There are over 2,000 known historic shipwrecks located in the northern Gulf of Mexico which are ecological and cultural resources that support the diversity of life found in the deep-sea when they become artificial reefs. Spilled crude oil and chemical dispersant from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill may have impacted the preservation of deep-sea historic shipwrecks and their microbiomes if they are located in areas where oil and dispersant were deposited on the seafloor. Oil potentially accelerates corrosion of metal through a biologically-mediated process called microbially-induced corrosion (MIC). Introduction of spill contaminants may accelerate MIC on shipwreck hulls, which may place the integrity of historic shipwrecks at risk. The effects of this process can be studied through laboratory and field experiments to provide understanding of the biofilm formation and metal corrosion processes under oiled and un-oiled scenarios. Elucidating the mechanisms of MIC through metagenomics will help fill the knowledge gap of the interaction between abiotic corrosion and biologically-mediated processes that potentially accelerate corrosion on metal surfaces. Results presented here may lead to a better understanding of how the DWH spill impacted shipwreck materials and other marine metal infrastructure.
","abstract_html":"<p>There are over 2,000 known historic shipwrecks located in the northern Gulf of Mexico which are ecological and cultural resources that support the diversity of life found in the deep-sea when they become artificial reefs. Spilled crude oil and chemical dispersant from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill may have impacted the preservation of deep-sea historic shipwrecks and their microbiomes if they are located in areas where oil and dispersant were deposited on the seafloor. Oil potentially accelerates corrosion of metal through a biologically-mediated process called microbially-induced corrosion (MIC). Introduction of spill contaminants may accelerate MIC on shipwreck hulls, which may place the integrity of historic shipwrecks at risk. The effects of this process can be studied through laboratory and field experiments to provide understanding of the biofilm formation and metal corrosion processes under oiled and un-oiled scenarios. Elucidating the mechanisms of MIC through metagenomics will help fill the knowledge gap of the interaction between abiotic corrosion and biologically-mediated processes that potentially accelerate corrosion on metal surfaces. Results presented here may lead to a better understanding of how the DWH spill impacted shipwreck materials and other marine metal infrastructure.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mugge, Rachel"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Leila Hamdan","Joe Griffitt","Chet Rakocinski"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:50Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/605","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Leila Hamdan","Joe Griffitt","Chet Rakocinski"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mugge, Rachel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-11-05T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/605"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["There are over 2,000 known historic shipwrecks located in the northern Gulf of Mexico which are ecological and cultural resources that support the diversity of life found in the deep-sea when they become artificial reefs. Spilled crude oil and chemical dispersant from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill may have impacted the preservation of deep-sea historic shipwrecks and their microbiomes if they are located in areas where oil and dispersant were deposited on the seafloor. Oil potentially accelerates corrosion of metal through a biologically-mediated process called microbially-induced corrosion (MIC). Introduction of spill contaminants may accelerate MIC on shipwreck hulls, which may place the integrity of historic shipwrecks at risk. The effects of this process can be studied through laboratory and field experiments to provide understanding of the biofilm formation and metal corrosion processes under oiled and un-oiled scenarios. Elucidating the mechanisms of MIC through metagenomics will help fill the knowledge gap of the interaction between abiotic corrosion and biologically-mediated processes that potentially accelerate corrosion on metal surfaces. Results presented here may lead to a better understanding of how the DWH spill impacted shipwreck materials and other marine metal infrastructure.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effect of Spill Contaminants on Marine Biofilms and Microbially-Induced Corrosion of Carbon Steel"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Leila Hamdan","Joe Griffitt","Chet Rakocinski"],"dc:creator":["Mugge, Rachel"],"dc:date.available":["2018-11-05T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["There are over 2,000 known historic shipwrecks located in the northern Gulf of Mexico which are ecological and cultural resources that support the diversity of life found in the deep-sea when they become artificial reefs. Spilled crude oil and chemical dispersant from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill may have impacted the preservation of deep-sea historic shipwrecks and their microbiomes if they are located in areas where oil and dispersant were deposited on the seafloor. Oil potentially accelerates corrosion of metal through a biologically-mediated process called microbially-induced corrosion (MIC). Introduction of spill contaminants may accelerate MIC on shipwreck hulls, which may place the integrity of historic shipwrecks at risk. The effects of this process can be studied through laboratory and field experiments to provide understanding of the biofilm formation and metal corrosion processes under oiled and un-oiled scenarios. Elucidating the mechanisms of MIC through metagenomics will help fill the knowledge gap of the interaction between abiotic corrosion and biologically-mediated processes that potentially accelerate corrosion on metal surfaces. Results presented here may lead to a better understanding of how the DWH spill impacted shipwreck materials and other marine metal infrastructure.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/605"],"dc:title":["The Effect of Spill Contaminants on Marine Biofilms and Microbially-Induced Corrosion of Carbon Steel"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:50Z"}