Marine Oil Spills Environment Impact

IMPACT OF THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ON THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

Only five years ago thousands of birds, dolphins, and sea turtles were washing up on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico slicked and smothered by oil. The explosion of British Petroleum's Macondo oil rig off the coast on Louisiana was the largest environmental disaster to have occurred in the United States. This well leaked over 130 million gallons of light crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying habitats and killing massive amounts of wildlife. Over eighty-seven days the oil spread through the water in a 21 mile plume, creating oil slicks on the surface of the water. Oil within the Gulf caused alarming short-term effects to wildlife in the initial days of the spill, but as these short term effects begin to disappear, BP was quick to claim

In this paper I will be discussing the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on microbes in different locations of the Gulf Coast. A study done by Lamendella et al. (2012) investigated the effect of the oil on samples of microbes collected from a beach that was heavily impacted by the spill. Another investigation took a look at microbes on surface sediment samples from 64 different sites (Mason et al., 2014). A third study researched the past, present, and possible future responses of microbial communities, and how they have evolved to adapt to oil that was failed to be removed (Kimes et al., 2014).

The author’s credibility in this article (National Wildlife Federation, 2016) seem to be credible. The author has many facts and details that is pointed out in this article. For instance, the oil spill impacted several different species, such as whales and dolphins, birds, fish,

The harm done to the animals affectively will most like cut numbers in half or even eradicate the species all together. Scientist predict it will require more than a hundred years for the animals to gain back numbers they had in 2010. The oil not only touch anything on the top, there was so much of it every animal within the Gulf of Mexico does

Throughout history, humans have had many adverse effects on the ocean. However, in the past century, a new threat to the ocean has arisen. Oils spills are one of the most dangerous human effects on the ocean, partly because they’re so difficult to reverse after they’ve happened, and because many of the chemicals that get released into the water are extremely toxic to a lot of creatures. Oil spills are usually caused by two ships colliding with each other, a ship colliding with another object, or as in the case of the BP oil spill, an explosion.

Undersea life there tends to grow slowly, so that subtle effects on reproduction may take time to become apparent. Submersibles in the area of the spill detected an enormous undersea plume of oil 3,600 to 4,300 feet deep and hundreds of miles long. Oxygen levels plummeted inside the plume, suggesting that ocean microbes were consuming the components of the oil. These oil-eating microbes occur naturally in the gulf and as much as 3,000 barrels of oil per day seep naturally from the ocean floor, making oil a part of the environment. Communities of tube worms have grown around the oil seeps, showing that some sea life has adapted to the oil. However, the oil remains poisonous to much undersea life, with deep corals being particularly vulnerable. Deep-sea animal life is adapted to a stable environment and is not suited to rapid changes of temperature and chemical composition. Microbes are more flexible, and are critical to the chemical balance of the atmosphere, consuming carbon dioxide, methane, propane, and heavy oil components (Harvard Gazette). These microbes are distributed widely in the gulf and can reproduce rapidly when they come into contact with oil.

These two studies investigated the effects of the April 2010 BP Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the observable effects that it has had on coral reef and salt marsh ecosystems. The study conducted by White investigated nine coral communities six months after the spill using ROVs. In an area 11 km west of the spill site, the researchers studied scleractinian, gorgonian, antipatharian corals and found many that were covered with floc, a brown flocculent material, that is linked to coral tissue damage and mortality. The study conducted by Silliman et. al. investigated the oil spill impacts on the salt marshes lining the Louisiana coast. Silliman and his team identify oil spills as one of the most damaging forms of pollution due to their unpredictable nature and associated lack of readily available tools and resources that would be needed to restrict their impact on nearby ecosystems. The team studied salt marshes located in Barataria Bay, LA which was one the regions that experienced some of the most extensive oiling from the spill. The team investigated the current status and future impacts of the spill on the marshes. Past data revealed that negative impacts on marshes could be corrected with plant re-growth and oil degradation that naturally occurs with time, and at even faster rates in warmer climates, which provides a hopeful outlook for the LA region. In addition to the direct effects of oiling, the team also analyzed the geomorphic effects that may be a

There have been many oil spills in the ocean, some big and some small. All of these oil spills have had a huge effect on the wildlife in the ocean. The oil from the oil rig stays on the surface of the water because oil is less dense than the water, this causes the oil to just float cause it can't go anywhere else and it won't mix in with the water. This is harmful in so many different ways to the life in the ocean. The oil can prevent sunlight from penetrating the surface, which can cause it to be dark under the surface. The oil also can cover thousands of birds, mammals, and sea turtles. When birds land in the water they become covered in oil. The oil ruins the insulating and waterproofing properties of the fur and feathers, and without feathers

Everybody is affected by oil spills… including the person reading this. People as well as animals are either killed or seriously injured every time a spill occurs. The leading cause of oil spills is careless mistakes caused by people and equipment malfunctions. “As of 2013, 10,000 (oil spill) incidents are recorded (due to tankers) (Roser 6) As a result, freshwater oils spills pollute the environment and come with nothing but negative side effects.

Over the years, the oil industry has grown larger. Shipments of oil have been moved by sea from one country to another. In this event, oil spills tend to occur. This disaster can affect the environment in many ways. It can affect both the animals and the habitats living in the habitats.

The BP oil spill made a huge impact on our marine life. If animals were not reported dead, they were reported very ill. The oil effected sea turtle’s eggs, which either failed to hatch or became extremely weak. Those hatchlings that did make it to the ocean faced the risk of running into an oil slick and becoming poisoned. Not only are hatchlings affected by the oil, but adult turtles were confronted with

Oil spill are defined as the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment. Oils spills are often caused by accidents involving tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs, and storage facilities. Which usually happens when people are careless, equipment breaking down, illegal dumping and unlikely events such us, a natural disaster like a hurricane. The effects of a little spill and a bigger spill is very different because a little spill in a situation may demonstrate considerably more hurtful than a bigger spill at some other time in another or even the same environment. Indeed, even little spills can have harmful impacts. Oil spills can influence creatures and plants in two courses: from the oil itself and from the reaction. Understanding both sorts of effects can help spill responders minimize general effects to biological groups and help them to recuperate substantially more rapidly. Spilled oil can hurt living things in light of the fact that its substance constituents are noxious. This can influence organic entities both from inner introduction to oil through ingestion or inward breath

“On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Macondo oil well drilling platform started the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history, releasing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico” (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, n.d., para.1). This tragedy didn’t only have a devastating impact on the environment; eleven personnel assigned to the Deepwater Horizon Macondo rig lost their lives, either in the initial oil well explosion or the subsequent fires that resulted. The environmental impact of this disaster may affect the gulf states ecosystems/wildlife (Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, and Florida) for generations to come.

From Fig.26. it can be deduced that mostly boats are involved when it comes to oil spills (89 incidents, 54%). On the other hand the least amount of incidents involved events classified as “other” (9 incidents, 5%). However, when seeing the results of Fig.27. which takes into account the amount of oil spilled, boats are still in the lead (45%), closely followed by platforms (33%). When the number of incidents are taken into account platforms rank above “other” with 9%. This could be due to platform blowouts being rare events, however when they do occur, such as the Deepwater Horizon in 2010 they leak thousands of tonnes of oil into the ocean and it takes days for the workers