A Comparison of Argo Merchant Oil and Sediment Hydrocarbons from Nantucket Shoals

摘要

Surface sediment samples collected from the Nantucket Shoals Argo Merchant wreck site area in February, 1977, were analyzed for hydrocarbon content by gas chromatography. Analysis of sediment grab subsections revealed no clear trend of hydrocarbon contamination as a function of depth in sections as deep as 10 cm. The high degree of physical activity on the shoals is probably responsible for the areal patchiness and the inhomogeneous mixing of hydrocarbons with depth in the sediments. Although chemical, physical and biological weathering could be responsible for the observed decrease in hydrocarbon concentrations at the wreck site, turbulent mixing on the shoals probably transported the contaminated sediments out of the area or buried them under clean sand.