oil spills and there effects on sea life

7/29/2019 Oil Spills and There Effects on Sea Life

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OIL SPILLS AND

THERE EFFECTS ON

SEA LIFE


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What is an Oil Spill?

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleumhydrocarbon into the environment due to humanactivity, and is a form of pollution.

The term often refers to marine oil spills, where

oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters.The oil may be a variety of materials, includingcrude oil, refined petroleum products (such asgasoline or diesel fuel) or by-products, ships'bunkers, oily refuse or oil mixed in waste.


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Oil Spill Facts

Spills take months or even years to clean up.

Oil is also released into the environment fromnatural geologic seeps on the sea floor.

Most human-made oil pollution comes fromland-based activity, but public attention andregulation has tended to focus most sharply onseagoing oil tankers.


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Effects On Sea Life

Hypothermia

Oil, a product that we often use to keep warm,can cause hypothermia in marine animals. As oilmixes with water, it forms a substance called"mousse," which sticks to feathers and fur .Abird's feathers are filled with air spaces that act

as insulation and keeps the bird warm. When abird gets coated with oil, the feathers lose theirinsulating ability and the bird could die ofhypothermia.


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Poisoning and Internal Damage

Animals can be poisoned or suffer internaldamage from ingesting oil. Effects includeulcers and damage to red blood cells,kidneys, liver and to the immune system.Oil vapors can injure to eyes and lungs,and can be particularly hazardous while newoil is still coming to the surface and vapors

are evaporating.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/us/05ecology.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/us/05ecology.html


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Increased Predation

Oil can weigh down feathers and fur,making it difficult for birds and pinnipeds toescape from predators. If they are coveredwith enough oil, birds or pinnipeds may

actually drown.


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Decreased Reproduction

Oil spills can effect the eggs of marine life

such as fish and sea turtles, both when thespill happens and later on. Fisherieswere impacted years after the Exxon

Valdezspill due to the destruction ofherring and salmon eggs when the spilloccurred. Oil can also cause disruption of

reproductive hormones and behavioralchanges that lead to reduced reproductionrates or affect the care of young.
http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/p/exxon_valdez.htmhttp://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/p/exxon_valdez.htm


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Fouling of Habitat

Oil spills in the can effect ocean habitat,both offshore and onshore.Before an oilspill reaches shore, the oil can poisonplankton and otherpelagic marine life.
http://marinelife.about.com/od/habitatprofiles/p/pelagiczone.htmhttp://marinelife.about.com/od/habitatprofiles/p/pelagiczone.htm


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Methods of Cleaning

Bioremediation: use of microorganisms or biologicalagents to break down or remove oil

Controlled burning can effectively reduce the amount ofoil in water, if done properly. But it can only be done inlow wind citation needed, and can cause air pollution.

Dispersants act as detergents, clustering around oilglobules and allowing them to be carried away in thewater. This improves the surface aesthetically, andmobilizes the oil. Smaller oil droplets, scattered bycurrents, may cause less harm and may degrade moreeasily. But the dispersed oil droplets infiltrate into deeper

water and can lethally contaminate coral. Recentresearch indicates that some dispersants are toxic tocorals.

Dredging: for oils dispersed with detergents and otheroils denser than water.

Skimming: a machine that separates a liquid or particlesfloating on another liquid (Requires calm waters)


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Way of Preventing Oil Spills

Double Hulling: A double hull is a ship hull design and

construction method where the bottom and sides of the

ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface.

Emergency Response Plans: This law says that the

owners of the tanker must have a detailed plan on whatthey will do if there was a spill. They must have this plan

written before any spill.

Liability: The law says that the owners of a boat that spills

oil will have to pay $1,200 for every ton they spill. Spill Fund: The law says that the government has

money from companies that transport the oil so when a

spill occurs, the government can pay for the clean up.

Navigation: The law says that the Coast Guard must know where

the oil tankers can drive without an oil spill occurring.


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What is the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill?

The Exxon Valdez incident was a major oil spill.

This oil spill took place on March 23, 1989 atPrince William Sound in Alaska.

How did it happen?

The drivers of the Exxon Valdez noticedicebergs in their planned route. Instead of tryingto weave through the icebergs, they decided to

go in another direction. On the new route, theoil tanker hit shallow land. The shallow land wasnot a beach, it was called Bligh Reef.


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How did the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

affect the animals at Prince William

Sound?The Exxon Valdez affected many

animals at Prince William Sound inAlaska. The spill greatly affected seaotters and sea birds. There were about2,800 sea otters and 250,000 seabirdskilled by the spill. Harbor seals, baldeagles, killer whales, and salmon werealso greatly affected by the spill.


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How long did it take to clean the up

spill?

Because the spill impacted 1,300 miles,it took the Exxon Valdez Company foursummers to clean up the spill. Some oilmay still remain on the beaches. It took10,000 workers, 1,000 boats, 100airplanes, and the Navy, Army, and AirForce to clean up the spill. Exxon spentabout $2.1 billion for the clean up.


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Helping and Saving the Sea Life

Today

Have you ever stopped to think what you use oilfor? Every one uses oil a lot. The whole worlduses nearly three billion gallons of oil every day.We all use it to fuel our cars, trucks, buses, and

even to heat our homes. If you have touched achain on a bicycle, you have touched some oil.The black stuff that appears on your fingers is anoil that makes the chains on your bike run

smoothly. We all can help stop oil spillshappening in the oceans. If you use less oil, thenless will have to be transported. We can use lessoil by not using our cars when we can walk or ridea bike. That wa we are not usin oil.


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Think about how many lights you have in yourhouse. Also think about all the electronics likecomputers or televisions. All of these things use

electricity. If we all were to turn off lights,computers, or televisions when not in use, wewouldnt be using as mush oil to create the

electricity throughout the house. As you see,there are many things being done to prevent oilspills. If everyone around the world decided to

use less oil, we would lower the risk of a largespill. If there were a spill, we wouldnt bedumping as much oil into the ocean, whichwould mean that there would be fewer animalskilled or injured

oil spills and there effects on sea life

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