“海油雪”的形成机制及其生态效应

Formation mechanism and ecological effect of “marine oil snow”

摘要:

2010年深水地平线事故发生后，在被石油污染的墨西哥湾观察到大量的“海油雪”形成，海油雪的相关研究成为人们关注的焦点。海油雪是指石油、浮游植物、细菌黏液等组成的团聚物，能够将石油从海面沉降至海底，对石油的风化过程产生深远影响。因此，研究海油雪的形成机制和生态效应，对于深入认识海油雪在石油-海洋系统中的作用具有重要意义。本文从物理凝聚、微生物和石油分散剂三个方面对海油雪的形成机制展开探讨，分析了海油雪对石油风化、底栖生物毒性和其他污染物迁移转化的影响，并结合现有研究进行了展望。

Abstract:

After the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010, a large number of “marine oil snow” (MOS) were observed in the oil-polluted area of the Gulf of Mexico. MOS is a kind of agglomerate composed of oil, phytoplankton and bacterial slime, which can sink oil from the sea surface to the seafloor and has great influence to the weathering process of oil. Therefore, investigating the formation mechanism and ecological effect of marine oil snow is of great significance for further understanding the role of marine oil snow in the oil-ocean system. In this paper, the formation mechanism of MOS is discussed from three aspects of physical agglomeration, microorganism and oil dispersant, and the influences of MOS on oil weathering, benthos toxicity and migration and transformation of other pollutants are analyzed. Finally, future research directions are proposed.