Oil+and+the+Oceans

Oil And the oceans By Sheldon and Harry

Part 1: How the Gulf Oil spill began.

On April 20th 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil well exploded as a result of a methane bubble. This would mark the beggining of the 2nd worst environmental disaster in the history of the US. As a result of the explosion, 11 people died. After the fire, the well began to sink where the oil pipe ruptured, beggining the massive oil spill. \  Part 2: How far the oil went and how it traveled. The oil from the blown out oil well started to travel extremely far, in some cases, some experts said it would go nearly as far as britain, however, the oil was mostly limited to gulf area's, such as Alabama, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. The oil traveled mostly via currents, however, the oil would also travel via waves. Louisiana was the most impacted from the oil.

Part 3: Environmental effects.

People weren't just affected by the oil spill, animals, plants, and ecosystems were killed and destroyed due to the oil spill, including the fish that lands at your safeway, save-on, or even superstore. Birds and fish were the most affected by the oil spill. Birds, such as pelicans, get oil on their feathers, the oil is too heavy and therefore, they cannot fly. They then try to clean themselves, in which they consume the oil, which then poisons them. Fish usually die by suffication, Incase you forgot, fish breath from gills that gets oxygen from the water, the oil enters the water and gets into the gill's and then suffocates them. Another way fish are affected via oil spills are the chemicals in the oil, the fish absorb the chemicals.

Part 4: How people cleaned up the oil. As the oil started to appear on land, the cleanup began. Because of how toxic oil is, the volunteers had to wear protective white, or blue suits. BP first attempted to disperse the oil, thinking it would be easier to clean up, however, the idea back fired and oil started to turn into "tar balls" which scattered everywhere. When oil was on beaches, volunteers or workers used shovels to pick up sand contaminated with oil and filled buckets with it. When oil was still in the water, BP sometimes did controlled burns of the oil. Another way oil was cleaned in the ocean was through the use of skimmers. What skimmers did was seperate crude oil from the water, therefore cleaning it. Other facts about Oil Spills and the BP oil spill.

Other facts and information about oil spills and the BP oil spill.

Most oil spills are caused by oil tankers that have a rip in their hull.

The BP oil spill was the 2nd largest environmental disaster in the history of the US.

Animals are also affected by oil when they consume oil-ridden prey.

Even after the BP oil spill, extensive damage is still being done by the released oil.

10% of the oil from the BP oil spill still remains in the water today.

BP (British Petroleum) owes $14 billion to people affected by the spill.