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Electrical Resistivity Imaging for Long-Term Monitoring of Contaminant Degradation
Citation:
Heenan, J., D. Ntarlagiannis, L. Slater, J. Nolan, E. Atekwana, C. Ross, E. Atekwana, B. Fathepure, AND D Werkema. Electrical Resistivity Imaging for Long-Term Monitoring of Contaminant Degradation. Presented at 2014 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference, Mobile, AL, January 28, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
On April 20, 2010, oil and gas escaped from BP’s Deepwater Horizon drill rig, located 130 miles to the SE of the southern tip of the Mississippi Delta, resulting in the release of approximately 4.4 million barrels of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas and 2.1 million gallons of dispersants as part of the clean-up process. The introduction of this contaminant into the environment impacted a large portion of the Site Information Grand Terre 1, LA: coastline, including beaches, marshes and wetlands. Although a huge ecological catastrophe, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill provided a unique opportunity to study an immature contamination, and monitor its evolution over time under natural attenuation using geophysical technologies.
Description:
The results from this experiment strongly suggest that the resistivity changes seen are the results of the biodegradation of the oil. This conclusion was further supported by the results of the microcosm experiment. These results demonstrate the utility of the resistivity method and long term autonomous data collection as a monitoring tool. This method proved beneficial because of its low maintenance requirements, its ability to work well in remote areas and its reputation as non-invasive and cost effective.