Oil Spill: When oil gets into the water, usually due to human activity.
Ways the Oil Gets There:
- Natural Seepage
- Oil Tanker
- Seepage from offshore drilling
- Runoff from roads
- Seepage from boats
What does it affect:
- The oil creates a film over the water that sunlight cannot penetrate, so the producers cannot photosynthesize.
- It sticks to the feathers of sea birds stopping them from flying and stopping the feathers from insulating the birds.
- It gets in the fur of sea mammals (especially otters) and stops the fur from insulating them.
- Animals can digest the oil, which is bad for them.
- The oil will eventually sink to the bottom of the ocean, which will hurt the animals on the sea floor.
How can we clean it up:
- Bioremediation: The use of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, etc.) to break down and remove the oil.
- Booms: Contains the oil to stop it from spreading and lifts it off the water.
- Skimmers: Usually used with booms to skim up the oil.
- Sorbents: Absorb the oil
- Burning the Oil: Bad because it just sends the oil into the air to be brought right back with the next rain.
The Exxon Valdez:
On March 24, 1989, it spilled its cargo of oil in the Prince William Sound off of Alaska when it went off course and crashed into the Bligh Reef. The ship's crew had worked too hard due to job cuts in the company and the 3rd mate (who isn't allowed to navigate the ship) was put in charge while under the effects of alcohol. It took a while for the first clean up crews to arrive, and after Exxon went bankrupt it was up to the volunteers to clean up the oil. Thousands of animals died: around 250,000 sea birds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles and 22 orcas, alonf with the destruction of salmon and herring eggs. Some species still haven't recovered and the impacts of this spill can still be seen today.
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