2003-2004 USAP Field Season

Study of consequences of a January 2003 hydrocarbon spill on the ice cover of Lake Fryxell, McMurdo Dry Valleys

 

 
 
  Principal Investigators:

Fabien Kenig and Peter Doran
University of llinois, Chicago

NSF/OPP 03–46316  
 

John Priscu and Edward Adams
Montana State niversity, Bozeman

 NSF/OPP 03–46272  
 

W. Berry Lyons and Anne Carey
Ohio State University

 NSF/OPP 03–47219  
 
 
 

Taylor Valley in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of East Antarctica is the site of a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project. The pristine Taylor Valley has three major closed-basin, perennially ice-covered lakes (Hoare, Fryxell and Bonney). On 17 January 2003, a Bell 212 helicopter crashed on the 5-meter-thick ice cover of Lake Fryxell, spilling about 730 liters of diesel fuel, as well as small amounts of synthetic lubricants and hydraulic fluids. Although cleanup efforts by personnel based at McMurdo Station began within four days of the crash, at least half of the spilled fluids could not be recovered because of the condition of the ice and the unavoidable close of the field season in early February, which precluded further access to the site. These fluids will remain trapped in the ice until the spring melt season starts in December 2003. The site will become accessible in November 2003, when ice cores and water samples can be collected for detailed analyses. .

  
  This coordinated research effort is aimed at documenting the fate and transport of hydrocarbons within the ice and water of the lake. Our goals are to understand the physical, chemical, and biological changes that have occurred since the spill and what, if any, its longer-term impact will be. The results of our research will also provide important information to help improve accident response policies in the Dry Valleys.  
 
 
  Components:  
 
 
 

 

Fabien Kenig and Peter Doran
University of llinois, Chicago


NSF/OPP 03–46316
  
  Study of natural attenuation of contaminants derived from a January 2003 helicopter fluids spill at Lake Fryxell (McMurdo Dry Valleys), a Long-Term Ecological Research site  
 

In this component of the project, we will document the natural attenuation of helicopter fluids in the lake ice. We have two major objectives:

 
 
  • Assess the level of disturbance in the lake ecosystem by evaluating the changes in the lipid constituents of Lake Fryxell ice caused by this crash. Over a 2-year period, we will compare lipids analyzed in preaccident lake water and surface sediments with the contaminant (jet fuel, lubrication oil, and transmission fluids), as well as postaccident ice-cover samples, lake water samples, and surface sediments.
    Quantify and evaluate the level of natural attenuation (evaporation and biodegradation) of the composition of spilled fluids in the ice cover of the frozen lake. Graduate students will participate in this research.
 
 
  • Quantify and evaluate the level of natural attenuation (evaporation and biodegradation) of the composition of spilled fluids in the ice cover of the frozen lake. Graduate students will participate in this research.

 

 
 
 
 

 

John Priscu and Edward Adams
Montana State niversity, Bozeman


NSF/OPP 03–46272
  
  Physical and biological consequences of a hydrocarbon spill on the ice cover of Lake Fryxell  
 

In this component of the project, we will conduct a variety of physical and biological experiments to determine the fate of hydrocarbons within the ice and their influence on biological activity and diversity. Undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students will participate in this research.

 
 
 
 

 

W. Berry Lyons and Anne Carey
Ohio State University
NSF/OPP 03–47219
  
  Field sampling coordination and mathematical modeling of a hydrocarbon spill on the ice cover of Lake Fryxell  
 

In this component of the project, we will coordinate the field sampling in the 2003–2004 season, integrate the data, and develop a mathematical model to better predict hydrocarbon movement within the ice cover of the lake.