Author Description

Analytical chemistry and instrumentation provides environmental scientists with the ability to identify and track the fate of spilled oil residues in the marine environ. Compounds commonly used for the ident. of spilled oil to a source are called biomarkers (BM). BM compounds are universal in crude oils and petroleum products and are more resistant to environmental weathering than most other oil constituents. The distribution of BM compounds is unique for each oil and different sources of petroleum exhibit different oil fingerprints. Fingerprint indexes provide a useful tool for determining different oil residues in environ. samples. This report explains how 8 biomarkers were chosen for detection and analysis.