On July 23, 2013 a marine gas rig (Hercules 265) ignited in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The rig\u00a0burned out of control for two days before being extinguished. The C-IMAGE and CARTHE Consortia conducted a rapid-response\u00a0sampling campaign near Hercules 265 after the fire to ascertain if sediments and fishes were\u00a0polluted above earlier baseline levels.<\/p>\n
A surface drifter study confirmed that surface ocean water\u00a0flowed to the southeast of the Hercules site, while the atmospheric plume generated by the\u00a0blowout was in eastward direction. Sediment cores were collected to the SE of the rig at a\u00a0distance of ~0.2 km, 8 km and 18 km using a multicorer, and demersal fishes were collected\u00a0from ~0.2 to 8 km SE of the rig using a longline (508 hooks).<\/p>\n
Recently deposited sediments\u00a0document that only high molecular weight (HMW) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)\u00a0concentrations decreased with increasing distance from the rig suggesting higher pyrogenic\u00a0inputs associated with the blowout. A similar trend was observed in the foraminifera Haynesina\u00a0germanica<\/em>, an indicator species of pollution. In red snapper bile, only HMW PAH metabolites\u00a0increased in 2013 nearly double those from 2012.<\/p>\n Both surface sediments and fish bile analyses\u00a0suggest that, in the aftermath of the blowout, increased concentration of pyrogenically-derived\u00a0hydrocarbons were transported and deposited in the environment. This study further emphasizes\u00a0the need for an ocean observing system and coordinated rapid-response efforts from an array of\u00a0scientific disciplines to effectively assess environmental impacts resulting from accidental\u00a0releases of oil contaminants.<\/p>\n