Ka. Kvenvolden et al., CARBON ISOTOPIC COMPARISONS OF OIL PRODUCTS USED IN THE DEVELOPMENTALHISTORY OF ALASKA, Chemical geology, 152(1-2), 1998, pp. 73-84
Studies of the fate of oil released into Prince William Sound, AK, as
a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, have led to an unexpected
discovery. In addition to oil-like residues attributed to the spill,
the ubiquitous presence of flattened tar balls, the carbon isotopic co
mpositions of which fall within a surprisingly narrow range [delta(13)
C(PDB) = -23.7 +/- 0.3 parts per thousand (n = 65)], were observed on
the shorelines of the northern and western parts of the sound. These c
ompositions are similar to those of some all products [-23.7 +/- 0.7 p
arts per thousand (n = 35)] that were shipped from California and used
in Alaska for fuel, lubrication, construction, and paving before simi
lar to 1970. These products include fuel oil, asphalt, and lubricants
[-23.8 +/- 0.5 parts per thousand (n = 11)], caulking, sealants, and r
oofing tar [-23.7 +/- 0.7 parts per thousand (n = 16)], and road pavem
ents and airport runways [-23.5 +/- 0.9 parts per thousand (n = 8)]. F
uel oil and asphalt [-23.5 +/- 0.1 parts per thousand (n = 3)], stored
at the old Valdez town site and spilled during the 1964 Alaskan earth
quake, appear to be the source of most of the beached tar balls. Oil p
roducts with lighter carbon isotopic compositions, between -25 and -30
parts per thousand (n = 18), appear to have been used more recently i
n Alaska, that is, after - 1970. The source of some of the products us
ed for modern pavement and runways [-29.3 +/- 0.2 parts per thousand (
n = 6)] is likely Alaskan North Slope crude oil, an example of which w
as spilled in the 1989 oil spill [-29.2 parts per thousand (n = 1)]. (
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