Sediment—usually seen as culprit in the erosion control industry—is helping National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists gauge whether, and how much, the Gulf oil spill is affecting coastal habitats. NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, along with researchers from other laboratories, have been gathering sediment from 60 sites along the Gulf Coast, as well as oysters from those sites, and testing them for a range of contaminants including 60 compounds found in oil. They’ve been establishing a baseline so that once oil from the spill reaches shore, they can resample in the same areas and determine the effect of the spill. As of Sunday, winds from the north were helping keep the oil away from shore, but it’s moving closer.
Scientists are focusing especially on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to determine whether any contamination in the sediment is from the spill or from other sources such as industrial contamination or runoff.
More information and links to other spill-related response information is available on NOAA’s web site.