The use of Barium in Deep-Sea Sediments to track Oil Drilling Activities

Sediment cores were collected in the Gulf of Mexico to study the potential for Barium (Ba) to be utilized as an indicator of drilling operations and implications of the Deepwater Horizon (DwH) oil spill on the sediment record. On April 20, 2010, the DwH oil spill triggered the release of over 3 million barrels of oil into the ocean. Attempts were made to stop the well from leaking oil including pumping synthetic barium sulfate (barite) drilling mud into the well. This failed to stop the oil flow and nearly 30,000 barrels of drilling mud were dispersed onto the seafloor. The objectives of this research are as follows: (I) Determine if sediment cores collected near oil drilling sites have increased concentrations of barium, (II) Determine if sediment samples surrounding the DwH site have significantly higher concentrations of Ba compared to other oil drilling sites, (III) Determine if there is a correlation between Ba concentration down-core and the DwH oil spill signatures in sediment cores. Sediment cores were analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy to determine the elemental composition of samples and evaluate anthropogenic inputs of Ba. Short-lived radioisotope analyses (Pb) provide age control over the past ~100 years to determine the timing of Ba input. Ba as a trace element in deep-sea sediments may be used to track local drilling activities or regional oil spills. This will help further determine the spatial extent of the DwH event on the seafloor as well as its preservation in the sedimentary record.

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