[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/EW-03-12-12-Gulf-Oil-Spill.mp3|titles=EW 03-12-12 Gulf Oil Spill]
In 2010, two days before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, millions of gallons of crude oil began spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. The BP Deepwater Horizon blowout would shape up to be one of the largest accidental oil spills on record. And awkwardly, the leak was at the bottom of the ocean, at a depth of about a mile.
Escaping oil and natural gas floated upward, some forming plumes at mid-depth and some arriving at the surface. Impacts on wildlife were expected, both in the open water and in coastal marshes. Impacted fisheries were closed to harvest, devastating the local economy.
Shortly after the disaster, BP used two million gallons of chemical dispersants to prevent the oil from reaching the shoreline. Nevertheless, some oil washed up on beaches, and many seabirds and the other animals died or were brought to shelters for cleaning.
We are still trying to understand the impact of the oil spill and chemical dispersants on marine life. Luckily, salt marsh vegetation is remarkably tolerant of oil, which is degraded by soil bacteria. And, in the ocean, much of the natural gas was broken down by bacteria that are naturally found in seawater.
The degradation, evaporation, and skimming of oil from the waters of the Gulf of Oil saved a lot of marine wildlife from its toxic effects.
We don’t yet know what harm the oil dispersants may have caused. But, we have microbes to thank for cleaning up some of the oil spill, and without them the long-term effects would have been much worse.
Photo, taken on June 16, 2010, courtesy of David Rencher via Flickr.