Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-hfldf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-10T10:03:49.838Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Large-scale fuel deposition patterns on northern Spanish shores following the ‘Prestige’ oil spill

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 May 2008

José Luis Acuña ,
Araceli Puente ,
Ricardo Anadón ,
Consolación Fernández ,
María Luisa Vera ,
José Manuel Rico Ordás ,
Julio Arrontes  and
José Juanes
José Luis Acuña*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo 33071, Spain
Araceli Puente
Affiliation:
Grupo de Emisarios Submarinos e Hidráulica Ambiental, Dpto. Ciencias y Técnicas del Agua y del Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros s/n, 39006 Santander, Spain
Ricardo Anadón
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo 33071, Spain
Consolación Fernández
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo 33071, Spain
María Luisa Vera
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo 33071, Spain
José Manuel Rico Ordás
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo 33071, Spain
Julio Arrontes
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo 33071, Spain
José Juanes
Affiliation:
Grupo de Emisarios Submarinos e Hidráulica Ambiental, Dpto. Ciencias y Técnicas del Agua y del Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. de los Castros s/n, 39006 Santander, Spain
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: José Luis Acuña Departamento de Biología de Organismos y SistemasUniversidad de OviedoOviedo 33071Spain email: acuna@uniovi.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Following the accident of the oil tanker ‘Prestige’, we surveyed the large scale fuel deposition patterns on the Cantabrian shore (northern Spain) covering three regions (from west to east): (i) Asturias, west of Cape Peñas (24 segments surveyed); (ii) Asturias, east of Cape Peñas (33 segments surveyed); and (iii) Cantabria (also east of Cape Peñas, 256 segments surveyed). Fuel arrived to the Cantabrian Coast as a single oil wave which was more intense to the east than to the west of Cape Peñas. The mean percentage of coast length affected was 25, 41 and 15% in western Asturias, eastern Asturias and Cantabria, respectively. However, less than 10% of the substrate was covered by fuel in oiled patches, thus the impact was moderate. We conclude that these patterns are consistent with fuel transport by the Iberian Poleward Current, a hydrographic feature typical of this region during winter.

Keywords

‘Prestige’ oil spillIberian Poleward CurrentCantabrian Seadispersalfuelcoast
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 88 , Issue 3 , May 2008 , pp. 463 - 468
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Álvarez-Salgado, X.A., Herrera, J.L., Gago, J., Otero, P., Soriano, J.A., Pola, C.G. and Garcia-Soto, C. (2006) Influence of the oceanographic conditions during spring 2003 on the transport of the Prestige tanker fuel oil to the Galician coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin 53, 239–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anadón, R. (1983) Zonación en la costa asturiana: variación longitudinal de las comunidades de macrófitos en diferentes niveles de marea. Investigación Pesquera 47, 125–141.Google Scholar
Balseiro, C.F., Carracedo, P., Gómez, B., Leitão, P.C., Montero, P., Naranjo, L., Penabad, E. and Pérez-Muñuzuri, V. (2003) Tracking the ‘Prestige’ oil spill. An operational experience in simulation at MeteoGalicia. Weather 58, 452–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández, C. and Niell, F.X. (1982) Zonación del fitobentos intermareal de la región de Cabo Peñas (Asturias). Investigación Pesquera 46, 121–141.Google Scholar
Fernández, E. (2003) Una visión desde la oceanografía. In La huella del Fuel-Ensayos sobre el Prestige, La Coruña, Spain: Fundación Santiago Rey Fernández-Latorre Ed, pp. 44–61.Google Scholar
Frouin, R., Fiuza, A.F.G., Ambar, I. and Boyd, T.J. (1990) Observations of a poleward surface current off the coasts of Portugal and Spain during winter. Journal of Geophysical Research 95, 679–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Soto, C., Pingree, R.D. and Valdés, L. (2002) Navidad development in the southern Bay of Biscay: climate change and swoddy structure from remote sensing and in situ measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research 107, 3118, doi 10.1029/2001JC001012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Soto, C. (2004) ‘Prestige’ oil spill and Navidad flow. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 84, 297–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haynes, R. and Barton, E.D. (1991) Lagrangian observations in the Iberian coastal transition zone. Journal of Geophysical Research 96, 14731–14741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Labarta, U., Fernández-Reiriz, M.J., Garrido, J.L., Babarro, J.M.F., Bayona, J.M. and Albaigés, J. (2005) Response of mussel recruits to pollution from the ‘Prestige’ oil spill along the Galicia coast. A biochemical approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series 302, 135–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Llope, M., Anadón, R., Viesca, L., Quevedo, M., González-Quirós, R. and Stenseth, N.C. (2006) Hydrography of the southern Bay of Biscay shelf-break region: integrating the multiscale physical variability over the period 1993–2003. Journal Geophysical Reseach 111, 9021–9021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marigómez, I., Soto, M., Cancio, I., Orbea, A., Garmendia, L. and Cajaraville, M.P. (2006) Cell and tissue biomarkers in mussel, and histopathology in hake and anchovy from Bay of Biscay after the Prestige oil spill (Monitoring Campaign 2003). Marine Pollution Bulletin 53, 287–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montero, P. et al. (2003) Oil spill monitoring and forecasting on the Prestige–Nassau accident. In Proceedings of the 26th Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program (AMOP) Technical Seminar 2. pp. 1013–1029.Google Scholar
Pingree, R.D. and Le Cann, B. (1990) Structure, strength and seasonality of the slope currents in the Bay of Biscay region. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 70, 857–885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quintana, A., Lavín, A. and Arteche, J.L. (2004) Caracterización de la circulación superficial en Galicia Cantábrico bajo un episodio de Corriente Polar. IX Colloque International d'Océanographie du Golfe de Gascogne: A l'Heure du Prestige. Pau (France), 10–12 June 2004.Google Scholar
Ruiz-Villareal, M., González-Pola, C., Diaz del Río, G., Lavín, A., Otero, P., Piedracoba, S. and Cabanas, J.M. (2006) Oceanographic conditions in North and Northwest Iberia and their influence on the Prestige oil spill. Marine Pollution Bulletin 53, 220–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Serret, P. et al. (2003) Spain's earth scientists and the oil spill. Science 299, 511.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Varela, M. et al. (2006) The effect of the ‘Prestige’ oil spill on the plankton of the N–NW Spanish coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin 53, 272–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed