The Gulf Oil Spill
The Deepwater Horizon spill has created huge deep water plumes where the oil is actually in the water column and not on the surface of the water. These plumes are wide, deep, and long and are without substantial biodegradation. The ingredients in the dispersants are also a concern because the ingredients are a trade secret that only the company that makes it knows what is in it.
According to NOAA, the deep water oil threatens the large marine wildlife like sharks and fish. Small marine wildlife such as shrimp, crabs, and worms which is endangering this group. This undersea spill may be worse. Hypoxia a condition that happens every spring may make problems worse. Hypoxia causes fast growing algae to deplete oxygen from sections of the water column in the Gulf of Mexico. This take away oxygen that the wildlife and other life forms need to survive.
To make things worse, the oil washed up on the shore and is causing more damage the coastal wetlands that are trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina. These wetlands are already suffering from overdevelopment and pollution.
Many people are trying to make ends meet. This spill caused tourism along the Gulf of Mexico to slow down. For some time the waters were closed to commercial fishing. The shrimpers that were allowed to fish are having trouble convincing people that the shrimp is safe to eat.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/330/6001/201
http://www.sciencemag.org/hottopics/oilspill/
No comments:
Post a Comment