Oil spill

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.

Oil spills penetrate into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water.

[3] An oil spill represents an immediate negative effects on human health, including respiratory and reproductive problems as well as liver, and immune system damage.

For example, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted beach tourism and fishing along the Gulf Coast, and the responsible parties were required to compensate economic victims.

The threat posed to birds, fish, shellfish and crustaceans from spilled oil was known in England in the 1920s, largely through observations made in Yorkshire.

[12][13][14][15] Oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing their insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water.

As they preen, birds may ingest the oil coating their feathers, irritating the digestive tract, altering liver function, and causing kidney damage.

Oil coats the fur of sea otters and seals, reducing its insulating effect, and leading to fluctuations in body temperature and hypothermia.

This can then guide prevention efforts and regulation policies[34] Around 40–50% of all oil released into the oceans stems from natural seeps from seafloor rocks.

While natural seeps are the single largest source of oil spills, they are considered less problematic because ecosystems have adapted to such regular releases.

[41] This is considered to be a major reason for the reduction of oil tanker spills, alongside other innovations such as GPS, sectioning of vessels and sea lanes in narrow straits.

These bacteria occur naturally and will act to remove oil from an ecosystem, and their biomass will tend to replace other populations in the food chain.

ESM's are pre-planning tools used to identify sensitive areas and resources prior to an oil spill event in order to set priorities for protection and plan clean-up strategies.

Especially in the United States, the tool has made impressive advancements in developing tidal bay protection strategies, collecting seasonal information and generally in the modelling of sensitive areas.

[77] Mangroves and marshes tend to have higher ESI rankings due to the potentially long-lasting and damaging effects of both oil contamination and cleanup actions.

There are varying types of coastal habitats and ecosystems and thus also many endangered species that need to be considered when looking at affected areas post oil spills.

Further classification divides each element into species groups with similar life histories and behaviors relative to their vulnerability to oil spills.

This not only includes their reactions to such events but also their fragility, the scale of large clusters of animals, whether special life stages occur ashore, and whether any present species is threatened, endangered or rare.

There is also a division for sub-tidal habitats which are equally important to coastal biodiversity including kelp, coral reefs and sea beds which are not commonly mapped within the shoreline ESI type.

This can involve sophisticated analytical chemistry focused on finger printing an oil source based on the complex mixture of substances present.

In addition, both oxygen and nitrogen heterocyclic hydrocarbons, such as parent and alkyl homologues of carbazole, quinoline, and pyridine, are present in many crude oils.

As a result, these compounds have great potential to supplement the existing suite of hydrocarbons targets to fine-tune source tracking of petroleum spills.

[82] Crude oil and refined fuel spills from tanker ship accidents have damaged vulnerable ecosystems in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, France, the Sundarbans and many other places.

This section will explore the multifaceted economic repercussions of oil spills, specifically considering: the decline in tourism, the reduction in fishing, and the impact on port activity.

In the short term, an oil spill will prevent tourists from partaking in usual recreational activities such as swimming, boating, diving, and angling.

[118] Overall, several businesses will be negatively impacted by the spill in the short term, which can lead to further long-term damage should companies be forced to reduce staff or shut down entirely.

[119] For example, the Brazilian Northeast can be very vulnerable to drops in tourism, thus, they were badly impacted following a 2500 tonne crude oil spill from an unknown tanker in 2019.

[118] Usually, the Gulf sees an average of 106,703 fishing trips per day,[125] equating to 1 million metric tonnes of annual fishery landings.

[127] The examples of the Deepwater Horizon and the Prestige clearly illustrate the severe economic consequences when oil spills prevent commercial fishing.

Coordinated efforts are necessary to mitigate these impacts, including effective clean-up measures, public relations campaigns to restore the image of affected areas, and support for businesses and communities that must bear the economic downturn.