Bemidji Crude-Oil Project

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Bemidji Crude-Oil Research Project

Bill Herkelrath and Ean Warren processing a recently collected subsurface core during the 2011 Field Session.

The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of the mobilization, transport, and fate of crude oil in the shallow subsurface. The U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program began an interdisciplinary research project in 1983 at the site of a crude-oil spill near Bemidji, Minnesota. Research is conducted within four broad disciplines by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and from several academic institutions. Currently, about 10 research projects are active. A fact sheet describing results from the Bemidji Toxics project is available.

The spill occurred in 1979 when a pipeline transporting crude oil broke. After cleanup efforts were completed in 1980, about 400,000 liters of oil remained in the unsaturated zone and near the water table. This continues to be a source of contaminants to a shallow outwash aquifer. The oil is moving as a separate fluid phase, as dissolved petroleum constituents in ground water, and as vapors in the unsaturated zone. Native microbes are converting the petroleum derivatives into carbon dioxide, methane, and other biodegradation products.

Save the date

Monday, June 11, 2012, is the date of a symposium titled "Terrestrial crude oil spills: decades of science from the Bemidji, Minnesota Research Site." The symposium will focus on sharing research results from the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Site, Bemidji, Minnesota, and will be held at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul campus. The symposium will be followed by a site tour on June 12, starting at 1:00 p.m. The symposium hosts are the U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Enbridge Energy Limited Partnership, and Beltrami County, with financial sponsorship from the American Petroleum Institute.

Symposium registration is now open. Register Online | Learn more