Crude oil infiltration and movement in first-year sea ice: Impacts on ice-associated biota and physical constraints Principal Investigator: R. Eric Collins1 Co-Investigators: Bodil Bluhm 2, Rolf Gradinger2, Hajo Eicken3 Graduate Students: Kyle Dilliplaine1, Marc Oggier3 1 College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks 2 Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, The Arctic University of Norway 3 International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks FINAL REPORT OCS Study BOEM 2017-087 December 2017 Contact Information: email: [email protected] phone: 907.474.6782 fax: 907.474.7204 Coastal Marine Institute College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences University of Alaska Fairbanks P. O. Box 757220 Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220 This study was funded in part by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) through Cooperative Agreement M14AC00015 between BOEM, Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This report, OCS Study BOEM 2017-087, is available through the Coastal Marine Institute and select federal depository libraries. It can be accessed electronically at http://www.boem.gov/Alaska-Scientific-Publications. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................................iv ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... v INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1 Background ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Sea ice geophysics and oil .............................................................................................................. 1 Sea ice biology and oil .................................................................................................................... 2 Study Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 4 METHODS ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 6 Tank Design ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Field Sampling ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Experimental Design ............................................................................................................................ 8 Biological Inoculation .......................................................................................................................... 9 Oil Release ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Ice Core Sampling in the Experimental Tanks ................................................................................... 9 Ice Core Measurements ...................................................................................................................... 10 Physical variables .......................................................................................................................... 10 Biological variables ....................................................................................................................... 11 Toxicity Assays................................................................................................................................... 11 Statistical analysis ......................................................................................................................... 12 RESULTS............................................................................................................................................ 13 Fast Ice Observations in Utqiaġvik, Alaska ...................................................................................... 13 Physical variables .......................................................................................................................... 13 Biological variables ....................................................................................................................... 14 Tank Experiments ............................................................................................................................... 14 Abiotic variables ............................................................................................................................ 14 Ice microstructure .......................................................................................................................... 17 Chlorophyll a ................................................................................................................................. 18 ii Extracellular polymeric substances .............................................................................................. 19 Algal abundance and species composition................................................................................... 19 Bacteria........................................................................................................................................... 20 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 22 Similarity between Natural and Artificially Grown Ice ................................................................... 22 Abiotic factors ............................................................................................................................... 22 Biotic factors .................................................................................................................................. 23 Geophysical Effects of Oil in Sea Ice................................................................................................ 27 Biological Effects of Oil in Sea Ice ................................................................................................... 28 Effects on sea ice algae ................................................................................................................. 28 Effects on bacteria ......................................................................................................................... 30 Lessons Learned: Ice Tank Design .................................................................................................... 31 Lessons Learned: Biological Inoculation and Growth ..................................................................... 31 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................ 34 STUDY PRODUCTS ......................................................................................................................... 36 ACKNOWLEGEMENTS .................................................................................................................. 36 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................... 37 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................... 49 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Oil interactions with sea ice ................................................................................................. 2 Figure 2. Algal community in the skeletal layer of sea ice near Point Barrow, Alaska................... 3 Figure 3. Incubation tanks and schematic showing positions of sensors and equipment in each tank ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Figure 4. Treatment assignments tested in Y1 (2014) and Y2 (2015) .............................................. 8 Figure 5. Schematic showing ice sectioning procedures.................................................................. 10 Figure 6. Physical properties of sea ice collected in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, in Y1 (2014) and Y2 (2015) .................................................................................................................................................. 14 Figure 7. Sea ice physical properties for treatment BLY2 OR+10 and corresponding vertical section. ................................................................................................................................................