Source identification for oil-based drill cuttings on the seabed based on stable carbon isotopes
| 详细信息 | 推荐本文 | |
- 作者：Bent Barman Skaare ; Morten Schaanning and P氓l Tore M酶rkved
- 关键词：Drill cuttings ; Biodegradation ; Carbon isotopes ; Mineral oil ; Stable isotopes
- 刊名：Environmental Chemistry Letters
- 出版时间：June, 2009
- 出版年：2009
- 期刊代码：36_1610-3653
- 类别：ch
- 卷：7
- 期：2
- 页码：183-189
- 数据来源：sp
摘要
This paper demonstrates how stable carbon isotopes can be utilized to identify the source of oil-based drill cuttings discharges and estimate the time of their deposition. The base-oil used in drilling mud systems may be biodegraded by seabed microflora. Effects of such processes make it difficult to identify sources of discharges based on the oil’s molecular structure. However, the stable isotope fingerprint of the base oil may vary for each batch of base-oil. Because carbon isotopic ratios in compounds with more than ten carbons are resistant to fractionation during biodegradation, this may be used as a tool to identify the source of drill cuttings discharges.