Pdf while oil is a necessary risk in a complex society, recent and avoidable major. Federal emergency response framework congressional research service 1 introduction thousands of oil and chemical spills of varying size and magnitude occur in the united states each year. Passage 18 oil spills on sea 400 words objective solved this passage describes oil spills effects and oil spills causes. We provide reading comprehension exercises with answers. One of the larges spills known to united states is exxon valdez spill which spilled into prince william sound, alaska in march 1989. Oil spills as large as this one have devastating effects. One of the larges spills known to united states is exxon valdez spill which spilled into prince william sound, alaska. Even though seeps are not without their own impacts on marine life. The costs of oil spills are considerable in both economic and ecological terms. Oil enters the seas not only as a result of spectacular oil tanker or oil rig disasters, but also and primarily from diffuse sources, such as leaks during oil extraction, illegal tankcleaning operations at sea, or discharges into the rivers which are then carried. Oil is less dense, or has less weight for a certain amount, than water.
What many people dont realize, however, is that even a small amount of oil, no more than a dimesized drop, can be deadly to birds. Print resources on oil spills, response, and restoration in the noaa libraries network, will lead you to library resources in the 30 libraries of the noaa library and information network. Massive oil spills often make headlines because of their destructive impact on wildlife and the environment. Reading skills get sharpened by unseen passage reading comprehension test. This is a reversechronological list of oil spills that have occurred throughout the world and spills that are currently ongoing. On a basic level, oil spill effects will damage waterways, marine life and plants and animals on the land. For example, models can help predict trajectories of oil spills abascal 2009, brostrom et al. Impacts and recovery times for mangrove trees at eight oil spills impacting five regions 43 cover photograph credit. The release of oil and chemicals into our coastal waterways is a major problem. Recommendations for response options in oiled mangroves by oil group 36 table 4.
Others, often too remote to even report, occurred throughout asia and the southern hemisphere. Outer continental shelf ocs anderson, mayes, and labelle, 2012. In 1989, the exxon valdez tanker ran aground and released 10. Causes range from consumers who spill oil when filling their cars with gas to highprofile oil industry. They dont mix the deepwater horizon oil spill disaster in 2010 marked the worst environmental tragedy in our nations history. Because oil spills are localized, they can severely contaminate beaches and sediment, and cause serious harm to marine wildlife.
Best available techniques for oil spill containment and. A total spill volume of 37,077 t occurs twice a year on average, with approximately 537 t of oil spillage pollution 7. Noaa is a lead federal trustee for protection and restoration of coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The entries provide author, title, publisher, series, and call number from the noaa library and information network catalog noaalinc. When a spill occurs, state and local officials located in proximity to the incident. Wildlife and oil spills 5 introduction in the united states there are more than 70 spills reported on an average day. Effects of oil spills on marine and coastal wildlife. Oil leaks from pipelines in the region continued to release millions of gallons of oil into the landscape, some of which reached the kolva river. The immediate effects of toxic and smothering oil waste may be mass mortality and contamination of fish and other food species, but longterm ecological effects may be worse.
Animals with varied diets may have fairly limited contact with oil through the ingestion route, whereas lowmobility animals that need to breathe at the. National oceanic and atmospheric administration national ocean service office of response and restoration. Impact of oil spills on marine organisms ultimately, the impact of oil on marine organisms depends on the fate of the oil. Five of the 32 crew members on board died as a result of the incident. Oil spills are different in their severity and extent of damage. When oil spills into rivers, bays, and the ocean are caused by accidents involving tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries, and storage facilities, usually while the oil is being transported. The mingbulak or fergana valley oil spill 1992 the largest landbased oil spill in history, and asias worst oil spill, occurred in uzbekistan on march 2, 1992. A trust fund financed by a tax on oil is available to clean up spills when the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do so. Suffocation cause by oil spills and oil poisoning are among the first group.
Oil pollution of marine habitats oil pollution is one of the most conspicuous forms of damage to the marine environment. Oil leaks from oil transport pipes, boats, and oil wells. Background and governance congressional research service summary oil is a primary source of energy in the united states. Experts say tiny bits of oil naturally seep into the ocean all the time. Oil in the ocean the systematic study of oil in the ocean is relatively new to science, but since the late 1960s it has grown to encompass almost every area of oceanography. Oil spills have a number of effects on the environment and economy. Dec 15, 2016 big spills typically account for 5 to 12 percent of total oil pollution that enters the ocean, but oil spills are especially serious because of the heavy concentration of oil in one region. Inputs, fates, and effects roger revelle commemorative lecture standing committee on environmental science and assessment for ocean energy management emerging technologies to advance research and decisions on the environmental health effects of microplastics. Oil drilling rig malfunctionsblowouts oil spills present the potential for enormous harm to deep ocean and coastal fishing and fisheries. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling. The cleaningup of oil spills is a very difficult and expensive activity. Oil spills occur when petroleum, plant or animalbased oils enter the environment unintentionally.
When oil spills occur, plants and animals will be contaminated and some will be unable to survive. Because oil floats on top of water, less light penetrates into the water, limiting the photosynthesis of marine plants and phytoplankton. About 700 nautical miles off the coast of angola amount spilled. Review on the effectiveness of adsorbent materials in oil. Effects of oil spills on marine and coastal wildlife 3 the route by which an animal is exposed to oil ingestion, absorption, or inhalation can also influence the rate and toxicity of the effects. Pdf assessing the impact of oil spills on marine organisms. The largest oil spills in history mnn mother nature. Best available techniques for oil spill containment and clean.
Passage 19 think of the environment 400 words subjective solved this passage is all about the environment. Because oil is not a single substance, scientists face a number of challenges when it enters an environment. This passage describes oil spills effects and oil spills causes. Causes, consequences, prevention, and countermeasures. The environmental impact of oil spills has been extensively researched over the past 30 years and a considerable amount has been learnt about the nature and duration of such effects. The gulf oil spill is recognized as the worst oil spill in u. Mysterious oil spill becomes new environmental crisis for brazil. Spills are only one source oil released to the sea.
While not technically oil spills, oil seeps from the ocean floor naturally release oil from subterranean reservoirs and represent the largest source of oil entering seas both in the united states and around the world. Mar 28, 2020 suffocation cause by oil spills and oil poisoning are among the first group. Oil on ocean surfaces is harmful to many forms of aquatic life because it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface, and it also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen. Go through reading comprehension passages with multiple choice questions will help you in reading comprehension questions. Noaa responds to as many as 150 oil spills every year. Effects of oil spills on marine and coastal wildlife1 edis. The effect of oil spills on oceans biology science fair. Quantities are measured in tonnes of crude oil with one tonne roughly equal to 308 us gallons, 256 imperial gallons, 7. Oil waste poisons the sensitive marine and coastal organic.
Oil spills can be particularly damaging to sea turtles. Oceanic oil spills became a major environmental problem in the 1960s, chiefly as a result of intensified petroleum exploration and production on continental shelves and the use of supertankers capable of transporting more than 500,000 metric tons of oil. Spills can kill wildlife, destroy habitat, and contaminate critical resources in the food chain. Within days of the april 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the deepwater horizon oil rig in the gulf of mexico that killed 11 people, underwater cameras revealed the bp pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of louisiana. These droplets can also form a secondary slick or thin film on the surface of the water. Techniques of oil spill response in the sea obi1, e. Because oil is not a single substance, scientists face a. The great enlargment has been made to the sections. Vulnerable organisms are those which, because of their positioning in the marine environment, typically at the sea surface or the. Some of the biggest and most publicized spills include the 1989 exxon valdez oil spill, the 1979 ixtoc i spill, the 1991 arabian gulf spill, and the 2010 deepwater horizon spill. These experts are trained on how to clean oil from animals, rehabilitate them, and return them to the environment. Following an oil spill, there are specialists and veterinarians to deal with oiled wildlife. An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. Emerging spill risks include increased maritime activity in the arctic.
Pdf in a world with increasing crude oil production, oil spill accidents cannot be. High viscosity implies a high resistance to flow while a low viscosity indicates a low resistance to flow. Oil spills maybe due to release of crude oil, off shore platforms, drilling rigs, and wells as well as spills of refined petroleum products. Spills can also wreak havoc on the economies of coastal communities by forcing the closure of fisheries, driving away tourists, or temporarily shutting down navigation routes. More than 3 million metric tons of oil contaminates the sea every year. The impact on the ecosystem in an area can be severe as well as the impact on economic activities. Viscosity is more commonly known as resistance to flow. Physical properties of oil viscosity the viscosity of an oil is a measure of the oils resistance to shear. The opa requires oil storage facilities and vessels to submit to the federal. They dont mix the deepwater horizon oil spill disaster in 2010 marked the worst environmental tragedy in our nations history, with effects that will last years, if not decades. But, oil is the most common pollutant in the oceans. Oil spills reduce oxygen absorption of the water, causing oxygen dissolution under oil spills to be even less than the deep sea levels. Resources on oil spills, response, and restoration.
Oil spills are harmful to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and shellfish. By understanding the basic of the ecology of these forests and learning from past oil spills in mangroves, we can better plan for, protect, and respond to spills that may threaten them. The shortterm effects of oil spills on marine species and communities are well known and. The oil reaching the coast in this manner affects different ecosystems open and protected sandy beaches, estuaries, and rocky shores or remains in the water to be finally deposited on the sea bottom in. As a result, our predictive capability is probably better for oil spills than for many other types of marine pollutant. Even more oil pollution comes from waste oil spilled on. Since the 1960s there have been scores, yes hundreds, of reported oil spills in north america and europe. Open waters of the oceans and the associated pelagic and seabed. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Understanding how oil affects birds can raise awareness of just how hazardous any oil spill or similar pollution can be. Generalized responses of mangrove forests to oil spills 28 table 3. The oil pollution act opa of 1990 streamlined and strengthened epas ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills. The impact of oil spills can also ruin the ecology and economy of a particular area with longterm effects for decades.
This is as the result of the variation in oil types, location, and weather conditions involved. Electronic resources on oil spills, response and restoration, and v. Brazils president said the government had a theory of what led to the spill, adding that a foreign country was on the radar. Whether they occur in oceans, estuaries, rivers, lakes, ponds, or on land, they can affect algae, plants. As previously described, when oil is present in the environment, it is either dispersed in the top layer of the water littoral zone or remains on the surface and, consequently, on the coastal areas.
Despite this, spill experts estimate that 30%50% of oil spills are either directly or indirectly caused by human error, with 20%40% of all spills caused by equipment failure or malfunction. Oil spills originate in oil platforms, refineries, or oil tankers that have an accident or that clean their tanks in the ocean. Oil and water dont mix if youve seen pictures of the thick oil in the water, you may wonder why it doesnt sink in the ocean. An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment especially marine areas, due to human activity and is the form of pollution. Oil spill, leakage of petroleum onto the surface of a large body of water. Changes with temperature, decreasing temperature increases viscosity. This guide is intended to assist those who work in spill response and planning in regions where mangrove ecosystems are an important part of the coastline. Oil spills give rise to many problems throughout the world.
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