Hydrocarbons and the concentrations of dissolved carbon and nutrients for microcosms

Although Alabama shores were impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, few data are available for a reliable assessment of the fate of Macondo oil-derived pollutants in Alabama’s coastal environments. Laboratory microcosm incubations were conducted to evaluate the degradation of hydrocarbons from Macondo oil in salt marsh sediments collected from Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Each microcosm containing salt marsh sediment and in situ seawater was spiked with Macondo oil and then incubated for 14 days in the dark. These data present the changes in hydrocarbons over the incubation period (336 hrs) in sediments and dissolved organic carbon, inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous in the microcosms.