things to wonder about
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Things I Wonder About in the Restoration of Oil and Brine-
Impacted SitesKerry Sublette,
Eleanor Jennings, Dan Weber, Carla Landrum, Shoeb Munshi,
Melissa Barton, J. Berton Fisher
Center for Applied BiogeosciencesUniversity of Tulsa
Greg ThomaUniversity of Arkansas
Kathleen DuncanUniversity of Oklahoma
Tim ToddKansas State University
Remediation vs. Restoration• How do we define the remediation endpoint?
– Reduction in concentration of contaminants (hydrocarbons, brine)• Regulatory limit• Risk to human health or environmental receptors• Land use
• Remediation is not restoration– Both the original spill and the remediation process disrupt soil
ecology• Disruptions in N and P cycling• Reduced diversity of soil microbes and invertebrates• Loss of vegetation
– All levels of ecosystem affected• Producers (plants)• Consumers (bugs, worms, mites, nematodes, etc.)• Decomposers (microbes)
• What constitutes restoration?– It depends
• Land use• Landowner wishes (within reason)• Restoring ecosytems
Remediation vs. Restoration
• Remediation of oil and brine spill relatively mature science
• Lots of questions remain about restoration– Do we really understand the impacts of the spills
and the remediation process?– How do you restore ecosystems in a cost-effective
manner?– How can you measure your progress?
Things I Wonder About in the Restoration of Oil and Brine-Impacted
Sites
• What about soil hydrophobicity in crude oil spill sites?
• What about boron in brine spill sites?
• Where does all the salt go (and not go)?
Soil Hydrophobicity
• Hydrophobicity is caused by the coating of soil particles with hydrophobic or “water repelling” organic matter
• Hydrophobicity has been shown to be associated with some, but not all, crude oil spill sites
• Is it a problem in restoration?
Barley Growth in Crude Oil Impacted Soil
Shoot dry massRoot dry mass
Yield
Growth Parameter
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140g
dry
wt.
Control Soil 4% TPH 2% TPH Bio
Li et al., Plant and Soil, 192, 219-226 (1997)
Li et al., Plant and Soil, 192, 219-226 (1997)
Effect on plants was not toxicity – it was too little moisture.
In hydrocarbon impacted soils water followed preferential paths and drained rapidly.
J6N
TPH 33,500 mg/kg
J6S
TPH 4,800 mg/kg
January 1999
Tilled Hay Tilled Hay and Fertilizer
Tilled Hay
Tilled Hay and Fertilizer
J6S
J6N
J6 – Prairie
(No Treatment)
J6N -Control (Tilled Hay)
J6S – Control (Tilled Hay)
J6N Post-remediation TPH2001-2002
J6N-F J6N-NF
Plot
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
TPH
(mg/
kg)
EPA 418.1 EPA 1664
Molarity of Ethanol Droplet2006
J6NPJ6N-NF
J6N-FJ6C
J6S-NFJ6S-F
J6SP
Plot
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Soil
MED
MED = Lowest concentration of ethanol absorbed by soil in < 10 s.
TPH by Methylene Chloride ExtractionJune 2006
J6NPJ6SP
J6SFJ6C
J6-NPJ6SNF
J6NNFJ6NF
Test Plot
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
TPH
(mg/
kg)
TGA of J6N Soils
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100
T (C)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
% L
oss
in W
eigh
t
J6N-F
J6N-NF
J6N Vegetation AnalysisMay 2005
J6NP J6N-NF J6N-F J6C
Plot
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
g dr
y w
t/m2
Live Forbs Dead Forbs Live Grass Dead Grass
J6 Vegetation AnalysisJune 2006
J6NP J6N-NF J6N-F J6C
Plot
020406080
100120140160180200220240260280300
g dr
y w
t/m2
Live Forbs Dead Forbs Live Grass Dead Grass
Nematode Community Structure
• Two types of nematode community structure analyses:– Trophic structure – what feeding groups are present in what
relative amounts– Life-style structure – colonizer-persister (c-p) classes
c-p 1 c-p 5
Short regeneration timeHigh reproduction ratePollution tolerantMicrobivores
Long life spanLow reproduction ratePollution intolerantOmnivores and predators
NP C F NF
Treatment
0
50
100
150
200
250
300To
tal H
erbi
vore
s (#
/100
g s
oil)
Is this an effect of hydrophobicity?
NP C F NF
Treatment
1.8
1.9
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6Fr
ee-li
ving
Mat
urity
Inde
x
MI = Σ vi fi
Is this an effect of hydrophobicity?
What can we do about soil hydrophobicity?
• Hydrophobicity is counteracted by hydrophilic organic matter (hay or manure, for example)– Increases water holding capacity of the soil– Increases contact of water with hydrophobic soil
particles making them more likely to wet– Stimulates activity of soil invertebrates
• I don’t think it’s a show stopper but we need to be aware of it, measure it, and treat it
What about boron?TGP Produced Water Samples
C8 B3 P18
Well #
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Boro
n (m
g/L)
Boron - Hot Water Extracts-2006
R NR C H
Classification
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0B
(mg/
kg)
Redwood Brine Storage Tank Site Average [B] = 10.6 ± 0.2 mg/kg
Some unanswered questions about boron• How is boron distributed in the soil column at
a spill site? Surface soils only? In the root zone?
• What is the effect of boron on soil invertebrates and nematodes?
• What is the effect of boron on salt-stressed vegetation?
• Can the concentration of boron in soil be an indicator of past exposure to brine?
Control 1
Control 2
Site 5
Salt Wandering from Brine Scars
Site 5
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Depth (m)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
EC (m
S/cm
)
Control 1Control 2
Site 5
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Depth (m)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
SAR
Control 1Control 2
Site 1
Control 1
Control 2
Site 1
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
Depth (m)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
EC (m
S/cm
)
Control 1Control 2
Site 1
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
Depth (m)
0
10
20
30
40
50
SAR
Control 1Control 2
Clay
Topsoil
Subsoil
Salt
Historic Brine Scar
Clay Subsoil
SaltSalt
Recontoured Brine Scar
1975 2003
Conclusions
• Remediated oil and brine spills have a lot in common with other types of disturbed sites– Disruption of soil structure– Loss of soil invertebrate communities– Disruption in N and P cycling– Loss of vegetation
• Restoration of these sites presents some unique challenges and there is a lot to left to learn
Acknowledgements
• This work was funded by the Integrated Petroleum Environmental Consortium (IPEC)
• We thank The Nature Conservancy for access to field sites
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