TRACE METALS AND BIOMARKERS IN OIL: A TOOL FOR IDENTIFICATION OF SPILLS

ABSTRACT The western offshore oil activities contribute significantly to India's hydrocarbon requirements. Oil spills in the sea cause serious problems to marine ecology and oil installations. Since weathering effects interfere with most of the matching methods now in use, a crude fingerprinting method is needed to identify the sources of oil spilled on the west coast. The ratios of n-alkanes and isoprenoids, along with trace elements, apparently are independent of weathering effects and thus could be especially useful in the matching of oil to its source.