The effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on seabed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • To assess the extent to which Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), sediment cores were analyzed in late 2005 from: a shallow shelf, a deeper shelf, and a marsh station. Sediment geochronology, fabric, and geochemistry show that the 2005 storms deposited approximately 10cm of sediment to the surface of a core at 5-12A. Bulk carbon geochemistry and PAH isomers in this top layer suggest that the source of sediment to the top portion of core 5-12A was from a relatively more marine area. Particulate PAHs in the marsh core (04M) appeared unaffected by the storms while sediments in the core from Station 5-1B (deeper shelf) were affected minimally (some possible storm-derived deposition). Substantial amounts of PAH-laden particles may have been displaced from the seabed in shallow areas of the water column in the GOM by these 2005 storms.

published proceedings

  • Mar Pollut Bull

altmetric score

  • 17

author list (cited authors)

  • Mitra, S., Lalicata, J. J., Allison, M. A., & Dellapenna, T. M.

citation count

  • 11

complete list of authors

  • Mitra, Siddhartha||Lalicata, Joseph J||Allison, Mead A||Dellapenna, Timothy M

publication date

  • June 2009