Formation mechanism and ecological effect of “marine oil snow”

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.