Earth & Environment

Oil Spills

Published April 2, 2018 Curated Collections

Oil Spills cause catastrophic and persistent damage on enormous scales, and have dramatic consequences for both humans and the environment. Research into the consequences of oil spills is multifaceted and interdisciplinary, from fluid mechanics, chemistry and earth sciences, to developmental biology, ecology and economics. In these Editor's Picks, PLOS ONE Associate Editor in Earth Sciences Vicky Black highlights a variety of PLOS articles showcasing the breadth of research on this topic, from characterising the spills and assessing the impacts of clean-up strategies, to the biological consequences for microbes, humans and whole ecosystems.

Image Credit: kris krüg. Flickr.com

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Persistence, Behavior and Characterization of Oil Spills
Cleanup
Microbial Responses
Megafaunal and Human Responses

Persistence, Behavior and Characterization of Oil Spills

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10.1371/journal.pone.0134448

PLOS ONE Spilled Oils: Static Mixtures or Dynamic Weathering and Bioavailability?
September 2, 2015 Mark G. Carls, Marie L. Larsen, Larry G. Holland
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10.1371/journal.pone.0136376

PLOS ONE Chemical Composition and Potential Environmental Impacts of Water-Soluble Polar Crude Oil Components Inferred from ESI FT-ICR MS
September 1, 2015 Yina Liu, Elizabeth B. Kujawinski
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10.1371/journal.pone.0118098

PLOS ONE A Tale of Two Recent Spills—Comparison of 2014 Galveston Bay and 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Residues
February 25, 2015 Fang Yin, Joel S. Hayworth, T. Prabhakar Clement
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10.1371/journal.pone.0181197

PLOS ONE Oiling accelerates loss of salt marshes, southeastern Louisiana
August 2, 2017 Michael Beland, Trent W. Biggs, Dar A. Roberts, Seth H. Peterson, Raymond F. Kokaly, Sarai Piazza
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10.1371/journal.pone.0132341

PLOS ONE Sedimentation Pulse in the NE Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 DWH Blowout
July 14, 2015 Gregg R. Brooks, Rebekka A. Larson, Patrick T. Schwing, Isabel Romero, Christopher Moore, Gert-Jan Reichart, Tom Jilbert, Jeff P. Chanton, David W. Hastings, Will A. Overholt, Kala P. Marks, Joel E. Kostka, Charles W. Holmes, David Hollander
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10.1371/journal.pone.0128371

PLOS ONE Hydrocarbons in Deep-Sea Sediments following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Blowout in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico
May 28, 2015 Isabel C. Romero, Patrick T. Schwing, Gregg R. Brooks, Rebekka A. Larson, David W. Hastings, Greg Ellis, Ethan A. Goddard, David J. Hollander

Cleanup

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10.1371/journal.pone.0132324

PLOS ONE Heavily Oiled Salt Marsh following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Ecological Comparisons of Shoreline Cleanup Treatments and Recovery
July 22, 2015 Scott Zengel, Brittany M. Bernik, Nicolle Rutherford, Zachary Nixon, Jacqueline Michel
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10.1371/journal.pone.0128939

PLOS ONE Hypoxia Enhances the Toxicity of Corexit EC9500A and Chemically Dispersed Southern Louisiana Sweet Crude Oil (MC-242) to Sheepshead Minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) Larvae
June 25, 2015 Subham Dasgupta, Irvin J. Huang, Anne E. McElroy

Microbial Responses

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10.1371/journal.pone.0179923

PLOS ONE Temporal patterns of Deepwater Horizon impacts on the benthic infauna of the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope
June 22, 2017 Michael G. Reuscher, Jeffrey G. Baguley, Nathan Conrad-Forrest, Cynthia Cooksey, Jeffrey L. Hyland, Christopher Lewis, Paul A. Montagna, Robert W. Ricker, Melissa Rohal, Travis Washburn
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10.1371/journal.pone.0128272

PLOS ONE Culture-Dependent and -Independent Methods Capture Different Microbial Community Fractions in Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils
June 8, 2015 Franck O. P. Stefani, Terrence H. Bell, Charlotte Marchand, Ivan E. de la Providencia, Abdel El Yassimi, Marc St-Arnaud, Mohamed Hijri
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10.1371/journal.pone.0122378

PLOS ONE Shifts in Symbiotic Endophyte Communities of a Foundational Salt Marsh Grass following Oil Exposure from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
April 29, 2015 Demetra Kandalepas, Michael J. Blum, Sunshine A. Van Bael

Megafaunal and Human Responses

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10.1371/journal.pone.0190840

PLOS ONE Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill evaluated using an end-to-end ecosystem model
January 25, 2018 Cameron H. Ainsworth, Claire B. Paris, Natalie Perlin, Lindsey N. Dornberger, William F. Patterson III, Emily Chancellor, Steve Murawski, David Hollander, Kendra Daly, Isabel C. Romero, Felicia Coleman, Holly Perryman
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10.1371/journal.pone.0138797

PLOS ONE Effects of Oil-Contaminated Sediments on Submerged Vegetation: An Experimental Assessment of Ruppia maritima
October 2, 2015 Charles W. Martin, Lauris O. Hollis, R. Eugene Turner
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10.1371/journal.pone.0126538

PLOS ONE Adrenal Gland and Lung Lesions in Gulf of Mexico Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Found Dead following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
May 20, 2015 Stephanie Venn-Watson, Kathleen M. Colegrove, Jenny Litz, Michael Kinsel, Karen Terio, Jeremiah Saliki, Spencer Fire, Ruth Carmichael, Connie Chevis, Wendy Hatchett, Jonathan Pitchford, Mandy Tumlin, Cara Field, Suzanne Smith, Ruth Ewing, Deborah Fauquier, Gretchen Lovewell, Heidi Whitehead, David Rotstein, Wayne McFee, Erin Fougeres, Teri Rowles
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10.1371/journal.pone.0124376

PLOS ONE Unexpected Interaction with Dispersed Crude Oil Droplets Drives Severe Toxicity in Atlantic Haddock Embryos
April 29, 2015 Elin Sørhus, Rolf B. Edvardsen, Ørjan Karlsen, Trond Nordtug, Terje van der Meeren, Anders Thorsen, Christopher Harman, Sissel Jentoft, Sonnich Meier
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10.1371/journal.pone.0176559

PLOS ONE Crude oil impairs immune function and increases susceptibility to pathogenic bacteria in southern flounder
May 2, 2017 Keith M. Bayha, Natalie Ortell, Caitlin N. Ryan, Kimberly J. Griffitt, Michelle Krasnec, Johnny Sena, Thiruvarangan Ramaraj, Ryan Takeshita, Gregory D. Mayer, Faye Schilkey, Robert J. Griffitt
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10.1371/journal.pone.0172898

PLOS ONE Evaluating signals of oil spill impacts, climate, and species interactions in Pacific herring and Pacific salmon populations in Prince William Sound and Copper River, Alaska
March 15, 2017 Eric J. Ward, Milo Adkison, Jessica Couture, Sherri C. Dressel, Michael A. Litzow, Steve Moffitt, Tammy Hoem Neher, John Trochta, Rich Brenner
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10.1371/journal.pone.0135791

PLOS ONE Evaluation of Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus, Megalopal Settlement and Condition during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
August 13, 2015 Erin K. Grey, Susan C. Chiasson, Hannah G. Williams, Victoria J. Troeger, Caz M. Taylor
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10.1371/journal.pone.0132413

PLOS ONE Follow-Up Genotoxic Study: Chromosome Damage Two and Six Years after Exposure to the Prestige Oil Spill
July 29, 2015 Kristin Hildur, Cristina Templado, Jan-Paul Zock, Jesús Giraldo, Francisco Pozo-Rodríguez, Alexandra Frances, Gemma Monyarch, Gema Rodríguez-Trigo, Emma Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Ana Souto, Federico P. Gómez, Josep M. Antó, Joan Albert Barberà, Carme Fuster

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