed or evaporated, such that shoreline oiling is light and rapidly removed by natural processes.

The April 2004 Kinder Morgan pipeline spill in a diked marsh in San Francisco Bay, California did not penetrate into the clayey soils along the channel banks, so there was mortality of fish and invertebrates but little plant mortality.

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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes

In summary:
•
•
•
•
•
Light refined products such as No. 2 fuel oil, diesel, kerosene, and jet fuels do have high acute toxicity to marsh plants and associated communities, and there is a strong dose-response relationship.

Spill events where large amounts of these kinds of oils get transported into and contained within marshes will likely result in plant and fauna mortality.

Where the rhizomes die (rather than just the vegetation dying back), recovery depends on regrowth from plants outside the oiled area; thus spills affecting large areas may not recover quickly.

Spills in confined waterways, where the oil is not able to spread out and strands on the shoreline quickly, have the highest risk of impact.

Offshore spills, small spills, and those where the oil is dispersed by wave action before stranding onshore have a lower risk of impacting sensitive marsh habitats and associated communities.

Light to Medium Crude Oils
Light to medium crude oils can range widely in terms of their fate and effects on marshes, depending on their chemical composition and the degree of weathering prior to stranding on the marsh.

Appendix B lists representative spills and experiments to demonstrate the range of impacts under different conditions. There have been several summaries of the literature on the impacts of crude oil on the marshes of U.S. Gulf Coast (Pezeshki et al. 2000; DeLaune et al. 2003; DeLaune and Wright 2011).

Interpreting the Oil Loading in Field and Greenhouse Experiments Most experiments report the oil loading in terms of the number of liters per square meter (L/m 2) of oil applied to the surface of the treatment area (field plot or potted plant). Converting this dose to an oil thickness is complicated because of the variable surface area of the vegetation. However, ignoring the surface area of the vegetation, the thicknesses of different doses are:

1 L/
m2 = 0.1 cm 4 L/m2 = 0.4 cm 8 L/m2 = 0.8 cm 24 L/m2 = 2.4 cm (1 inch)

S
horeline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) thickness terms:

Cover = <0.1 cm Coat = >0.1 cm to <1 cm Thick = >1 cm 2-5
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Cowell (1969) was the first to note the differences due to weathering of oil at sea on the effects of two large spills of light Kuwait crude in 1967 on U.K. marshes: the spill from the Chryssi P. Goulandris that stranded within hours after the release caused much higher mortality of plants and animals than the spill from the Torrey Canyon that stranded after eight days of weathering at sea. This effect was also evident at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill where oil was released at the seafloor, rose through approximately 1,500 m of water, was treated by dispersants both subsea and on the surface, and had to be transported by wind and currents for 80-300 kilometers (km) through warm Gulf of Mexico waters to reach the shoreline. Those marshes with a thick layer of oil on the marsh vegetation and substrate died; those with moderate oiling appeared to be recovering (Lin and Mendelssohn 2012; pers. observation of the authors; see case history in Chapter 4).

C
rude oil releases from pipelines directly into marshes undergo limited weathering processes and thus tend to result in higher mortality and longer recovery times. A spill of 12,600 gallons of Louisiana crude into a brackish marsh in Louisiana in April 1985 caused nearly complete mortality of about 20 ha, and recovery of the vegetation took four years (Mendelssohn et al. 1993; Hester and Mendelssohn 2000). This amount of oil, if evenly spread throughout the 20 ha, would be at a loading of 0.28 liters/square meter (L/m2), which is much lower than what is normally found to be toxic to plants based on greenhouse experiments (compare with greenhouse studies in Appendix B). Yet, there was extensive mortality, likely because of a lack of chemical weathering before the oil came in contact with the marsh and minimal physical removal processes.

W
hen reviewing the results of the greenhouse and field experiments, it is very important to understand if the oil was weathered prior to oiling and how the oil was applied–because it varies widely. This information is briefly summarized in the various tables in the appendices, but a full understanding can only be gained from review of the methods of each study. These studies also varied in terms of the water level above the plants during oil exposure, the amount of oil applied to the vegetation (or not), and month of exposure, all of which influence how plants respond to oiling.

I
n summary:
•
•
•
Crude oils can have both acute, short-term toxicity if relatively fresh oil comes in contact with the plants and if most of the plant surface is covered by the oil, but recovery often occurs quickly. These effects are reduced when oil weathers/emulsifies prior to stranding.

Crude oils can also cause physical smothering, as discussed in the next section on heavy oils.

It is difficult to summarize the impacts of crude oil spills on marshes because of the range of spill conditions and the importance of other factors.
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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
• Most of the factors controlling the initial impacts and recovery rates from exposure to crude oils are discussed later in this chapter.

Heavy Crude Oils and Refined Oil Products
Heavy crude oils (including crude oils derived from tar sands) and heavy refined oil products, such as heavy fuel oil, Bunker C, No. 6 fuel oil, and intermediate fuel oils (IFO) 180 and 380, are thought to affect marsh vegetation primarily via physical effects from coating and smothering of the vegetation and/or soil surface because they generally have low amounts of acutely toxic compounds. Twelve studies of these kinds of spills were identified (summarized in Appendix C), and some of the key points are discussed below.

T
he February 1970 spill of nearly 3 million gallons of Bunker C oil from the T/V Arrow in Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia, heavily oiled a sheltered lagoon containing S. alterniflora marshes and mud flats. No cleanup was conducted, thus there was chronic re-oiling over time. There was high mortality of the vegetation and periwinkles (Littorina littorea), which took over six years to recover (Thomas 1978).

Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) in the adjacent tidal flat showed initial high mortality. This spill showed that chronic re-oiling and persistence of heavy oil accumulations can have long-term impacts to marsh vegetation and fauna.

T
he T/V Golden Robin spill of Bunker C fuel oil in New Brunswick showed that aggressive manual and mechanical treatment (see Appendix C), even of heavily oiled marshes, can result in slower recovery compared to natural recovery or light treatment (Vandermeulen and Jotcham 1986). Aggressive treatment increased the amount and persistence of oil in the soils. This lesson was learned again during the Bunker C spill from the M/V Westwood in British Columbia, where Challenger et al. (2008) documented extensive vegetation damage and increased soil contamination in areas where aggressive oil and soil removal and trampling occurred (at the insistence of local stakeholders), compared to untreated or carefully treated areas.

T
he barge STC-101 spill of No. 6 fuel oil in Chesapeake Bay (Hershener and Moore 1977) was one of several studies that showed an increase in net productivity of oiled vegetation. Other spills in marshes that showed a net increase in biomass from light oiling included Phragmites (Lin et al. 1999) and S. alterniflora (Krebs and Tanner 1981; Li et al. 1990). Although the mechanism by which oil stimulates plant growth is uncertain, Lin et al. (1999) hypothesized that oil in marsh soils may increase microbial N-fixation or shift competitive interactions among species.

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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Hershener and Moore (1977) found 100% mortality of marsh periwinkles (Littorina irrorata) in the heavily oiled marsh and 80% reduction in abundance in the oiled marsh after two growing seasons.

Periwinkle recovery is tied to vegetative recovery; juveniles are only able to settle and survive where there are stalks to climb and leaves in which to hide. Thus, penetration into and heavy contamination of marsh soils in a sheltered setting can result in impacts to salt marsh vegetation and communities for years.

T
here are few studies of the impacts of heavy refined oils in freshwater environments. Burk (1977) studied a heavy fuel oil spill in a freshwater marsh in February (see Appendix C), documenting high mortality of annual species and impacts that lasted at least four years. Perennial species were less affected. Alexander et al. (1981) found that oiled/cut Typha along the St. Lawrence River grew taller but didn’t flower the first year after the spill, but had normal growth and flowering by the second growing season. Study of the spill of Bunker C into Lake Wabamun in Alberta for two growing seasons indicated that oil exposure during the late growing season in August 2005 and the winter senescent period did not cause large-scale effects on the summer regrowth in 2006 and 2007 for the reed-bed communities, except for some treated sites (Wernick et al. 2009). Spills in freshwater environments, where water-level fluctuations are seasonal rather than daily, have a lower risk of contamination of the marsh soils, unless the oil sinks. Thus there is potential for quick recovery rates, particularly in rivers that have the benefit of continuous water flow to speed natural removal processes. Large lakes can have significant wave energy; small ponds generally do not.

T
here have been several field or greenhouse oiling experiments using heavy fuel oil. Alexander and Webb (1985) included a No. 6 fuel oil in their field oiling experiments that were mentioned previously and summarized in Appendices A-C. There were slight impacts to vegetation for the 1.5 L/m2 partial and 2 L/m2 entire plant applications in May, but only for months 1 and 5 after oiling. By month 12, the oiled plants were no different than the unoiled controls.

B
ased on the published studies and personal observations at many spills of heavy refined products in marshes, long-term impacts (>2 years) are likely to occur for the following conditions:
1) There is chronic re-oiling;
2) The marsh soils are heavily oiled, either by thick layers on the surface or penetration into the soil;
3) The oil strands very quickly after spillage, thus there is relatively little weathering; 4) The entire plant surface is covered with oil during the growing season; or 5) There has been aggressive treatment that causes damage to roots and mixes oil into the soils. 2-8
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes

R
elatively short recovery periods (1-2 growing seasons) are likely to occur when:
1) Oiling degree is light;
2) Oiling occurs in the fall or winter when the plants are in senescence; 3) The oil undergoes extensive weathering or emulsification prior to stranding; 4) There is little to no contamination of the marsh soils; or 5) The oiled areas are exposed to waves or currents that speed natural removal rates.

I
n the next sections, the other factors influencing the degree of impact of oiling of marsh vegetation are summarized.

Extent of Contamination of the Vegetation
As discussed in the previous section, the extent of oil on the vegetation is an important factor in determining the initial impact on vegetation. Although we know that there are important differences between field spills and greenhouse experiments, the greenhouse studies do provide good control to demonstrate this effect. Review of Appendices A-C shows that:
1) When the entire plant and the soil surface is covered with 1.5-2 L/m2 of light refined oil, there is usually 100% mortality of the aboveground vegetation and sometime high mortality of the entire plant;
2) Similar coverage and loading by heavy refined oils and crude oils in greenhouse experiments result only in a slight decrease in aboveground biomass for a few months; and 3) At spills where at least the upper one-third of the aboveground vegetation remains unoiled, the plants tend to have high survival rates.

T
hus, there is a general dose-response relationship in terms of the degree of oiling of the vegetation, with emphasis on the leaves versus the stems. The leaves are responsible for respiration, transfer of oxygen to the roots, photosynthesis, and, in some cases, salt extrusion. Light oils exert a chemical toxicity, damaging the plant cells and their functions. Heavy oils are thought to exert a physical toxic effect through coating and smothering. Both mechanisms of toxicity are a function of the amount of oil coverage of the leaves.

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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Degree of Contamination of the Marsh Soils
One of the concerns about manual or mechanical treatment in oiled marshes is the risk of mixing oil into the marsh soils, which can increase the likelihood of further damage. Marsh plants have variable degrees of tolerance to oil in their soils. Greenhouse experiments allow for controlled comparisons of plant responses to various degrees of oiling. Figure 2-1 shows that there is a dose-response relationship for sprigs of S. alterniflora exposed to different amounts of No. 2 fuel oil mixed homogenously into marsh soils in pots for three months. Starting around 29 milligrams/gram (mg/g; 29,000 parts per million [ppm]), oil exposure starts to have detrimental effects on belowground biomass; aboveground biomass effects start at exposure to 57 mg/g. Lin and Mendelssohn (2008) also exposed S. alterniflora to weathered South Louisiana crude at six doses for 12 months, with various measures of plant health significantly lower at 320 mg/g and 640 mg/g. No plants survived exposure to 800 mg/g. These studies also support the conclusion that No. 2 fuel oil is more toxic to S. alterniflora than crude oil. Lin and Mendelssohn (2009) did similar studies with Juncus roemerianus exposed to weathered diesel for twelve months, with detrimental impacts to biomass occurring at 80 mg/g.

Figure 2-1. Effect of No. 2 fuel oil on the aboveground (left) and belowground (right) biomass of S. alterniflora three months after transplantation into soils mixed with different levels of oil. Values are means with standard errors (n=3). Means with the same letter are not significantly different. There is clearly a dose-response relationship (Lin et al. 2002b).

T
hese thresholds of oil contamination from greenhouse experiments are higher than what is normally found in the field. Levels of No. 2 fuel oil in marsh soils after the Florida spill in Buzzards Bay, which caused such extensive plant mortality, were 0.45-0.59 mg/g right after the spill and 0.76-1.80 mg/g 2-10
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
three months later (Sanders et al. 1980). At the Bouchard 65 spill of No. 2 fuel oil in 1974 in Buzzards Bay, which also caused extensive marsh mortality and significant erosion, soil concentrations measured right after the spill were 11.4 and 20.6 mg/g in the top 6 centimeters (cm) (Teal et al. 1978).

At the Exxon Bayway spill of No. 2 fuel oil in the Arthur Kill, New York, initial oil concentrations in the soils where marshes were killed were 6.4 mg/g right after the spill, 15-66 mg/g three years later, and

2.4-22 mg/g five years later in areas still denuded of vegetation (Bergen et al. 2000).

F
or crude and heavy refined products, the results are more variable. When planting marsh sprigs in an oil-impacted marsh, No. 6 fuel oil in soils at concentrations less than 2 mg/g had no effect on S. alterniflora, 2-10 mg/g had increasing effects, and greater than 10 mg/g resulted in plant mortality (Krebs and Tanner 1981). A light crude oil in the soil greater than 10.5 mg/g reduced live stem density of S. alterniflora and led to long-term impacts (Alexander and Webb 1987). The application of up to 8 L/m2 of S. Louisiana crude oil to field plots enclosed by metal cylinders did not adversely affect S. alterniflora after three months, though the TPH levels in the soils at the end of the study were 40 mg/g (DeLaune et al. 1979).

Four spills stand out in terms of the persistence of a thick layer of oil on the marsh surface that affected recovery of the vegetation: a small spill in 1969 in Wales where a 5-cm thick oil layer on the marsh surface was not removed and the vegetation took 15 years to recover (Baker et al. 1993); the 1974 T/V Metula where 5-10 cm of thick emulsified oil covered the marsh surface and recovery was estimated to take decades (Figure 2-2); the 1991 Gulf War oil spill in the Arabian Gulf where thick and deeply penetrated oil resulted in extensive mortality (Barth 2002; Research Planning Inc. 2003; Höpner and Al-Shaikh 2008); and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon where thick mousse several centimeters thick was under a layer of thick oiled vegetative mat (see case study in Chapter 4). In fact, it was the lessons learned from the three earlier spills that led to the decision to use intensive treatment methods for the marshes with thick oil residues from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

T
he differences between greenhouse experiments and spills might be related to how the oil penetrates the marsh soils during a spill. Spilled oil is not uniform in its distribution with depth; it often penetrates into root cavities and burrows, forming pockets of very high oil loading and areas of clean sediment, particularly for viscous oils. Depending on the soil type, oil properties, and oil behavior over time, plant tissues will be exposed to widely varying oil concentrations for similar oil loading on the surface. Collecting a representative sample of such variable oil exposures is difficult, thus the range in measurements of how much oil causes different effects.

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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Exposure to Currents and Waves
The degree of exposure of a shoreline to mechanical energy generated by waves and currents is a core concept in shoreline sensitivity and the persistence of stranded oil, as evidenced in the Environmental Sensitivity Index shoreline classification scale (NOAA 2010). The residence time of oil on a shoreline increases as the energy of waves and currents decrease. Though marshes occur in low energy environments, there are still relative differences among the physical settings that are important to consider in determining the rate of natural removal by physical processes. For example, the T/V Metula in the Strait of Magellan heavily oiled 5-10 ha of tidal salt marsh, with spring high tides stranding thick layers of oil on the high marsh surface. In this cold, arid climate, there are no physical processes to assist in oil removal, thus the oil is predicted to persist for decades (Figure 2-2). In contrast, the heavily oiled marsh along the Delaware River from the T/V Grand Eagle, exposed to strong riverine and tidal currents, and boat wakes, recovered within two years (Figure 2-3 A and B).

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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes

Figure 2-2. Examples of long- term persistent oiling in highly sheltered marshes. Punta Espora, Chile marsh that was heavily oiled as a result of the T/V Metula spill in 1974. A: Oiled marsh in January 1976. B: Same area in January 1981. The oil stranded on the high marsh platform where it is isolated from physical removal processes. The oil is expected to persist for many decades. C and D: In 1995, the marsh surface has been covered by a thin layer of silt; however, the thick layer of oil has peristed for 21 years. Photo credit: Erich Gundlach.

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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes

Figure 2-3. Examples of the role of natural removal processes. Relatively exposed marshes. Top Row: Grand Eagle spill in the Delaware River. A: 1984; B: 1986. Strong river currents and boat wakes were very effective at natural oil removal. Photo credit: Tom Ballou. Bottom Row: D eepwater Horizon oil spill. C : Moderately oiled Louisana salt marsh on 3 July 2010; D :

Same area on 27 July 2010. Photo credit: Missy Kroninger.

T
here are many examples of the importance of waves and currents in speeding natural removal of oil on marshes. At the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, 796 km of marsh shoreline in Louisiana were oiled; however, shoreline treatment was approved for only 71 km, or 8.9% of oiled marshes and associated habitats (with the actual distance treated being much lower than this) (Michel et al. 2013). One year later, there were 200 km of oiled marsh remaining. The bottom row of photographs in Figure 2-3 shows one area in Louisiana where the oil was removed by wave action over a period of a few weeks.

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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Time of Year of the Spill
Observations during experimental and actual spills have shown that the time of year of oiling of marsh vegetation is an important factor in the potential for impacts and the rate of recovery. In fact, Baker (1971) was the first to report that oiling outside of the growing season was less damaging. Several researchers have suggested why seasonality is so important (Mendelssohn et al. 1995; Webb 1996; Pezeshki et al. 2000). When plants are growing, they are physiologically very active, thus if oiling interrupts these physiological functions, plant health can be affected. Damage to leaf stomata, either by coating by heavier oils or tissue damage by lighter oils, can reduce transpiration, which can lead to overheating and death of the aboveground vegetation. Oil coating can also reduce oxygen transport to the roots, which can kill the belowground vegetation. Oil can reduce photosynthetic rates, which can slow growth and affect plant survival.

I
n contrast, it is clear that marshes that are oiled at the start of or during dormancy, when the aboveground vegetation has naturally died back, have a much greater potential for recovery. It makes sense that oiling of senescent vegetation would have less physiological stress on the plant. Figure 2-4 shows a S. alterniflora marsh that was heavily oiled in late September 1996 during the T/V Julie N spill of an IFO 380, compared with the next summer. The vegetation fully recovered in one growing season, in spite of the very heavy oiling of the vegetation, with only passive recovery of oil using sorbents.

Species Sensitivity
Marsh plants vary in their sensitivity by species and even by ecotypes within species (Lin and Mendelssohn 1996; DeLaune et al. 2003). When exposed under similar greenhouse experiments, the following species can be ranked from least to most sensitive:

Least Sensitive → → Most Sensitive
Sagittaria lancifolia
(bulltongue arrowhead) Spartina alterniflora
Phragmites australis (smooth cordgrass) Juncus roemerianus (roseau cane/common reed) (needlegrass rush) Spartina patens Typha latifolia (saltmeadow cordgrass)
(broadleaf cattail)
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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes

Figure 2-4. Heavily oiled S. patens marsh during the T/V Julie N spill of an IFO 380 in Portland, Maine in October 1996 (A) and July 1997 (B), showing the importance of season in how plants respond to oil exposure. Oiling in fall, when the plants are in senescence, has the lowest potential for impacting the vegetation. Photo credit: Jacqueline Michel.

S
ensitivity among species may be controlled by the depth and size of the rhizomes, with deeper rhizomes less likely to be exposed to oil on the surface and larger rhizomes having more food storage and ability to survive short-term effects on photosynthesis and other metabolic processes. It may also be a function of the properties of the soils the plants grow in. Oil tends to accumulate and persist in soils with high organic matter content, depending on the water levels when oil is present (that is, the oil has to come in contact with the soil surface). The size and number of stems may also be a factor, with smaller, more numerous stems per plant having the potential for a higher surface area of oiling.

For example, S. patens can have ten times the number of stems per meter than S. alterniflora, which would provide a very large surface area for oil adherence.

I
t has generally been found that annuals are more sensitive than perennials. Annuals have to grow every year from seed, so they would be more susceptible than plants that regrow from an existing root network. However, if there is a nearby source of seeds, often the annuals are the first to recolonize a heavily oiled marsh. As the surface oil weathers, new seeds can germinate in the cracks in the oil layer. Once some vegetation takes root, it speeds the overall rate of recovery (see the case study of the Amoco Cadiz spill in Chapter 4). In contrast, perennial plants usually recover from the spread of roots from live plants around the impacted site, which can be relatively slow.

O
ne result of the different sensitivities of plant species is that oiling can cause a temporary change in the composition of a marsh because of the dieback of the more sensitive species. However, eventually 2-16
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
the normal species distribution returns, as long as other factors are not changed (such as a change in the elevation of the marsh). This effect has been seen at spills and in greenhouse experiments, mostly in brackish and freshwater marshes because they can have a more diverse mix of species present. Salt marshes are usually dominated by one species, or a distinct zonation of species, that can best compete given the salinity regime and tidal elevation.

Impacts of Oil on Marsh Fauna
There are few studies of the impacts of oil on the fauna associated with marshes. Many of the available studies focus on epifauna, such as intertidal crabs, periwinkle snails, and mussels. High rates of mortality for fiddler crabs have been documented after spills of light refined oils. At the Florida spill in Buzzards Bay, Krebs and Burns (1978) documented that it took more than seven years for fiddler crabs to recover because of the persistence of the toxic naphthalene aromatic compounds in the soils in which the crabs burrow and the juveniles recruit. High fiddler crab mortalities were also reported for the Exxon Bayway spill of No. 2 fuel oil in Arthur Kill (Burger 1994), a crude oil spill in Nigeria (Snowden and Ekweozor 1987), and a No. 6 fuel oil spill in New Jersey (Dibner 1978). Oil can affect crabs in several ways: 1) acute and chronic mortality from the toxic components of the oil; 2) physical smothering by heavier oils; and 3) creation of physical barriers to access to the marsh surface and subsurface sediments such as thick oil layers, viscous oils, and algal mats. Massive mortality of intertidal crabs occurred as a result of the largest marine oil spill in history, the Gulf War spill in the Arabian Gulf, and the crabs have been a key part of the overall recovery of intertidal communities because of their prodigious burrowing which speeds oil degradation (Barth 2007). In fact, the large restoration projects along the Saudi Arabian coast are focusing on removal of the physical barriers to crab recruitment (Hale et al. 2011).

P
eriwinkle snails are also very susceptible to oiling impacts because they are closely associated with the emergent vegetation in the marsh, typically S. alterniflora. While vertical movement up and down cordgrass stems for feeding, predator avoidance, and regulation of temperature and oxygen availability is frequent, marsh periwinkles rarely move laterally more than a few meters (Vaughn and Fisher 1992). Both oil spill and experimental spill studies have observed high mortality of periwinkles immediately after a spill, followed by gradual increase in numbers over months or years as the vegetation recovers (Hershener and Moore 1977; Hershener and Lake 1980; Lee et al. 1981; Conan et al. 1982; Clarke and Ward 1994; Pearce 1996; Zengel and Michel 2012; Zengel et al. 2013).

Ri
bbed mussels are important to the survival of S. alterniflora, particularly along waterways with heavy 2-17
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
boat traffic and wakes, by binding the root mat together, effectively stabilizing the substrate and strengthening the plant and the entire marsh against physical disturbance and erosion (Bertness 1984). Ribbed mussels are also important filter feeders, playing a key role in the food web and in the cycling of carbon, nutrients, and minerals through the salt marsh ecosystem. Several of the spills listed in Appendices A-C include cases where high mortality of ribbed mussels was noted, particularly for light refined oils. They are also susceptible to smothering from oil or inability to recruit due to chronic toxicity.

S
tudies of resident Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) in marsh habitats and in laboratory studies with oiled sediments affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (Whitehead et al. 2011; Dubansky et al. 2013) showed a wide range of sublethal responses, including development abnormalities in gills, liver, head kidney, and intestine of adult and larval fish, cardiovascular defects in embryonic fish, delayed hatching, overall reduced hatching success, smaller size at hatching, and edemas. These fish have small home ranges and high site fidelity, making them particularly sensitive to population-level impacts from persistent oil exposures.

Summary and Response Implications
The body of literature on oil toxicity and impacts to marshes is extensive and provides a range of results from which we can extract guidance to assist planning for or responding to oil spills. •
•
•
When a spill threatens a shoreline, marshes are likely to become oiled because they occur in the upper intertidal zone where the oil usually strands. The degree of impact is very closely correlated with the degree of oiling. Therefore, response actions that minimize the amount of oil that can reach the shoreline will reduce the degree of impact to these sensitive and productive habitats.

Spills of light refined oils can result in high mortality of marsh vegetation and biota, but only where large amounts of oil strand on the shoreline, such as large spills in inland waterbodies, small spills in small waterbodies, or spills directly into marshes. In most offshore spills, the oil spreads, disperses, and evaporates to the point that the amount of oil that reaches the marsh is not enough to cause large-scale effects.

Crude oils and heavy refined oils that coat the entire plant, and particularly the leaves, will have the greatest potential impacts. Oiling of only the stems often results in limited mortality. If only the aboveground vegetation is oiled, regrowth is likely during the next growing season, particularly for oiling of the marsh fringe where natural removal processes are relatively fast. 2-18
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
•
•
•
•
•
•
Spills in the marsh interior are likely to result in thicker oil residues, higher impacts (partially because of the lack of weathering before contact with the marsh), and slower natural removal rates. Thus, these kinds of spills often require intensive removal actions.

Impacts are more persistent when oil penetrates into the marsh soils. Persistence increases with deeper penetration, soils high in organic matter, and sites that are sheltered from natural removal processes.

Vegetation recovery will occur quicker for spills of any type of oil during the non-growing season, compared to a spill during the growing season.

Although there are some indications of different sensitivities among species, the specific spill conditions are the most important factors in determining impacts.

Annuals are more likely to be affected compared to perennials; however, they often are the first to recruit to oiled sites.

Thick oil layers on the marsh surface are known to cause long-term impacts to both vegetation and fauna; therefore, early removal actions can speed recovery, as long as they are well planned and are conducted with careful oversight.

T
here have been several summaries of the recovery rates for oiled marshes. Sell et al. (1995) compared the recovery rates of heavily oiled salt marshes for seventeen spills and field experiments, showing that sometimes treatment resulted in more rapid recovery, and sometimes treatment slowed recovery. Hoff (1995), in her paper on “The Fine Line between Help and Hindrance” summarized recovery rates for seventeen spills and field experiments (there were seven cases common to both summaries) made similar observations.

F
igure 2-5 shows a plot of the estimated “years to recovery” for 33 spills and field experiments for lightly to heavily oiled marshes. Note that for the Gulf War oil spill, those marshes that showed little or no recovery as of 2009 were treated during an extensive restoration project being conducted from 2011 to 2014, thereby shortening what would have been even longer recovery periods for the upper marshes, which are composed of long-lived, slow-growing woody species.

2-19
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes

Figure 2-5. Years to recovery for spills and a few field experiments color- coded by oil group, from shortest to longest recovery.

Yellow highlighting is used to identify those spills where intensive treatment was conducted. Dashes and question marks are used to represent potential time to recovery based on results of the most recent data. 2-20
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
The interpretations are similar to Sell et al. and Hoff, in that:
• Recovery is longest for spills with the following conditions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cold climate (e.g., Metula, Arrow, Amoco Cadiz)
Sheltered settings (e.g., Metula, Arrow, Gulf War, Nairn pipeline, Mill River) Thick oil on the marsh surface (e.g., Metula, Amoco Cadiz, Gulf War) Light refined products with heavy loading (e.g., Florida, Bouchard-65, Exxon Bayway) Heavy fuel oils that formed persistent thick residues (Arrow) Intensive treatment (e.g., Aransas Pass, Amoco Cadiz, Golden Robin) • Recovery is shortest for spills with the following conditions:
•
•
•
•
Warm climate (e.g., many spills in Louisiana and Texas) Light to heavy oiling of the vegetation only
Medium crude oils
Less-intensive treatment

I
t is interesting to note in Figure 2-5 that for most spills, recovery occurred within 1-2 growing seasons, even in the absence of any treatment. The decision to conduct treatment operations in oiled marshes needs to be based on the best understanding of the likely tradeoffs. Every spill is a unique combination of conditions that have to be evaluated to determine if and how much of the oil has to be removed, and the most effective removal methods. In Chapter 3, we discuss guidelines on appropriate removal methods.

For Further Reading
Alexander, M.M., P. Longabucco and D.M. Phillips. 1981. The impact of oil on marsh communities in the St. Lawrence River. In: Proc. 1981 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 333- 340.

Alexander, S.K. and J.W. Webb, Jr. 1985. Seasonal response of Spartina alterniflora to oil. In: Proc. 1985 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 355-357.

Alexander, S.K. and J.W. Webb, Jr. 1987. Relationship of Spartina alterniflora growth to sediment oil content following an oil spill. In: Proc. 1987 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 445-449.

Baker, J.M. 1971. Seasonal effects. In: Cowell, E.B., (ed.) The Ecological Effects of Oil Pollution on Littoral Communities. Applied Science Publishers, Barking, Essex, England, pp. 44-51. 2-21
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Baker, J.M., L.M. Guzman, P.D. Bartlett, D.I. Little and C.M. Wilson. 1993. Long-term fate and effects of untreated thick oil deposits on salt marshes. In: Proc. 1993 International Oil Spill Conference.

American Petroleum Institute. pp. 395-399.

Barth, D.H.J. 2007. Crab induced salt marsh regeneration after the 1991 Gulf War oil spill. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management 10(3):327-334.

Barth, H.J. 2002. The 1991 Gulf War oil spill - Its ecological effects and recovery rates of intertidal ecosystems at the Saudi Arabian Gulf coast - results of a 10-year monitoring period. Regensburg Geographische Schriften. 270 pp.

Bergen, A., C. Alderson, R. Bergfors, C. Aquila and M.A. Matsil. 2000. Restoration of a Spartina alterniflora salt marsh following a fuel oil spill, New York City, NY. Wetlands Ecology and Management 8(2):185-195.

Bertness, M.D. 1984. Ribbed mussels and Spartina alterniflora production in a New England salt marsh.

Ecology 64:1794-1807.

Booker, F. 1987. Fuel oil effects on membrane permeability in Spartina alterniflora roots. In: Proc. 1987 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 469-471.

Burger, J. 1994. Before and After An Oil Spill: The Arthur Kill. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. 305 pp.

Burk, C.J. 1977. Four year analysis of vegetation following an oil spill in a freshwater marsh. Journal of Applied Ecology 14(2):515-522.

Challenger, G., G. Sergy and A. Graham. 2008. Vegetation response and sediment polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon attenuation in a carex marsh in Howe Sound, British Columbia, Canada following a spill of bunker C fuel oil. In: Proc. 2008 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 847-854.

Clarke, P.J. and T.J. Ward. 1994. The response of southern hemisphere saltmarsh plants and gastropods to experimental contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 175(1):43-57.

Conan, G., G. Dunnet and D. Crisp. 1982. The long-term effects of the Amoco Cadiz oil spill. Centre Océanologique de Bretagne: Article 558.

Cowell, E.B. 1969. The effects of oil pollution on salt-marsh communities in Pembrokeshire and Cornwall. Journal of Applied Ecology 6(2):133-142.

DeLaune, R.D., W.H. Patrick, Jr. and R.J. Buresh. 1979. Effect of crude oil on a Louisiana Spartina alterniflora salt marsh. Environmental Pollution 20(1):21-31. 2-22
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
DeLaune, R.D., S.R. Pezeshki, A. Jugsujinda and C.W. Lindau. 2003. Sensitivity of US Gulf of Mexico coastal marsh vegetation to crude oil: Comparison of greenhouse and field responses. Aquatic Ecology 37(4):351-360.

DeLaune, R.D. and A.L. Wright. 2011. Projected impact of Deepwater Horizon oil spill on U.S. Gulf Coast wetlands. Soil Science Society of America Journal 75(5):1602-1612.

Dibner, P.C. 1978. Response of a salt marsh to oil spill and cleanup: Biotic and erosional effects in the Hackensack Meadowlands, New Jersey. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory, EPA-600/607-678. 109 pp.

Dubansky, B., A. Whitehead, J.T. Miller, C.D. Rice and F. Galvez. 2013. Multitissue molecular, genomic, and developmental effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis). Environmental Science & Technology, 47(10):5074-5082.

Hale, J.A., C.D. Cormack, L. Cotsapas, T.M. Montello, O. Langman, J.J. Gabriel and J. Michel. 2011.

Relationships between key indicators of environmental condition and degrees of oiling in sediments in salt marsh habitats: A balance between contamination and ecological recovery by natural processes. In: Proc. 2011 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute Paper 213. 12pp.

Hampson, G.R. 2000. Destruction and recovery of the Winsor Cove, Cataumet, MA salt marsh from a #2 fuel oil spill: A 26 year history. Environment Cape Cod 3:32-39.

Hampson, G.R. and E.T. Moul. 1978. No. 2 fuel oil spill in Bourne, Massachusetts: Immediate assessment of the effects on marine invertebrates and a 3-year study of growth and recovery of a salt marsh.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 35(5):731-744.

Hershener, C. and J. Lake. 1980. Effects of chronic oil pollution on a salt-marsh grass community.

Marine Biology 56(2):163-173.

Hershener, C. and K. Moore. 1977. Effects of the Chesapeake Bay oil spill on salt marshes of the lower bay. In: Proc. 1977 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 529-533.

Hester, M.W. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 2000. Long-term recovery of a Louisiana brackish marsh plant community from oil-spill impact: Vegetation response and mitigating effects of marsh surface elevation. Marine Environmental Research 49(3):233-254.

Hoff, R.Z. 1995. Responding to oil spills in coastal marshes: The fine line between help and hindrance.

Seattle: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hazardous Material Response and Assessment Division. 17 pp.
2-23
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Höpner, T. and K.A. Al-Shaikh. 2008. Shoreline bioremediation after the 1991 Gulf War oil spill. In:

Abuzinada, A.H., H.-J. Barth, F. Krupp, B. Böer and T.Z. Al Abdessalaam (eds.). Protecting the Gulf’s Marine Ecosystems from Pollution. Springer. pp. 265-272.

Krebs, C.T. and K.A. Burns. 1978. Long-term effects of an oil spill on populations of the salt-marsh crab Uca pugnax. Journal of the Fisheries Board of Canada 35(5):648-649.

Krebs, C.T. and C.E. Tanner. 1981. Restoration of oiled marshes through sediment stripping and Spartina propagation. In: Proc. 1997 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 386-390.

Lee, R.F., B. Dornseif, F. Gonsoulin, K. Tenore and R. Hanson. 1981. Fate and effects of a heavy fuel oil spill on a Georgia salt marsh. Marine Environmental Research 5(2):125-143.

Li, Y., J.T. Morris and D.C. Yoch. 1990. Chronic low level hydrocarbon amendments stimulate plant growth and microbial activity in salt-marsh microcosms. Journal of Applied Ecology 27(1):159-171.

Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 1996. A comparative investigation of the effects of south Louisiana crude oil on the vegetation of fresh, brackish and salt marshes. Marine Pollution Bulletin 32(2):202-209.

Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 2008. Evaluation of tolerance limits for restoration and phytoremediation with Spartina alterniflora in crude oil-contaminated coastal salt marshes. In: Proc. 2008 International Oil Spill Conference. pp. 869-874.

Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 2009. Potential of restoration and phytoremediation with Juncus roemerianus for diesel-contaminated coastal wetlands. Ecological Engineering 35:85-91.

Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 2012. Impacts and recovery of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on vegetation structure and function of coastal salt marshes in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

Environmental Science & Technology 46(7):3737-3743.

Lin, Q., I.A. Mendelssohn, M.T. Suidan, K. Lee and A.D. Venosa. 2002. The dose-response relationship between no. 2 fuel oil and the growth of the salt marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora. Marine Pollution Bulletin 44(9):897-902.

Mendelssohn, I.A., M.W. Hester and J.M. Hill. 1993. Effects of oil spills on coastal wetlands and their recovery: Year 4, Final Report. OCS Study MMS 93-0045. U.S. Dept. of Interior, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region. 46 pp.
2-24
Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Mendelssohn, I.A., M.W. Hester and J.W. Pahl. 1995. Environmental effects and effectiveness of in situ burning in wetlands: Considerations for oil spill cleanup. Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office/Office of the Governor, Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research and Development Program, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 57 pp.

Michel, J., E.H. Owens, S. Zengel, A. Graham, Z. Nixon, T. Allard, W. Holton, P.D. Reimer, A. Lamarche, M.

White, N. Rutherford, C. Childs, G. Mauseth, G. Challenger and E. Taylor. 2013. Extent and degree of shoreline oiling: Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gulf of Mexico, USA. PLoS ONE 8(6):e65087.

NOAA. 2010. Characteristic Coastal Habitats Choosing Spill Response Alternatives. Seattle: Office of Response and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 85 pp.

Pearce, F. 1996. Oily legacy lingers after "miracle" cleanup. New Scientist 151(2042):6.

Pezeshki, S.R., M.W. Hester, Q. Lin and J.A. Nyman. 2000. The effects of oil spill and clean-up on dominant US Gulf coast marsh macrophytes: A review. Environmental Pollution 108(2):129-139.

Research Planning Inc. 2003. Oiled shoreline survey in support of the marine and coastal damage assessment. Final report submitted to: The Committee for Implementation, Monitoring and Assessment, Presidency of Meteorology and Environment. Columbia, SC. 416 pp.

Sell, D., L. Conway, T. Clark, G.B. Picken, J.M. Baker, G.M. Dunnet, A.D. Mcintyre and R.B. Clark. 1995.

Scientific criteria to optimize oil spill cleanup. In: Proc. International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 595-610.

Snowden, R.J. and I.K.E. Ekweozor. 1987. The impact of a minor oil spillage in the estuarine Niger delta.

Marine Pollution Bulletin 18(11):595-599.

Teal, J.M., K.A. Burns and J.W. Farrington. 1978. Analyses of aromatic hydrocarbons in intertidal sediments resulting from two oil spills of No. 2 fuel oil in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 35(5):510-520.

Thomas, M.L.H. 1978. Comparison of oiled and unoiled intertidal communities in Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia. Journal of the Fisheries Board of Canada 35(5):707-716.

Vandermeulen, J.H. and J.R. Jotcham. 1986. Long-term persistence of bunker C fuel oil and revegetation of a north-temperate saltmarsh: Miguasha 1974-1985. In: Proc. Ninth Annual Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program Technical Seminar, Environmental Canada, Ottawa, Canada. pp. 151- 166.
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Chapter 2. Oil Toxicity and Effects on Marshes
Vaughn, C.C. and F.M. Fisher. 1992. Dispersion of the salt-marsh periwinkle Littoraria irrorata: Effects of water level, size, and season. Estuaries and Coasts 15(2):246-250.

Webb, J.W. 1996. Effects of oil on salt marshes. In: Proffitt, C.E. and P.F. Roscigno (eds.), Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Oil Spills in Coastal Ecosystems: Assessing Effects, Natural Recovery, and Progress in Remediation Research. OSC Study/MMS 95-0063. U.S. Dept. of Interior, Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region. pp. 55-64.

Wernick, B., A. Debruyn, L. Patterson and P. Chapman. 2009. Effects of an oil spill on the regrowth of emergent vegetation in a northern Alberta Lake. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 57(4):697-706.

Whitehead, A., B. Dubansky, C. Bodinier, T.I. Garcia, S. Miles, C. Pilley, V. Raghunathan, J.L. Roach, N.

Walker, R.B. Walter, C.D. Rice and F. Galvez. 2011. Genomic and physiological footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on resident marsh fishes. Proc. of the National Academy of Sciences 109(50): 20298-20302.

Zengel, S. and J. Michel. 2012. Deepwater Horizon oil spill salt marsh treatment tests: Monitoring results. In: Proc. 2012 INTECOL International Wetlands Conference. pp. 33.

Zengel, S., N. Rutherford, Z. Nixon, B. Bernik and J. Michel. 2013. Cleanup of heavilly oiled salt marsh during the DWH Oil Spill: II. Comparisons of ecological effects and initial recovery. Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, New Orleans, LA. 2-26
Chapter 3. Response
CHAPTER 3. RESPONSE
Key Points
•
•
•
•
•
•
Marshes are highly sensitive to oil and often are priority areas for protection.

Winds and currents can carry spilled oil into marshes where the oil coats the soil surface, vegetation, and animals in the marsh.

Dispersing or burning offshore can prevent or lessen impacts to salt marshes, though these response options are not often considered for use in freshwater environments where drinking water intakes are at risk. Also, dilution rates are slower, thus there would be concerns about impacts to aquatic resources such as fish.

Spill containment and cleanup techniques need to be carefully evaluated for the specific spill conditions, to minimize any additional impacts to marsh environments and associated fauna and speed overall recovery post spill.

Often, multiple response options should be used in combination or succession.

At some point in time, all treatment methods will become less effective and can potentially cause additional damage.

As detailed in the previous chapter, marshes are particularly sensitive to oil and should be priority areas for protection. However, it is difficult to protect extensive marshes even under ideal conditions, and the rapid transport of oil onshore often results in oiling of these sensitive habitats. Any oil removed during on-water response will reduce the amount of oil potentially reaching the shoreline.

On-water response options to minimize oiling of wetlands discussed here include mechanical containment and recovery, offshore dispersant application, and offshore in situ burning.

Once oil reaches a marsh, the impact of oiling varies by oil type, degree of oiling, wetland type, weather, water levels, degree of exposure to waves and currents, and time of year. Cleanup options should be evaluated to determine whether the ultimate benefits from the response action outweigh any additional impacts occurring during their implementation. This chapter summarizes what is known about the environmental tradeoffs with different treatment options.

On-Water Response Options to Prevent Marsh Oiling
Mechanical Recovery
Mechanical containment and collection of spilled oil on water using equipment such as booms and skimmers are primary initial cleanup methods used at many spills. Experience has shown, though, that 3-1
Chapter 3. Response
mechanical recovery alone usually cannot adequately deal with offshore spills. Weather and sea conditions, the nature of the oil, and other factors may limit the effectiveness of mechanical recovery.

Experience has shown that mechanical recovery rates greater than 20% are rare. In such cases, alternative open-water response techniques, such as dispersant application or in situ burning of oil on water, may significantly reduce the risk that oil will reach shore and impact marshes and other sensitive intertidal and nearshore habitats.

Offshore Dispersant Application
Chemical dispersants are products applied to oil on the water surface to enhance formation of smaller oil droplets that are more readily mixed into the water column and dispersed by turbulence and currents. During and since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, dispersants have also been considered as a response action to reduce the amount of oil reaching the surface during a subsea release. Most oils physically disperse to some degree due to agitation created by wave action and ocean turbulence.

Chemical dispersants enhance and speed up this natural dispersion process. Dispersing oil soon after release minimizes impacts to wildlife at the water surface (e.g., birds and marine mammals) and reduces the amount of floating oil that may reach sensitive nearshore and shoreline habitats. If applied appropriately offshore, chemical dispersants can be an effective tool for protecting marshes and the habitat they provide. Tradeoffs among other resources at risk, such as potential effects of temporarily higher concentrations of oil in the water column on pelagic organisms and sedimentation of oil in sensitive benthic habitats such as seagrasses and shellfish beds, should be considered before dispersant use. In freshwater environments, there are additional concerns about mixing oil into the water column that would increase the risk of contamination of water intakes and the slower mixing and dilution rates in lakes, thus increasing concerns about impacts to aquatic resources. Furthermore, most current dispersant formulations are not all that effective in freshwater. Therefore, use of chemical dispersants is less likely to be considered during spills in freshwater environments.

There have been few studies to mimic the effects on marshes from oil that is dispersed nearshore.

Smith et al. (1984) conducted a field experiment of the effect of dispersed and undispersed South Louisiana crude oil on the growth of S. alterniflora and meiofauna in a uniform Louisiana salt marsh.

The oil and the oil plus dispersant were applied to open water adjacent to the marsh and forced onto the marsh using a pump to create a “head” of water that simulated tidal conditions. Neither crude oil nor oil plus dispersant had any inhibitory or stimulatory effect on the growth of S. alterniflora or the meiofaunal communities, including the meiobenthos. Laboratory studies showed that both fresh and salt marsh vegetation is not sensitive to chemical dispersants (JD 2000 and Corexit 9500) at even high 3-2
Chapter 3. Response
concentrations of exposures (>8,000 ppm) in the water column (Lin and Mendelssohn 2003, 2004).

These studies also showed that the toxicity of both diesel and crude oil was reduced when simulating exposure of dispersed oil to S. alterniflora vegetation. Thus, under realistic exposure pathways (dispersed oil entering a marsh with the tides), it appears that marsh vegetation is not particularly sensitive, although the marsh fauna may be sensitive, depending on the dispersed oil concentrations.

Offshore In Situ Burning
in situ burning is a response technique in which spilled oil is burned in-place. When used appropriately, in situ burning offshore can remove large quantities of oil quickly and efficiently with minimal logistical support. Like dispersants, in situ burning of offshore spills can help minimize impacts to wildlife at the water surface and reduce the amount of oil that reaches sensitive nearshore and shoreline habitats. A potential disadvantage of open-water in situ burning is that a small percentage of the original oil volume may remain as a taffy-like residue after the burn. Floating residue can be collected, but residues that sink or escape collection and move inshore could potentially contaminate nearshore benthic habitats. Burning also can affect air quality.

Response Options for Oiled Marshes
When marshes are oiled, selection of the best response option(s) is very important. Table 3-1 is an updated version of the matrix for salt to brackish marshes from the NOAA (2010) Characteristic Coastal Habitats: Choosing Spill Response Alternatives. It ranks response options for shoreline cleanup in marshes for different oil types considering both the impact of the cleanup method and its effectiveness at oil removal.

I
n this section, the effectiveness and likely impacts of these response options are discussed. It is important to note that multiple response options may be used in combination or succession, depending on the oiling conditions.
3-3
Chapter 3. Response
Table 3-1. Recommendations for response options in oiled marshes by oil group (modified from NOAA 2010).

Natural Recovery
There are many spills in marshes where the decision is made to allow natural recovery to proceed without any active cleanup, because active cleanup would cause more harm than benefit to the habitat and the animals using that habitat. Nearly all types of active cleanup will include some habitat damage or disturbance whether it is from the type of equipment used, the way it is used, or the mere presence of the cleanup workers disturbing wildlife or trampling the marsh. Typically, natural recovery is selected when:
•
•
•
The spill is of a light oil that is expected to naturally evaporate and break down rapidly. The tox
ic effects of light refined products such as diesel and jet fuels occur quickly, and attempts to remove the oil could cause more damage.

The impact area is small.

Th
e oil is mostly on the vegetation. As discussed in the section on oil impacts, it has been well documented that oil on vegetation will often weather to a non-sticky coating within weeks, and plants often survive even heavy coating.
3-4
Chapter 3. Response
•
•
•
•
The vegetation is in its dormant season. The aboveground vegetation for many species naturally dies back in the fall/winter and new vegetation emerges in spring. Therefore, the oiled vegetation will be replaced, and the oil is removed from the marsh by this process as well.

The oiled marsh is exposed to waves and/or currents that speed the rate of oil weathering and removal.

Key animals are not at risk, such as threatened or endangered species.

Active cleanup methods are determined to be causing too much damage or are no longer effective and thus are terminated.

T
his last point is important; responders should continually reevaluate the shoreline response to make sure that approved methods are being properly implemented and are still effective and needed. Oils change properties as they weather, and methods that were initially very effective can become less effective over time.

F
igure 3-1 shows time-series photographs of a spill where natural recovery was found to be very effective. When natural recovery is the preferred response option, it is still important to take action to contain any oil that is released from the marsh and prevent oiling of adjacent areas. Possible response options are discussed below in the order listed in Table 3-1.

Figure 3 -1. T/V Julie N spill of IFO 380 into the Fore River, Portland Maine where natural recovery was very effective. A:

September 1996. B: July 1997, one year later. Photo credit: Jacqueline Michel. 3-5
Chapter 3. Response
Barrier Methods
Barriers such as boom or filter fences can be used in an attempt to keep oil from stranding in the marsh. Booms float on water, so they need to be anchored or staked so that they do not foul on the intertidal zone during low tide or on the vegetation at high tide. This often happens anyway, so even booming can cause damage; it certainly causes disturbance because of the constant need for maintenance and replacement. Booms are particularly difficult to keep in place along shorelines exposed to waves and currents, and they should be removed when a large storm is predicted to affect the area. During the Deepwater Horizon spill, hundreds of miles of hard boom and sorbents were stranded along hundreds of miles of shoreline by large waves from an offshore storm. It took months of work by many special boom-removal teams to retrieve the stranded boom (Figure 3-2), and there was a massive effort to locate and remove orphan anchors. SCAT teams still found boom stranded in the marsh in early 2013, nearly three years after the spill. Therefore, responders need to carefully evaluate the effectiveness of placement of boom along extensive areas of marsh shoreline, particularly where exposed to waves. Improper booming can cause significant damage.

F
ilter fences have been placed along the marsh edge, with variable success. Numerous stakes are necessary to keep them in place, and they often fail under wave action (Figure 3-3). Furthermore, they are very difficult to remove because the stakes get buried in mud, the cloth can get weighted down with mud, and debris tends to accumulate around them. Complete removal is important because the stakes can pose hazards to people and boats, particularly if the shoreline is eroding. Recording accurate GPS coordinates when such barriers are installed will aid in their location during removal actions. Based on experience during the Deepwater Horizon well, such protection measures are not likely to be effective and pose significant difficulties during removal. 3-6
Chapter 3. Response

Figure 3-2. Top row: boom stranded on salt marshes (left) and Phragmites marsh in Louisiana in July 2010 after the passage of two storms that generated waves and high water. Photo credit: Andy Graham. Bottom row: specialized boom removal teams removed the stranded boom using various techniques to minimize further damage to the marshes. Photo credit: Deepwater Horizon Response.

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Chapter 3. Response

Figure 3-3. Shoreline barriers used during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Filter fences require many stakes . Usually there is not enough time to deploy this type of barrier after a spill, they have limited effectiveness, and they are difficult to remove. The hard boom has become stranded on the marsh. Photo credit: Helen Chapman (left); Thomas Minter (right).

Manual and Debris Removal
Manual removal involves the use of hand tools and manual labor to remove thick accumulations of viscous oil and oiled debris from the marsh surface. Depending on location, vehicles such as marsh buggies and all-terrain vehicles may be used to haul workers and wastes. All work in soft sediments and in vegetated areas needs to be conducted using walking boards (planks of wood) to prevent damage. Trampling is very hard to avoid and often causes long-lasting damage, mostly by driving the oil deep into the soils, and also by physically damaging the vegetation. There have been many spill responses in marshes where years later the main evidence of the spill is from the physical damage caused by foot traffic and vehicles used to transport workers and wastes. After a spill of Bunker C in a Carex marsh in British Columbia, where local stakeholders pushed for aggressive removal of the oil, Challenger et al. (2008) documented nearly complete vegetation mortality and increased and prolonged oil contamination of soils. However, with small teams, close supervision, and a clear understanding of the removal methods and adaptation over time, manual removal can be effective.

During the Deepwater Horizon spill, most of the marsh cleanup was conducted manually by teams that removed very heavily oiled wrack and thick oil layers along 11 km of fringing marsh in Louisiana, with mainly positive results (see Deepwater Horizon case history). 3-8
Chapter 3. Response
Mechanical Removal
Mechanical removal is seldom used because of the potential for extensive damage to the marsh soils.

It is usually considered only under very heavy oiling conditions when rapid removal is of priority or where soft substrates limit manual removal. Two recent examples are the 2000 Chalk Point spill in Maryland and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in Louisiana. The Chalk Point spill released 126,000 gallons of a mixture of No. 6 and No. 2 fuel oils from a pipeline break in the interior of a brackish marsh. A network of trenches was dug to improve low-pressure flushing efforts (Figure 3-4). The trenches were backfilled with clean material and bare areas successfully re-planted (Gundlach et al. 2003). Mechanical methods used during the Deepwater Horizon response included barge- and airboat- based platforms with long-reach hydraulic arms coupled with attachments for rakes, grapples, vegetation cutting devices, and “squeegees” that involved only one spotter on the marsh to direct the operator on the boat. Even with close supervision, mechanical methods had a greater chance of causing impacts compared to manual crews. For more discussion of impacts associated with mechanical removal, see the Deepwater Horizon case history in Chapter 4.

Figure 3-4. The extensive network of trenches dug during the Chalk Point oil spill in April 2000 to increase effectiveness of flushing of the mixture of No. 6 and No. 2 fuel oil that was released inside the marsh from a pipeline break. Extensive replanting was conducted and was very successful ( Gundlach et al. 2003). Photo credit: Jacqueline Michel.

Sorbents
Even when natural recovery is the selected option, sorbents are often deployed to recover any oil released from the area. Sorbents are composed of materials that either adsorb oil on the surface or absorb oil into the pores of the material. There are many types: natural organic substance (e.g., peat, wood, cotton, straw, shredded sugarcane process residual called bagasse), synthetic organic substance (e.g., polypropylene, polyurethane), inorganic mineral substance (e.g., clay, vermiculite, diatomite), or a mixture of the three. The material may also be treated with oleophilic (oil-loving) and 3-9
Chapter 3. Response
hydrophobic (water-hating) compounds to improve performance. They come in various forms: round sausage “boom,” snare, sweeps, pads, rolls, loose particulates, pillows, and socks. In marshes, sorbents are often used in the following manner:
1) On water, sorbent “boom” is deployed to passively recover oil being mobilized by waves and currents from the marsh. Care is needed during placement and removal to minimize the damages and disturbances previously described for booms. Sorbents can generate excessive wastes so they should be removed when sheening reaches minimal amounts. 2) On the marsh surface, sorbent pads and snares can be used to pick up liquid or sticky oil.

Figure 3-5 shows workers on walking boards (which can be planks of wood nailed together or sheets of plywood) using snares to recover thick oil from deep inside a marsh where there was no access for vacuum systems.
3) On the marsh surface and vegetation, loose organic sorbents can be spread on the surface and lightly raked into areas of liquid or sticky oil (making sure not to disturb the vegetation or marsh sediments) then removed for proper disposal (Figure 3-6). This application method requires cleanup crews to walk on the marsh surface, so walking boards are required. 4) On the marsh surface and vegetation, loose organic sorbents can be applied by hand or a small sprayer to provide a barrier to reduce the risk of oil exposure by wildlife in the marsh. For fringe oiling, the sorbents can be applied from shallow-draft boats, otherwise, walking boards will be required for foot traffic on the marsh surface.

U
sually approval from the Regional Response Team is required for application of loose organic sorbents without removal.

Figure
3-5. Workers using snares on poles to remove thick oil
floating on the water surface deep in the brackish marsh interior at the Chalk Point oil spill on the Patuxent River, Maryland in April 2000. Note the use of walking boards. Photo credit:

Jacqueline Michel.

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Figure 3-6. Use of loose organic sorbents during the Deepwater Horizon spill in Louisiana on 9 July 2011. A : Crews used potato rakes (lower left) to mix the sorbent into thick oil on the marsh surface then removed it. B: A final layer of sorbent was applied at the end of treatment, as a barrier to contact with wildlife. Photo Credit: Eric Schneider.

Vacuuming
Vacuuming can be used to remove pooled or thick oil accumulations on the marsh surface, in depressions, and floating in channels. Vacuum equipment ranges from small, portable units to large suction devices mounted on barges adjacent to the marsh edge. Vacuuming is most often appropriate to use early in the response for medium and heavy oils, when the oil is still liquid and floating on the water surface. Weathered or viscous oils have to be concentrated using booms and “fed” into the nozzle. Operationally, it is important to minimize vacuuming of water, because of limited storage capability and the water may have to be treated prior to discharge. The biggest limitations are usually logistical; that is, how to get the vacuum system to where the oil is in the marsh under variable tide and wave conditions and in shallow water. Land-based operations are limited by the distance over which the hoses can be laid out between the oil to be treated and the storage tank, though it can be hundreds of meters with use of booster pumps. Care will be required to minimize trampling of soils and vegetation during handling of hoses and actual vacuuming of the oil. Workers also need to be careful to not gouge the surface of the marsh, removing marsh soils and inadvertently changing the marsh elevation with potential subsequent adverse effects to marsh vegetative and fauna communities. Another issue is that the oil will continue to spread into thinner layers, reducing the effectiveness of vacuuming, thus rapid identification and removal of areas of pooled oil are essential. 3-11
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Hoff et al. (1993) showed that careful use of vacuum and flushing by workers using walking boards removed the most oil and minimized damage to a Salicornia virginica marsh in Fidalgo Bay, Washington heavily oiled by a spill of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. By the second growing season, there was 100% plant cover in all but one small area.

F
igure 3-7 shows the use of a small vacuum system to recover emulsified oil from a tidal channel during the 1997 Bayou Perot, Louisiana oil spill. Note the use of boom in a “tear-drop” configuration to concentrate the oil and minimize pickup of water. The oil was pumped into barrels on an airboat; when the barrels were full, another airboat brought an empty replacement and ferried the full barrel back to a barge in deeper water offshore.

Figure 3-7. Vacuuming of thick oil from the water surface in a marsh channel, Bayou Perot, Louisiana in February 1997.

Photo credit: Jacqueline Michel.

Duri
ng the Deepwater Horizon spill, crews used vessel-based vacuuming to remove the thick mousse adjacent to oiled vegetation in the most heavily oiled areas in Louisiana. Though this method removed a lot of mostly floating oil initially, when used later in the response on the marsh surface, the hard nozzle gouged the marsh surface, creating holes that allowed the mousse to slowly seep deeper into the sediments. Once it was determined to be no longer effective and was causing more harm than benefit, operations were terminated. This is an important point to be made: at some point in time, all treatment methods will become less effective and can potentially cause additional damage.

Thus, it is important to monitor operations to make sure that each method is still effective. 3-12
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Vegetation Cutting
Cutting of oiled vegetation is considered for several reasons:
•
•
•
•
To reduce contact hazards with wildlife, particularly birds and small fur-bearing mammals associated with the marsh;
To speed the recovery of the marsh;
To gain access to oil trapped by vegetation on the marsh surface or in thick vegetation; and For aesthetic reasons in public areas of high visibility.

C
utting methods include weed trimmers, power hedge trimmers, and floating mechanical reed cutters.

Z
engel and Michel (1996) reviewed 22 spills and experiments where cutting was used as a treatment method and generated a tabular summary of each study. Figure 3-8 shows time-series photography of some of these cases. Seven other studies have been identified since then:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A field experiment in Brazil where both cut and uncut S. alterniflora marshes oiled with a medium fuel oil recovered within six months (Wolinski et al. 2011); A small-scale field test of cutting of S. foliosa oiled by an intermediate fuel oil in Humbolt Bay, California in October 1997 that was revisited one and two growing seasons later showing the cut areas were slightly impacted versus natural recovery (Lesh and Jocums 1999); Cut Phragmites (to gain access to the marsh interior) showed better recovery versus untreated areas in Louisiana in 1993 (Lin et al. 1999; and photographs in Figure 3-9); Cut bulrushes after the August 2005 spill of Bunker C into Lake Wabamun, Alberta, Canada recovered more slowly compared to uncut areas (Wernick et al. 2009); Various aggressive treatment of a Carex marsh following a August 2006 spill of Bunker C in British Columbia, Canada that showed cut-only areas were similar to untreated and control areas (Challenger et al. 2008);
Typha that was cut during the June 1978 spill of Bunker C from the barge Nepco-140 in the St.

Lawrence River grew taller but didn’t flower the first growing season, but was normal the second growing season (Alexander et al. 1981); and
The operational raking and cutting of 11 km of heavily oiled salt marsh in Louisiana during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which will be discussed in more detail below.

The st
rongest justification for cutting is made for the protection of wildlife. However, there is usually no careful discussion as to whether a given oiled marsh poses a clear and present danger to wildlife, 3-13
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and for how long. Often oiled marshes are less of a threat by the time discussions of cutting take place; thus the perceived tradeoff of wildlife protection for marsh injury is unfairly weighted toward the former. Prior to the decision to cut oiled marsh vegetation, responders should involve experts in both marshes and the wildlife at risk to make a very balanced evaluation of the tradeoffs, including the exposure pathways from an oiled marsh to wildlife, the reduction of that exposure/risk over time, and methods of determining this risk in the field.

Figure 3-8. Vegetation cutting time series. Top Row: The Cape Fear River, North Carolina spill of a No. 6 fuel oil where the vegetation was cut in May 1985 ( A). Two years later, the cut vegetation did not recover ( B). Photo credit: Research Planning, Inc. Bottom Row: The Grand Eagle spill of a medium crude oil into the Delaware River in summer 1985 that was cut (C) but the vegetation recovered within two years (D). Photo credit: Tom Ballou.

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Figure 3-9. Time-series photographs of a spill in the Mississippi River birdsfoot delta, Louisiana in January 1993 where cutting of Phragmites was used to gain access to the interior where the oil was up to 7 cm thick. The oblique photographs were taken in 1993 before (A) and after cleanup (B); note the multiple paths cut to access the oil. The vertical images were taken five (C) and nine (D) years later, showing good vegetative recovery in five years. Photo credit: Dwight Bradshaw.

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Table 3-2 is a summary of the studies on the effects of cutting of oiled marshes, updated from Zengel and Michel (1996) where they made a qualitative judgment on whether the effects were positive, showed no differences, or negative, based on the measured parameters and endpoints used in each study. One way to look at the results for all the cases in Table 3-2 is to consider the reasons for cutting and the potential consequences. If cutting is proposed to reduce the risk of continued oiling to wildlife or for aesthetic reasons, it is possible that 34% of the time, negative impacts to the vegetation could occur. If cutting is proposed to speed the recovery of the oiled vegetation, cutting is likely to be damaging or unnecessary for 66% of the time (sum of negative and no difference cases). Based on the 19 cases with data on direct comparisons, there is even a less likelihood that cutting will result in a positive effect on the vegetation, and cutting will do more harm or have no effect on vegetation recovery for 79% of the time. Because of these kinds of study results, cutting has not been used very often in recent times.

Table 3-2. Summary of the relative effects of oiled marsh cutting for all studies and those studies with direct comparisons with cut and uncut vegetation (updated from Zengel and Michel 1996).

Effect of Cutting All Studies
(# of cases)
All Studies
(% of all cases)
Cut vs. Uncut
Comparisons
(# of cases)
Cut vs. Uncut
Comparisons
(% of cases)
Positive (+) 10 34 4 21
No Difference (=) 8 28 8 42
Negative (-) 11 38 7 37
Total 29 100 19 100

S
ome key observations on cutting of oiled marsh vegetation updated from Zengel and Michel (1996) include:
•
•
•
The studies of marsh cutting that resulted in positive effects almost always included a heavy fuel oil or heavy crude oil. This would also apply to the Deepwater Horizon spill where the oil on the marsh platform was a thick, emulsified mousse that had properties similar to heavy oils.

Most of the studies with positive effects were cases where the marsh was cut in fall or winter, when the plants are dormant and less likely to be stressed by both oil and vegetation removal.

This effect was demonstrated by the experiments by Kiesling et al. (1988) where oiled vegetation cut in spring had lower recovery than those cut in winter.

Cut vegetation that was submerged for a long period of time did not recover well, likely because the water layer would prevent oxygen transfer from air to the roots, which is essential for plant survival in water-logged, low-oxygen soils.
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•
•
•
Vegetation under salinity stress, such as water salinity that is higher or lower than normal, is more likely to have poor recovery after oiling and cutting.

Physical damage from foot and vehicular traffic can cause additional damage to both the vegetation and the soils. Cleanup crews have to follow specific guidelines to minimize foot traffic during cutting, such as working only from boats, standing on firm (unoiled) substrates, or 100% use of walking boards.

There is not enough information to state if there are any differences in recovery of cut vegetation among herbaceous (grassy) species.

Flooding and Low-Pressure Ambient-Temperature Flushing
Table 3-1 gives flooding and low-pressure, ambient-temperature flushing a grade of “B” for all oil types. The objective of these techniques is to flush floating oil that is trapped in the fringing marsh vegetation to open water for collection. Water pressure should not exceed 50 pounds per square inch (psi) to minimize sediment erosion. These techniques sound like they would be beneficial, mimicking the action of natural currents. In practice, however, pushing a liquid (oil) on a liquid surface (water) is hard, particularly because the water surface is flat. Large volumes of water are needed to be effective, requiring a lot of equipment and materials in terms of pumps, hoses, working platforms, recovery devices, etc. A nearby water source of the same salinity as in the treatment area is also necessary. One of the biggest challenges is to get “behind” the oil that is trapped in the vegetation so it can be flushed to open water where the oil can be contained with boom and recovered using vacuums, skimmers, or sorbents. Flushing operations have to consider tidal currents (flush on a falling tide) and wind (an onshore wind will push any released oil back onto the shoreline). Figure 3-10 shows the flushing operations at the Chalk Point spill site, demonstrating the complexity of the operations when the oil is in the marsh interior.

Figure 3 -10. Intensive flushing operations along one of the trenches excavated at the Chalk Point, Maryland spill in April 2000. Flushing of oil from the marsh interior is very difficult. Photo credit: Jacqueline Michel.

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Flushing can also be used to remove fluid oil stranded on the marsh surface. Figure 3-11 shows a barge-mounted flushing system developed during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that was used to flush oil stranded on the marsh fringe in Louisiana. This approach allowed flushing to be directed from the landward side of the oiled band without placing equipment and crews on the marsh. The stranded oil was then flushed into the water where it could be collected. It worked well as long as the oil was liquid; however, the oil became too viscous to be mobilized by flushing over time.

Figure 3-11. The barge-mounted flushing system that had a long- reach mechanical boom with a spray bar attached, Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The angle and pressure of the water spray had to be adjusted to minimize sediment erosion. However, this technique was not effective because the oil was too viscous to be flushed. Photo credit: Scott Zengel.

Shoreline Cleaning Agents
Shoreline cleaning agents (also called surface washing agents) are products that contain surfactants, solvents, and/or other additives that work to remove oil from solid surfaces, such as seawalls and marsh vegetation, but does not involve dispersing or solubilizing the oil into the water column. They are sprayed on the oiled vegetation, allowed to soak for a short period, then the oil is removed by flushing, taking care to recover the released oil, most often using sorbents. Many products promoted as shoreline cleaning agents are essentially industrial cleaners that emulsify the oil, much in the same way that dishwashing soap cleans the grease off dishes. The treated oil is broken into small droplets that are kept in suspension by the surfactant. These products are called “lift and disperse” types, and they should not be used in any manner during an oil spill where they or the treated oil will be released to the environment. However, there are products that meet the “lift and float” description, where the 3-18
Chapter 3. Response
product increases the effectiveness of flushing to remove and recover the oil. Refer to the “Selection Guide for Oil Spill Response Countermeasures” for more information about shoreline cleaning agents and their behavior and toxicity (online and interactive via http://nrt-sg.sraprod.com/build/#. As indicated in Table 3-1, they would be considered for use for medium and heavy oils that thickly adhere to the vegetation.

P
ezeshki et al. (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001) conducted a series of laboratory and field experiments where they applied crude oils and Bunker C fuel oil to oiled salt and freshwater marsh plants in Louisiana, then applied the surface cleaning agent Corexit 9580 on some of the plants 1-2 days after oiling to compare impacts and recovery with oil alone. Note that they mostly applied the oil to the vegetation.

They found that using Corexit 9580 on plants oiled with the crude oils had some short-term benefits of increasing gas exchange of the vegetation and decreasing leaf death, but the long-term outcome was similar regardless of treatment. They concluded that use of a shoreline cleaning agent with crude oil spills did not have any long-term positive or negative impacts on the recovery of oiled marshes.

However, use of Corexit 9580 increased plant survival compared to oil alone for the Bunker C treatments.

B
izzel et al. (1999) conducted a similar field experiment in Texas using weathered Arabian Medium crude oil and a high and low dose of Corexit 9580 24 hours after oil application. They found that use of the cleaner did not affect microbial populations or the removal of oil from the top 5 cm of marsh soils.

O
ne key point in these studies is that the shoreline cleaning agent was applied 1-2 days after oiling, which is not likely to occur during a real spill because of the time it would take to decide to use them, then get approval for their use. During the Deepwater Horizon spill, surface washing agents on oiled salt marsh test plots were not effective during testing in October 2010. Teas et al. (1993) found that use of shoreline cleaning agents helped with mangrove survival if applied within seven days, but not after longer periods.

R
esponders have considered using shoreline cleaning agents on oiled marshes to reduce the contact hazard to wildlife using the marsh. Michel et al. (1998) tested the use of Corexit 9580 on salt-marsh vegetation in Maine nine days after oiling by an IFO 380 (a moderate-heavy fuel oil) in late September.

The agent removed about 50% of the oil on one side of the leaves; in comparison, ambient temperature water flushing removed no oil. Full-scale use was not recommended because very little oil was recovered; instead, a large amount of the released oil became suspended in the water and was not contained by boom or sorbents. Also, the logistics to apply the product to the wide band of oiled marsh in an area with a 3 m tidal range proved very difficult. One possible application might be to 3-19
Chapter 3. Response
clean fringing vegetation along rivers and lakes, where the water level changes are relatively small.

The marsh fringe is an important edge and transition zone that is heavily used by fish, invertebrates, and birds; thus, speeding the removal of oil as a contact hazard could have ecological benefits other than vegetation survival.

Enhancing Bioremediation (Nutrient Enrichment and Soil Oxidants) Nutrient enrichment is a type of bioremediation that involves the addition of nutrients (generally nitrogen and phosphorus) to the marsh to accelerate the degradation of oil hydrocarbons by natural microbial processes. It is one of the least intrusive treatment options available for marshes. There are many types of fertilizers that can be utilized to supply the soil with the needed phosphate, nitrogen, and any other limiting nutrients; however, they can be categorized as one of three types: water- soluble inorganic nutrients, slow-release fertilizers, and oleophilic fertilizers. Nutrients can be applied by hand to specific areas or by aerial spraying of granules from a helicopter (as was done for the Chalk Point, Maryland spill in 2000).

I
n 2004 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a comprehensive summary of bioremediation options for oil spills in salt marshes and relevant literature, and provided guidelines for design and planning of bioremediation treatments in salt marshes (Zhu et al. 2004). They published a similar work that included freshwater wetlands (Zhu et al. 2001). Both reports provide objective, scientific reviews of all the field and laboratory studies done at that time, and there has been little additional research of bioremediation since then that changes any of their conclusions. Recent reviews of bioremediation of coastal environments (Nikolopoulou and Kalogerakis 2009; Mercer and Trevors 2011) have come to the same conclusions. The key point about nutrient enrichment in marshes is this statement in Zhu et al. (2001):
“all the nutrients in the world would not stimulate biodegradation if oxygen were the primary limiting material.”

T
here are few feasible techniques to increase the availability of oxygen in fine-grained, organic-rich marsh soils; those techniques used on land, such as tilling, forced aeration, and the addition of chemical oxidants, are too damaging to marsh soils. The only “successful” treatments using nutrients to speed the microbial degradation of oil in marshes were where the oil was on the marsh surface, not penetrated into the soils. In these studies, the addition of nutrients did speed the rate of loss of the alkane fractions (the most readily degraded components in oil) but, at the end of the study (usually several months), the differences in degradation between treatments with and without addition of nutrients were small. Field studies and most laboratory studies were unable to demonstrate any 3-20
Chapter 3. Response
increase in the rate of loss for the aromatic fractions, those that contribute most to the chemical toxicity of oil.

O
ne exception was the series of greenhouse experiments by Mendelssohn and Lin (2002), where they were able to increase the rate of loss of the aromatic fractions with application of fertilizer, a soil oxidant (that converts slowly to hydrogen peroxide, providing a source of oxygen), and KH 2PO4 to
buffer the high pH that might be caused by the soil oxidant, but only in sods where the water table was kept at 10 cm below the marsh surface. Although the rate of loss of the aromatic fractions increased, the researchers ultimately concluded that the losses were likely due to the addition of the KH
2PO4 rather than the soil oxidant. In another set of experiments, Mendelssohn and Lin (2002) compared application of fertilizer, microbial seeding, and soil oxidants on vegetation sods with mineral and sandy sediments. They found increased oil degradation, including the aromatics, four months after application of fertilizer, but not the microbial seeding or soil oxidant.

Z
hu et al. (2004) conclude by saying that on some coastal wetlands, nutrients might still be a limiting factor and nutrient addition could speed oil degradation if the oil does not penetrate deeply into the anoxic zone of the marsh soils. They also point out that nutrient addition could stimulate plant growth, which could accelerate the overall recovery of the habitat. Several studies have been done to test this assumption, with conflicting results (Lin and Mendelssohn 1998; Lee et al. 2001; Mendelssohn and Lin 2002; Tate et al. 2012). Therefore, adding fertilizers may or may not have an effect on vegetation growth, depending on site conditions.

T
hese conclusions mostly apply to freshwater marshes as well (Zhu et al. 2001). The main differences are that freshwater environments do not have the daily tidal flushing regime that can quickly wash out applied nutrients, so the amendments can last longer; and some freshwater wetlands can be nutrient limited, particularly highly organic peat and tundra environments.

S
ometimes, an argument is made that adding nutrients, just in case they might be helpful, at least doesn’t do any harm. However, any addition of nutrients to an oiled marsh needs to be based on site- specific considerations and good science.

Marsh Responses to In Situ Burning
A review of the literature and spill histories provided by responders identified 30 oil spills, three field experiments, and three laboratory studies where in situ burning (ISB) was conducted in marshes.

Appendix D summarizes these 33 cases in chronological order. Of the 27 oil spills, 23 were light to medium crude oils and 4 were light refined products.
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Chapter 3. Response
Vegetation Recovery after In Situ Burning: For those 21 spills (including two field experiments) listed in Appendix D where the vegetative recovery was documented from field studies or estimated based on the degree of recovery as of the last field survey, the vegetation is estimated to have recovered within:
•
•
•
•

1.5 years for nine spills (43%);

1.5 to 5 years for seven spills (33%);
5 to 10 years for two spills (10%); and
Greater than 10 years for three spills (14%).

O
f those three spills with greater than 10 years of recovery, two were in muskeg and peat soils, and one was the Chiltipin Creek site in Texas where other factors (drought, feral hog, and seismic survey damage) likely extended the recovery beyond 10 years. The two spills with vegetative recovery estimated to have occurred within 5-10 years were the Meire Grove site that had extensive physical damage resulting from other cleanup activities pre- and post-burning and the Lafitte Oil Field Site 3, where a site visit in year eight found the vegetation mostly recovered but lower in species richness and some elevated TPH in the soils.

B
ased on these results, when an ISB is used as an oil spill countermeasure in a wetland, if done following appropriate guidelines, the vegetation is likely to recover within five years, and more likely within 1-2 growing seasons.

F
igures 3-12 and 3-13 shows time-series photographs two marsh burns in Louisiana. Baustian et al. (2010) studied the recovery of the Chevron Empire marshes: plant biomass and species composition returned to control levels within nine months; although species richness remained somewhat lower.

Aboveground and belowground plant productivity recovered within one growing season. They concluded that burning was very effective in allowing ecosystem recovery for oiled marshes. 3-22
Chapter 3. Response

Figure 3-12. Mosquito Bay, Louisiana in situ burning of a condensate spill in a brackish water marsh. A: April 2001 right after the burn. The arrow points to the fire break created by laying down the vegetation with airboats. Note that the fire mostly burned to the downwind water edge. B : Same area in March 2003, showing good recovery of the vegetation. Photo credit:

Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinators Office.

Figure 3-13. Chevron facility near Empire, Louisiana where in situ burning was conducted in a brackish water marsh. A: October 2005 right after the burn. The arrow points to the fire break created by laying down the vegetation with airboats. Photo credit: Amy Merten. B: March 2006, five months after the burn, showing good recovery of the vegetation. Photo credit: Gary Shigenaka.

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Chapter 3. Response
Oil Behavior and Weathering in Soils after In Situ Burning: Most studies have documented that burning results in removal of most of the oil on the marsh surface, and residual concentrations generally decreased over time. Even at the Chiltipin Creek, Texas site, where TPH concentrations in the soil remained elevated in small areas for three years, by year five, the PAH concentrations in these small areas decreased to very low levels (Hyde et al. 1999).

P
enetration of oil into marsh soils is of particular concern because of the slow rate of weathering in fine-grained, organic soils with low oxygen and flushing rates. Both field and laboratory burns have shown that burning does not remove any of the oil that has penetrated into the marsh soils. The Mosquito Bay, Louisiana spill of condensate was not burned until days 7 and 8 after the release, thus oil penetrated into the numerous fiddler crab burrows. After the burn, the condensate was readily visible in most burrows (Figure 3-14B); in fact, the oil would pool on the surface in footprints created by observers, then burst into flame because the soils were still hot enough to cause ignition of the vapors when exposed to air on the surface. Oil remaining in burrows was also noted at the Chevron Empire spill in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (Figure 3-14A), when the oil stranded on the high marsh surface for weeks before it was burned (Merten et al. 2008).

W
illiams et al. (2003) also noted that the diesel penetrated into the sediments at a spill north of the Great Salt Lake, Utah and was not removed in the burn conducted six weeks after the release. The PAH concentrations actually increased after the burn, which they suggested was due to wicking of the oil in the soils by the heat of the burn. Eventually, the areas of persistently elevated PAHs in the soils were tilled and fertilized.

O
ne common feature of these examples, where oil penetrated into the marsh soils that was not removed during the burn, is that the oil remained in the marsh for at least one week prior to the burn.

Rapid removal of oil by burning would help reduce the potential for deep penetration and less efficient removal during a burn.

T
he very long recovery for the ISB in highly organic soils (peat, fen, muskeg) is directly related to the deep penetration of oil into these soils when the water table is below the surface. The heat of the fire reduces the viscosity of the oil, and it readily penetrates the loose organic soils. The Kolva River burn was conducted without any approvals and resulted in oil penetration of over 1 m (Hartley 1996). 3-24
Chapter 3. Response

Figure 3 -14. Left: in situ burning will not remove oil that has penetrated into the marsh soils. A: Chevron Empire burn; B:

Mosquito Bay, Louisiana burn. Arrow points to the unburned, liquid oil in the burrow. Photo credit: Jacqueline Michel.

B
lenkinsopp et al. (1996) found oil penetration to 40 cm in the bogs in northern Canada; the oil was only lightly weathered even after 24 years. They also noted that thick waxy crusts (burn residues), though highly weathered, formed physical barriers to plant regrowth. For other ISBs in marshes, the oil mostly stayed on the surface and was removed by natural weathering processes within a year or so (see Appendix D).

M
endelssohn et al. (2001) included in one of their laboratory experiments a study to determine if ISB affected the removal rate of oil penetrated into marsh soils. They added a small amount of either diesel or crude oil to the surface of the potted plants 24 hours prior to ignition in the burn tank—not enough to affect the vegetation, but enough to be able to track any reductions due to the burn. They found that burning with +10 cm, 0 cm, and -2 cm of water over the plants did not reduce the amount of the crude oil added to the soils, but reduced the amount of diesel added by a factor of 10. It is likely that elevated temperatures more readily mobilized the low-viscosity and less sticky diesel.

I
n summary, ISB in marshes and organic soils results in rapid removal of surface oil, but it will not remove oil that has penetrated into the soils. Under ideal conditions, there will be little subsurface oil; however, burns in peat soils can result in deeper penetration of oil into the subsurface. It is important to remove the burn residues shortly after the burn (flushing, manual removal, use of sorbents) because it has been shown that these residues weather slowly and can delay habitat recovery.

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Faunal Recovery after In Situ Burning: There are very limited data on the impacts to marsh-associated fauna during an ISB and the relative rate of recovery after the burn. If studied at all, data are available for at most one year post burn. For the March 1993 burn of aviation fuel in a snow/ice covered pond at the Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine, studies of fish, birds, mammals, and benthic communities showed normal species abundance and composition by summer (Metzger 1995). At the Meire Grove spill in Minnesota, again of light refined products that were burned in small pond in September 1992, initial impacts to benthic invertebrates were severe, but after one year, Zischke (1993) noted that there was considerable recovery, with higher numbers of invertebrates from the oiled/burned pond and higher midge species richness, compared to a control pond. Holt et al. (1978) documented impacts to invertebrates for the first month after a crude oil burn but recovery within six months for a small burn area in Texas in October, whereas McCauley and Harrel (1981) reported reduced invertebrate abundances in both oiled/burned and clean/burned study plots versus other treatments and controls in a brackish marsh along the Neches River in Texas six months after a January burn of crude oil. It should be noted that vegetative recovery for the Neches River burn was poor as well, due to high levels of fresh water due to floods. Michel et al. (2002) reported seeing large numbers of fiddler crabs six months after the Mosquito Bay, Louisiana ISB. Martin (2010, pers. comm.) reported seeing fresh crayfish burrows the day after the burn at Refugio, Texas. Tunnell et al. (1995) found differences in the fauna in ephemeral ponds for two oiled/burned ponds versus an unoiled/unburned control for two years after the burn at Chiltipin Creek, Texas, but not in year three (though there was very high variability in all years). Mendelssohn et al. (1995) reviewed the limited prescribed burning literature on impacts of burning (without oil) on fauna and found a few studies that showed no significant effects.

W
ith such limited data, it is hard to make anything but general statements, such as, animals at the surface are likely to be killed if they are not able to escape into burrows or move out of the burn area.

There is evidence that burrowers can survive the temperature effects of burning. Recovery is likely better if there are no burn residues or the residues are removed.

Guidelines for Considering In Situ Burning of Oil Spilled in Marshes Oil spilled in marshes poses many difficult tradeoffs in terms of the potential impacts of the oil versus different response options. For ISB, the evaluation of the tradeoffs usually has to be conducted quickly, before the oil spreads, penetrates into the soils, weathers, or changes in some way that makes ISB less effective. In this section, guidelines for considering when to use ISB in a marsh are discussed, with as much scientific data to support them as possible.

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Chapter 3. Response
Time of year: Though it is not possible to pick the time of year for a spill to occur, responders need to consider the time of year in determining how quickly vegetation may recover from a burn.

Mendelssohn et al. (1995) assessed studies of prescribed burning (for habitat management) where burning resulted in an increase, decrease, or no change in plant growth compared to appropriate controls, by season. They reviewed 34 studies where recovery times were less than 1.5 years and 20 studies where recovery times were greater than 1.5 years. Burns in summer had the highest percentage of events that resulted in a decrease in vegetative growth. For burns with recovery times less than 1.5 years, 55% of the burns in summer resulted in a decrease in vegetative growth compared to 20% in fall, 33% in winter, and 11% in spring. For burns with recovery times greater than 1.5 years, the percentage of burns that resulted in a decrease in vegetative growth were 42% in summer, 25% in fall, 0% in winter, and 0% in spring. These studies showed that, regardless of season, for 68-80% of the time, prescribed burning resulted in vegetative growth that was equal to or greater than controls.

T
he rule of thumb, based on both understanding of the life history of plants and prescribed burning studies, is that vegetation recovery is likely to be slowest if burned during the summer and fastest if burned in the winter and early spring.

Plant Species: Species vary in their tolerance to fire as seen in the prescribed burning and fire ecology literature (e.g., Nyman and Chabreck 1995), and thus in their likely response to ISB as a treatment option. Dahlin et al. (1999) provide a detailed, species-by-species summary of what is known from the fire ecology literature and an evaluation of the potential for using ISB for the following plant communities: trees, shrubs, grasses, desert habitats, and wetland grasses and sedges. All grasses and sedges were considered to have high or very high potential for a successful ISB, with the exception of S. patens, which was considered to be moderate-high because it can occur in high salt marshes where the soils may not be wet or flooded, potentially leading to longer recovery times and changes in the vegetative community.

Li
n et al. (2005) noted that recovery after their ISB laboratory experiments was species-specific when there was not a water layer over the marsh soils during the burns. Sagittaria lancifolia and S. alterniflora are species that have large and/or shallow rhizomes that were affected more by burning, whereas S. patens and D. spicata are species that can have very dense stems (up to 5,000/m2) and rhizomes occurring at deeper depths where thermal stress from burning is reduced. They also found that S. patens and D. spicata quickly generated new shoots from surviving rhizomes, thus were able to outcompete other species in the first several months. However, over time, the other species were able to catch up and the vegetation returned to its normal species composition. They concluded that 3-27
Chapter 3. Response
surviving rhizomes of S. patens and D. spicata could rapidly recover after burning. This rapid regrowth of vegetation is important because the aboveground vegetation provides a pathway for oxygen transfer from air to the roots, which is essential for plant survival in waterlogged, low-oxygen soils.

H
owever, species responses to oiling and burning can vary, depending on other factors. Lindau et al. (2003) found rapid recovery of stem height and density and carbon fixation after a field ISB experiment for both S. alterniflora and S. lancifolia after one year, with aboveground biomass higher than controls. They suggested that these species might be utilizing oil and dead vegetation from the burn as sources of nutrients.

Marsh Soil Type: The biggest concern with the use of ISB in marshes is for highly organic soils where the peat soil itself could ignite, causing lowering of the marsh elevation, damaging roots and the seed bank, etc. Oil degradation rates for subsurface oil in acidic, anaerobic soils are slow and can take many decades (more than 24 years as reported by Blenkinsopp et al. 1996). The amount of litter on the marsh surface at the time of the burn can also influence the recovery and composition of the vegetative community. Pahl et al. (1997) suggested that the ISB at the Rockefeller Refuge in Louisiana removed the litter, which favored the rapid growth of S. robustus over the pre-burn dominance of D. spicata and S. alterniflora. There are similar examples from the prescribed burning literature.

Water Levels during a Burn: Soil temperatures of 60-65°C are lethal to plants. Therefore, whether conducting a prescribed burn or responding to an oil spill, it is always recommended (but not required) that standing water should cover the marsh surface during the burn, to protect plant rhizomes from thermal stress and prevent ignition of organic soils. For oil spills, an additional benefit of a water layer is prevention of oil penetration into the marsh soils. The marsh sites, and the locations within some marshes, with some of the longest recovery periods include those that had little to no water present during the burn, such as Chiltipin Creek, Texas which was predicted to take 14-15 years to fully recover to its climax species distribution (Hyde et al. 1999).

Li
n et al. (2002a, 2005) conducted a series of burn-tank experiments that replicated in-situ burn temperatures, with thermocouples inserted into the marsh soil of potted plants at different depths to help answer the question of how much water was enough to protect the plants during ISB. Their first study (Lin et al. 2002a) showed:
• A water layer of 10 cm was ample to protect the marsh soil from burning impacts, with soil temperature below 37°C and plant survival and regrowth high; 3-28
Chapter 3. Response
•
•
A water table 10 cm below the marsh surface resulted in soil temperatures of 120°C at 2 cm soil depth and almost no post-burn recovery of S. alterniflora; and At water levels of 0 and 2 cm over the marsh surface, the soil temperatures were low enough for the plants to survive, but they died from exposure to the diesel oil used in the experiment.

W
ith these results, Lin et al (2005) conducted another set of experiments to separate the oil stress from the thermal stress at water levels less than 10 cm over the soil surface. They also wanted to determine if the effect of ISB differs with the marsh type and oil type burned. This second study showed:
•
•
•
Water layers of 2 and 10 cm overlying the soil surface were sufficient to protect marsh vegetation of all three types of marshes from burning impacts. Soil surface temperatures did not exceed 40°C with 10 cm and 50°C with 2 cm of water overlying the soil surface; A water table 2 cm below the soil surface resulted in soil temperatures of >100°C at 0 cm to <40°C at 5 cm below the soil surface and higher impacts to S. alterniflora (30% reduced survival) and S. lancifolia (50% reduction in survival) because these species have rhizomes close to the surface; and
S. patens and D. spicata were not affected by ISB with the water table 2 cm below the soil surface (dense stems and deeper rhizomes).

E
xperience during ISBs at actual spills also indicates that, as long as the marsh soils are water saturated, the plants will mostly survive. More water is better, but not essential. However, burning of oil on dry marsh soils should be carefully considered in terms of the tradeoffs associated with different response options and resources at risk.

Flooding Post-burn: Studies of prescribed burns have shown that certain species are more likely to die if they are completely submerged under water for several weeks after the burn. D. spicata, Panicum hemitomon, and Typha spp. are particularly sensitive to post-burn submergence (Dahlin et al. 1999).

Prescribed burns are often scheduled in the fall, when water levels are low, so the plants are better prepared for spring flooding. McCauley and Harrel (1981) attributed the very poor recovery of S. patens after test burning of a spill in the Neches River, Texas to persistent flooding for months. Pahl et al. (2003) also noted slower recovery of D. spicata when flooded after burning. Holt et al. (1978) reported the lowest recovery of a heavily oiled S. alterniflora occurred in an area of standing water.

Oil Type: Oil type and degree of weathering will influence the efficiency of the burn and the potential for, thickness, and type of burn residues remaining on the marsh surface. Heavier oil and more weathered or emulsified oil generate more burn residue. Table 3-3 summarizes the likely behavior of 3-29
Chapter 3. Response
burn residues from different oil types when burned on land. In addition, the burn residue from heavier oils can be heavier than water and sink, a behavior that is more likely for spills in freshwater habitats.

Laboratory studies have shown strong correlation between the densities the original oil and the resulting burn residue: crude oils with densities greater than 0.864 g/cm 3 (or API gravity less than 32)
are likely to produce burn residues that sink in seawater (S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd. 2002).

Table 3-3. Behavior of burn residues by oil type for on land burns (from Scholz et al. 2004).

Oil Type Behavior of Burn Residue on Land
Gasoline products Will burn; will not leave a significant amount of residue.

Diesel-like products and
light crude oils
Diesel, No. 2 fuel oil,
Light
concentrate,
West Texas crude oil
Burn residue is mostly unburned oil that penetrated into the ground, root cavities, and burr
ows with small amount of soot particles that can be enriched in heavier PAHs.

Remains liquid; can be recovered with sorbents and flushing.

Medium crude oil and
int
ermediate products
South Louisiana crude
oil, IFO 180, Lube oils
Burn residue can be pockets of liquid oil, solid or semi-solid surface crusts or sheets, and heavy, sticky coating on sediments.

Liquid oil can be flushed. Semi-so lid and solid residues can be manually removed.

Remaining residues can be tilled and fertilized in appropriate habitats.

Heavy crude oils and
residual products
Venezuela crude, San
Joaquin crude, No. 6
fuel oil
Difficult to burn, so often have to add a lighter oil to start the burn.

Leaves heavy, sticky residue that is a mix of unburned oil and semi-sol id burn residue, requiring extensive cleanup.

Remaining residues can be tilled and fertilized in appropriate habitats. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

A
nother factor concerning oil type (other than safety issues) is the toxic effects of the oil on the marsh community prior to the burn. Lin et al. (2005) did not detect any differences in response of ISB of diesel versus crude oil in their burn tests. However, several spills have shown that light fuel oils and condensates caused plant mortality during the period that the oil was in the marsh prior to the burn, such as the Mosquito Bay and Sabine Point spills of condensate in Louisiana and the diesel spill in Corrine, Utah (Michel et al. 2002). Burning under these conditions will not avoid vegetation and faunal mortality from oil exposure prior to the burn.

Fire Control: For most ISBs in marshes, the fire is extinguished when it reaches unoiled vegetation, particularly during the growing season when the vegetation is live. At this point, the smoke goes from 3-30
Chapter 3. Response
black with soot to white with water vapor. However, real “control” of a fire in a marsh during a spill emergency is difficult, and responders have to be prepared for the fire spreading to unoiled areas. In two of the case histories in Appendix D, the burned area was much larger than the oiled area. In the Mosquito Bay spill, the burned area was eight times the oiled area (4.9 ha vs. 40 ha; Figure 3-12); for the Louisiana Point spill, the burn area ten times the oiled area (5.3 ha vs. 55 ha). The types of firebreaks possible in a marsh, such as laying down and wetting the vegetation using an airboat, are not sufficient to contain a hot fire. The burn can spread to unoiled areas at sites: 1) that have not been burned recently (thus have abundant natural fuel present); 2) where fire breaks cannot be completely cleared; 3) without a lot of free-standing water; and 4) with dry or dead vegetation.

Selecting Appropriate Cleanup Endpoints for Marshes
The NOAA Shoreline Assessment Manual (NOAA 2013) includes a discussion of the process for establishing cleanup endpoints for different habitats. Cleanup endpoints appropriate for marshes are generally as follows:
•
•
•
•
No free-floating oil in the marsh
No oil on vegetation that can rub off on contact
No oil greater than 0.5 cm thick on the marsh platform
As low as reasonably practicable, considering the allowed treatment methods and net environmental benefit

It
is the last cleanup endpoint that requires the most discussion in terms of the tradeoff between the degree and duration of impacts from the oil versus the degree and duration of impacts associated with removal actions. From the discussion of cleanup methods in this chapter and the rates of recovery of oiled marshes in Chapter 2, clearly marshes most often recover on their own within 1 year for light to moderate oiling. In most cases, natural recovery is the best option. However, when marshes are heavily oiled, and particularly with thick oil on the marsh surface, removal actions are often needed to remove as much of the oil as needed to speed the overall rate of recovery, without causing more harm than good.

Restoration as Part of the Response
Marshes that are severely affected by either the oiling or response operations may be more susceptible to habitat loss by enhanced erosion during the time it takes for the vegetation to naturally recover. In these cases, it may be necessary to include restoration actions as part of the response. 3-31
Chapter 3. Response
Figure 3-15 shows the benefits of this kind of restoration effort to quickly re-establish healthy vegetation at a site in Louisiana following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The site was a research effort and not part of the response. But, it obviously was effective.

Figure
3-15. Tulane University research project where
S. alterniflora was planted (bare root) along the heavily oiled and highly erosional shoreline in N. Barataria Bay, Louisiana, immediately following oil cleanup treatments .

The treated and planted plot had good vegetative cover
as of September 2012, whereas the treated but
unvegeted plot had higher shoreline erosion. Photo
credit: Scott Zengel.

When oi
l removal requires intrusive methods that damage the marsh vegetation, it may be necessary to conduct marsh restoration. Removal of oil from the marsh interior during the Chalk Point spill in Maryland required extensive trenching (Figure 3-4). Once the response operations were terminated, the Responsible Party conducted a marsh restoration project that involved filling back in of the trenches and re-planting of the vegetation. Figure 3-16 shows the photographs of one of the heavily disturbed but restored areas only one year after vegetation re-planting. According to Gundlach et al. (2003), vegetative recovery was 70-80% after one year, and nearly 100% after two years.

A
fter the Arthur Kill/Exxon Bayway spill, some of the areas where the vegetation died and did not re- establish were replanted three years later. Bergen et al. (2000) monitored vegetative recovery at marshes along denuded/planted marshes, denuded/not planted, and unoiled marshes over the period 1994-1997 and found that the planted areas recovered well.

B
ased on these results, replanting of marsh areas with high vegetation mortality should be of high priority.
3-32
Chapter 3. Response
Figure 3-16. Restoration of the area of trenching and flushing (Figure 3- 4) at the Chalk Point s pill site. A : July 2000; B: July 2001, one year later. Photo credit: Jacqueline Michel.

Selecting Appropriate Response Options for Speeding Recovery of Oiled Marshes Table 3-4 provides a matrix of likely marsh oiling conditions and potential response options, along with guidance on key issues and constraints based on the information summarized in Chapters 2 and

3. Again, it is important to note that often multiple response options will be used during a spill, for different oiling conditions or different phases of the response.

Tab
le 3-4. Guidance on selecting appropriate response options for oiled marshes.

Oiling
Condition
Response
Options Key Issues/Constraints
Free-floating oil
on water in the
marsh
In situ Burning
- Safety, fire control, sufficient water layer or saturated soils, oil type (mousse not likely to burn), amount of oil residue that will still need removal, time of year, species sensitivity, marsh soil type (peat soils are highly sensitive), flooding post - burn could cause plant mortality
Vacuum
- Can remove large amounts of oil quickly before it becomes stranded, work from boats at water’s edge will limit access to interior oil, ability to concentrate the oil to increase effectiveness, need to decant water to improve efficiency, avoid foot traffic on marsh surface
Low-pressure
Flushing
- Access, particularly ability to generate enough flow to push oil towards recovery devices, high oil viscosity will reduce effectiveness, potential to disturb soils Sorbents - Loose sorbents (pads, snare) must be removed immediately, use walking boards or deploy from boats, can be slow and labor intensive 3-33
Chapter 3. Response
Oiling
Condition
Response
Options Key Issues/Constraints
Thicker oil (>0.5
cm) on marsh
surface
Natural Recovery - Degree of exposure to physical removal processes, potential for exposure hazards for animals and long-term impacts to vegetation Manual Removal
(rake, scrape)
- Access, use walking boards, risk of damage to live vegetation and disturbing soils, can speed of weathering of residues, use loose sorbents as temporary contact barrier after treatment
Vacuum
- Access, avoid foot traffic or use walking boards, potential to gouge the marsh soils and remove vegetation, likely to leave thick patches, use low-pressure flushing to increase oil removal
Low-pressure
Flushing
- Access, particularly ability to generate enough flow to push oil towards recovery devices, high oil viscosity will reduce effectiveness, potential to erode soils In Situ Burning
- Safety, fire control, saturated soils to prevent oil penetration into the soils, time of year may affect plant recovery, oil type (mousse not likely to burn), amount of oil residue that will still need removal, species sensitivity, marsh soil type (peat soils are highly sensitive), potential to change soil elevation if organic soils burn, flooding post-burn could cause plant mortality
Thinner oil (<0.5
cm) on marsh
surface
Natural Recovery - More likely to weather to a thin, dry crust and be removed by natural processes Same Options as
for Thicker Oil
- Consider risks of causing more damage during removal actions compared to rate of natural weathering
Heavy oil on
vegetation
Natural Recovery - Preferred tactic, unless there are key species of concern at risk Passive Sorbents
- Use only as long as oil is being released, closely monitor to make sure that the sorbents are properly deployed, remove prior to high water or waves to prevent stranding in the marsh
Loose Organic
Sorbents
- Consider how long before the oil weathers to a dry coat, application should be only a thin coating on the vegetation, will be difficult to apply to marsh interiors Vegetation Cutting
- Consider only if there are key species of concern at risk, consider how long before the oil weathers to a dry coat, may need to cut accessways to reach interior oil, use walking boards, test different tools to determine best tactic Surface Washing
Agents/Flushing
- Use when necessary to reduce contact hazard quickly, must wash to water (so only use when water levels cover the soils), use only products that lift and float, potential short-term increased aquatic toxicity
Light to
moderate oil on
vegetation
Natural Recovery - Preferred tactic particularly for light oils, small areas, dormant vegetation, some exposure to waves and/or currents
Passive Sorbents
- Use only as long as oil is being released, closely monitor to make sure that the sorbents are properly deployed, remove prior to high water or waves to prevent stranding in the marsh
Loose Organic
Sorbents
- Consider how long before the oil weathers to a dry coat, application should be only a thin coat on the vegetation, will be difficult to apply to interior of the marsh 3-34
Chapter 3. Response
For Further Reading
Alexander, M.M., P. Longabucco and D.M. Phillips. 1981. The impact of oil on marsh communities in the St. Lawrence River. In: Proc. 1981 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 333- 340.

Bizzell, C., R. Townsend, J. Bonner and R. Autenrieth. 1999. Shoreline cleaner evaluation on a petroleum impacted wetland. In: Proc. Fifth International In-Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symposium, Phytoremediation and Innovative Strategies for Specialized Remedial Applications.

Battelle Press. pp. 57-62.

Blenkinsopp, S., G. Sergy, P. Lambert, Z. Wang, S. Zoltai and M. Siltanen. 1996. Long-term recovery of peat bogs oiled by pipeline spills in northern Alberta. In: Proc. Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program Technical Seminar. Environmental Canada, Ottawa, Canada. pp. 1335-1354.

Dahlin, J., S. Zengel, C. Headley and J. Michel. 1999. Compilation and review of data on the environmental effects of in situ burning of inland and upland oil spills. American Petroleum Institute, Report No. 4684. 117 pp.

Gundlach, E.R., B. Baca and D.C. Barry. 2003. Emergency marsh restoration as part of response to the Swanson Creek (Maryland) oil spill. In: Proc. 2003 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 1-10.

Hartley, A.E., Sr. 1996. Overview of the Kolva River basin 1995 oil recovery and mitigation project. In:

Proc. Nineteenth Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program Technical Seminar. Environmental Canada, Ottawa, Canada. pp. 1301-1307.

Hoff, R.Z., G. Shigenaka and C.B. Henry, Jr. 1993. Salt marsh recovery from a crude oil spill: Vegetation, oil weathering and response. In: Proc. 1993 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 307-311.
3-35
Chapter 3. Response
Holt, S., S. Rabalais, N. Rabalais, S. Cornelius and S.J. Holland. 1978. Effects of an oil spill on salt marshes at Harbor Island, Texas. I. Biology. In: Proc. Conference on Assessment of Ecological Impacts of Oil Spills. American Petroleum Institute of Biological Sciences. pp. 344-252.

Hyde, L.J., K. Withers and J.W. Tunnell. 1999. Coastal high marsh oil spill cleanup by burning: 5-year evaluation. In: Proc. 1999 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 1257-1260.

Kiesling, R.W., S.K. Alexander and J.W. Webb. 1988. Evaluation of alternative oil spill cleanup techniques in a Spartina alterniflora salt marsh. Environmental Pollution 55(3):221-238.

Lee, K., K.G. Doe, L.E.J. Lee, M.T. Suidan and A.D. Venosa. 2001. Remediation of an oil-contaminated experimental freshwater wetland: II. Habitat recovery and toxicity reduction. In: Proc. 2001 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 323-328.

Lesh, E.W. and C. Jocums. 1999. Cutting, burning, and dusting of oiled vegetation to reduce impacts to birds during oil spills: A report on experiments done during an oil spill on Humboldt Bay, California. Department of Fish and Game. 5 pp.

Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 1998. The combined effects of phytoremediation and biostimulation in enhancing habitat restoration and oil degradation of petroleum contaminated wetlands.

Ecological Engineering 10(3):263-274.

Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 2003. Dispersant effects on fresh water marsh vegetation: Toxicity evaluation and oil remediation. Louisiana Applied and Educational Oil Spill Research and Development Program, OSRADP Technical Report Series169-30-4150, Louisisana State University. 22 pp.

Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 2004. Dispersant effects on salt marsh vegetation: Toxicity evaluation and oil remediation. Louisiana Applied and Educational Oil Spill Research and Development Program, OSRADP Technical Report Series 169-30-4151, Louisisana State University. 28 pp.

Lin, Q., I.A. Mendelssohn, N.P. Bryner and W.D. Walton. 2005. in situ burning of oil in coastal marshes. 1.

Vegetation recovery and soil temperature as a function of water depth, oil type, and marsh type.

Environmental Science & Technology 39(6):1848-1854.

Lin, Q., I.A. Mendelssohn, K. Carney, N.P. Bryner and W.D. Walton. 2002. Salt marsh recovery and oil spill remediation after in situ burning: Effects of water depth and burn duration. Environmental Science & Technology 36(4):576-581.

Lin, Q., I.A. Mendelssohn, C.B. Henry, Jr., M.W. Hester and E. Web. 1999. Effect of oil cleanup methods on ecological recovery and oil degradation of Phragmites marshes. In: Proc. 1999 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 1-13. 3-36
Chapter 3. Response
Lindau, C.W., R.D. Delaune and A. Jugsujinda. 2003. Marsh sensitivity to burning of applied crude oil.

Spill Science and Technology Bulletin 8(4):401-404.

McCauley, C.A. and R.C. Harrel. 1981. Effects of oil spill cleanup techniques on a salt marsh. In: Proc. 1981 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 401-407.

Mendelssohn, I.A., M.W. Hester and J.W. Pahl. 1995. Environmental effects and effectiveness of in situ burning in wetlands: Considerations for oil spill cleanup. Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office/Office of the Governor, Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research and Development Program, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 57 pp.

Mendelssohn, I.A. and Q. Lin. 2002. Development of bioremediation for oil spill cleanup in coastal wetlands. U.S. Department of Interior, Mineral Managment Services, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, OSC Study MMS 2002-048. 84 pp.

Mendelssohn, I.A., Q. Lin, K. Carney, N.P. Bryner and W.D. Walton. 2001. Coastal marsh recovery and oil remediation after in situ burning: Effects of water depth, oil and marsh type. National Institute of Standards and Technology, 54 pp.

Mercer, K. and J. Trevors. 2011. Remediation of oil spills in temperate and tropical coastal marine environments. The Environmentalist 31(3):338-347.

Merten, A.A., C.B. Henry and J. Michel. 2008. Decision-making process to use in situ burning to restore an oiled intermediate marsh following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In: Proc. 2008 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 545-550.

Metzger, R.A. 1995. 1994 Ecological Assessment. Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine. Halliburton NUS Corp. PA.

Michel, J., S.M. Lehmann and C.B. Henry, Jr. 1998. Oiling and cleanup issues in wetlands M/T Julie N spill, Portland, Maine. In: Proc. 21st Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program Technical Seminar.

Environmental Canada, Ottawa, Canada. pp. 841-856.

Michel, J., Z. Nixon, H. Hinkeldey and S. Miles. 2002. Use of in situ burning as an oil spill response tool:

Follow-up of four case studies. In: Proc. 2003 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 1-6.

Nikolopoulou, M. and N. Kalogerakis. 2009. Biostimulation strategies for fresh and chronically polluted marine environments with petroleum hydrocarbons. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology 84(6):802-807.

NOAA. 2010. Characteristic Coastal Habitats Choosing Spill Response Alternatives. Seattle: Office of Response and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 85 pp. 3-37
Chapter 3. Response
NOAA. 2013. Shoreline assessment manual. 4th Edition. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Seattle, WA:

Emergency Response Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 61 pp.

Nyman, J.A. and R.H. Chabreck. 1995. Fire in coastal marshes: History and recent concerns. In: Cerulean, S.I. and R.T. Engstrom (eds.), Fire in Wetlands: A Management Perspective. Proc. of the Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference. Tall Timbers Research Station. pp. 141-143.

Pahl, J.W., I.A. Mendelssohn, C.B. Henry, Jr. and T.J. Hess. 2003. Recovery trajectories after in situ burning of an oiled wetland in coastal Louisiana, USA. Environmental Management 31(2):236-251.

Pahl, J.W., I.A. Mendelssohn and T.J. Hess. 1997. The application of in situ burning to a Louisiana coastal marsh following a hydrocarbon product spill: Preliminary assessment of site recovery. In: Proc. 1997 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 823-828.

Pezeshki, S., R. DeLaune, A. Jugsujinda, G. Canevari and R. Lessard. 1997. Major field test evaluates a shoreline cleaner to save oiled marsh grass. In: Proc.1997 International Oil Spill Conference.

American Petroleum Institute. pp. 397-402.

Pezeshki, S., R. DeLaune, J. Nyman, R. Lessard and G. Canevari. 1995. Removing oil and saving oiled marsh grass using a shoreline cleaner. In: Proc. 1995 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 203-209.

Pezeshki, S.R., R.D. DeLaune and A. Jugsujinda. 2001. The effects of crude oil and the effectiveness of cleaner application following oiling on US Gulf of Mexico coastal marsh plants. Environmental Pollution 112(3):483-489.

Pezeshki, S.R., A. Jugsujinda and R.D. DeLaune. 1998. Responses of selected U.S. gulf coast marsh macrophyte species to oiling and commercial cleaners. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 107(1):185-195.

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Tate, P.T., W.S. Shin, J.H. Pardue and A.W. Jackson. 2012. Bioremediation of an experimental oil spill in a coastal Louisiana salt marsh. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 223(3):1115-1123. 3-38
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Teas, H.J., R.R. Lessard, G.P. Canevari, C.D. Brown and R. Glenn. 1993. Saving oiled mangroves using a new non-dispersing shoreline cleaner. In: Proc. 1993 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 147-184.

Tunnell, J.W., Jr., B. Hardegree and D.W. Hicks. 1995. Environmental impact and recovery of a high marsh pipeline oil spill and burn site, upper Copano Bay, Texas. In: Proc. 1995 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 133-138.

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Wolinski, A.L., P.C. Lana and L. Sandrini-Neto. 2011. Is the cutting of oil contaminated marshes an efficient clean-up technique in a subtropical estuary? Marine Pollution Bulletin 62(6):1227-1232.

Zengel, S. and J. Michel. 1996. Vegetation cutting as a clean-up method for salt and brackish marshes impacted by oil spills: A review and case history of the effects on plant recovery. Marine Pollution Bulletin 32(12):876-885.

Zhu, X., A.D. Venosa, M.T. Suidan and K. Lee. 2001. Guidelines for the bioremediation of marine shorelines and freshwater wetlands. National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio. 163 pp.

Zhu, X., A.D. Venosa, M.T. Suidan and K. Lee. 2004. Guidelines for the bioremediation of oil- contaminated salt marshes. National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio. 61 pp.

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Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies
CHAPTER 4. MARSH CASE STUDIES

M
uch of what we know about the impacts of oil and response options on marsh habitats has been learned through observations at spills. Case studies provide the basis for evaluating the tradeoffs of different response options, both during an emergency response and in planning for spills. Many of the studies of past spills have been cited in Chapters 2 and 3. In this chapter, four case studies are summarized, focusing on different types of oil and treatment methods used, and highlighting the lessons that were learned and have influenced future spill responses. The case studies are presented in chronological order.

Barge Florida, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, September 1969 Acute Toxicity and Long-term Impacts of No. 2 Fuel Oil
Up to 185,000 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil were spilled from the barge Florida into Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts in September 1969 resulting in heavy oiling of the Wild Harbor estuary. This spill has been well studied for nearly forty years because of its close proximity to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Salt marshes died within a few weeks, and in heavily oiled sediments, all benthic life was killed (Sanders et al. 1980). Two years later, soils with greater than 1-2 mg/g oil contained no living plants; vegetation regrowth occurred by rhizome spreading from the edge of live vegetation (Burns and Teal 1979). The heavily oiled marsh areas had fewer benthic species, dominated by opportunistic species such as the polychaete Capetilla captitata that would bloom then crash, indicating poor recruitment for five years (Sanders et al. 1980). Krebs and Burns (1977) followed the impacts of the spill on fiddler crabs for seven years. Starting in 1971, they documented decreases in fiddler crab density, reduced juvenile settlement, heavy overwinter mortality, uptake of oil into tissues, and behavioral disorders including locomotor impairment and abnormal burrowing. They found correlations of these effects with the persistence of the alkyl naphthalenes (2-ringed PAHs) in the oil.

Only when these compounds decreased in 1976-77 was there successful recruitment of juvenile crabs, which started the recovery of adult populations seven years after the spill.

N
early 40 years later, Culbertson et al. (2007) documented that, in a small area that still contained relatively unweathered oil in the subsurface, fiddler crabs avoided burrowing into oiled layers, suffered delayed escape responses, had lowered feeding rates, and achieved 50% lower densities than in control areas. Studies 38 years after the spill showed that mussels transplanted into the oiled areas had slower growth rates, shorter mean shell lengths, lower condition indices, and decreased filtration rates, and salt marsh vegetation showed reduced stem density and above- and belowground biomass 4-1
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies
(Culbertson et al. 2008a,b). Peacock et al. (2005) showed that the oil persisted in a narrow band several meters wide and about 50 m long in the mid- to lower intertidal zone adjacent to one tidal channel, in the area where the oil initially was reported as being the heaviest. Thus, the areal extent of the persistent oil is small relative to the initial oiled area. They found that the highest oil concentrations (1-

14.1 mg/g TPH) were between 4-20 cm below the surface, and they estimated that 100 kg of oil remained, representing 0.02% of the original spill volume.

M
any factors combined to cause the acute toxic impacts and persistence of the subsurface oil from the Florida spill: Initial heavy loading (the oil was pushed by winds and tides into the impacted bay and persisted there for many days), a tidal range of nearly 2 m (so that the oil that stranded on the marsh at high tide was able to penetrate the sediments as the tides and groundwater levels in the marsh dropped), organic soils with slow weathering rates, a net depositional area (with sediment accumulation rates of 0.35 cm/year; White et al. 2005); and a sheltered setting.

Amoco Cadiz, Brittany, France, March 1976
Intrusive Treatment Delays Marsh Recovery
The T/V Amoco Cadiz spilled 70 million gallons of Arabian and Iranian light crude oil off the coast of Brittany, France in March 1976. The extensive marsh at Ile Grande was heavily oiled, and the French military used vacuuming, high-pressure flushing, and excavation in attempts to clean the marsh (Figure 4-1). By 1978, there were extensive areas with no vegetation cover. In many areas, only the aboveground marsh vegetation and oil had been removed; in other areas the entire marsh surface including the root mat had been removed to a depth of over 30 cm, and the creek banks were almost completely lacking vegetation, leading to extensive erosion.

S
eneca and Broome (1982) conducted experimental then larger-scale replanting activities to speed the rate of recovery. They eventually planted 9,700 transplants, half of them along the creek banks.

Baca et al. (1987), in studies eight years later of the marshes that were intensively cleaned compared to oiled but not cleaned marshes and an unoiled marsh, found that the oiled but not cleaned marsh had recovered within five years by natural processes. In contrast, the oiled/cleaned/replanted marsh at Ile Grande took 7-8 years to recover based on field transect data. The slower recovery was attributed to the destruction and compaction of roots, removal of the marsh substrate, and erosion of channels due to the lack of vegetation along the channel banks. They found that plantings improved the rate of recovery because the vegetation stabilized open areas and provided attachment substrates for seeds and propagules, which sped the overall rate of revegetation (which was key to recovery of the marsh). 4-2
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies

Figure 4-1. Heavily oiled marsh at Ile Grande, France from the Am oco Cadiz oil spill. A: Aerial view of the heavily oiled marsh in March 1978. B: High- pressure flushing during cleanup by the French army in April 1978. C: Condition of the marsh in Fall 1978 showing extensive removal of the vegetation and the substrate. D: Condition of the marsh in 1986, eight years later showing late vegetation recovery. Photo credit: A. Miles Hayes; all others: Erich Gundlach.

T
he rate of oil degradation in the marsh soils was a function of the initial degree of oil contamination, as studied by Mille et al. (1998) who collected soil samples seven times between 1978 and 1991. At the site with the lowest oiling (initially at 1,900 ppm TPH), the n-alkanes degraded within four years and all the oil was degraded after thirteen years. At sites with the highest oiling (33,000 and 230,000 ppm TPH), it took between 6-13 years for the n-alkanes to be degraded, and oil was still present thirteen years later.

4-3
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies
Gilfillan et al. (1995) used historical aerial photograph from 1971 and 1990 to assess the long-term recovery of marshes that were cleaned and not cleaned. They found that the oiled and cleaned marshes at Ile Grande had between 23 and 39% less vegetated area, compared to an adjacent oiled and not cleaned marsh that had increased in area by 21%. They were able to map the distribution of marsh vegetation using aerial photographs and ground-control data into high marsh and low marsh.

In 1971 prior to the spill, the cleaned marsh was composed primarily of high marsh; in 1990, the proportion of low marsh to high marsh increased significantly. In contrast, the composition of the marsh vegetation in the oiled and not cleaned marsh had not changed between 1971 and 1987. They attributed these changes in marsh coverage and type in the cleaned marsh to the removal of up to 50 cm of marsh soils during cleaning, which lowered the intertidal elevation of the marsh surface. Marsh vegetation is very sensitive to elevation and the frequency and duration of flooding. Because of the excessive sediment removal during cleaning, there was a shift in the vegetation to low- and mid- marsh species. Gilfillan et al. (1995) concluded that full recovery to pre-spill conditions will require sediment accretion.

T
his spill provided good scientific data that intrusive cleanup in a marsh will slow the overall rate of recovery, thus such treatment should be carefully evaluated, and greatly influenced future response strategies in spills around the world.

Chalk Point, Patuxent River, Maryland, April 2000
Long-term Monitoring of Heavily Oiled Interior Marsh
On 7 April 2000, an estimated 140,000 gallons of a mixture of No. 6 and No. 2 fuel oils were released into Swanson Creek, the Patuxent River, and downstream tributaries from a pipeline rupture going into nearby Chalk Point Power Generating Station. The spill affected an estimated 76 acres of brackish marsh (dominated by S. cynosuroides and S. alterniflora), with extensive areas of heavily oiled interior marsh habitat. There was intensive treatment including trenching, flushing, and use of sorbents in accessible marsh areas (see Figures 3-4 and 3-15); however, there was no treatment in other heavily oiled interior marsh areas that had limited access. Because of the predicted long-term persistence of oil-related impacts, NOAA funded a study of the oiled wetlands in 2007, seven years after the initial spill (Michel et al. 2009).

O
verall, the oil in the highly organic marsh soils had undergone little to no additional weathering since Fall 2000, based on comparisons of PAH depletion ratios from samples collected in Fall 2000, Summer 2001, and Summer 2007. There were likely two factors limiting natural weathering processes 4-4
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies
in the marsh soils: slow physical removal processes and low oxygen availability. The interior marsh habitat is flooded by daily tides through many small channels. During spring high tides, there can be 20-30 cm of water in the marsh. The marsh surface has a lot of micro-topography with low areas between dense clumps of stems that hold pools of water during low tide. The soils in these low areas are very soft and water saturated. During spring low tides, the marsh soils do drain as low as 30 cm, as evidenced by the fact that the oil penetrated to these depths in some areas. Tidal flushing may have been a mechanism for removal of bulk oil stranded on the surface initially; however, it would not be effective at mobilizing oil from below the marsh surface. There are few bioturbating benthic biota in these marshes. Photo-oxidation does not occur below ground. Therefore, the only other removal mechanism would be microbial degradation, which obviously is very slow in these soils. With the slow weathering of the oil, nearly half of the 24 soil samples collected in 2007 showed evidence of toxicity in amphipod toxicity tests.

V
isually, the marsh vegetation looked like it had recovered; however, the stem density and stem height of S. alterniflora (but not S. cynosuroides) were significantly lower in the oiled versus unoiled sites. In contrast, belowground biomass was significantly lower in the S. cynosuroides habitats but not the S. alterniflora habitats. The reasons for these differences may be related to the relative distribution of above- versus belowground biomass and the types of biomass for each species. S. cynosuroides has more and larger rhizomes and the rhizome biomass has a peak at 10-20 cm; thus, this species was more likely exposed to the highly concentrated oil that persisted in the root cavities along the rhizomes. Some of the black oil observed in the cores occurred along rhizomes, which were partially hollow and dead. Roots and rhizomes in the soil would grow until they encountered zones of oil that would slow growth and could eventually lead to death. S. alterniflora has about an equal proportion of roots to rhizomes and the rhizomes are smaller, so any reductions in the biomass of the rhizomes may have had a lesser effect on the overall belowground biomass. Alternatively, the lower belowground biomass of S. alterniflora may be in less contact with the oil.

T
his study showed that marshes can grow in oiled soils, but there can be long-term sublethal effects than can reduce overall health and productivity of the marsh ecosystem.

Deepwater Horizon, Northern Gulf of Mexico, 2010
Intensive Treatment of Thick and Persistent Oil
The Deepwater Horizon spill released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of South Louisiana sweet crude into the Gulf of Mexico over an 87-day period, from 20 April to 15 July 2010. The heaviest marsh oiling 4-5
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies
occurred in salt marshes (S. alterniflora, J. roemerianus) in northern Barataria Bay, Louisiana. Persistent oiling conditions in these areas included heavily oiled vegetation mats (aboveground vegetation laid over by oiling, which died but remained rooted in place) and wrack lines that in many cases overlaid a thick layer of emulsified oil on the marsh substrate. As of fall of 2010, much of the oil layer averaged 2- 3 cm in thickness and did not appear to have significantly weathered. Because of concerns that aggressive treatment might cause more harm than leaving the oil in place, a series of treatment tests were conducted in October and December 2010, using a random assignment of treatment methods to 28 plots that averaged 6 m in length and up to 15 m deep. There were two zones within each plot (Figure 4-2) as described by Zengel and Michel (2011):

Figure 4-2. The two zones of heavy oiling along the marshes in N. Barataria Bay, Louisiana after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A: Zone A along the outer marsh edge, where the surface residue was hardened and crusty. B: Zone B was inland of Zone A and consisted of an oiled vegetation mat overlying a 2-3 cm thick mousse layer. Photo credit: Scott Zengel.

“O
iling Zone A” was a 1-3 m wide band on the lower marsh edge consisting of exposed surface oil residue with typically broken (51-90%) to continuous (91-100%) distribution and cover (≤1 cm) thickness. The oil residue had a hard, crusty to tarry surface layer and included the presence of thin algal mats and surface cracking. The aboveground vegetation in this zone had sloughed off leaving only short vegetation stubble. During the treatment tests, this oiling zone was not treated, because the oil appeared to be relatively weathered and due to concern that treatment could destabilize the seaward marsh edge and potentially lead to increased erosion.

4-6
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies
“Oiling Zone B” was a 5-10 m wide band on the marsh platform extending from Oiling Zone A to the inland extent of oiling. Zone B included oil on both the vegetation and sediments. The vegetation oiling consisted of dead, laid over, rooted vegetation forming heavily oiled vegetation mats with a continuous oil coat (<0.1 cm thickness) of tarry consistency along the entire length of the plant stems, as well as heavily oiled wrack deposited at the high-water line. The sediment oiling consisted of continuous thick mousse (>1 cm) trapped under the oiled vegetation mats and wrack (Figure 4-3).

Much of this mousse was 2-3 cm thick across the marsh platform, and was typically heaviest near the oiled wrack, to 5-8 cm thick. Subsurface oiling conditions were also observed, including burial of oiled vegetation mats or the underlying mousse layer by fine sediments or organic detritus. Instances of oiled crab burrows or oiled shoot/root channels were also observed. Oiling conditions in Zone B were the focus of the treatment testing and monitoring, and are emphasized below and in subsequent sections.

M
onitoring of the plots post-treatment indicated that intensive raking and cutting were most effective at oil removal and did not cause excessive damage to the marsh soils. Based on the results, a shoreline treatment recommendation was written, directing the operational treatment of specific areas from mid-February to the end of September 2011. In all, over 11 km of the most heavily oiled marshes in northern Barataria Bay were treated by removing oiled wrack (including cutting the tarry wrack into sections for removal, where needed), raking to lift the oiled vegetation mat, cutting the oiled vegetation mat with a hedge trimmer for removal, additional raking and cutting where needed, scooping or scraping thick mousse layers from the marsh surface, and light raking and loose natural sorbent (bagasse) application as the workers backed their way out of the plots.

B
oth manual and mechanical methods were used. Manual treatments consisted of workers on walking boards using hand tools and power hedge trimmers (Figure 4-3) and were used throughout the cleanup. Power hedge trimmers were more effective than string trimmers or “weed whackers,” and also may have been less damaging to the vegetation (allowing a straighter, cleaner cut) and safer for workers (no projectiles, no spraying of oil). Mechanical treatments were conducted from April to June 2011 and included barge-based and large airboat-based platforms positioned adjacent to marsh treatment areas that were equipped with long-reach hydraulic arms coupled with attachments including grapples, rakes, cutting devices, and “squeegees” to conduct marsh treatments (Figure 4-4).

The “squeegee” devices were used to scrape thick mousse from the marsh surface after the heavily oiled wrack and vegetation mats were removed. Mechanical work was always followed by manual treatment.

4-7
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies

Figure 4-3. Manual cutting and raking heavily oiled wrack removal in 2011 treatment of heavily oiled marshes in N. Barataria Bay, Louisiana, during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Photo credit: Scott Zengel.

S
uch heavy and persistent oiling may require intensive treatments, which can be effective as long as the allowed methods are well defined and there is close monitoring and guidance during operations, including periodic review and adaptation of methods that are causing too much damage. For the Deepwater Horizon spill, these methods were applied to only the most heavily oiled marshes (1% of the total length of oiled marshes). NOAA continues to monitor the treatment test areas, with initial results showing that manual cleanup treatments had a positive effect on oil conditions and vegetation regrowth. Tests of replanting immediately after cleanup treatment also seemed to be especially beneficial for vegetation recovery.
4-8
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies

Figure 4-4. Mechanical treatment methods used to remove the thick oil and oiled vegetation mats on the marsh surface in N.

Barataria Bay, Louisiana, during 2011. A: Raking of oil/mat on the outer platform would gouge the marsh soils if done too deeply. Photo credit: Jeffrey Leonick. B: Flat “squeegee” used to scrap the thick oil into piles for removal. C: Raking of the oiled wrack line had to be carefully guided to minimize removal of live vegetation. D: Grappling of the piles of oiled wrack was efficient and minimized foot traffic. Photo credit B-D: Jacqueline Michel.

4-9
Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies
For Further Reading
Baca, B.J., T.E. Lankford and E.R. Gundlach. 1987. Recovery of Brittany coastal marshes in the eight years following the Amoco Cadiz incident. In: Proc. 1987 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 459-464.

Burns, K.A. and J.M. Teal. 1979. The West Falmouth oil spill: Hydrocarbons in the salt marsh ecosystem.

Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 8(4):349-360.

Culbertson, J.B., I. Valiela, Y.S. Olsen and C.M. Reddy. 2008a. Effect of field exposure to 38-year-old residual petroleum hydrocarbons on growth, condition index, and filtration rate of the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa. Environmental Pollution 154(2):312-319.

Culbertson, J.B., I. Valiela, E.E. Peacock, M. Pickart and C.M. Reddy. 2008b. Long-term consequences of residual petroleum on salt marsh grass. Journal of Applied Ecology 45(4):1284-1292.

Culbertson, J.B., I. Valiela, E.E. Peacock, C.M. Reddy, A. Carter and R. Vanderkruik. 2007. Long-term biological effects of petroleum residues on fiddler crabs in salt marshes. Marine Pollution Bulletin 54(7):955-962.

Gilfillan, E.S., N.P. Maher, C.M. Krejsa, M.E. Lanphear, C.D. Ball, J.B. Meltzer and D.S. Page. 1995. Use of remote sensing to document changes in marsh vegetation following the Amoco Cadiz oil spill (Brittany, France, 1978). Marine Pollution Bulletin 30(12):780-787.

Krebs, C.T. and K.A. Burns. 1977. Long-term effects of an oil spill on populations of the salt-marsh crab Uca pugnax. Science 197:484-487.

Michel, J., Z. Nixon, J. Dahlin, D. Betenbaugh, M. White, D. Burton and S. Turley. 2009. Recovery of interior brackish marshes seven years after the chalk point oil spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin 58(7):995-1006.

Mille, G., D. Munoz, F. Jacquot, L. Rivet and J.C. Bertrand. 1998. The Amoco Cadiz oil spill: Evolution of petroleum hydrocarbons in the Ile Grande salt marshes (Brittany) after a 13-year period. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 47(5):547-559.

Peacock, E.E., R.K. Nelson, A.R. Solow, J.D. Warren, J.L. Baker and C.M. Reddy. 2005. The West Falmouth oil spill: ~100 kg of oil found to persist decades later. Environmental Forensics 6(3):273-281.

Sanders, H.L., J.F. Grassle, G.R. Hampson, L.S. Morse, S. Garner-Price and C.C. Jones. 1980. Anatomy of an oil spill: Long-term effects from the grounding of the barge Florida off West Falmouth, Massachusetts. Journal of Marine Research 38:265-380.
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Chapter 4. Marsh Case Studies
Seneca, E.D. and S.W. Broome. 1982. Restoration of marsh vegetation impacted by the Amoco Cadiz oil spill and subsequent cleanup operations at Ile Grande, France. Ecological Study of the AMOCO Cadiz Oil Spill, Report of the NOAA-CNEXO Joint Scientific Commission. 363-419 pp.

White, H.K., C.M. Reddy and T.I. Eglinton. 2005. Isotopic constraints on the fate of petroleum residues sequestered in salt marsh sediments. Environmental Science & Technology 39(8):2545-2551.

Zengel, S. and J. Michel. 2011. Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Salt marsh oiling conditions, treatment testing, and treatment history in Northern Barataria Bay. Louisiana, NOAA Tech. Memo NOS OR&R

42. Seattle, WA: Emergency Response Division, NOAA. 74 pp. 4-11
Appendix A
Appendix A. Summary of the literature on impacts of light refined oils on marshes.

Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Spills
Florida barge,
Buzzards Bay, MA
Sanders et al. 1980;
Teal et al. 1992;
Peacock et al. 2005;
Culbertson et al.
2007, 2008a,b
Sept
1969
No. 2 fuel oil/
185,000 gal
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora,
Salicornia
virginica, S. patens
No cleanup in
marshes
2 yr: Vegetation dead in heavily
oiled areas; Alive in lightly oiled
areas
7 yr: Fiddler crabs recovering in
some areas; Not in areas with
elevated naphthalenes
30 yr: Moderately weathered oil
present at 8,000 ppm at depths of
12-16 cm
40 yr: Oil residues impacting fiddler
crabs, ribbed mussels, and marsh
vegetation
>40 yr
Bouchard 65 barge
Buzzards Bay, MA
Hampson and Moul
1978;
Hampson 2000;
Peacock et al. 2007
Oct
1974
No. 2 fuel oil/
3,170,000 gal
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora,
Salicornia virginica
No cleanup in
marshes
3 yr: Complete mortality of
vegetation and erosion rates 24x
unoiled areas in heavily oiled
marsh; Lightly oiled marsh showed
lower biomass; Macroalgae
disappeared, microalgal mat
increased
17 yr: Vegetation slowly recovered;
Eroded areas not recovered
30 yr: Weathered oil residues in
surface sediments
>20 yr,
more if
consider
marsh
erosion
Exxon Bayway,
Arthur Kill, NY
Burger 1994;
Bergen et al. 2000
Jan
1990
No. 2 fuel oil/
567,000 gal
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
No cleanup in
marshes

0.5 yr: 7.6 ha of salt marsh killed; 2.8
ha recovering; Extensive fiddler
crab and ribbed mussel mortality
3 yr: No recovery of most of the
denuded areas, so replanted; Oil in
sediments to 90 cm, at up to 55,000
ppm TPH
6-7 yr: Very little regrowth in
unplanted area, no seedling
survival; Planted areas mostly
successful
>7 yr in
unplanted
areas

A-1
Appendix A
Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Kinder Morgan
Pipeline Spill,
Suisun Marsh, CA
Apr
2004
Diesel/
123,774 gal
Diked marsh
Salicornia
virginica, Scirpus
spp., Typha
Extensive removal
of oiled
soils/fertilized/
tilled

0.3 yr: Heavily oiled area near
pipeline break was tilled/fertilized;
Vegetation along the channels
showed good recovery; Initial high
mortality of biota in channels
1-4 yr
except
the tilled
area
Field/Greenhouse Experiments
North Greenland
field oiling
experiment
Holt 1987
Aug
1982
Arctic diesel oil/
10 L/m2
Upland grassland,
and three types of
dwarf-shrub heath
3 yr: Dwarf-shrub heath showed no
recovery; Graminoids showed
almost no recovery except for
Carex bigelowii which recovered
moderately; Forbs showed only a
few seedlings; Mosses showed
good recovery in wet plots/no
recovery in dry plots
>3 yr
Galveston Bay, TX
Alexander and
Webb 1985
Nov
1981;
May
1983
No. 2 fuel oil/
1 L/m2 on soil,

1.5 L/m2 on soil
and lower
plants, 2 L/m2
on soil and
entire plant
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
1 mo: 100% mortality at 2 L/m2 and
about 50% at 1.5 L/m2
5 mo: vegetation at 1.5 and 2 L/m2
had ~50-99% mortality
12 mo: 1.5 and 2 L/m2 lower
vegetation biomass
1 yr for
soil and
lower
stem
oiling;
2 yr for
higher
and entire
plant
oiling
Galveston Bay, TX
Webb and
Alexander 1991
Sept
1983
No. 2 fuel oil/
1 L/m2 on soil,

1.5 L/m2 on
sediment and
lower plants, 2
L/m
2 on soil and
entire plant
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
3 d: Chlorosis when applied to
vegetation, not soil
9 mo: vegetation at 2 L/m2 was
mostly dead, regrowth from the
edges of the plot;
12 mo: 2 L/m2 treatment ~50%
recovered, from rhizome growth
from plants outside the plots;
Other treatments slightly lower
stem density than controls; No oil
accumulation in soils
>1 yr;
likely <2
yr

A-2
Appendix A
Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Greenhouse
experiment, LA
Lin et al. 2002
No. 2 fuel oil/
pre-mixed with
soil at 10 doses
from 0 to 640
mg oil/g soil
S. alterniflora
culms
3 mo: doses of No. 2 fuel oil as low
as 29 mg/g significantly decreased
belowground biomass; There was a
strong dose-response relationship
for biomass, stem height, stem
density, evapotranspiration rate,
and Microtox toxicity
N/A
Greenhouse
experiment, LA
Lin and
Mendelssohn 2009
Weathered
diesel mixed at
7 doses from 0
to 456 mg oil/g
soil
Juncus
roemerianus
culms
1 yr: doses ≥160 mg/g reduced live
stem density, ≥80 mg/g reduced
stem height and above- and
belowground biomass; Pots with
plants had higher degradation of
alkanes than those without plants
N/A
Jervis Bay, Australia
Clarke and Ward
1994
N/A Diesel/
1 L/m2
Salt marsh/
Sarcocornia
quinqueflora,
Sporobolus
virginicus
1-12 mo: Near complete mortality
and no growth of plants; New
growth eliminated for up to one
year; High mortality of littorina
snails, with limited recovery after
one year; Pulmonate snails
recovered within one year
N/A

Appendix A References Cited
Alexander, S.K. and J.W. Webb, Jr. 1985. Seasonal response of Spartina alterniflora to oil. In: Proc. 1985 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 355-357.

Burger, J. 1994. Before and After An Oil Spill: The Arthur Kill. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. 305 pp.

A-3
Appendix A
Culbertson, J.B., I. Valiela, Y.S. Olsen and C.M. Reddy. 2008a. Effect of field exposure to 38-year-old residual petroleum hydrocarbons on growth, condition index, and filtration rate of the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa. Environmental Pollution 154(2):312-319.

Culbertson, J.B., I. Valiela, E.E. Peacock, M. Pickart and C.M. Reddy. 2008b. Long-term consequences of residual petroleum on salt marsh grass. Journal of Applied Ecology 45(4):1284-1292.

Hampson, G.R. 2000. Destruction and recovery of the Winsor Cove, Cataumet, MA salt marsh from a #2 fuel oil spill: A 26 year history. Environment Cape Cod 3:32-39.

Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 35(5):731-744.

Holt, S. 1987. The effects of crude and diesel oil spills on plant communities at Mesters Vig, Northeast Greenland. Arctic and Alpine Research 19(4):490-497.

Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 2009. Potential of restoration and phytoremediation with Juncus roemerianus for diesel-contaminated coastal wetlands. Ecological Engineering 35:85-91.

Peacock, E.E., G.R. Hampson, R.K. Nelson, L. Xu, G.S. Frysinger, R.B. Gaines, J.W. Farrington, B.W. Tripp and C.M. Reddy. 2007. The 1974 spill of the Bouchard 65 oil barge: Petroleum hydrocarbons persist in Winsor Cove salt marsh sediments. Marine Pollution Bulletin 54(2):214-225.

Peacock, E.E., R.K. Nelson, A.R. Solow, J.D. Warren, J.L. Baker and C.M. Reddy. 2005. The West Falmouth oil spill: ~100 kg of oil found to persist decades later. Environmental Forensics 6(3):273-281.

Teal, J.M., J.W. Farrington, K.A. Burns, J.J. Stegeman, B.W. Tripp, B. Woodin and C. Phinney. 1992. The West Falmouth oil spill after 20 years: Fate of fuel oil compounds and effects on animals. Marine Pollution Bulletin 24(12):607-614.

Webb, J.W. and S.K. Alexander. 1991. No. 2 fuel oil effects on spartina alterniflora in a Texas salt marsh.

Marine Science 32:1-11.

A-4
Appendix B
Appendix B. Summary of selected light to medium crude oil spills and experiments in marshes.

Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Spills
T/V Metula
Strait of Magellan,
Chile
Baker 1993;
Owens et al. 1999
Aug
1974
Light Arabian
crude and
Bunker C fuel
oil/

16.2 million gal
Salt marsh/
Salicornia ambigua,
Suaeda
argentinensis
Not cleaned

1.5 yr: Thick mousse up to 30 cm
on the marsh surface; no cleanup
conducted
18 yr: Thick oil remains (mean of

4.1 cm, range up to 8 cm); little
sediment on top; oil still soft and
fresh looking; Little plant
recovery, mostly small Salicornia
rooted below the oil
23 yr: Most marsh still bare in
areas with 10-15 cm oil; areas
with thin oil layer (<2.4 cm)
starting to revegetate; very small
plots tilled in 1993 showed
higher recolonization
>30 yr
T/V Amoco Cadiz
Brittany, France
Vandermeulen et
al. 1981;
Baca et al. 1987;
Gilfillan et al. 1995
March
1976
Arabian and
Iranian light
crude/
70 million gal
Salt marsh/ Heavily
cleaned
(Also see case study
in Chapter 4)
4 yr: Heavily oiled but untreated
marsh recovered
7-8 yr: Heavily oiled untreated
marsh recovered based on field
data
14 yr: Heavily oiled treated
marsh had less vegetated area
and change in marsh community
to low marsh because of
excessive soil removal based on
remote sensing data
4-8 yr
untreated;
>14 yr
treated
T/V Esso Bayway
Neches River, TX
McCauley and
Harrel 1981
Jan
1979
Light Arabian
crude /
275,000 gal
Salt marsh/ S.
patens/ Flushing/
Burning/Cutting
plots
7 mo: Flushed plots showed best
recovery; burned and clipped
plots showed little/no recovery
Note: All plots were flooded
continuously by high water
during the study.
<1 yr for
flushing;
>1 yr for
burn/cut

B-1
Appendix B
Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Pipeline spill,
Galveston Bay, TX
Alexander and
Webb 1987
Jan
1984
Light crude/
6,720 gal
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
Mostly not cleaned,
affected 6.4 km
4-5 mo: Heavily oiled sites had
plant mortality, little regrowth;
up to 100 mg/g TPH; light-
moderately oiled sites showed
little effects
7-8 mo: Heavily oiled sites (10.5-

18.3 mg/g TPH) had reduced
densities of stems?; no oil visible
in other sites
16 mo: Bare areas had 1-51 mg/g
TPH
32 mo; Vegetation recovering
but there were 2-3 m of erosion
>3 yr
Pipeline spill,
Mississippi River, LA
Hester and
Mendelssohn 2000
Apr
1985
Louisiana
crude/
12,600 gal
Brackish marsh/
S. patens
S. alterniflora
Distichlis spicata
20 ha heavy oiling,
treated
1 yr: High mortality in 20 ha
impacted area
4 yr: Nearly complete vegetative
recovery, though some soil
contamination still present
>4 yr
Fidalgo Bay, WA
Hoff et al. 1993,
Hoff 1995
Feb
1991
Prudhoe Bay
crude/
30,000 gal
Fringing salt
marsh/ Salicornia
virginica, D. spicata/
Flushing, vacuum
16 mo: Foot trampling was most
detrimental to vegetation,
washing with vacuum most
effective and minimized impacts
to vegetation
3-4 yr
Gulf War oil spill
Arabian Gulf
Barth 2002
Research Planning
Inc 2003
Höpner and Al-
Shaikh 2008
Jan-
Mar
1991
Kuwait crude
oil/
520 million gal

Salt marsh/
Halocnemon,
Arthocnemon,
Suaeda, Salicornia
No cleanup was
conducted;
extensive
remediation
conducted 2012-
2014
10 yr: 25% of study sites showed
no recovery at all; 20% fully
recovered; 55% showing some
recovery
16 yr: Continued evidence of
recovery, mostly by crabs re-
occupation of tidal channels
22 yr: Continued evidence of
recovery, mostly in the lower
marsh by annuals; very slow
recovery of perennial vegetation
in the upper marsh; remediation
by re-activation or construction
of new tidal channels speeding
the rate of recovery
From 10 to
>30 yr

B-2
Appendix B
Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Three pipeline
spills, Pass a Loutre,
Mississippi Delta,
LA
Lin et al. 1999
Jan
1993;
Oct
1993;
Jan
1994
S. Louisiana
crude/
42-500 gal
depending on
site

Fresh water marsh/
Phragmites australis
500 gal: Intense
cutting/flushing
210 gal: Light
cleanup with
sorbents
42 gal: No cleanup
1-2 yr: Intense cleanup site had
very low soil TPH levels and full
vegetation recovery;
Light cleanup sites had elevated
soil TPH and higher plant
growth, indicating a stimulatory
effect;
No cleanup site (oil was
contained within the boom for
nearly 2 yr) had very elevated
soil TPH and high plant mortality
<2 yr for
cleaned
area;
>2 yr for
no cleanup
site
Deepwater Horizon
LA
Lin and
Mendelssohn 2012
April-
July
2010
Macondo-252
crude oil/

4.9 million
barrels
Salt marshes/
S. alterniflora;
J. roemerianus
7 mo: Heavy oiling of vegetation
and soils killed both S.
alterniflora and J. roemerianus;
Moderate oiling reduced above-
ground biomass and stem
density for J. roemerianus only
N/A
Field/Greenhouse Experiments
Field/St. Louis
Bay/MS
De La Cruz et al.
1981
Late
winter
1974
Empire Mix and
Saudi Arabian
crude

0.25-1.5 L/m2 on
marsh surface;
and 1- 10
repeated oiling
of 0.6 L/m2
Irregularly flooded
tidal marsh/
J. roemerianus
3 mo: High (up to 14 mg/g) oil
uptake in aboveground tissues
6 mo: oil in tissues decreased to

2.5-4 mg/g
9 mo: oil in tissues to
background
12 mo: no oil in belowground
tissues
1-7 mo: reduced growth for all
single oiling, with dose-response
relationship; plant death for 1.5
L/m2 and repeated oiling
3 yr: all plants regardless of
oiling fully recovered
1 yr for 0.5-
2 L/m2;
2 yr for 2.4
L/m2; 3 yr
for 3.6-6
L/m2
Greenhouse/LA
DeLaune et al. 1979
May
1976
S. Louisiana
crude/
4-32 L/m2
maintain 5 cm
water layer
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
4 mo: 4-8 L/m2 reduced
generation of new shoots
because of persistent film on the
water surface; at 16-32 L/m
2 no
new shoots formed
N/A

B-3
Appendix B
Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Field/ Louisiana
DeLaune et al. 1979
May
1976
S. Louisiana
crude/
1-8 L/m2 added
to 0.25 m2
circular plots
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
4 mo: No significant difference in
above-ground biomass
harvested at end of the first
growing season
16 mo: No significant difference
in above-ground biomass
harvested at end of the second
growing season
Note: oil did not come in contact
with leaves
>1 yr
Field/Galveston
Bay, TX
Alexander and
Webb 1985
Nov
1981;
May
1983
Arabian and
Libyan crude:
1 L/m2 on soil,

1.5 L/m2 on
sediment and
lower plant, 2
L/m
2 on soil and
entire plant
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
1 mo: Live biomass reduced for
oiling of entire plant and soil for
both seasons
5 mo: Live biomass reduced for
oiling of entire plant and soil for
May application, not November
12 mo: Live biomass reduced for
oiling of entire plant and soil for
May application, not November
>1 yr for
growing
season /
highest
oiling
Greenhouse/North
Carolina
Ferrell et al. 1984

N/A Venezuela
crude (API =24)/
100% on plants,
32 L/m2 on
water, both on
plant/on water
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
transplants in sand
and 2 parts and 1
part marsh soil
3 mo: 100% oil on plants
increased mortality and
decreased stem density, aerial
dry weight, and regrowth;
Regrowth completely inhibited
for treatments with oil on the
water; Better regrowth in sods
with marsh soils vs. sand
N/A
20 cm on
plants, 32 L/m2
on water, both
on plant/on
water
Brackish marsh/
S. cynosuroides
transplants in sand
3 mo: 20 cm oil on plants had no
effect mortality, stem density,
aerial dry weight, and regrowth;
Oil penetration into the soil
caused ~50% mortality and
reductions in stem density, aerial
dry weight, regrowth, and root
mass
N/A
Greenhouse/LA
Lin and
Mendelssohn 1996
Aug
1991
S. Louisiana
crude/
Up to 24 L/m2
Fresh marsh/
Sagittaria lancifolia
1 yr: Significant increase in
biomass and stem density
Note: oil did not come in contact
with leaves, oil was mostly in the
soil
0 yr

B-4
Appendix B
Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Greenhouse/LA
Lin and
Mendelssohn 1996
Aug
1991
S. Louisiana
crude/
>8 L/m2
Salt/brackish
marsh/
S. alterniflora
S. patens
1 yr: No regrowth of biomass at
levels of 8-24 L/m2
Note: oil did not come in contact
with leaves, oil was mostly in the
soil; S. patens showed more
short-term impacts compared to
S. alterniflora
N/A
Greenhouse/LA
Lin and
Mendelssohn 2012
Nov
2010
Macondo-252
crude oil
(weathered)/
0-100% of shoot
height oiled;
70% with
repeated oiling
every 4 d for 2
mo; 8 L/m
2 to
soil surface
Salt marshes/
S. alterniflora;
J. roemerianus
7 mo: For S. alterniflora effects
persisted for the 70% repeated
oiling and soil oiling only, even
100% oiling recovered to the
level of the controls; For all
metrics, J. roemerianus showed
higher mortality at lower oiling
exposures, starting at higher
than 30% oiling
<1 yr for
single dose
to Spartina
longer for
Juncus
Greenhouse/ AL
Anderson and Hess
2012
Jul
2011
S. Louisiana
crude (fresh,
weathered 3 d;
3 weeks)/
6 L/m
2, 12 L/m2,
24 L/m2 to soils
with simulated
tidal flushing
J. roemerianus 2.5 mo: TPH in soils for the 3
loadings were 13.3 ± 1.6, 25.0 ±

3.1, and 48.0 ± 16.1 mg/g; live
stem counts reduced to 5-25% of
controls; photosynthesis rate =
50% of controls–no differences
with degree of weathering;
Roots died and did not regrow
N/A

Appendix B References Cited
Alexander, S.K. and J.W. Webb, Jr. 1985. Seasonal response of Spartina alterniflora to oil. In: Proc. 1985 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 355-357.

Anderson, C.J. and T.A. Hess. 2012. The effects of oil exposure and weathering on black-needle rush (Juncus roemerianus) marshes along the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Pollution Bulletin 64(12):2749- 2755.

B-5
Appendix B
Baca, B.J., T.E. Lankford and E.R. Gundlach. 1987. Recovery of Brittany coastal marshes in the eight years following the Amoco Cadiz incident. In: Proc. 1987 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 459-464.

Baker, J.M. 1993. Long-term fate and effects of untreated thick oil deposits on saltmarshes. In: Proc. 1993 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 395-399.

De La Cruz, A., C. Hackney and B. Rajanna. 1981. Some effects of crude oil on a Juncus tidal marsh [Mississippi]. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 97:14-28.

DeLaune, R.D., W.H. Patrick, Jr. and R.J. Buresh. 1979. Effect of crude oil on a Louisiana Spartina alterniflora salt marsh. Environmental Pollution 20(1):21-31.

Ferrell, R.E., E.D. Seneca and R.A. Linthurst. 1984. The effects of crude oil on the growth of Spartina alterniflora loisel. and Spartina cynosuroides (L.) roth. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 83(1):27-39.

Hoff, R.Z. 1995. Responding to oil spills in coastal marshes: The fine line between help and hindrance.

Seattle: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hazardous Material Response and Assessment Division, 17 pp.

Höpner, T. and K.A. Al-Shaikh. 2008. Shoreline bioremediation after the 1991 Gulf War oil spill. In:

Abuzinada, A.H., H.-J. Barth, F. Krupp, B. Böer and T.Z. Al Abdessalaam (eds.), Protecting the Gulf’s Marine Ecosystems from Pollution. Springer, pp. 265-272.

B-6
Appendix B
Lin, Q. and I.A. Mendelssohn. 2012. Impacts and recovery of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on vegetation structure and function of coastal salt marshes in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

Environmental Science & Technology 46(7):3737-3743.

McCauley, C.A. and R.C. Harrel. 1981. Effects of oil spill cleanup techniques on a salt marsh. In: Proc. 1981 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 401-407.

Owens, E.H., A.M. Scienkiewicz and G.A. Sergy. 1999. Evaluation of shoreline cleaning versus natural recovery: The Metula spill and the Komi operations. In: Proc.1999 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 503-509.

Vandermeulen, J.H., B.F.N. Long and L.D. Ozouville. 1981. Geomorphological alteration of a heavily oiled saltmarsh (Ile Grande, France) as a result of massive cleanup. In: Proc. 1981 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 347-351.

B-7
Appendix C
Appendix C. Summary of selected heavy fuel oil spills and experiments in marshes.

Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Spills
T/V Arrow
Chedabucto Bay,
Nova Scotia
Thomas 1973,
1978
Gilfillan and
Vandermeulen
1978
Feb
1970
No. 6 fuel oil/
3 million gal

Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
The heavily oiled
cove was not
cleaned
2 yr: Extensive vegetation mortality,
due in part to chronic re-oiling;
heavy mortalities of soft-shell clams
6 yr: Continued differences in
biomass between oiled and control
stations; soft-shell clams and
periwinkles also affected
>6 yr
Mill River, CT
Burk 1977
Jan
1972
Heavy fuel oil/
unknown
volume

Freshwater
ponds/
23 species
No information on
cleanup methods

0.5 yr: Annual vegetation severely
affected, with disappearance of 7
species and declines in 3 species
post-spill
3 yr: Annual species recovering,
particularly in high marsh
4 yr: High and mid marsh
communities recovered; low marsh
still showed low species richness
and diversity
>4 yr
T/V Golden Robin
Dalhousie, New
Brunswick,
Canada
Vandermeulen
and Jotcham 1986
Sept
1974
Bunker C/
42,000 gal
High salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
S. patens
Various cleanup
methods
attempted

0.75 yr: First attempts to clean
heavily oiled marsh, using manual
removal of oiled vegetation, digging
and spading of soils and vegetation,
mechanical plowing, sod cutting,
and burning. None were successful,
and mechanical methods greatly
disturbed the soils
2-3 yr: Poor recovery of vegetation
in all test plots; oil contamination to
at least 10 cm and up to 20 cm;
asphaltic layer 1-3 cm thick
3-10 yr: Gradual vegetation
recovery, most rapid for plots with
manual treatment or burning
11 yr: Most plots fully recovered
vegetation; soils still contaminated;
burial by clean sediment up to 15
cm
~ 10 yr

C-1
Appendix C
Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
Barge Nepco-140
St. Lawrence River,
NY
Alexander et al.
1981
June
1976
Bunker C/
308,000 gal
Freshwater marsh/
Typha
Intensive cleaning
and cutting
1 yr: Typha growth where oiled and
cut was 75 cm taller than where not
cut, but had no flowers
2 yr: Typha growth and flowering
were normal
(note the water levels were low after
cutting, so the cut stalks were
always above water)
<2 yr
Bolivar Peninsula,
TX
Webb et al. 1981
Oct
1977
No. 6 fuel oil/
42,000 gal
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora/
Several hectares/
Cleanup by raking
and vegetation
cutting
7 mo: Full recovery by the first
growing season; total plant
coverage caused death of the
aboveground vegetation; when the
upper 1/3 was not oiled, plants
survived
<1 yr
T/V Lang Fonn
Potomac River,
MD
Krebs and Tanner
1981
Dec
1978
No. 6 fuel oil up
to 10 cm in a
small
cove/25,000 gal
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora/
Cleanup by raking
and vegetation
cutting
~2 yr: Vegetation mortality and no
regrowth in soils with >16,000 ppm
TPH, reduced growth at 5,000 ppm,
and stimulation at <2,000 ppm;
periwinkes and ribbed mussels
much reduced
>2 yr
Barge STC-101,
Chesapeake Bay,
VA
Hershener and
Moore 1977
Feb
1976
No. 6 fuel oil
250,000 gal
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora/
Manual oil
removal and
vegetation cutting
3 mo: High mortality of periwinkles,
slight mortality of ribbed mussels,
no impact to oysters, new shoots
shorter
7 mo: Periwinkles similar to controls,
higher mortality of oyster spat in
oiled marsh, and vegetation had
higher stem density, shorter stems,
and more flowering that showed an
increase in net productivity
1 yr
Cape Fear River,
NC
Baca et al. 1983,
1985
April
1982
Heavy fuel oil
400,000 gal
Riverine brackish
marsh/
S. alterniflora,
S. cynosuroides,
Scirpus olneyi,
Juncus effuses/
limited cutting
2 mo: 48 km of marsh shoreline was
oiled; initial mortality of heavily
oiled fringing vegetation; less
mortality when only the lower parts
of the plants were oiled
2 yr: All vegetation that was not cut
was fully recovered and even
increased in width; cut vegetation
died with no re-growth
<2 yr

C-2
Appendix C
Spill Name/
Location/Citation
Oiling
Date
Oil Type/
Volume Spilled
Habitat/Species/
Cleanup Method Results by Years Post-spill Years to
Recovery
T/V Julie N
Fore River, ME
Michel et al. 1998
Sept
1996
IFO 380 and No.
2 fuel oil
170,000 gal
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
S. patens/ 10.2 ha/
No active cleanup
1 yr: All plots had stem heights and
density similar to unoiled controls,
but there were 96 patches of dead
vegetation, likely from exposure to
the No. 2 fuel oil
1 yr
except for
the 96
patches
Lake Wabamun,
Alberta, Canada
Wernick et al.
2009
Aug
2005
Bunker C
39,340 gal
Freshwater lake,
Schoenoplectus
tabernaemontani
(= Scirpus
validus)/reed
cutting, vacuum
2 yr: Post-spill transect length, total
cover, and biomass were not
significantly different between
exposed and reference lake basins,
except for a few areas with reduced
biomass, likely due to treatment
effects
<2 yr
M/V Westwood,
Howe Sound,
British Columbia,
Canada
Challenger et al.
2008
Aug
2006
IFO 380/
7,630 gal
Salt marsh /
Eleocharis
palustris,
Carex lyngbyei/ 4.2
ha/ Sediment
removal,
vegetation cutting
1 yr: Heavily oiled/untreated Carex
had similar stem density/height and
aboveground biomass to lightly
oiled and unoiled controls; large
reductions in these for sediment
removal and trampling but not
cutting only;
For Eleocharis, in heavily oiled areas,
areas that were flushed or cut
showed positive effects;
Very elevated TPH and PAH in
trampled areas
N/A
Field/Greenhouse Experiments
Georgia salt marsh
Lee et al. 1981
Nov-
Dec
1978
No. 5 fuel oil at
150 L over 4,000
m
2 (0.0375 L/m2)

Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora

1.6 yr: High mortality of periwinkle
snails; no change in populations of
fiddler crab, oysters, or mussels;
mud snails increased in density to
scavenge on dead animals
>2 yr
Galveston Bay, TX
Alexander and
Webb 1985
Nov
1981;
May
1983
No. 6 fuel oil: 1
L/m2 on soil, 1.5
L/m2 on
sediment and
lower plants, 2
L/m
2 on soil and
entire plant
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
1 mo: Live biomass reduced by
~50% for oiling of entire plant only
and May application, not November
5 mo: dead biomass higher for both
treatment with oil on vegetation
and May application, not November
12 mo: No differences for oiled plots
for all seasons and treatments
1 yr

C-3
Appendix C

Appendix C References Cited
Alexander, M.M., P. Longabucco and D.M. Phillips. 1981. The impact of oil on marsh communities in the St. Lawrence River. In: Proc. 1981 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 333- 340.

Alexander, S.K. and J.W. Webb, Jr. 1985. Seasonal response of Spartina alterniflora to oil. In: Proc. 1985 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 355-357.

Baca, B.J., C.D. Getter and J. Lindstedt-Siva. 1985. Freshwater oil spill considerations: Protection and cleanup. In: Proc. 1985 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 385-390.

Baca, B.J., J. Michel, T.W. Kana and N.G. Maynard. 1983. Cape Fear River oil spill (North Carolina):

Determining oil quantity from marsh surface area. In: Proc. 1983 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 419-422.

Burk, C.J. 1977. Four year analysis of vegetation following an oil spill in a freshwater marsh. Journal of Applied Ecology 14(2):515-522.

Gilfillan, E.S. and J.H. Vandermeulen. 1978. Alterations in growth and physiology of soft-shell clams, mya arenaria, chronically oiled with Bunker C from Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia, 1970-76. Journal of the Fisheries Board of Canada 35(5):630-636.

Hershener, C. and K. Moore. 1977. Effects of the Chesapeake Bay oil spill on salt marshes of the lower bay. In: Proc. 1977 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 529-533.

Lee, R.F., B. Dornseif, F. Gonsoulin, K. Tenore and R. Hanson. 1981. Fate and effects of a heavy fuel oil spill on a Georgia salt marsh. Marine Environmental Research 5(2):125-143.

Michel, J., S.M. Lehmann and C.B. Henry, Jr. 1998. Oiling and cleanup issues in wetlands M/T Julie N spill, Portland, Maine. In: Proc. 21st Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program Technical Seminar.

Environmental Canada, Ottawa, Canada. pp. 841-856.

C-4
Appendix C
Thomas, M.L.H. 1973. Effects of Bunker C oil on intertidal and lagoonal biota in Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia. Journal of the Fisheries Board of Canada 30(1):83-90.

Thomas, M.L.H. 1978. Comparison of oiled and unoiled intertidal communities in Chedabucto Bay, Nova Scotia. Journal of the Fisheries Board of Canada 35(5):707-716.

Webb, J.W., G.T. Tanner and B.H. Koerth. 1981. Oil-spill effects on smooth cordgrass in Galveston Bay, Texas. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. pp. 107-114.

C-5
Appendix D
Appendix D. Spills and experiments where in situ burning was conducted in marshes.

Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Intracoastal
City Well
Blowout or
McCormick
Well Blowout/
Intracoastal
City, LA
Castle 2012
Nov
1975
S. Louisiana waxy
crude (pour point
of 80°F)/110,000
bbl
spilled/estimated
30,000 bbl burned
Minor waxy
residue was
observed locally
Brackish
marsh/
Spartina spp.

~70 ha,
including
area oiled
by rainout
of the
blowout
plume,
heavily
coating the
plant
canopy
Wetlands had been burned
annually by trappers, and
were due for burning at the
time of the blowout.

Observations of a test burn
conducted by the USCG
showed new growth after 1
week. Survey in April 1976
showed significant re-growth
in burn areas except where
berms and other earthworks
were constructed
1-2 yr
Harbor Island,
TX
Holt et al. 1978
Oct
1976
Crude oil/377 bbl
though only a
small amount was
burned
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora,
black
mangrove

0.1 ha
heavily
oiled,
burned by
err

0.5 yr: S. alterniflora biomass
= 60% of unoiled/unburned
controls; Lowest recovery
was in area of standing
water; 100% mortality of
mangroves in burn area
N/A but
likely <2
yr
ESSO Bayway,
Port Neches,
TX
McCauley and
Harrel 1981
Jan
1979
Light Arabian
crude/6,545 bbl
small marsh
islands burned in
cleanup
experiment
Brackish
marsh/ S.
patens
Small
marsh
island, with
3 plots of 3
m
2;
flooded

0.6 yr: Biomass in
oiled/burned was 3% of
unoiled/unburned controls;
Burned/unoiled biomass was

1.5% of unoiled/unburned
controls;
Poor recovery due to
persistent high water levels
(3-55 cm) and low salinity (~
0 ppt) post-treatments
N/A but
likely <5
yr
Trans-Alaska
Pipeline,
Fairbanks, AK
Buhite 1979
Feb
1978
Prudhoe Bay
crude/16,000 bbl
spilled, 500 bbl
burned
Ponded
tundra with
water depth
from a few
cm to 1 m

0.8 ha
burned on
Day 63

0.5 yr: entire area was
fertilized, with 50% plant
regrowth during the first
growing season
N/A but
likely <5
yr

D-1
Appendix D
Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Black Lake,
West
Hackberry, LA
Overton et al.
1981
Sept
1978
Light Arabian
crude/72,000 bbl
spilled/most
burned
Lacustrine
and fringing
marsh
N/A Sediment samples collected
at 1, 16, 29, and 53 weeks
post-spill showed only
background contamination.

Foliage samples collected 1
and 16 weeks post-spill
showed elevated PAHs from
soot deposition several km
from the site; At 29 weeks,
foliage samples showed no
contamination
N/A
Texaco Lafitte
oil field Site 2,
LA
Mendelssohn
et al. 1995
May
1983
S. Louisiana
crude/ 282
bbl/some cleaned
before burn
Brackish
marsh/ S.
patens,
D. spicata,
S. alterniflora
N/A 11 yr: No significant
differences in soil TPH, live
biomass, total biomass;
Burned area higher species
richness than unoiled control
(7.6 vs 4.8), but not
significant
N/A
Texaco Lafitte
oil field Site 3,
LA
Mendelssohn
et al. 1995
Sept
1986
S. Louisiana
crude/ 4 bbl
Coastal
brackish
marsh/ S.
alterniflora,
D. spicata
N/A 8 yr: Soil TPH was 162 mg/g
at the burn site vs 2 mg/g at
the control site (may have
been a more recent spill); No
significant differences in live
and total plant biomass and
live-to-dead biomass; species
richness in oiled/burned
plots was 2.8 vs 6.6 in control
plots; Overall recovery was
ranked good
<8 yrs
Friendship II
Pipeline,
Kekcse,
Hungary
Nagy 1991
Jan
1988
Crude/
2,657 bbl spilled/
30 bbl burned
Peat and bog
wetland
(mostly
sedges and
reeds)

5.4 ha 1.5 yr: Sedge and reed
vegetation recovered to near
the original plant density

1.5 yr

D-2
Appendix D
Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Imperial Oil,
British
Columbia,
Canada
Moir and
Erskin 1994
June
1990
Canadian crude
oil/ 840 bbl
spilled/ majority
burned
Freshwater
wetland bog
2 ha
burned on
Day 2; bog
was
flooded
Day 5: new vegetation
appeared; site was seeded
and fertilized

0.75 yr: Vegetation was
recovering and no oil was
apparent on the site or
stream
N/A
Pass a Loutre,
Mississippi
Delta, LA
Mendelssohn
et al. 1995
Aug
1990
S. Louisiana
crude/several
hundred bbl
spilled/most
burned
Freshwater
marsh/
Phragmites
australis

5.25 ha
burned
shortly
after the
spill
4 yr: Soil TPH was not
different for oiled/burned vs
2 control sites; Live and total
plant biomass and live:dead
ratio were higher at the
oiled/burned sites; overall
recovery was ranked
excellent
<4 yr
Chiltipin
Creek, TX
Gonzalez and
Lugo 1995;
Tunnell et al.
1995; Hyde et
al. 1999
Jan
1992
S. Texas light
crude/ 2,950 bbl
spilled; 1,150 bbl
burned;
80-85% burned
Asphaltic, taffy-
like residue
covered the marsh
surface and was
manually
removed
High marsh/
D. spicata,
Batis
maritima.

Borrichia
frutescens

6.5 ha
burned on
Day 4, 10
ha oiled;
variable
water
levels

1.6 yr: high % cover but
mostly by D. spicata

2.6 yr: Increase in species
diversity, bare area declining;
little change in TPH, but
more weathered

3.6 yr: no change; apparent
“steady state”
7 yr: increase in bare area,
species diversity but affected
by drought and damage
from feral hogs and seismic
survey
Predicted
14-15 yr
based on
trajectory
for climax
species
Texaco Lafitte
oil field Site 1,
LA
Mendelssohn
et al. 1995
June
1992
S. Louisiana crude
/1 bbl
Brackish
marsh/ S.
patens,
D. spicata,
J.
roemerianus
N/A 2.4 yr: No significant
differences in soil TPH, live
and total plant biomass, or
species richness for
oiled/burned and control
plots, but there was a trend
towards lower biomass in the
oiled/burned plots; Burned
plots had higher live-to-dead
plant biomass; Overall
recovery was ranked as
moderate to good
~2.5 yr
D-3
Appendix D

Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Meire Grove,
MN
Amoco
Pipeline
Zischke 1993;
Mendelssohn
et al. 1995
Sept
1992
Fuel oil and
gasoline. 2,500 bbl
spilled/unknown
amount burned
Freshwater
wetland
pond/ Typha
spp.

0.8 ha
burned on
Day 2 of
discovery,
but leaked
for 10 days
Shortly after the burn: #
invertebrate taxa/m2 was 18
times higher at control vs
oiled/burned pond
1 yr: considerable recovery in
invertebrates
2 yr: Residual signs of
trampling; Live plant biomass
was 35 x higher and total
plant biomass was 50 x
higher in control pond vs
oiled/burned pond; No
differences in soil TPH;
overall recovery was ranked
poor
>2 yrs but
likely <10
yr
Naval Air
Station,
Brunswick, ME
Eufemia 1993;
Metzger 1995

Mar
1993
JP-5 aviation fuel/
1,512 bbl spilled/
500 bbl burned
No burn residue
Freshwater
pond
T. latifolia,
Sparganium
americanum
~1 ha
burned on
Day 8

0.4 yr: Studies of vegetation,
fish, birds, mammals, benthic
community, water quality,
sediment quality
oiled/burned vs control sites
the following summer; No
differences in plant cover or
soil TPH; normal species
abundance and distribution.

Increase of S. americanum
(burreed) over cattails, which
was beneficial
<0.5 yr
Kolva River
Basin Pipeline
Spill Site 5,
Komi, Russia
Hartley 1996
1995 Crude
oil/unknown
volume because
of multiple leaks
from 1986-1994
Muskeg
swamp with
no outlet
6 ha
burned
Burned violently for 20 hours,
creating so much heat that
the oil was driven deep into
the peat mat; Burn residue
on the surface was extremely
viscous and oily, making
further cleanup almost
impossible
N/A but
likely
decades

D-4
Appendix D
Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Rockefeller
State Refuge,
LA
Hess et al.
1997; Pahl et
al. 1997, 2003

Mar
1995
Condensate/40
bbl
No burn residue
Brackish
marsh/ S.
patens,
D. spicata,
S. alterniflora.

Scripus
robustus
40 ha
burned on
Day 5;
some
water on
marsh
surface;
Studied
oiled,
oiled/burn
ed, and
control
transects

0.6 yr: burned transects: total
cover 50% of other
treatments; S. patens 14% of
other treatments; S. robustus
much higher (D. spicata
slowed by post-burn
flooding), thus stem density
30% of other treatments; Soil
TPH decreased to
background

2.6 yr: stem density, live
biomass, total percent cover,
and species composition of
oiled/burned and oiled
similar to control
3 yr
Refugio, TX
Clark and
Martin 1999
May
1997
Refugio Light and
Giddings Stream
crudes
90% burned
Minor burn
residue
Freshwater
wetland/
Borrichia
frutescens,
S. spartinae

2.4 ha
burned on
Day 3
Observed new crayfish
burrows shortly after the
burn. Wetland was used for
cattle grazing
N/A
Vermillion 16
Freshwater
City, LA
Henry 1997
July
1997
Condensate, API
50/ unknown
amount
spilled/most
burned
Brackish
marsh/
Scirpus spp,
S. patens,
D. spicata
3-4 ha
burned on
Day 13
after
report; had
been
leaking 4
mo
During the burn, there was 5-
10 cm of standing water in
the thick vegetation

0.5 yr: very little vegetation
re-growth–the site looked
like an open pond. Plant
death attributed to the 4 mo
of exposure to the light
crude.

N/A
Chevron
Pipeline MP
68, Corrine, UT
Williams et al.
2003
Michel et al.
2002
Jan
2000
Diesel/100 bbl
75-80% burned
No burn residue
Freshwater
wetlands,
alkali flats,
snow and ice
cover

5.2 ha
burned on
10 March,

1.3 ha on
27 April
Burn area = 1.3x intended
area. Vegetation died in
heavily oiled areas, burning
not effective in removing oil
penetrated into sediments or
reduce toxic effects prior to
burn; 4.1 ha fertilized and
tilled in 2000/2001 to get
PAH levels below criteria of
20 mg/kg
N/A. but
likely <5
yr
D-5
Appendix D

Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Louisiana
Point, LA
Michel et al.
2002
Feb
2000
Condensate/
unknown amount
spilled or burned;
No residue
High salt
marsh/ D.
spicata,
Borrichia
frutescens,
Batis
maritime,
S. patens

5.3 ha
oiled, 55 ha
burned on
Day 3

0.5-1 cm
water over
marsh
during the
burn

0.6 yr: In burned areas, total
cover 64% and stem density
22% of control, B. frutescens
and D. spicata much reduced.

Stem density lower for all
species

1.6 yr: total cover 76% and
stem density 80% of control,
with stem density of B.
frutescens at 10%, D. spicata
at 32%, and Batis at 120%
>1.6 yr,
but likely
<5 yr
Ruffy Brook,
MN
Michel et al.
2002
July
2000
Medium crude
oil/>50 bbl
80% burned; tar-
like residue ~1 cm
thick, manually
removed
Ponded
freshwater
wetland

1.2 ha
burned on
Day 1; 0.3-
1 m of
water in
pond
1 yr: All herbaceous
vegetation recovered;
willows died (they are known
to be sensitive to fire); No
evidence residues sank
<1 yr
Mosquito Bay,
LA
Michel et al.
2002
April
2001
Condensate/
>1,000 bbl;
No residue
Brackish
marsh/ S.
patens,
D. spicata,
S.
cynosuroides

4.9 ha
oiled, 40 ha
burned on
Days 7 and
8; 1-10 cm
water layer
on marsh
After the burn, oil in burrows
still present

0.5 yr: burned/lightly and
unoiled vegetation
recovered with abundant
fiddler crabs present,
burned/heavily oiled areas
along creek banks died, so
did not reduce toxicity from
contact with condensate
prior to burn
<0.5 yr for
lightly
oiled
areas; 1 yr
for
heavily
oiled
areas
Enbridge
Pipeline,
Cohasset, MN
Leppälä 2004
July
2002
Canadian crude/
6,000 bbl spilled,
3,000 bbl burned;
significant residue
that was thicker
Freshwater
forested/
scrub-shrub
with peat
base

4.5 ha
affected,

2.4 ha
burned on
Day 1,
lasted 24
hours
Vegetation recovery was
estimated to take many years
because the deep excavation
post-burn, as well as the
burning of trees

Many
years,
likely >10
yr

D-6
Appendix D
Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Chevron
Texaco #2
Tank Battery,
Sabine NWR,
LA
Entrix 2003
Aug
2002
S. Louisiana
crude/
150-300 bbl;
pockets of oil and
oil residues with
nets and sorbent
materials
Brackish
marsh/ S.
patens, Typha
latifolia

1.4 ha
burned on
Day 4

0.7 yr: 80-90% cover in burn
area, slight hydrocarbon
odor in sediments; Mean
2,150 ppm TPH

1.2 yr: cattail 6 ft tall and
seeds abundant, S. patens 3 ft
tall; Mean 8 ppm TPH

1 yr
Chevron
Pipeline MP
68, Corrine, UT
Earthfax
Engineering
Inc 2003
Nov
2002
Gasoline
No residue
Freshwater
wetlands,
alkali flats,

8.4 ha
affected,

5.5 ha
burned on
Day 5
50% evaporated, 25-30%
burned, rest in soils
N/A
Chevron
Empire, LA
Myers 2006;
Merten et al.
2008; Baustian
et al. 2010
Oct
2005
S. Louisiana
crude/ 100-200
bbl;
Some burn
residue that was
sticky and liquid
(unburned) oil in
burrows; removed
with sorbents and
natural flushing
Brackish
marsh/
S. patens
Schoenplectus
americana
(chairmaker’s
bulrush),
D. spicata
11 ha
burned on
Days 44-45
after the
initial
release
during
Katrina; 0-
10 cm
water over
the marsh
30 d: new vegetation 30-60
cm high

0.75 y: Plant biomass and
species composition in
oiled/burned returned to
control levels; However,
species richness remained
somewhat lower in the oiled
and burned areas compared
to the reference areas;
1-1.5 yr: No differences
between oiled/burned and
control sites for sediment
accretion, cellulose
decomposition, and the rate
of recovery from
experimental disturbances
(lethal and non-lethal
removal of vegetation)
1 yr
Field/Greenhouse Experiments
Field/Texas
Kiesling et al.
1988
? No. 2 fuel
oil/crude; Field
experiment of
flushing, cutting,
burning
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora
1m2 field
plots
1 yr: Biomass did not differ
among treatments for both
oil types; Burning increased
oil in sediment by 27-72%
1 yr

D-7
Appendix D
Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Field/
Terrebonne
Bay, LA
Lindau et al.
1999
Aug
1995
S. Louisiana
crude/ 2 L/m2
Field experiment
of oiled,
oiled/burned,
control
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora,

2.4 m x 2.4
m plots,
oiled stems
and leaves
1 yr: no difference between
oiled/burned, oiled, and
control for plant density and
biomass, carbon fixation;
Stem height for burned plot
was higher than others
1 yr
Field/
Terrebonne
Bay, LA
Lindau et al.
2003
Aug
1995
S. Louisiana
crude/ 2 L/m2
Field experiment
of oiled,
oiled/burned,
control
Salt marsh/
S. alterniflora,
Fresh marsh/
Sag. lancifolia

2.4 m x 2.4
m plots,
oiled stems
and leaves

0.25 yr: 83% reductions in
carbon fixation, live stem
density and plant height for
oiled and oiled/burned vs.
control;
1 yr: all oiled/burned plots
had 100+% recovery
compared to controls; Oiled
plots were at 62% of controls
1 yr
Greenhouse
experiment/LA
Smith and
Proffitt 1999
April
1997
Venezuela crude,
0, 4, 8, 16, and 24
L/m
2 to the
sediment surface
Three clones
of S.
alterniflora
Laboratory
pots, oiled/
burned,
oiled for 5
oil
loadings;
n=3
Water level
at the
sediment
surface

0.5 yr: oiled/burned had
increased survival relative to
oiled-only groups in all
except the highest two oil
dosages; At 16 L/m
2 oiled/burned, survival was
slightly reduced; at 24 L/m2,
survival was 10-50%;
New shoots died with >1 cm
oil on the surface;
For biomass, oiled/burned
was higher than oiled for
loadings of 4-16 L/m
2 oil, but
all significantly decreased
N/A

D-8
Appendix D
Spill Name/
Location/
Citation
Burn
Date
Oil Type/Volume
Spilled/Burned
Habitat/
Species Burn Area Results by Years Post-burn Years to
Recovery
Burn-tank
experiments/
LA
Mendelssohn
et al. 2001;
Lin et al. 2002
Aug
1999
Diesel

1.5 L/m2
S. alterniflora Laboratory
pots, water
depths 10,
2, 0, -10 cm
(n= 5),
burn
duration
400 and
1400 s

0.6 yr: 10 cm water over the
soil surface kept
temperatures <37°C with
high plant survival and
regrowth; with 0 and 2 cm
water, the soil temperatures
were low, but diesel still
killed the plants; water at 10
cm below the soil surface
resulted in high soil
temperature (120°C at 2 cm
depth) and almost complete
mortality; No plants survived
at temperature >60°C at 2 cm
soil depth; Burning did not
remove oil that had
penetrated into the soil
N/A
Burn-tank
experiments/
LA
Lin et al. 2005;
Bryner et al.
2003
Aug
2000
S. Louisiana crude
and diesel

0.5 L/m2 added to
the soil before the
burn
(this dosage will
not severely affect
the plants but is
high enough to
analyze
effectiveness of
burning in
removing oil from
the soil)
S. alterniflora
S. patens/D.
spicata, Sag.
lancifolia
Laboratory
pots, water
depths 10,
2, -2 cm
(n= 5),
burn
duration
700 s
1 yr: 10 and 2 cm water over
the soil surface kept
temperatures at <40 and
<50°C, respectively, with
high plant survival and
regrowth; Water at 2 cm
below the soil surface
resulted in temperature 80-
100°C at 0.5 cm depth; S.
patens and D. spicata
survived 2 cm of soil
exposure (dense stems,
deeper rhizomes, and rapid
regrowth), whereas S
alterniflora (30% reduced
survival) and Sag. lancifolia
(50% reduction in survival)
because its rhizomes are
shallow); Burning did not
remove the crude oil added
to the soil before the burn;
Burning did remove more of
the diesel
N/A
D-9
Appendix D
Appendix D References Cited
Baustian, J., I.A. Mendelssohn, Q. Lin and J. Rapp. 2010. In situ burning restores the ecological function and structure of an oil-impacted coastal marsh. Environmental Management 46(5):781-789.

Bryner, N.P., W.D. Walton, I.A. Mendelssohn, Q. Lin and J.V. Mullin. 2003. Effects of in situ burning on coastal wetlands: Soil temperatures and regrowth of marsh plant species. In: Proc. International Oil Spill Conference. pp. 115-121.

Buhite, T.R. 1979. Cleanup of a cold weather terrestrial pipeline spill. In: Proc.1979 Oil Spill Conference.

American Petroleum Institute Publ. No. 4308, pp. 367-369.

Castle, R.E. 2012. Personal communication.

Clark, T. and R.D. Martin. 1999. in situ burning: After action review (successful burn 48 hours after discharge). In: Proc. 1999 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. Paper #197. 3 pp.

Earthfax Engineering Inc. 2003. Final remediation report for the Chevron Pipeline Company Salt Lake to Spokane products systems pipeline milepost 69 unleaded gasoline release near Tremonton, Utah. 439 pp.

Entrix. 2003. October 2003 post-burn monitoring report. Submitted to Chevron Company. 37 pp.

Eufemia, S.J. 1993. Brunswick naval air station JP-5 aviation fuel discharge in situ burn of fuel remaining in fresh water marsh 6-8 April 1993. Environmental Pollution Main Department of Environmental Protection, Portland, ME. 4 pp.

Gonzalez, M.F. and G.A. Lugo. 1995. Texas marsh burn: Removing oil from a salt marsh using in situ burning. In: Proc. In Situ Burning Oil Spill Workshop. National Institute of Standards and Technology. pp. 77-90.

Hartley, A.E., Sr. 1996. Overview of the Kolva River basin 1995 oil recovery and mitigation project. In:

Proc. Nineteenth Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program Technical Seminar. Environmental Canada, Ottawa, Canada. pp. 1301-1307.

Henry, C.B. 1997. Vermillion oil spill: In situ burn and monitoring study. Chemistry Report IES/RCAT97-

30. Institute for Environmental Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. 10 pp.

Hess, T.J., Jr., L.I. Byron, H.W. Finley and C.B. Henry Jr. 1997. The Rockefeller Refuge oil spill: A team approach to incident response. In: Proc. 1997 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 817-821.

D-10
Appendix D
Holt, S., S. Rabalais, N. Rabalais, S. Cornelius and S.J. Holland. 1978. Effects of an oil spill on salt marshes at Harbor Island, Texas. I. Biology. In: Proc. Conference on Assessment of Ecological Impacts of Oil Spills. American Petroleum Institute of Biological Sciences. pp. 344-252.

Kiesling, R.W., S.K. Alexander and J.W. Webb. 1988. Evaluation of alternative oil spill cleanup techniques in a Spartina alterniflora salt marsh. Environmental Pollution 55(3):221-238.

Leppälä, S. 2004. A crude oil in situ burn in a peat bog. A presentation to the 2004 Freshwater Spills Symposium.

Lin, Q., I.A. Mendelssohn, N.P. Bryner and W.D. Walton. 2005. In situ burning of oil in coastal marshes. 1.

Vegetation recovery and soil temperature as a function of water depth, oil type, and marsh type.

Environmental Science & Technology 39(6):1848-1854.

Lindau, C., R. DeLaune, A. Jugsujinda and E. Sajo. 1999. Response of Spartina alterniflora vegetation to oiling and burning of applied oil. Marine Pollution Bulletin 38(12):1216-1220.

Lindau, C.W., R.D. Delaune and A. Jugsujinda. 2003. Marsh sensitivity to burning of applied crude oil.

Spill Science and Technology Bulletin 8(4):401-404.

McCauley, C.A. and R.C. Harrel. 1981. Effects of oil spill cleanup techniques on a salt marsh. In: Proc. 1981 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 401-407.

D-11
Appendix D
Metzger, R.A. 1995. 1994 Ecological Assessment. Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine. Halliburton NUS Corp. PA.

Michel, J., Z. Nixon, H. Hinkeldey and S. Miles. 2002. Use of in situ burning as an oil spill response tool:

Follow-up of four case studies. In: Proc. 2003 International Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 1-6.

Moir, M.E. and B. Erskin. 1994. In-situ burning of oil spills on land: A case study. In: Proc. Seventeenth Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program Technical Seminar. Environmental Canada, Ottawa, Canada. pp. 651-655.

Myers, J. 2006. In situ burn and initial recovery of a south Louisiana intermediate marsh. In: Proc.

Twenty-ninth Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program Technical Seminar. Environmental Canada, Ottawa, Canada. pp. 977-987.

Nagy, P. 1991. Environmental pollution caused by crude oil pipelines. In: Proc. National Environmental Protection Conference.

Overton, E.B., J.A. Mcfall, S.W. Mascarella, C.F. Steele, S.A. Antoine, I.R. Politzer and J.L. Laseter. 1981.

Identification of petroleum residue sources after a fire and oil spill. In: Proc. 1981 Oil Spill Conference. American Petroleum Institute. pp. 541-546.

Pahl, J.W., I.A. Mendelssohn, C.B. Henry, Jr. and T.J. Hess. 2003. Recovery trajectories after in situ burning of an oiled wetland in coastal Louisiana, USA. Environmental Management 31(2):236-251.

Smith, D.L. and C.E. Proffitt. 1999. The effects of crude oil and remediation burning on three clones of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora loisel). Estuaries 22(3):616-623.

Zischke, J.A. 1993. Benthic invertebrate survey: Meire Grove pipeline project. Report for Delta Environmental Consultants, Inc. 7 pp.

D-12

September 2013

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

COMMERCE
Penny Pritkzer, Secretary
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce
for Oceans and Atmosphere, and
NOAA Administrator
National Ocean Service
Dr. Holly Bamford
Assistant Administrator for
Ocean Services and Coastal Zone
Management

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OIL SPILLS AND TOURISM: THEY DON’T MIX
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster in 2010 marked the worst environmental tragedy in our nation’s history, with effects that will last years, if not decades. Despite claims made by oil companies that offshore drilling is safer than ever before, the fact remains that the technologies surrounding offshore drilling are relatively unchanged, and the risk of a major spill is still a very real possibility.

The effects of the BP oil spill on tourism, particularly on the Gulf Coast of Florida, serve as a case study to demonstrate how an oil spill along the Atlantic coast might affect tourism in nearby states, especially in areas that were not directly tainted by spilled oil. Much can be learned from academic journal articles, interview data related to trends in the hotel industry, and Google Trends, which tracks how often a search term is entered relative to the total search volume in a region.

Tourism significantly declines after an oil spill:

In Louisiana, leisure visitors spent much less money following the oil spill. o Leisure visitor spending in 2010 dropped by $247 million, though this loss was somewhat offset by an increase in spending from the oil spill cleanup. 1
o Leisure visitor spending was projected to lose $422 million from 2010 through 2013.2

As the spill spread along the coast, so did hotel cancellations throughout the Gulf Coast.3 o 2 weeks after the spill, 35% of hotels surveyed had cancellations. o Cancellation percentages rose 4 weeks after the spill (44%) and 6 weeks after the spill (60%).

Hotels in Gulf Coast states had difficulty booking future events.4 o 2 weeks after the spill, 42% had difficulty booking future events. o The difficulty in booking future events doubled over the next two surveys (4 and 6 weeks).

There was a marked decline in Gulf Coast tourism interest following the oil spill.5 o Tripadvisor.com reports that in the 20 day period after the spill, consumers searched 52% less for Pensacola, FL., 65% less for Gulf Shores, AL., and 48% less for Destin, FL. o 26% of those who had plans to visit Louisiana postponed or canceled. o Texas, Mississippi, and Florida found that 17% had postponed or canceled their planned vacation.

1 The Impact of The BP Oil Spill on Visitor Spending in Louisian a: Revised estimates based on data through 2010 Q4 , Tourism Economics, prepared for the Louisiana Office of Tourism (June 2011)
2 Id.
3 The Gulf Coast Oil Spill and the Hospitality Industry , The Knowland Group (August 16, 2010) 4 Id.
5 Potential Impact of the Gulf Spill on Tourism , Oxford Economics, prepared for the U.S. Travel Association (July 22, 2010)

OCEANA.ORG 1350 Connecticut Ave., NW 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036 USA P +202.833.3900 F +202.833.3900
Events and room bookings were canceled throughout the summer. However, those travelers did not stay home - they took their vacations elsewhere.
o Substitute destinations, such as North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Maine, were chosen in place of Gulf destinations, indicating a high aversion to the Gulf region. 6 o Tourism visits declined by 4% in cities along the Gulf Coast region of Florida, while tourism visits increased by 5% in cities along the Atlantic coast. 7
o The length of time that tourists avoid an area after an environmental disaster like an oil spill depends on a variety of factors, but can be months and even years. 8

Regional tourism declined, even in areas that did not experience oil pollution:

As soon as the oil spilled, hoteliers began to experience booking cancelations, even in areas without oiled beaches.9
o 25% of surveyed travelers thought that the Florida Keys and Panama City Beach were areas affected by the spill, even though oil had not washed ashore at these locations. o Even if only one-fifth of those people change their vacation plans, a 5 percent decrease in annual visitors would cost Florida $3 billion in lost visitor spending, $182.5 million in lost sales tax collections and 48,000 lost jobs.10

When asked where oil was present on the shores of Florida’s beaches, readers incorrectly believed that there was oil on West Coast Florida beaches from St.

Petersburg to the Florida Keys (16%), South Florida from Miami to Palm Beach (8%), and all the way up the East Coast from
Daytona to Amelia Island (5-6%).11

The result of the misperception of oil on
Florida’s beaches was that many leisure
travelers were less likely to visit Florida
in the months following the spill.

The risks to the hospitality and
recreation industries on the East Coast
are too high. This may help to explain
why more than 110 communities oppose
offshore drilling, and the opposition
continues to grow and form a united
front to protect our oceans. For more
information, please contact
[email protected].

6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 The Gulf Coast Oil Spill and the Hospitality Industry , The Knowland Group (August 16, 2010) 10 Id.
11 Response: Deepwater Horizon Update, VISIT FLORDIA (August 2010) The table above shows the percentage drop in the share of TripAdvisor U.S. page views for various destinations in the Atlantic/Gulf regions after the BP oil spill. Data shows that searches for travel take place on Google typically a few weeks to about a month before the actual travel. 11 Ecotoxicological Studies
Focusing on Marine
and Freshwater Fish
JERRY F. PAYNE 1, ANNE MATHIEU 2 AND TRACY K. COLLIER 3 1Science Oceans and Environment Branch, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Ltd, St. John’s, NF, Canada
2Oceans Ltd, St. John’s, NF, Canada
3Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, USA

11.1 INTRODUCTION
PAHs originate from both point and diffuse sources (see Chapters 1, 2 and 3).

Studies from the 1960s onwards began to report that many coastal harbors, as well as inland rivers and lakes, were contaminated with varying levels of PAHs and more attention began to be placed on assessing their ecotoxico- logical potential. This assessment included laboratory studies with individual and complex mixtures of PAHs, as well as ﬁeld studies on feral organisms.

Important observations were made on tumors and other pathologies in ﬁsh from contaminated environments, with effects being strongly linked in some instances to PAHs. However, in ﬁeld studies there is invariably the problem of other confounding contaminants, such as organochlorine pesticides and met- als, and laboratory studies remain critical for providing insight into the relative importance of various risk factors that may be associated with ﬁeld observations.

Also, unlike many organochlorine compounds and metals that have potential to bioconcentrate in ﬁsh tissues, PAHs are rapidly metabolized (e.g. Lemaire et al. 1990; see also Chapter 5) and do not bioconcentrate to any substantive extent. Accordingly, there is always the possibility that they are causing adverse effects yet providing little or no chemical signature — the so-called ‘hit and run’ potential for PAHs.

This overview draws upon information from ﬁeld and laboratory studies over the past 15 years or so linking various biological effects in ﬁn-ﬁsh to PAHs. It PAHs: An Ecotoxicological Perspective. Edited by Peter E.T. Douben.  2003 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
192 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
includes information on biochemical, histopathological, genetic, immunologi- cal, reproductive, developmental and behavioral effects, which are grouped in relation to ﬁeld studies (Table 11.1) as well as laboratory studies with complex mixtures of PAHs (Table 11.2) and individual PAHs (Table 11.3). The stud- ies are selective but considered to be fairly representative for each category.

Establishing either a strict scientiﬁc or ‘legal’ standard of causal evidence for environmental effects seems improbable. However, considering the combina- tion of ﬁeld and laboratory studies presently available and using a weight of evidence approach, we suggest that levels of PAHs commonly found in many marine and freshwater environments are important risk factors for various aspects of ﬁsh health.

With respect to introductory caution, it should be noted that both weathered petroleum and pyrolytic sources of PAHs are found in association with a variety of N, S and O substituted analogs, phenols, etc., and these compounds, as well as PAHs may be contributing to overall toxicity, even though the term ‘PAHs’ is commonly used. Parental PAH alone represents a large class of compounds and various studies often measure different numbers of compounds in reporting ‘total’ PAH or estimate total PAH by ﬂuorescence, making it difﬁcult to make interstudy comparisons between exposures and biological effects. Furthermore, many studies do not measure alkylated forms of PAHs, and this could underestimate toxicity potential at sites primarily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, which are enriched in some alkylated PAHs (e.g.

Neff and Anderson 1981).

Due to space limitations, common ﬁsh names are used in the tables. Common names can also be more meaningful for a general reader, with the understanding that a specialist can refer to the references.

11.2 FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDIES

11.2.1 BIOCHEMICAL EFFECTS
Biochemical effects have been observed in ﬁsh in coastal waters, lakes and rivers in a number of countries. Most observations have been on alteration of phase I and to a much lesser extent phase II enzymes, which play a key role in detoxiﬁcation and other biochemical processes (e.g. Stegeman and Hahn 1993). Other biochemical effects have occasionally been reported (e.g. changes in hormones, energy reserves and serum enzymes) but most observations in the environment and the major proportion of those noted in Table 11.1 have been on the induction of mixed-function oxygenase (MFO) enzymes, which belong to the phase I group of enzymes. The MFO family of enzymes have iron-containing hemoproteins, cytochrome(s)-P450, as terminal oxidases and terms like induction of MFO enzymes or cytochrome(s)-P450 are often used synonymously. MFO enzymes have been the subject of considerable attention, STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 193
TABLE 11.1 Examples of effects observed in feral ﬁsh which may be variously linked to PAHs Species Effects Locations References
Biochemical
Histopathologic
Immunological
Genetic
Reproductive
Development
American plaice X Canada, Baie des Anglais Lee et al. (1999) Atlantic croaker X X USA, Galveston Bay Willet et al. (1997) Atlantic tomcod X USA, urban and
industrialized areas
Stein et al. (1994)
Atlantic tomcod X Canada, Miramichi Estuary Courtenay et al. (1995) Barbel X Italy, River Po Vigano et al. (1998)
Brown bullhead X USA, Black River Baumann and
Harshbarger (1985)
Brown bullhead X USA/Canada, different
lakes
Pandrangi et al. (1995)
Brown bullhead X X USA, Black and Cuyahoga
Rivers
Lesko et al. (1996)
Brown bullhead X USA, Black River Steevens et al. (1996) Brown bullhead X X USA, Niagara River Eufemia et al. (1997) Brown bullhead X France, Wetland area of
Camargue
Buet et al. (1998)
Brown bullhead X X USA, Schuylkill River Steyermark et al. (1999) Brown bullhead X X X USA, Lower Great Lakes Arcand-Hoy and Metcalfe (1999)
Brown bullhead X X X USA, Black River McFarland et al. (1999) Carp X USA/Canada, lakes Pandrangi et al. (1995)
Carp X USA, West Point Lake Pritchard et al. (1996)
Carp X Czech Republic, ponds Machala et al. (1997)
Carp X France, Wetland area of
Camargue
Buet et al. (1998)
Carp X USA, Ottawa River Cormier et al. (2000)
Carp bream X X Russia, Rybinsk reservoir German and Kozlovskaya (2001)
C a t ﬁ s h XXU S A , D e v i l ’ s S w a m pW i n s t o n et al. (1988) Cat ﬁsh X USA, Black River Baumann and
Harshbarger (1995)
Cat ﬁsh X X USA, Galveston Bay Willet et al. (1997)
Chinook salmon X X USA, Puget Sound Stein et al. (1995) Chinook salmon X USA, Puget Sound Arkoosh et al. (1998) Chinook salmon X USA, Commencement Bay Stehr et al. (2000) Chub X Italy, River Po Vigano et al. (1998)
Cod X Norway, Soerfjorden Goksoyr et al. (1994)
Cod X Norway, Soerfjorden Beyer et al. (1996)
Cod X X Norway, Soerfjorden Husøy et al. (1996)
Cod X Norway, Sunndalsfjord Naes et al. (1999)
(continued overleaf )
194 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
TABLE 11.1 (continued)
Species Effects Locations References
Biochemical
Histopathologic
Immunological
Genetic
Reproductive
Development
Crayﬁsh X The Netherlands, River
Meuse
Schilderman et al. (1999)
Dab X Germany, German Bight Westernhagen et al. (1999)
Dab X X UK, coastal waters Lyons et al. (2000)
Deep sea ﬁsh X Mediterranean Sea Escartin and Porte (1999) Eel X The Netherlands,
freshwater sites
Van Shooten et al. (1995)
Eel X X The Netherlands,
freshwater sites
Van der Oost et al. (1996)
Eel X France, Wetland area of
Camargue
Buet et al. (1998)
Eel X UK, Thames estuary Livingstone et al. (2000)
Eel X Canada, St. Lawrence
River
Couillard et al. (1997)
Emerald rockcod X Antarctica, bays Miller et al. (1999) English sole X USA, Puget Sound Malins et al. (1984)
English sole X USA, Eagle Harbor Malins et al. (1985)
English sole X Canada, Vancouver
Harbor
Goyette et al. (1988)
English sole X X USA, Puget Sound Casillas et al. (1991) English sole X USA, different estuaries Collier et al. (1992a) English sole X X USA, Puget Sound Collier et al. (1992b) English sole X X USA, Puget Sound Johnson et al. (1997) English sole X USA, Paciﬁc and Atlantic
coasts
Myers et al. (1998)
European ﬂounder X Elbe River Kohler (1990)
European ﬂounder X Norway, Soerfjorden Beyer et al. (1996) European ﬂounder X X Norway, Soerfjorden Husøy et al. (1996) European ﬂounder X The Netherlands, coastal Vethaak and Wester (1996) European ﬂounder X X Estonia Bogovski et al. (1997)
European ﬂounder X Germany, German Bight Westernhagen et al. (1999) European perch X Canada, St. Lawrence
River
Hontela et al. (1992)
Fish (various) X USA, Buffalo and Detroit
Rivers
Maccubbin et al. (1990)
Flounder X Chile, polluted bays Rudolph and Rudolph
(1999)
Flounder X Chile, polluted bays George-Nascimento et al. (2000)
Grenadier X X Norway, coastal sites Forlin et al. (1996)

STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 195
TABLE 11.1 (continued)
Species Effects Locations References
Biochemical
Histopathologic
Immunological
Genetic
Reproductive
Development
Herring X USA, Exxon Valdez oil spill Hose and Brown (1998) Med. sea perch X France, Mediterranean
Sea
Lafaurie et al. (1993)
Med. sea perch X X North-west Mediterranean
Sea
Burgeot et al. (1996)
Milkﬁsh X Taiwan, river Chen et al. (1998)
Mullet X South-eastern Black Sea Karakoc et al. (1998)
Mummichog X USA, Elizabeth River Volgelbein et al. (1990) Mummichog X USA, Elizabeth River Rose et al. (2000)
Nase X Italy, River Po Vigano et al. (1998)
Oyster toadﬁsh X USA, Elizabeth River Collier et al. (1993) Perch X X Sweden, Baltic Sea
coastline
Ericson et al. (1998)
Pike X Canada, St. Lawrence
River
Hontela et al. (1992)
Pike X The Netherlands, small
Amsterdam lakes
Van der Oost and Heida
(1993)
Pikey bream X Australia, creeks Cavanagh et al. (2000)
Plaice X France, Amoco Cadiz spill Haensly et al. (1982) Rainbow trout X Italy, River Po Vigano et al. (1994)
Rainbow trout X X Estonia, River Narva Tuvikene et al. (1999) Red mullet X X North-west Mediterranean
Sea
Burgeot et al. (1996)
Red mullet X France, Mediterranean
Sea
Mathieu et al. (1991)
Roach X The Netherlands,
Amsterdam lakes
Van der Oost and Heida
(1993)
Roach X X Estonia, River Narva Tuvikene et al. (1999)
Rock sole X USA, Puget Sound Johnson et al. (1998)
Salmon chum X USA, Commencement Bay Stehr et al. (2000) Sardine X Spain, north coast Peters et al. (1994)
Sculpin X X Iceland, harbors Stephensen et al. (2000)
Smooth ﬂounder X Canada, Miramichi Estuary Courtenay et al. (1995) Spot X USA, Elizabeth River Weeks and Warinner
(1984)
Spot X USA, Elizabeth River Van Veld et al. (1990)
Spot X USA, Elizabeth River Faisal et al. (1993)
(continued overleaf )
196 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
TABLE 11.1 (continued)
Species Effects Locations References
Biochemical
Histopathologic
Immunological
Genetic
Reproductive
Development
Starry ﬂounder X USA, different estuaries Collier et al. (1992a) Starry ﬂounder X USA, San Francisco Bay Stehr et al. (1997) Starry ﬂounder X USA, Paciﬁc and Atlantic
coasts
Myers et al. (1998)
Surf perch X X USA, California petroleum
seep
Spies et al. (1996)
Tilapia X Taiwan, Damsui River Liu et al. (1991)
White croaker X USA, Paciﬁc and Atlantic
coasts
Myers et al. (1998)
White sucker X Canada, Lake Ontario Cairns and Fitzsimons (1988)
White sucker X X X USA, Sheboygan River Schrank et al. (1997) White sucker X USA/Canada, St.

Lawrence River
Ridgway et al. (1999)
White sucker X USA, Ottawa River Cormier et al. (2000)
Winter ﬂounder X USA, coastal sites in New
England
Gardner et al. (1989)
Winter ﬂounder X X X USA, north-east coast Johnson et al. (1992) Winter ﬂounder X USA, Jamaica Bay Augspurger et al. (1994) Winter ﬂounder X USA, Boston Harbor Moore and Stegeman
(1994)
Winter ﬂounder X USA, urbanized areas Stein et al. (1994) Winter ﬂounder X Canada, Sydney estuary Vandermeulen et al. (1996) Winter ﬂounder X X X Canada, St. John’s Harbor French et al. (2000) Yellow perch X USA/Canada, different
lakes
Pandrangi et al. (1995)
Yellow perch X Canada, St. Lawrence
River
Hontela et al. (1995)
Yellow perch X X Estonia, River Narva Tuvikene et al. (1999) since they are commonly induced in ﬁsh and other animals upon exposure to a variety of molecules of environmental importance, including PAHs. The sensitivity of ﬁsh to induction by petroleum sources of PAHs, including in small boat harbors, was noted over 25 years ago (Payne 1976) and induction has been widely observed since then in ﬁsh from marine and freshwater environments (e.g. Payne et al. 1987; Stegeman and Hahn 1993).

STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 197
TABLE 11.2 Examples of effects observed in ﬁsh upon exposure to complex mixtures con- taining PAHs
Species Effects Contamination References
Biochemical
Histopathologic
Immunological
Genetic
Reproductive
Development
Behavioral
American plaice X X Sediments, Baie des
Anglais (CAN)
Nagler and Cyr (1997)
Blenny X North sea crude oil Celander et al. (1994)
Bullhead X Sediments, Hamilton
Harbor (CAN)
Leadly et al. (1999)
Catﬁsh X X Sediments, Black
Harbor (USA)
Di Giulio et al. (1993)
Cod X X Mechanically
dispersed crude oil
Aas et al. (2000)
Dab X Sediments, Liverpool
Harbor (UK)
Livingstone et al. (1993)
Eel X Po River water (Italy) Agradi et al. (2000)
Eel X X Petroleum distillate
extract
Pacheco and Santos
(2001)
English sole X Sediment extract,
Eagle Harbor (USA)
Schiewe et al. (1991)
English sole X Sediments, Eagle
Harbor (USA)
French et al. (1996)
Flounder X Sediments, Rotterdam
Harbor (The
Netherlands)
Eggens et al. (1996)
Goby X Diesel contaminated
sediment
Gregg et al. (1997)
Herring X Exxon Valdez oil Pearson et al. (1995)
Herring X Water fractions of
crude oil
Thomas et al. (1997)
Herring X X X X Weathered Alaska
crude oil
Carls et al. (1999)
Herring X X Weathered
creosote-treated
pilings
Vines et al. (2000)
Medaka X Sediments, Great
Lakes
Fabacher et al. (1991)
Medaka X Outboard motor
emission waters
Koehler and Hardy
(1999)
Paciﬁc halibut X Oil-laden sediments Moles and Norcross (1998)
Pink salmon X Weathered Exxon
Valdez crude oil
Heintz et al. (1999)
Pink salmon X Exxon Valdez oil Roy et al. (1999)
(continued overleaf )
198 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
TABLE 11.2 (continued)
Species Effects Contamination References
Biochemical
Histopathologic
Immunological
Genetic
Reproductive
Development
Behavioral
Pink salmon X Weathered Exxon
Valdez crude oil
Wertheimer et al.
(2000)
Rainbow trout X Efﬂuent from a
petroleum reﬁnery
Rowe et al. (1983)
Rainbow trout X Sediment, Lake Ontario Metcalfe et al. (1990) Rainbow trout Sediments, Hamilton
Harbor (CAN)
Balch et al. (1995)
Rainbow trout X Sediments, Skagerrak,
Kattegat (Norway)
Magnusson et al.
(1996)
Rainbow trout X X Crankcase oil Hellou et al. (1997)
Rainbow trout X Creosote contaminated
sediment extracts
Hyoetylaeinen and
Oikari (1999)
Rainbow trout X Creosote microcosms Karrow et al. (1999) Rainbow trout X Santa Cruz River water Petty et al. (2000) Silverside minnow X Combusted crude oil
fraction
Al-Yakoob et al. (1996)
Spot X Sediments, creek,
South Carolina (USA)
Marshall and Coull
(1996)
Spot X X Creosote contaminated
sediment
Sved et al. (1997)
Spot X Sediment
contaminated by
produced water
Hinkle-Conn et al.
(1998)
Sturgeon X Weathered coal tar
sediments
Kocan et al. (1996)
Surf smelt X Sediments, Puget
Sound (USA)
Misitano et al. (1994)
Tilapia X Sediments, Damsui
River (Taiwan)
Ueng et al. (1995)
Tilapia X Sediments, Hong Kong Wong et al. (2001)
Winter ﬂounder X X Petroleum-
contaminated
sediments
Payne et al. (1988)
Winter ﬂounder X Petroleum-
contaminated
sediments
Payne and Fancey
(1989)
Winter ﬂounder X Petroleum-
contaminated
sediments
Khan (1995)
Yellow perch X X Oil sands
mining-associated
waters
Van den Heuvel et al.
(2000)

STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 199
TABLE 11.3 Examples of effects observed in ﬁsh upon exposure to individual PAHs Species Effects Exposure Reference
Biochemical
Histopathologic
Immunological
Genetic
Reproductive
Development
Behavioral
Antarctic rockcod X B[a]P ∗ McDonald et al. (1995)
Arctic charr X B[a]P Wolkers et al. (1996)
Bluegill X X Anthracene McCloskey and Oris (1993)
Bluegill X Anthracene Choi and Oris (2000)
Brook trout X X B[a]P Padros et al. (2000)
Brown bullhead X X B[a]P Ploch et al. (1998)
Brown trout X B[a]P Mitchelmore et al. (1998)
Carp X B[a]P, chrysene Van der Weiden et al.
(1994)
Carp X MC ∗ Marionnet et al. (1998)
Catﬁsh B[a]P, DMBA ∗ Martin-Alguacil et al.
(1991)
Catﬁsh X X B[a]P, BNF ∗ Ploch et al. (1998)
Catﬁsh X B[a]P Willett et al. (2000)
Catﬁsh X Acenaphthene Dwivedi (2000)
Catﬁsh X BNF, DMBA Weber and Janz (2001)
Chinook salmon X B[a]P Arkoosh et al. (1998)
Chinook salmon X BNF Campbell and Devlin
(1996)
Eel X X B[a]P, BNF Pacheco and Santos
(1997)
Eel X B[a]P, BNF Schlezinger and Stegeman
(2000)
European ﬂounder X B[a]P, phenanthrene Rocha Monteiro (2000) European ﬂounder X B[a]P Malmstrom (2000)
Fathead minnow X X Anthracene Tilghman-Hall and Oris
(1991)
Fathead minnow X Fluoranthene Diamond et al. (1995)
Fathead minnow X Fluoranthene Farr et al. (1995)
Fathead minnow X Fluoranthene Weinstein et al. (1997)
Fathead minnow X B[a]P White et al. (1999)
Goby X B[a]P Zheng et al. (2000)
Grouper X B[a]P, BNF Peters (1995)
Guppy X DMBA Hawkins et al. (1989)
Killﬁsh X X B[a]P Willett et al. (1995)
Mummichog X B[a]P Van Veld et al. (1997)
Mummichog X B[a]P Rose et al. (2001)
Ovale sole X X B[a]P Au et al. (1999)
Oyster toadﬁsh X DMBA Seeley and Weeks-Perkins
(1997)
(continued overleaf )
200 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
TABLE 11.3 (continued)
Species Effects Exposure Reference
Biochemical
Histopathologic
Immunological
Genetic
Reproductive
Development
Behavioral
Rainbow trout X B[a]P Hose et al. (1984)
Rainbow trout X X B[a]P Masfaraud et al. (1992)
Rainbow trout X B[a]P Potter et al. (1994)
Rainbow trout X X MC Khan and Semalulu (1995)
Rainbow trout X Phenanthrene Passino-Reader et al.
(1995)
Rainbow trout X B[a]P Cravedi et al. (1998)
Rainbow trout X Retene Fragoso et al. (1999)
Sea bass X B[a]P Lemaire et al. (1992)
Sea bass X BNF Novi et al. (1998)
Sheepshead minnow X B[a]P, DMBA Hawkins et al. (1991)
Tilapia X X B[a]P Holladay et al. (1998)
Tilapia X X DMBA Hart et al. (1998)
Tomcod X B[a]P, BNF Courtenay et al. (1999)
Various species X X B[a]P Chen et al. (1999)
Zebraﬁsh X B[a]P Hsu et al. (1996)
Zebraﬁsh X X X Retene Billiard et al. (1999)
∗ B[a]P, benzopyrene; MC, methylcholanthrene; DMBA, dimethylbenzanthracene; BNF, β-naphthoﬂavone.

Presumptive evidence strongly indicates that the MFO enzyme induction observed in ﬁsh in many harbors, lakes and rivers worldwide, and represented in Table 11.1, is variably linked to contamination by PAHs. This is further supported by a large number of observations on induction in a variety of species upon exposure to complex mixtures of PAH, as well as individual PAH compounds (see Tables 11.2 and 11.3). Although studies on complex mixtures of PAH provide more information of environmental relevance than studies on single compounds alone, systematic studies on single compounds are critical for shedding light on which compounds or compound types may be causing different biological responses. Most of the observations on biochemical effects in Tables 11.2 and 11.3 refer to induction of MFO enzymes. Also, observations of induction in ﬁsh around petroleum development sites in the marine environment (e.g. Stagget al. 1995) and in the vicinity of major oil spills (e.g. Kurelec et al. 1977; George et al. 1995) provide unambiguous evidence for PAH-linked induction in the environment. Further, both MFO induction and pathological effects have been observed in ﬁsh taken in the vicinity of natural petroleum seeps in the Santa Barbara Channel (Spies et al. 1996).

STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 201
Is MFO enzyme induction itself of ecotoxicological importance, beyond being an index of chemical exposure sufﬁciently high to elicit a biological response? There is a body of literature associating MFO induction with the production of damaging free radicals and adducts, which are important in mutagenic and carcinogenic processes (e.g. Stegeman and Hahn 1993). Induction in ﬁsh has also been speciﬁcally linked with effects on reproduction, as well as correlated with various organ and cellular disturbances (e.g. Johnson et al. 1988; Payne et al. 1988; Au et al. 1999). Because induction of enzyme systems is also an energy- utilizing process, any energy loss of a non-essential nature could theoretically alter other biochemical and physiological processes in a maladaptive manner.

Therefore induction of MFO enzymes, and especially prolonged induction of relatively high levels, can be considered a risk factor for ﬁsh health.

11.2.2 HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Observations on visible signs of disease in marine ﬁsh, such as lymphocystis, skin ulceration and ﬁn rot, date back several decades. During the early 1970s considerable interest arose as to whether chemical contamination could play a role in the etiology of these or other ﬁsh diseases and extensive studies began to appear from surveys in waters of various countries, including the USA (e.g. Couch 1985; Ziskowski et al. 1987), the Netherlands and Belgium (e.g.

Moller 1981; Banning 1987), Germany (e.g. Dethlefsen et al. 1987) and the UK (e.g. Bucke et al. 1983). In addition to external diseases, more emphasis began to be placed on histopathological studies for neoplasms and other tissue and organ abnormalities, which can be powerful indicators of serious chemical injury. Many important observations have been made over the past 25 years linking histopathological effects including carcinogenesis in ﬁsh to polluted waters containing elevated levels of PAH. Examples of studies carried out in marine and estuarine waters of the USA, Canada, and Europe, where PAHs likely contributed to a variable degree to some of the effects observed in ﬁsh, are noted in Table 11.1. Most of the studies drew attention to the possible importance of PAHs while other studies, although not drawing attention to PAHs, were carried out in areas known to contain elevated levels of the compounds. Although not included as case studies in Table 11.1, some of the effects noted in ﬁsh around pulp mills (e.g. Khan and Payne 1997) could also be due in part to PAHs, since such large industrial plants can be expected to release a level of oil and grease into the aquatic environment. Examples of studies carried out in the Great Lakes and in rivers in the USA, where PAHs have been linked to various pathological effects, are also noted in Table 11.1.

Although the evidence linking adverse histopathological effects in ﬁsh to pollution is quite strong, it is difﬁcult to resolve cause–effect relationships for various classes of chemicals. However, a few studies of freshwater and marine systems in the USA and Canada have provided very strong evidence for PAHs being a causal factor in ﬁsh pathology, including skin and skeletal disorders, liver 202 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
abnormalities, and neoplasms. The linkage with PAHs is quite robust in these particular studies, since they were carried out at sites heavily contaminated with PAHs from creosote or coke.

As noted previously, creosote is a mixture distilled from coal tar, while coke is the residue left after coal distillation. Both are highly enriched in PAHs (and associated analogs and phenols) and commonly known to be quite mutagenic, carcinogenic, and cytotoxic. The Black River in Ohio was historically contaminated with rather extreme levels of PAHs from a coking plant, and up to 30% of the brown bullheads collected in the vicinity of the plant had neoplasms, including cholangiocarcinomas and hepatocarcinomas (Baumann and Harshbarger 1985). Another site where skin and liver tumors in ﬁsh have been linked to discharges from a coking facility is in Hamilton Harbor in Lake Ontario, near a large steel plant (Cairns and Fitzsimons 1988). In the case of creosote, ﬁsh collected from a portion of the Elizabeth River in Virginia, where creosote was a major contributor to the total PAH load in the river, displayed cancer and other pathological effects (Vogelbein et al. 1990). High levels of PAHs from creosote have also been associated with neoplasms and other liver disorders in marine ﬁsh, e.g., detailed studies carried out on English sole in Puget Sound found a relatively high prevalence of disease in Eagle Harbor which was historically linked with creosote contamination (Malins et al. 1985).

These case studies provide strong evidence for environmental PAHs con- tributing to carcinogenesis and other disorders in ﬁsh. Any case studies where pathological effects decline upon reduction or cessation of inputs of PAHs would provide the strongest evidence. Notable in this regard are observations on the marked decline in liver neoplasms in bullhead from the Black River upon closure of the coking facility (Baumann and Harshbarger 1995), and reductions of several types of liver diseases in English sole following a sediment capping project in Eagle Harbor (Collier and Myers, 1999).

Results obtained in experimental studies with ﬁsh chronically exposed to sediments containing petroleum or pyrolytic sources of PAHs, as well as vari- ous studies with extracts of PAHs from contaminated sediments, or industrial formulations such as creosote or for instances with speciﬁc PAHs, provide additional support for PAHs being a likely cause for some of the pathological effects found in ﬁsh in highly contaminated environments. Examples of several such studies are noted in Tables 11.2 and 11.3 and a few are discussed in more detail. Weathered petroleum contains complex mixtures of PAHs and aliphatic hydrocarbons, and whereas chronic exposure of ﬂounders to sediments contam- inated with weathered petroleum produced a variety of effects, no such effects were found in ﬂounders similarly exposed to sediments containing a petroleum source of complex aliphatic hydrocarbons, indicating that PAHs were primarily responsible for the effects observed in ﬁsh with weathered petroleum (Payne et al. 1995). Epidermal hyperplasia and papillomas developed in brown bull- heads upon skin painting with PAH extracts of contaminated sediments from the Buffalo River (Black et al. 1985). Hepatocellular neoplasms and a spectrum STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 203
of other abnormalities were found in the livers of rainbow trout after microin- jection of eggs with extracts of sediments from the Black River (Maccubbin et al. 1987). Similar results were obtained by Balchet al. (1995) with extracts of sediments from Hamilton Harbor. Other studies have been carried out with ﬁsh exposed in vivo to extracts of PAHs added to water or sediment. A variety of liver abnormalities and neoplasms were exhibited by medaka upon exposure to extracts of sediments from the Black and Fox Rivers (Fabacher et al. 1991). Fin erosion was also a sensitive response in medaka, as well as in spot exposed for short periods to relatively low levels of creosote in sediments (Svedet al. 1997).

Concerning individual PAHs, the carcinogenic potency of B[a]P is well known and has produced neoplasms in ﬁsh (e.g. Hawkins et al. 1991). Ultrastructural studies have also revealed a variety of pathological features in the liver and intestinal tissues of ﬁsh exposed to B[a]P (Lemaire et al. 1992; Au et al. 1999).

PAHs that have little or no carcinogenic potential may have considerable potential to cause other pathological effects. Naphthalene is probably best known in this regard, but other PAHs are also important, e.g. severe ﬁn erosion and liver necrosis were some of the effects found in catﬁsh exposed to relatively low concentrations of acenaphthene for short periods (Dwivedi 2000).

Also, anthracene, which is known to produce highly cytotoxic by-products in some organisms when they are simultaneously exposed to the chemical and ultraviolet light, damaged the gills of ﬁsh upon exposure to quite low levels of the compound (McCloskey and Oris 1993).

Considering the variety of information available from ﬁeld and laboratory studies, it is reasonable to state that PAHs have the potential to play a role, and possibly sometimes a major role, in the production of pathological effects in feral ﬁsh, including skin disorders, organ abnormalities, and neoplasms.

11.2.3 IMMUNOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Immune responses can involve two components, a speciﬁc humoral compo- nent, such as antibody production, or a non-speciﬁc cellular component, such as phagocytosis of bacteria by white blood cells (e.g. Ellis 1989). Alteration of immune systems in ﬁsh by contaminants may affect their susceptibility to bacte- rial, viral, and parasitic infections, decrease their resistance to carcinogenesis, or impair vital functions such as tissue repair. There are few environmental studies which have linked chemically mediated diseases to impairment of immunolog- ical functions. Examples of a few such studies are noted in Table 11.1.

Impaired phagocytic functions, including reduced phagocytosis, chemotac- tic response and chemiluminescence, were found in oyster toadﬁsh, spot and hogchoker taken from a site in the Elizabeth River in Virginia which, as pre- viously noted, is heavily contaminated with PAHs (Weeks and Warinner 1984; Seeley and Weeks-Perkins 1991). Mitogen-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation was also suppressed in spot from the same River (Faisal and Huggett 1993).

Hematological changes were noted in white suckers in the lower Sheboyan 204 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
River in Wisconsin, which contains high levels of PAHs (Schrank et al. 1997).

Altered leucocyte numbers (and other effects) were also observed in winter ﬂounders in St. John’s Harbor, Newfoundland, in comparison with reference ﬁsh taken outside the harbor (French et al. 2000). Sediments in this harbor are contaminated throughout with high levels of PAHs but relatively low levels of PCBs and other organochlorines.

A series of recent studies (summarized in Arkoosh and Collier 2002) in the USA suggest that polluted estuaries may be one of the factors contributing to the decline of wild Paciﬁc salmon, an issue of major socioeconomic interest in the USA and Canada. Juvenile salmon taken from contaminated estuaries in Puget Sound and challenged with pathogenic bacteria, exhibited higher mortality than reference ﬁsh similarly challenged. It is not known to what degree PAHs are linked with this important ﬁeld observation of immunotoxicity in salmon, but these studies did show that laboratory exposure of salmon to either a single PAH or a PAHs model mixture could also cause increased mortality following pathogen challenge.

There are few studies dealing with the immunotoxicity to ﬁsh of mixtures of PAHs or individual PAHs. Some examples are given in Tables 11.2 and 11.3.

Several immunological parameters were evaluated in rainbow trout exposed to creosote and one of the most notable changes was alteration of blood leucocytes. This speciﬁc study provided important dose–response information and it is of interest that the LOEC was quite low, around 1 ppb of PAHs in water (Karrow et al. 1999).

Weathered petroleum is highly enriched in PAHs, making it a suitable candidate for studies of mixtures of PAHs (see also Section 11.2.2). Macrophage centers represent the primitive analogs of lymph nodes in mammals and are believed to be an integral component of the cellular immune system in ﬁsh.

Payne and Fancey (1989) recorded a change in the number of macrophage centers in the livers of ﬂounders chronically exposed to a petroleum source of sediment PAHs at levels commonly found in nearshore and inland waters.

Alteration of immunological status can theoretically result in a variety of adverse outcomes, but increased susceptibility to infectious diseases is usually of most concern. Susceptibility to disease is important for any species, especially those identiﬁed by agencies as being ‘species at risk’. The observation of compromised immune systems in juvenile salmon in Puget Sound, which may be linked to contamination by PAHs, is of note in this regard. Also of interest are laboratory and ﬁeld observations on alteration of blood cells, which are an important immunological component and can be readily measured.

11.2.4 GENETIC EFFECTS
Damage to genetic material can theoretically lead not only to carcinogenesis and other pathological effects in animals living now, but also produce genetic diseases in future generations. Research on the genotoxic potential of various STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 205
environmental chemicals, drugs, etc. have been ongoing for decades, with earlier work emphasizing cytogenetic and mutational studies and later inves- tigations incorporating biochemical endpoints, such as speciﬁc mutations in DNA, DNA strand breaks, oxidative damage to DNA, or adduct formation (e.g.

Pfeifer 1996).

An appreciation of the different types of screening carried out in the environ- ment for genotoxic chemicals is provided by De Flora et al. (1991). Notably, a wide variety of individual and complex mixtures of PAHs, as well as environ- mental extracts enriched in PAHs, have exhibited genetic toxicity in different assays, including bacterial systems. The metabolism of PAHs is extensively cov- ered in Chapter 5, including the formation of DNA adducts. This section brieﬂy reviews other aspects of genetic toxicity, focusing on studies with ﬁsh proper.

Genetic toxicity of a more overt and ‘visibly’ harmful nature can be assessed microscopically with classical cytogenetic techniques. Also, within the past few years an electrophoretic technique based on light microscopy (the Comet assay), which measures DNA fragmentation of individual nuclei, has been used more extensively (e.g. Pfeifer 1996). Classical cytogenetic techniques revealed signiﬁcant genetic toxicity in herring larvae, in association with the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, and effects were correlated with levels of PAHs found in mussels in the area (Hose and Brown 1998). Cytogenetic toxicity was also observed in ﬁsh larvae exposed as eggs to low levels of petroleum-derived PAHs (Carls et al. 1999). The studies with herring eggs are of special interest in this regard, since effects were noted with very low levels of PAHs from weathered oil, which should be essentially free of toxic monoaromatics such as benzene and xylene. DNA fragmentation, as assessed by the Comet technique, can also be interpreted as rather overt DNA damage, and it is of interest that blood cells of bullheads from the Detroit River in the USA and Hamilton Harbor in Canada displayed distinctly higher levels of DNA fragmentation than the cells of ﬁsh from reference sites (Pandrangi et al. 1995).

Damage to gametic DNA is of special importance, since effects could poten- tially be transmitted between generations. Studies on the induction of mutations or heritability of pollutant-induced mutations are difﬁcult. However, some stud- ies are beginning to appear pointing to a potential for PAHs to induce mutations in ﬁsh and possibly heritability; e.g. exposure of ﬁsh larvae to weathered Prudhoe Bay crude oil produced mutations in high frequency at hot spots in oncogenes (Roy et al. 1999). Although it is not known whether mutations were actually involved, it is of special interest that White et al. (1999), in their stud- ies with fathead minnows exposed to B[a]P, produced heritable reproductive effects in ﬁsh removed from the original exposure by at least one generation.

There is a substantial body of evidence from ﬁeld and laboratory studies indicating that PAHs are a signiﬁcant risk factor for genetic toxicity in ﬁsh. Most studies have dealt with the formation of DNA adducts (Chapter 5), but classical cytogenetic techniques have demonstrated genetic damage in ﬁsh larvae, with some of the lowest levels of PAHs known to produce effects, while ﬁeld studies 206 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
indicate that environmental levels of PAHs may sometimes be sufﬁciently high to cause overt damage to DNA in the blood cells of adult ﬁsh. Interestingly, there is also recent evidence pointing to a potential for PAHs to produce mutations in reproductive cells, resulting in effects which could be transmitted intergenerationally.

11.2.5 REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS
Reproductive toxicity is one of the most important types of toxicity because of its potential for producing adverse effects at a population level. Hypotheses about a role for pollutants in the low fertility and high prevalence of embryo mortality in some stocks of salmon in the Great Lakes go back to the 1970s (e.g. Leatherland et al. 1998). Organochlorines and especially PCBs have often been implicated in reproductive toxicity, and studies in the coastal waters of Germany and Denmark have provided evidence for effects (Dethlefsen 1988).

Establishing cause–effect relationships for hypotheses about reproductive tox- icity is obviously quite difﬁcult, especially in relation to the potential for broad-scale geographical effects. Also, since PAHs are rapidly metabolized and do not necessarily bioaccumulate to any extent, there is always a possibility that they are causing toxic effects yet providing no evidence for the effects.

Point sources of contaminants are more suitable for study, and it is of interest that within the past decade or so there have been a number of observations on altered reproductive functions in ﬁsh taken close to pulp mills (e.g. McMaster et al. 1996). Natural and selected industrial chemicals have also recently been linked to feminizing effects in male ﬁsh taken near sewage outfalls (e.g. Purdom et al. 1994). Such observations have stimulated considerable interest about the potential for contaminants, including PAHs, to affect ﬁsh reproduction.

Are ﬁeld studies at sites contaminated with relatively high levels of PAHs indicating PAHs to be a risk factor for reproductive toxicity? English sole from sites in Puget Sound exhibited changes in gonadal development, altered levels of plasma steroids and reduced spawning success (Johnson et al. 1988; Casillas 1991) but effects were less pronounced in rock sole in the area (Johnson et al. 1998). Also, winter ﬂounders from contaminated estuaries in the north- eastern USA displayed little evidence of reproductive dysfunction (Johnson et al. 1994). But it was noted that English sole, unlike winter ﬂounders, reside in contaminated estuaries for longer periods throughout their period of vitellogenesis and the greater exposure during this period may account in part for the apparent differential sensitivity between the two ﬂounder species.

A study of freshwater ﬁsh in highly degraded habitats found no evidence of serious reproductive dysfunction as displayed by fecundity indices (Leskoet al. 1996). Brown bullheads from the Black and Cuyahoga Rivers in Ohio containing sediments with elevated levels of PAHs actually had fecundity indices that were equal to or greater than those of reference populations. However, the potential for producing adverse effects on the fecundity in ﬁsh in polluted systems could STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 207
be compensated for by other factors, such as enhanced food supply due to the absence of competing predators (whose absence could also be linked directly or indirectly to contamination). The authors suggest such a possibility for the lack of effects in bullheads in these highly degraded systems. Also, it should be noted that although fecundity is commonly used as a sign of reproductive health, the quality of eggs or sperm could theoretically be impaired without effects on fecundity or other morphological indices.

The chronic toxicity studies needed to elucidate the effects of chemicals on reproduction in aquatic organisms having a long reproductive cycle require facilities and resources not commonly found in most laboratories. Accordingly, there is limited experimental information to assess the effects of complex mixtures of PAHs on reproduction in ﬁsh. Since fecundity indices may often be insensitive indicators of reproductive toxicity, it is also important to place greater emphasis on studies related to the quantity and quality of offspring produced. Nagler and Cyr (1997) recently reported quite novel ﬁndings in this regard, with respect to the impairment of sperm quality and effects on egg hatchability in American plaice chronically exposed to sediments highly contaminated with PAHs from the Baie des Anglais in Quebec.

Are there laboratory studies with complex mixtures of PAHs relatively free of other contaminants or individual PAHs to support hypotheses about a potential for PAHs to adversely affect ﬁsh reproduction? Certain PAHs closely resemble steroid hormones and exhibit weakened estrogenic or anti-estrogenic responses in some model systems (Nicolas 1999; Navas and Segner 2000). Benzo[a]pyrene decreased circulating levels of 17β-estradiol in ﬁsh (Thomas 1988; Singh 1989) and effects on both steroidogenesis and steroid secretion have been noted in in vitro studies with ovarian tissue (Afonso et al. 1997; Monteiro et al. 2000).

We measured steroids in the plasma of ﬁsh chronically exposed to sediments highly enriched in either petrogenic or pyrolytic sources of PAHs (Idler et al. 1995). Steroid concentrations were reduced with both sources of PAHs but it is of interest to note that similar results were obtained with sediments highly contaminated with aliphatic hydrocarbons.

There is some evidence from ﬁeld and laboratory studies indicating PAHs as a potential risk factor for reproduction in ﬁsh. However, since long-term chronic toxicity studies are rather difﬁcult, with reproductive studies being some of the most difﬁcult, experimental evidence is generally lacking about the importance of PAHs to cause reproductive toxicity in ﬁsh, especially in relation to dose–response relationships. Also, although measures such as gonad mor- phometrics and fecundity are commonly used to assess reproductive health in ﬁsh, these endpoints may be underestimating potential reproductive effects and more emphasis should also be placed on assessing the quality of sperm and eggs.

11.2.6 DEVELOPMENTAL EFFECTS
Potential for effects on growth and development is also an important issue, with developing organisms usually displaying a greater sensitivity to chemicals than 208 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
adults. Since adverse developmental effects can be expected with any chemical should dosages be sufﬁciently high, the environmental relevance of chemical dosage is always a key factor to consider. Notable in this regard are obser- vations that weathered oil, which is essentially free of low molecular weight monoaromatic compounds such as benzene and xylene, produced sublethal effects in herring larvae exposed to extracts of oil in water containing as little as 0.4 ppb PAHs (Carls et al. 1999) (Table 11.2). Relatively low concentrations of PAHs in sediment could also affect growth of larvae. Misitano et al. (1994) indicated a potential for effects on growth as assessed by DNA content, in larval surf smelt exposed for 96 h to sediment containing 1.5 ppm PAHs. Effects on juvenile ﬁsh, which are important in recruitment, would be of special relevance from a ﬁsheries perspective. Growth was reported to be reduced in juvenile ﬂounder chronically exposed to as little as 1.6 ppm of a petroleum source of PAHs in sediment (Moles and Norcross 1998). Provided for general interest in the tables are other examples of ‘developmental’ effects, but these mainly relate to effects such as slight changes in organ or somatic condition indices and not to developmental effects per se.

Although experimental data is limited, there is indication that development may be affected in larval and juvenile ﬁsh upon exposure to very low levels of PAH.

11.2.7 BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS
Studies on animal behavior have generally received little attention in aquatic ecotoxicology but alteration of behavior may be an important environmental consideration for ﬁsh in some circumstances. Negative effects might include susceptibility to predation, alteration of homing behavior or avoidance of feeding areas. On the other hand, avoidance of contaminated areas could reduce toxicological risk. It is of interest that under Canadian law, avoidance of feeding areas or loss of habitat could have paramountcy over toxicological risks to ﬁsh, short of observations on lethality.

There is limited information to assess behavioral effects of PAHs on ﬁsh. A few examples are given in Tables 11.2 and 11.3. Presumably of most importance would be sediments impacted with relatively high levels of PAHs such as around oil spill sites. Feeding behavior was affected in goby by suspended sediments contaminated with a diesel oil source of PAHs in the 200 ppm range, with cessation of feeding around 200 ppm (Gregg et al. 1997). Alteration of feeding behavior was also noted in spot exposed to a diesel source of PAHs in the 120 ppm range (Hinkle-Conn et al. 1998).

Weathered oil remaining in sediments after oil spills has been the subject of considerable attention. It is of interest that pathological effects, including altered swimming behavior, were exhibited by herring larvae hatched from eggs exposed to weathered Exxon Valdez oil containing 1 ppb PAHs (Carls et al.

STUDIES ON MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISH 209
1999). As previously noted, this is an extremely low level of PAHs to produce a biological effect.

Considering contamination of water or sediments, contamination of sedi- ments with relatively high levels of PAHs is probably of most importance with respect to any potential for effects on ﬁsh behavior. It is not known whether the large quantities of PAHs in water that are expected after large oil spills might affect important behavioral responses in ﬁsh, such as alteration of homing behavior to natal rivers by salmon, but compounds with greater solubility and aromaticity, such as xylenes and phenols for instance (or low molecular weight sulfur compounds), are likely of greater importance in this regard.

11.3 CONCLUSION
This overview attempts to summarize information from ﬁeld and laboratory studies over the past 15 years or so, linking various biological effects in ﬁsh to PAHs. It includes information on biochemical, histopathological, genetic, immunological, reproductive, developmental and behavioral effects. The suite of effects are grouped in relation to (a) ﬁeld studies, (b) laboratory studies with complex mixtures of PAHs and (c) individual PAHs.

All relevant studies could not be included but those listed are a fair repre- sentation of biological effects that have been reported. Particular attention has also been given in the case of ﬁeld studies to observations on different species in various countries. Although select numbers of studies noted in the tables are discussed, the studies altogether provide a body of information for use in a weight-of-evidence approach for assessing the ecotoxicological potential of PAHs for ﬁsh. This approach is useful because of the improbability of establish- ing either a strict scientiﬁc or ‘legal’ standard of causal evidence for regulatory bodies to use in assessing environmental effects associated with mixed contam- ination. Combining ﬁeld and laboratory studies and using a weight-of-evidence approach, we suggest that levels of PAHs commonly found in many marine and freshwater environments are causing or contributing to health effects in ﬁsh.

Although use of different analytical methods makes it difﬁcult to commonly equate levels of PAHs reported to be present in the environment, it is noted that concentrations of PAHs in sediments in the 10 ppm range have been found in coastal, estuarine and riverine waters of a number of countries, while guidelines indicate potential for effects in ﬁsh in the 1 ppm range or lower.

Also, concentrations of PAHs in water as low as 1 ppb have been reported to cause serious effects in ﬁsh larvae and sublethal effects in ﬁsh. This leads to the question of whether contamination by PAHs along major shipping routes, and especially oil tanker routes, or for instance in association with release of large volumes of production waters at petroleum development sites, is adversely affecting populations of ﬁsh larvae, including species of commercial importance. It is noted in this regard that concentrations of PAHs as high as in 210 PAHs: AN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
the 100–200 ppb range have been reported to be present along major tanker routes in the Arabian Sea.

Most studies to date have centered around elucidating effects on ﬁsh health in association with elevated levels of PAHs in sediments in urban coastal zones or similarly contaminated rivers. Given the apparent extent of contamination in these areas, which may increase, it is important to continue to address potential ﬁsh health problems in such regions of concern. This assessment should also place more emphasis on laboratory-based chronic toxicity studies in order to provide better insight into dose–response relationships and thus better information for development of sediment quality guidelines. However, effects have also recently been reported with very low concentrations of PAHs in water. This points to a potential for effects on ﬁsh and especially larvae over broad-scale areas away from urban coastal zones and this aspect needs to be addressed much more fully.

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TECHNICAL REPORT

PETROLEUM SAFETY

AUTHORITY NORWAY (PSA)

MATERIAL RISK - AGEING OFFSHORE

INSTALLATIONS

REPORT NO. 2006-3496
REVISION NO. 0

DET NORSKE VERITAS

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TECHNICAL REPORT
Table of Content Page
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 2 DEGRADATION MECHANISMS............................................................................. 3

2.1 Degradation mechanisms 3

2.1.1 Erosion 3

2.1.2 Corrosion 3

2.1.2.1 General 3

2.1.2.2 External corrosion 4

2.1.2.3 Hydrogen Induced Stress Cracking 5

2.1.2.4 Internal corrosion 5

2.1.3 Fatigue 7

2.1.4 Corrosion fatigue 8

2.2 References 8
3 LOAD BEARING STRUCTURES ............................................................................. 9

3.1 Concrete 9

3.1.1 Introduction 9

3.1.2 Main degradation mechanisms 9

3.1.3 History 11

3.1.4 State of the Art on R&D 14

3.1.5 Recommendations 15

3.1.6 References 15

3.2 Steel 18

3.2.1 Introduction 18

3.2.1.1 Main principles of classification 18

3.2.2 History 18

3.2.3 Main degradation mechanisms 20

3.2.3.1 Corrosion 20

3.2.3.2 Present situation – Ageing rigs 20

3.2.3.3 Fatigue 22

3.3 References 24
4 SUBSEA PIPELINES................................................................................................ 25

4.1 Introduction 25

4.2 History 25

4.3 Main degradation mechanisms 26

4.4 Failure modes 27

4.5 Ensuring integrity of subsea pipelines 28

4.5.1 Process- and product control 29

4.5.2 Corrosion Monitoring 29

4.5.3 External Inspections 30

4.5.4 Internal Inspection 30
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4.5.5 Hydrostatic pressure testing 31

4.6 “Corrosion Zones” associated with external corrosion. 31

4.7 Technology Status 33

4.8 References 34
5 SUBSEA EQUIPMENT ............................................................................................ 35

5.1 Introduction 35

5.2 Template 35

5.2.1 Workmanship 35

5.2.2 Degradation mechanism 35

5.2.3 Inspection programme 36

5.3 Manifold 36

5.3.1 Workmanship 36

5.3.2 Degradation mechanism 37

5.3.3 Inspection programme 38

5.4 Subsea Christmas tree (XT) 38

5.4.1 Workmanship 38

5.4.2 Degradation mechanism 39

5.4.3 Inspection program 39

5.5 References 40
6 DRILLING AND WELLS......................................................................................... 41

6.1 Introduction 41

6.2 History 41

6.3 Main degradation mechanisms 41

6.4 Drilling system and well system 41

6.4.1 Pipe handling 43

6.4.2 Main hoisting system 43

6.4.3 Control systems 43

6.4.4 Iron Roughneck and pipe racking system 43

6.4.5 Steel wire ropes 44

6.4.6 Sealed machinery 44

6.4.7 Drill string 44

6.4.8 Drilling riser 45

6.5 Blow Out Preventer (BOP) 45

6.6 Subsea Wellhead 46

6.6.1 Workmanship 46

6.7 Conductors 46

6.7.1 Workmanship 47

6.8 Production casing in wells 47

6.9 High pressure tubing and manifolds for circulation of drill mud 48

6.10 Recertification of well control equipment 48

6.11 References 49
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7 MOORING SYSTEM................................................................................................ 50

7.1 Introduction 50

7.2 Fairleads and chain stoppers 50

7.3 Chain 51

7.4 Recertification of chain 54

7.5 Synthetic fibre ropes 54

7.6 Steel wire ropes 55

7.7 References 58

Appendix A Summary

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1 INTRODUCTION
On request fro m Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA), DNV has prepared technological summaries regard ing material ri sk on ageing equipm ent and inst allations in the oil and ga s industry offshore. The report cont ains an introductory section on degradation m echanisms in general, followed by five sections contain ing technological reviews of m etallic m aterials with respect to degrada tion mechanisms and f ailure modes, and its effect on ageing installations and equipment. Five areas, which are exposed to degr adation of materials due to ageing, are covered in the report:

Load bearing structures (concrete and steel)
Subsea pipelines
Subsea equipment
Drilling and wells
Mooring system

Specific structures, systems or equipment have been selected from each of the above m entioned areas, and a technological review has been given based on in-house experience. This contains an evaluation of:

Failure modes introduced by the degradation mechanism Occurrence of the degradation mechanism
Limitations of the material introduced by the degradation mechanism Uncertainty of the material when degraded
Future challenges of the material related to the degradation mechanism Effect of the degradation mechanism on the robustness of the installation

A summ ary of the degradation m echanisms and failure modes relev ant within th e five areas listed above, is presented in Appendix A.

The authors and the persons who have perform ed the verification for each sectio n are lis ted below:

1. Degradation mechanisms
a. Author: Kari Lønvik, Bente H. Leinum, Espen B. Heier b. Work verified by: Tomas Sydberger, Knut Strengelsrud

2. Load bearing structures, concrete
a. Author: Andrzej Serednicki, Prof. Odd E. Gjørv (NTNU) b. Work verified by: Prof. Odd E. Gjørv (NTNU), Andrzej Serednicki

3. Load bearing structures, steel
a. Author: Tor Myhre
b. Work verified by: Svein Flogeland

4. Subsea pipelines
a. Author: Bente H. Leinum
b. Work verified by: Kari Lønvik

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Long Beach City CouncilMarch 21, 2023

Long Beach City Council
March 21, 2023