Correlation of Global Ocean Abiotic Factors to Petroleum Hydrocarbon Bacteria Prevalence to Create a Model for Condition-Specific Bioremediation of Soluble Oil Contaminants

Annually, ~1.3-million gallons of crude oil spill into the ocean. Traditional oil-cleanup methods are difficult, and focus on removal of visible surface oil. Removal of the soluble-oilcontaminants below the surface remains difficult, given their widespread movement with the current, and poor visibility. Petroleum-hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria may offer an alternative for removal of water-soluble oils, however it is difficult to select the “best” organism, given specific bacterial longevity at ocean abiotic factors of a spill-site. Herein, an AI-model was created to provide the best-selection of Petroleum-hydrocarbondegrading bacteria at a spill location, given its abiotic factors, for optimal, natural remediation of oceanic soluble-oil-contaminants.