Gagnon Marthe Monique

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Gagnon
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Marthe Monique
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  • Article
    MV Wakashio grounding incident in Mauritius 2020: the world’s first major spillage of very low sulfur fuel oil
    (Elsevier, 2021-09-03) Scarlett, Alan G. ; Nelson, Robert K. ; Gagnon, Marthe Monique ; Holman, Alex I. ; Reddy, Christopher M. ; Sutton, Paul A. ; Grice, Kliti
    Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oils (VSLFO, <0.5% S) are a new class of marine fuel oils, introduced to meet recent International Maritime Organization regulations. The MV Wakashio was reported to have released 1000 t of VLSFO when it grounded on a reef in Mauritius on 25th July 2020. A field sample of oily residue contaminating the Mauritian coast was collected on 16th August 2020 and compared with the Wakashio fuel oil. Both oils were analyzed for organic and elemental content, and stable isotope ratios δ13C and δ2H measured. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry was used to identify and compare biomarkers resistant to weathering. The aromatic content in the VLSFO was relatively low suggesting that the potential for ecosystem harm arising from exposure to toxic components may be less than with traditional fuel oil spills. The Wakashio oil spill is, to our knowledge, the first documented spill involving VLSFO.
  • Article
    Fish fingerprinting: identifying crude oil pollutants using bicyclic sesquiterpanes (bicyclanes) in the tissues of exposed fish
    (Wiley, 2022-09-27) Spilsbury, Francis D. ; Scarlett, Alan G. ; Rowland, Steven J. ; Nelson, Robert K. ; Spaak, Gemma ; Grice, Kliti ; Gagnon, Marthe Monique
    In the present study, we investigated the possibility of identifying the source oils of exposed fish using ratios of bicyclic sesquiterpane (bicyclane) chemical biomarkers. In the event of an oil spill, identification of source oil(s) for assessment, or for litigation purposes, typically uses diagnostic ratios of chemical biomarkers to produce characteristic oil “fingerprints.” Although this has been applied in identifying oil residues in sediments, water, and sessile filtering organisms, so far as we are aware this has never been successfully demonstrated for oil‐exposed fish. In a 35‐day laboratory trial, juvenile Lates calcarifer (barramundi or Asian seabass) were exposed, via the diet (1% w/w), to either a heavy fuel oil or to Montara, an Australian medium crude oil. Two‐dimensional gas chromatography with high‐resolution mass spectrometry and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry were then used to measure selected ratios of the bicyclanes to examine whether the ratios were statistically reproducibly conserved in the fish tissues. Six diagnostic bicyclane ratios showed high correlation (r2 > 0.98) with those of each of the two source oils. A linear discriminatory analysis model showed that nine different petroleum products could be reproducibly discriminated using these bicyclane ratios. The model was then used to correctly identify the bicyclane profiles of each of the two exposure oils in the adipose tissue extracts of each of the 18 fish fed oil‐enriched diets. From our initial study, bicyclane biomarkers appear to show good potential for providing reliable forensic fingerprints of the sources of oil contamination of exposed fish. Further research is needed to investigate the minimum exposure times required for bicyclane bioaccumulation to achieve detectable concentrations in fish adipose tissues and to determine bicyclane depuration rates once exposure to oil has ceased. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:7–18. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
  • Article
    Characterizations and comparison of low sulfur fuel oils compliant with 2020 global sulfur cap regulation for international shipping
    (Elsevier, 2022-06-01) Nelson, Robert K. ; Scarlett, Alan G. ; Gagnon, Marthe Monique ; Holman, Alex I. ; Reddy, Christopher M. ; Sutton, Paul A. ; Grice, Kliti
    The International Marine Organization 2020 Global Sulfur Cap requires ships to burn fuels with <0.50% S and some countries require <0.10% S in certain Sulfur Emission Control Areas but little is known about these new types of fuels. Using both traditional GC–MS and more advanced chromatographic and mass spectrometry techniques, plus stable isotopic, δ13C and δ2H, analyses of pristane, phytane and n-alkanes, the organic components of a suite of three 0.50% S and three 0.10% S compliant fuels were characterized. Two oils were found to be near identical but all of the remaining oils could be forensically distinguished by comparison of their molecular biomarkers and by the profiles of the heterocyclic parent and alkylated homologues. Oils could also be differentiated by their δ13C and δ2H of n-alkanes and isoprenoids. This study provides important forensic data that may prove invaluable in the event of future oil spills.