Trace and minor element content of beach sands affected by oil contamination in Pensacola, FL, June 2010 to July 2011.

Crude oil is typically enriched in vanadium and nickel. Our objective is to determine if V and Ni enrichment in oil contaminated marine sediments and beach sands can be an effective proxy for mapping oil contamination. Crude oil from the Macondo blowout, marine sediments from the Gulf of Mexico, and beach sands from Pensacola, FL were digested and analyzed via ICP-MS. Our results show that beach sands exhibit V and Ni enrichment where visible and substantial oil contamination occurs. In contrast, lightly contaminated marine sediments do not. V and Ni content in marine sediments is related to Mn oxide in the sediment.