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Microbial Communities Responding to Deep-Sea Hydrocarbon Spills

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Book cover Microbial Communities Utilizing Hydrocarbons and Lipids: Members, Metagenomics and Ecophysiology

Part of the book series: Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology ((HHLM))

Abstract

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can be considered the world’s first deep-sea hydrocarbon spill. Deep-sea hydrocarbon spills occur in a different setting than surface oil spills, and the organisms that respond must be adapted to this low-temperature, high-pressure environment. The hydrocarbon composition can also be quite different than at the sea surface, with high concentrations of dissolved hydrocarbons, including natural gas, and suspended droplets of petroleum. We discuss the bacteria that may respond to these spills and factors that affect their abundance, based on data collected during the Deepwater Horizon spill and in microcosm experiments in the following years.

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Acknowledgments

DLV was supported by NSF OCE-1756947.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Molly C. Redmond

  2. Department of Earth Science and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    David L. Valentine

Authors
  1. Molly C. Redmond
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  2. David L. Valentine
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Correspondence to Molly C. Redmond .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Essex, School of Biological Sciences University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, UK

    Terry J. McGenity

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Redmond, M.C., Valentine, D.L. (2019). Microbial Communities Responding to Deep-Sea Hydrocarbon Spills. In: McGenity, T. (eds) Microbial Communities Utilizing Hydrocarbons and Lipids: Members, Metagenomics and Ecophysiology . Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60063-5_12-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60063-5_12-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60063-5

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