The Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects of Crude Oil Spills after 15 Years on a Black Spruce Forest, Interior Alaska
The effects of two large experimental crude oil spills conducted in the winter and summer of 1976 in a permafrost-underlain black spruce forest of interior Alaska were assessed 15 years after the spills. Effects on permafrost, as determined from measurements of active layer thaw depths and of the to...
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Language: | English |
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The Arctic Institute of North America
1994
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Online Access: | https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64341 |
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/64341 2023-05-15T14:19:10+02:00 The Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects of Crude Oil Spills after 15 Years on a Black Spruce Forest, Interior Alaska Collins, Charles M. Racine, Charles H. Walsh, Marianne E. 1994-01-01 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64341 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64341/48276 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64341 ARCTIC; Vol. 47 No. 2 (1994): June: 109–205; 164-175 1923-1245 0004-0843 Black spruces Environmental impacts Frozen ground Oil spills on land Soil percolation Soil profiles Thawing Plant cover Thaw settlement Active layer Caribou Creek (65 09 N 147 29 W) Alaska Poker Creek (65 08 N 147 28 W) info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 1994 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-03-22T21:21:32Z The effects of two large experimental crude oil spills conducted in the winter and summer of 1976 in a permafrost-underlain black spruce forest of interior Alaska were assessed 15 years after the spills. Effects on permafrost, as determined from measurements of active layer thaw depths and of the total amount of ground subsidence, were far more pronounced on the winter spill due to a larger surface-oiled area. The winter spill also had a more drastic effect on the vegetation. Where the black, asphalt-like surface oil was present, black spruce mortality was 100% and there was very little live plant cover except for cotton grass tussocks. Changes in oil chemistry varied with depth; surface samples had signs of microbiological degradation, whereas some subsurface samples taken just above the permafrost had no evidence of degradation and still contained volatile fractions.Key words: crude oil, spill, terrestrial, taiga, permafrost, black spruce forest, interior Alaska Quinze ans après avoir effectué deux grands déversements expérimentaux de pétrole brut durant l'hiver et l'été de 1976 dans une forêt d'épinettes noires reposant sur le pergélisol de l'intérieur de l'Alaska, on en a évalué les répercussions. Celles sur le pergélisol, déterminées d'après les mesures de la profondeur de fonte du mollisol et de la subsidence totale du sol, étaient beaucoup plus prononcées pour le déversement ayant eu lieu en hiver, en raison de la plus grande superficie couverte de pétrole. Ce déversement avait aussi eu des répercussions plus radicales sur la végétation. Là où le pétrole de surface ressemblant à de l'asphalte était présent, le taux de mortalité de l'épinette noire était de 100 p. cent et le couvert végétal vivant était rare, mis à part des buttes de linaigrette de Scheuchzer. Les changements dans la composition chimique du pétrole variaient avec la profondeur; les échantillons de surface montraient des signes de dégradation microbiologique, tandis que certains échantillons de subsurface prélevés juste au-dessus du pergélisol ne montraient aucun signe de dégradation et renfermaient encore des fractions volatiles.Mots clés : pétrole brut, déversement, terrestre, forêt boréale, pergélisol, forêt d’épinettes noires, intérieur de l’Alaska Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Linaigrette de Scheuchzer permafrost taiga Alaska Cotton-grass linaigrette pergélisol University of Calgary Journal Hosting Noire ENVELOPE(140.019,140.019,-66.666,-66.666) Poker Creek ENVELOPE(-141.005,-141.005,64.056,64.056) ARCTIC 47 2 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Black spruces Environmental impacts Frozen ground Oil spills on land Soil percolation Soil profiles Thawing Plant cover Thaw settlement Active layer Caribou Creek (65 09 N 147 29 W) Alaska Poker Creek (65 08 N 147 28 W) |
spellingShingle |
Black spruces Environmental impacts Frozen ground Oil spills on land Soil percolation Soil profiles Thawing Plant cover Thaw settlement Active layer Caribou Creek (65 09 N 147 29 W) Alaska Poker Creek (65 08 N 147 28 W) Collins, Charles M. Racine, Charles H. Walsh, Marianne E. The Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects of Crude Oil Spills after 15 Years on a Black Spruce Forest, Interior Alaska |
topic_facet |
Black spruces Environmental impacts Frozen ground Oil spills on land Soil percolation Soil profiles Thawing Plant cover Thaw settlement Active layer Caribou Creek (65 09 N 147 29 W) Alaska Poker Creek (65 08 N 147 28 W) |
description |
The effects of two large experimental crude oil spills conducted in the winter and summer of 1976 in a permafrost-underlain black spruce forest of interior Alaska were assessed 15 years after the spills. Effects on permafrost, as determined from measurements of active layer thaw depths and of the total amount of ground subsidence, were far more pronounced on the winter spill due to a larger surface-oiled area. The winter spill also had a more drastic effect on the vegetation. Where the black, asphalt-like surface oil was present, black spruce mortality was 100% and there was very little live plant cover except for cotton grass tussocks. Changes in oil chemistry varied with depth; surface samples had signs of microbiological degradation, whereas some subsurface samples taken just above the permafrost had no evidence of degradation and still contained volatile fractions.Key words: crude oil, spill, terrestrial, taiga, permafrost, black spruce forest, interior Alaska Quinze ans après avoir effectué deux grands déversements expérimentaux de pétrole brut durant l'hiver et l'été de 1976 dans une forêt d'épinettes noires reposant sur le pergélisol de l'intérieur de l'Alaska, on en a évalué les répercussions. Celles sur le pergélisol, déterminées d'après les mesures de la profondeur de fonte du mollisol et de la subsidence totale du sol, étaient beaucoup plus prononcées pour le déversement ayant eu lieu en hiver, en raison de la plus grande superficie couverte de pétrole. Ce déversement avait aussi eu des répercussions plus radicales sur la végétation. Là où le pétrole de surface ressemblant à de l'asphalte était présent, le taux de mortalité de l'épinette noire était de 100 p. cent et le couvert végétal vivant était rare, mis à part des buttes de linaigrette de Scheuchzer. Les changements dans la composition chimique du pétrole variaient avec la profondeur; les échantillons de surface montraient des signes de dégradation microbiologique, tandis que certains échantillons de subsurface prélevés juste au-dessus du pergélisol ne montraient aucun signe de dégradation et renfermaient encore des fractions volatiles.Mots clés : pétrole brut, déversement, terrestre, forêt boréale, pergélisol, forêt d’épinettes noires, intérieur de l’Alaska |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Collins, Charles M. Racine, Charles H. Walsh, Marianne E. |
author_facet |
Collins, Charles M. Racine, Charles H. Walsh, Marianne E. |
author_sort |
Collins, Charles M. |
title |
The Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects of Crude Oil Spills after 15 Years on a Black Spruce Forest, Interior Alaska |
title_short |
The Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects of Crude Oil Spills after 15 Years on a Black Spruce Forest, Interior Alaska |
title_full |
The Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects of Crude Oil Spills after 15 Years on a Black Spruce Forest, Interior Alaska |
title_fullStr |
The Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects of Crude Oil Spills after 15 Years on a Black Spruce Forest, Interior Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Physical, Chemical, and Biological Effects of Crude Oil Spills after 15 Years on a Black Spruce Forest, Interior Alaska |
title_sort |
physical, chemical, and biological effects of crude oil spills after 15 years on a black spruce forest, interior alaska |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64341 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(140.019,140.019,-66.666,-66.666) ENVELOPE(-141.005,-141.005,64.056,64.056) |
geographic |
Noire Poker Creek |
geographic_facet |
Noire Poker Creek |
genre |
Arctic Linaigrette de Scheuchzer permafrost taiga Alaska Cotton-grass linaigrette pergélisol |
genre_facet |
Arctic Linaigrette de Scheuchzer permafrost taiga Alaska Cotton-grass linaigrette pergélisol |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 47 No. 2 (1994): June: 109–205; 164-175 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64341/48276 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64341 |
container_title |
ARCTIC |
container_volume |
47 |
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2 |
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1766290768200204288 |