Abstract
Temporal variations of chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration before and after the Montara oil spill in August 2009 in the Timor Sea were analysed using MODIS-derived Chl a data. Time series data suggested a decrease in Chl a concentration following the oil spill, but an increase occurring in May 2010. A 4000 km2 patchy phytoplankton bloom with a high concentration of 13.8 mg m−3 occurred southeast of the platform, which coincided with the location the residual oil spill finally moved to. The Chl a was usually high in that area in May, but reached a peak in May 2010: the monthly Chl a for May 2010 was one and a half times higher than that of the average value for May between 2003 and 2009. The present study also analysed as many as 15 cases of major marine oil spills in the world and discussed their impacts on phytoplankton. The results suggested that the increase of Chl a may have relations with the oil spill incident. Natural seasonal variability is also an important factor for the formation of the phytoplankton bloom.
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