BIOPADE · Biological Impact of Oil Pollution in Arctic and Deep-sea Environment

Biological Impact of Oil Pollution in Arctic and Deep-sea Environment

The increase of oil demand, associated with the depletion of easily exploitable oil deposits, led the oil industry to intensify the search for new oil areas in the Arctic and deep-sea ecosystems.The BIOPADE project aim was to increase the knowledge base of biological impact assessment of an oil spill in the Arctic and deep-sea ecosystems in the way to conduct potential relevant Spill Impact Mitigation Assessment (SIMA). This was performed thanks the achievement of three objectives. (i) Assess the potential long-term impacts of dispersed oil on a key Arctic species. For this, several levels of biological organizations of Gadus morhua were assessed to obtain data coupling both high response sensitivity and ecological relevance. This study reports that short-term impacts of oil compounds on low integration levels are not lasting at an integrative level, thus, highlighting effective compensation phenomena. (ii) Expand knowledge of dispersed oil impacts in deep-benthic ecosystem. This was achieved using a new methodology on the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa to directly reach the mitochondria metabolism. The activity of the respiratory chain complexes highlighted the dispersant impact on mitochondrial metabolism. (iii) Develop bioassays to assess biological impact at depth to provide information on potential behavior and toxicity of chemicals. This was reealized through the adaptation of two classical bioassays (luminescent bacteria and biodegradation tests) at simulated depth. BIOPADE results provide relevant biological data on the cost and the benefits of the chemical dispersant use in Arctic and deep-sea areas and constitute a valuable input for SIMA in the Arctic and deep-sea areas. Consequently, it gives further information to establish exploitation of oil resources in European marine areas.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз