This project will evaluate the capacity for microbial oil degradation in natural waters and seabed offshore NE Greenland. This will include possible beneficial effects of dispersant usage and nutrient applications during oil degradation in surface water. The potential for oil degradation and the microbial oil degrading communities will be analysed by laboratory incubations combined with chemical profiling of changes in oil composition and quantification of specific populations of degrader bacteria. The knowledge gained from this project will be important for evaluating the potential for oil removal based on the natural microbial communities that are present in the marine environment of NE Greenland.

Contact: Janne Fritt-Rasmussen, jfr@ecos.au.dk