Greenhouse Mesocosm study data

Investigation of effects of DWH oiling on coastal marshes was conducted in greenhouse between 2010 and 2011. Intact marsh sods with dominant plant species of Spartina alterniflora or Juncus roemerianus were treated with six different oiling treatments. The 6 oil treatments were (1) oil coverage of the lower 30% of the shoot-height of S. alterniflora and J. roemerianus, (2) oil coverage of the lower 70% of the shoot-height, (3) repeated oil coverage of the lower 70% of the shoot-height, (4) 100% oil coverage of shoots, (5) soil oiling with 8 L m−2 of oil added to the sediment surface and allowed to penetrate the sediment, and (6) no oil as a control. The artificially weathered and emulsified south Louisiana crude oil was used in the study.