Poster Presentations 1 Session 001: Data Management and Informatics Supporting Ecosystem Sciences Sufficiency of Self-Documenting Data Exchange Standards F. Gayanilo1, M. Howard2 1Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX, 2Texas A&M University, College Station, TX Scientific data warehouses continue to proliferate with a common goal of securing and distributing the data at some future time for reuse or reanalysis. Establishing data provenance is a major concern of data centers, realizing that failures to establish data provenance inhibits the reuse of the data and voids the effort to archive the data. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an international standardization organization, has published metadata standards, such as the ISO 19115-2, that are widely popular and designed to establish data provenance. There are other standards development groups like the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) that are also publishing similar standards. Ocean observing communities, specifically, members of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Association are adopting the OGC Sensor Observation Service (SOS) and Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) to promote interoperability among similar systems. The data served by these web services defines what data is collected, period it was collected, how it is collected and who are responsible for the data. This paper discusses the application of the SOS and SWE as community standards and evaluates sufficiency of the attached information to give users confidence needed to reuse the sensor data extracted. Session 002: Oil-Dispersants-Sediment Interactions and Weathering/Degradation of Spilled Oil in Gulf of Mexico Ecosystems Dispersant Effectiveness of Corexit 9500A for Fresh/Weathered Crude Oil and for Some Aliphatic/Aromatic Compounds of Crude D. Boglaienko, B. Tansel Florida International University, Miami, FL Crude oil consists of saturates (around 80%) and aromatics (around 13%), and the rest is resins, asphaltenes and waxes (South Louisiana Crude oil, SLC). The most toxic components belong to aromatics: mononuclear (MAH) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). As part of the weathering process, MAH evaporate first. A dispersant, applied immediately after a spill, would cause more aromatics to be dissolved. The objective was to analyze dispersant effectiveness (DE) of Corexit 9500A for weathered (WO) and nonweathered crude oil (NWO). Oil was weathered in a hood during 2 months at the room temperature. Additionally, DE experiments for saturates and aromatics were performed. Three mixtures were designed: Alkanes (C10, C14, C16); MAH (benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene); Alkanes and MAH. All mixtures were dyed with Sudan IV red dye. The series of experiments were conducted for salt water (34 g/L); dispersant to oil ratio 1:20; at room temperature, and 200 rpm rotation speed. DE analysis was performed similar to the oil extraction with dichloromethane, EPA Swirling Flask Test (US EPA, 1996). Concentrations of dispersed organic compounds were analyzed using UV-visible spectrophotometer. Statistical test ANOVA was conducted to evaluate differences between DE of the hydrocarbon mixtures. Paired-samples t-test was utilized to 2 compare differences in DE of WO and NWO. Results revealed that DE of Alkanes is significantly higher (p = 0.000) than DE of any other group. DE of NWO is significantly higher than DE of WO (p = 0.03). Spatial Distribution of Natural Radionuclides in Soil, Sediment and Waters in Oil Spilled Areas in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria A. O. N. Ezekiel1, A. G. Gregory2 1Federal University of Petroleum Resource, Effurun, Nigera, Ughelii, Nigeria, 2University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Activity concentrations of natural radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) in the soil, sediment and water of oil producing communities in Delta and Rivers States were determined using γ-ray spectrometry. The mean soil/sediment activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in onshore west in Delta state is 40.2±5.1 Bqkg-1, 29.9±4.2 Bqkg-1 and 361.5±20.0 Bqkg-1 respectively, the corresponding values obtained in onshore east1 of Rivers state is 20.9±2.8 Bqkg-1, 19.4±2.5 Bqkg-1and 260.0±14.1 Bqkg-1 respectively. While the mean activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in onshore east2 of Rivers state is 29.3±3.5 Bqkg-1, 21.6±2.6Bqkg-1 and 262.1±14.6Bqkg-1 respectively. These values obtained show enhanced NORMs but are well within the world range. All the radiation hazard indices examined in soil have mean values lower than their maximum permissible limits. In the water samples collected, the values obtained are well above world average values of 1.0, 0.1 and 10 Bql-1 for 226Ra, 228Ra and 40K respectively, those of the control site values and most reported values around the world. Though the hazard indices (Raeq, Hex, Hin) examined in water is still within tolerable level, the committed effective dose estimated are above ICPR 0.1 mSvy-1 permissible limits. The overall results show that soil and sediment in the area are safe radiologically but the result indicates some level of water pollution in the studied area. High Resolution Seafloor Data to Guide Sampling and Data Interpretation A. Diercks1, V. Asper2, R. Jarnagin1, M. Woolsey1, M. D'Emidio3, S. Tidwell3, A. Conti4 1University of Southern Mississippi, Abbeville, MS, 2University of Southern Mississippi, Stennis Space Center, MS, 3University of Mississippi, University, MS, 4University of Mississippi, University, MS Deep-sea seafloor surveys obtained by autonomous underwater vehicles provide the very high resolution spatial data needed to interpret seafloor and in some cases water column phenomena and processes. In the first two years of the ECOGIG program funded by GOMRI, two deep sea AUV’s provided seafloor morphology, sub-bottom structure and photo mosaics, of three areas chosen by the ECOGIG consortium as their main study sites. During a cruise this summer, site OC26 about 3 nm to the SSE of the Macondo wellhead, was revisited by the AUV group with their photographic AUV to investigate specific bottom structures found during a previous multibeam echo sounder survey of the area. Detailed image data from these dives show not only active mud-volcanoes but also hydrate outcrops unknown at this site. Findings like these make it very clear that to understand seafloor and water column processes, spatial and temporal high resolution data of morphology, sub bottom structures and photomosaic surveys are needed to properly describe the environment and make decisions about sampling sites and methods. Without high resolution data we could potentially miss some of the sources of the materials we find contributing to the specific questions we try to answer using sediment traps and benthic landers. 3 Oil-Dispersant-Sediment Interactions and Effects of Dispersant on Sorption/Desorption of PAHs with Gulf Coast Marine Sediments X. Zhao Auburn University, Auburn, AL This presentation provides a state-of-the-science overview on the oil, dispersant and sediment interactions, and presents related experimental findings on effects of oil dispersants on sediment sorption/desorption of four model PAHs (naphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene, phenanthrene and pyrene). The review summarizes the state of science pertaining to effects of oil dispersants on sediment sorption/desorption and availabilities of oil components, and discusses their roles in oil distribution between water column and sediment particles. Effects of sediment properties, dispersant type, waster salinity and pressure on oil-sediment interactions are also addressed. Experimental data on effects of a model oil dispersant (Corexit EC9500A) on sorption/desorption of four PAHs with two marine sediments are presented. Kinetic tests and sorption isotherms revealed that the dispersant poses two opposing effects: it enhances the sediment sorption of PAHs through adsolubilization, but may also facilitate dispersion of PAHs in water, and the net effect will depend on sediment type, PAH hydrophobicity, and dispersant concentrations. For example, the dispersant at low concentrations (18 mg/L) enhanced the uptake of all four PAHs, but inhibited pyrene uptake at elevated dispersant concentrations. The presence of the dispersant during desorption induced remarkable hysteresis; and elevated PAHs uptakes were observed at deepwater conditions (4 °C and 16 MPa). Effect of Chain Length and Grafting Density on Oil Uptake in Amphiphilic Copolymer Grafted Silica Nanoparticle Systems K. C. Bentz1, S. E. Walley1, N. M. Vogelpohl2, N. V. Bhikha3, D. A. Savin1 1University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, 2University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 3University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS Silica nanoparticles (SNPs) have been grafted with amphiphilic copolymer polycaprolactone-b- polyethylene glycol (PCL-b-PEG) using both grafting-from and grafting-to techniques. Surface bound hydroxyl initiating species were introduced to the SNPs via immobilization of 3- glycidoxypropyldimethylethoxy silane (GPDMES) and subsequent ring opening of the epoxide functionality, from which ε-caprolactone was polymerized. Additionally, initiating groups were spaced on the SNP surface by immobilization of trimethylethoxy silane (TMES), which cannot initiate polymerization, at various ratios with GPDMES. Finally, PEG was grafted to the surface of the SNP-PCL by esterification of acid functionalized PEG with the native hydroxyl end group on the PCL chain. Grafting of