Greenhouse emulsified oil salt marsh biodegradation study near Fourchon Beach and Leeville, LA, June 2010 through June 2011. Nutrient and Sulfate Data.

Salt marsh cores (Lafourche Parish, LA) 6” dia × 36” long and incubated inside a greenhouse. Emulsified MC252 oil (100 g) added to core surface. Replicate cores used to evaluate three treatment conditions; (i) natural attenuation with existing nutrient concentrations, (ii) nitrogen amendment and (iii) nitrogen + sulfate amendment. Short-term biodegradation (0-3 months). For each treatment condition, cores were sacrificed for oil analysis every ~30 days. The cores were cut into 2 cm sections from the top and oil was extracted and analyzed from the soil sections 0-2 cm, 2-4 cm and 8-10 cm (GC-MS of PAHs, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, nutrients). Longer-term (320 days)-replicate cores sacrificed after ~10 months