Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Long-Term Effects of Contamination by Fuel Oil on the Coastal Ecosystem in the Onega Bay of the White Sea

  • ORIGINAL PAPERS
  • Published:
Russian Journal of Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the current content of petroleum hydrocarbons in various components of the ecosystem was performed to assess the ecological state of the southeastern part of the Onega Bay (White Sea) that suffered from a spill of fuel oil in 2003. The analysis showed relatively low levels of petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations: from 0.34 to 4.55 mg/kg, with a median of 1.41 mg/kg in bottom sediments; from 9.41 to 14.25 mg/kg, with a median of 12.30 mg/kg in tissues of benthic organisms; and below 1 MPCfishery (the maximum permissible concentration) in water. The records of low concentrations of bacteria that use petroleum hydrocarbons (fuel oil) allow us to conclude that the state of the examined ecosystem is close to the natural condition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Andrianov, V.V., Lebedev, A.A., Neverova, N.V., et al., Long-term environmental impact of an oil spill in the southern part of Onega Bay, the White Sea, Russ. J. Mar. Biol., 2016, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 205–215.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bambulyak, A. and Franzen, B., Transportirovka nefti iz rossiiskoi chasti Barentseva regiona (Oil Transportation from the Russian Part of the Barents Region), Svanvik, Norway: NIBIO Svanhovd, 2005.

  3. Bol’shoi praktikum po mikrobiologii (A Greater Practical Course in Microbiology), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1962.

  4. Gidrometeorologiya i gidrokhimiya morei SSSR. T. 2. Beloe more. Vyp. 1. Gidrometeorologicheskie usloviya (Hydrometeorology and Hydrochemistry of the Seas of the USSR, vol. 2: The White Sea, no. 1: Hydrometeorological Conditions), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1991.

  5. GOST (State Standard) 10585–2013: Petroleum Fuel. Mazut. Technical Specifications, 2004.

  6. Dolotov, Yu.S., Filatov, N.N., Rimsky-Korsakov, N.A., et al., Manifestation of marine and riverine factors in the tide and ebb phases along the White Sea coasts of different configuration, Oceanology (Engl. Transl.), 2011, vol. 51, pp. 105–117.

  7. Dolotov, Yu.S., Filatov, N.N., Shevchenko, V.P., et al., Multidisciplinary studies in Onega Bay of the White Sea and the estuary of the Onega River during the summer period, Oceanology (Engl. Transl.), 2008, vol. 48, pp. 255–267.

  8. Illyustrirovannyi atlas bespozvonochnykh Belogo morya (An Illustrated Atlas of Invertebrates of the White Sea), Moscow: KMK, 2006.

  9. Il’insky, V.V., Heterotrophic bacterioplankton: Ecology and role in the processes of natural environment purification from oil pollution, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 2000.

  10. Kuznetsov, S.I. and Dubinina, G.A., Metody izucheniya vodnykh mikroorganizmov (Methods for the Study of Aquatic Microorganisms), Moscow: Nauka, 1989.

  11. Lebedev, A.A., Lukin, L.R., Andrianov, V.V., et al., Results of the study of the process of self-purification from oil products in the waters of Onega Bay, White Sea, in Prirodnye resursy i kompleksnoe osvoenie pribrezhnykh raionov Arkticheskoi zony (Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Regions of the Arctic Zone), Arkhangelsk: OOO Izdatel’skie Proekty, 2016, pp. 271–277.

  12. Mironov, O.G., Vzaimodeistvie morskikh organizmov s neftyanymi uglevodorodami (Interaction of Marine Organisms with Petroleum Hydrocarbons), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1985.

  13. Mironov, O.G., Oil hydrocarbons flows through the marine organisms, Mar. Ecol. J., 2006, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 5–14.

    Google Scholar 

  14. GOST (State Standard) FR.1.31.2009.06562: NDI 05.17-2009 “MVI Mass Fraction of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Samples of Hydrobionts of Fresh Sea Water Bodies”, Certified by the State Hydrochemical Institute, 2009.

  15. Neverova, N.V., Vorobyeva, T.Ya., and Chupakov, A.V., Assessment of accumulation of petroleum hydrocarbons by the hydrobionts of the south-eastern part of the Onega Bay of the White Sea, Probl. Arkt. Antarkt., 2019, vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 462–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Nemirovskaya, I.A., Tar balls in Baltic Sea beaches, Water Resour., 2011, vol. 38, art. ID 315. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0097807811020114

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Nemirovskaya, I.A., Neft’ v okeane (zagryaznenie i prirodnye potoki) (Oil in the Ocean: Pollution and Natural Flows), Moscow: Nauchnyi Mir, 2013.

  18. Patin, S.A., Neftyanye razlivy i ikh vozdeistvie na morskuyu sredu i bioresursy (Oil Spills and Their Impact on the Marine Environment and Bioresources), Moscow: VNIRO, 2008.

  19. Patin, S.A., Neft’ i ekologiya kontinental’nogo shel’fa. T. 1. Morskoi neftegazovyi kompleks: sostoyanie, perspektivy, faktory vozdeistviya (Oil and Continental Shelf Ecology, vol. 1: Offshore Oil and Gas Industry: Actual Situation, Prospects, and Factors of Impact), Moscow: VNIRO, 2017.

  20. GOST (State Standard) PND F 16.1:2.21-98: Quantitative Chemical Analysis of Soil. Methods for Measuring the Mass Fraction of Oil Products in Soil and Soil Samples by the Fluorimetric Method Using the Fluorat-02 Liquid Analyzer, 1998.

  21. GOST (State Standard) PND F 14.1:2:4.128-98: Quantitative Chemical Analysis of Water. Methods for Measuring the Mass Concentration of Petroleum Products in Samples of Natural, Drinking and Waste Waters Using the Fluorimetric Method on a Fluorat-02 Liquid Analyzer, 1998.

  22. Pogoda i klimat. Arkhangel’skaya oblast’. Onega (Weather and Climate: Arkhangelsk Oblast, Onega). http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/weather.php?id=22641. Cited April 1, 2020.

  23. Rukovodstvo po gidrobiologicheskomu analizu prirodnykh vod (Guide to the Hydrobiological Analysis of Natural Waters), St. Petersburg: Gidrometeoizdat, 1992.

  24. Sistema Belogo morya. T. 2. Vodnaya tolshcha i vzaimodeistvuyushchie s nei atmosfera, kriosfera, rechnoi stok i biosfera (The System of the White Sea, vol. 2: The Water Column and the Interacting Atmosphere, Cryosphere, River Runoff, and Biosphere), Moscow: Nauchnyi Mir, 2012.

  25. Ansell, D.V., Dicks, B., Guenette, C.C., et al., A review of the problems posed by spills of heavy fuel oils (2001), 2001 Int. Oil Spill Conf., March 26–29 2001, Tampa, Florida, 2001.

  26. Atlas, R.M., Bacteria and bioremediation of marine oil spills, Oceanus, 1993, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 71–73.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Kornilios, S., Drakopoulos, P.G., and Dounas, C., Pelagic tar, dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons and plastic distribution in the Cretan Sea, Greece, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 1998, vol. 36, no. 12, pp. 989–993.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Lehtonen, K.K., Leiniö, S., Schneider, R., and Leivuori, M., Biomarkers of pollution effects in the bivalves Mytilus edulis and Macoma balthica collected from the southern coast of Finland (Baltic Sea), Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser., 2006, vol. 322, pp. 155–168.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Teal, J.M., A local oil spill revisited, Oceanus, 1993, vol. 36, pp. 65–70.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Warmer, H. and Dokkum, R., Water Pollution Control in the Netherlands: Policy and Practice 2001, RIZA Report, no. 2002.009, Lelystad, the Netherlands: RIZA Inst. Inland Water Manage. Waste Water Treat., 2002.

  31. Warnock, A.M., Hagen, S.C., and Passeri, D.L., Marine tar residues: a review, Water, Air, Soil Pollut., 2015, vol. 226, art. ID 68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2298-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to scientific workers S.I. Klimov and A.V. Chupakov (Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences) for their valuable advice, discussion, and assistance in this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, 163000, Arkhangelsk, Russia

    T. Ya. Vorobyeva, N. V. Neverova & V. V. Andrianov

Authors
  1. T. Ya. Vorobyeva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. N. V. Neverova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. V. V. Andrianov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. Ya. Vorobyeva.

Ethics declarations

COMPLIANCE WITH ETHICAL STANDARDS

Conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

FUNDING

This work was financially supported by the Project of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences No. 18-9-5-29. V.V. Andrianov was supported by the grant p_a no. 17-45-290114. T.Ya. Vorobyova and N.V. Neverov were supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant no. 18-05-01041).

Additional information

Translated by I. Barsegova

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vorobyeva, T.Y., Neverova, N.V. & Andrianov, V.V. The Long-Term Effects of Contamination by Fuel Oil on the Coastal Ecosystem in the Onega Bay of the White Sea. Russ J Mar Biol 46, 207–214 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074020030128

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074020030128

Keywords:

Search

Navigation