Biodegradation of Dispersed Crude Oil in the Prince William Sound Region

This project compares biodegradation of chemically dispersed Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil to physically dispersed ANS by indigenous water column micro fauna (bio-degraders) at ambient Prince William Sound conditions.

The council hopes to determine that if chemical dispersants are used in Prince William Sound and the oil disperses, whether the oil would then be biodegraded by indigenous micro fauna or if would it float around until it either resurfaces or is washed downstream.

A literature search and synthesis of relevant research will be done first. Once that data is gathered, it can be used to aid the decision-making process about funding future research.

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