Research paper on Oil Spills and its effects on Marine Life

by Nivesh Agarwal (TYBBA)

In the guidance of Dr. Vishwas Swami

HOD of BBA Department

Research Paper submitted to Savitribai Phule Pune University in partial

fulfilment of the Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration

Roll No: F1

Academic Year: 2019-20

Oil Spills and its Effects on Marine Life

Abstract:
The paper provides a study of the major oil spills and its impact on the marine life.
Its main purpose is to find the effects on the marine life of some major oils spills
over the years in international waters. The data collected is from various articles
and websites which were published during the incident in the past. It shows some
major oil spills of the world and how harmful oil spills can be for various marine
birds and mammals as well as aquatic life and it contributes a lot when it comes to
water pollution along with other pollutants.

Key Words: Marine Life, Oil Spills

Introduction:

Petroleum marine fuel spills, which result from damage, transportation accidents and
various other industrial and mining activities, are classified and hazardous waste.
They are considered to be the most frequent organic pollutants of aquatic ecosystem.
In this current research, we will discuss the effects of major oil spills associated with
the marine environment. In this paper we discuss the major petroleum oil spills
associated with the chemical and physical states of crude oil and their impact on
microbial, plant and animal marine life.

Oil destroys the insulating ability of fur-bearing mammals, such as sea otters, and
the water repellency of a bird’s feathers, thus exposing these creatures to the harsh
elements. Without the ability to repel water and insulate from the cold water, birds
and mammals will die from hypothermia.

Saltwater bodies are known as ‘Marine Environments’, with the ocean covering
about 70% of the earth. Statistics estimate that 3.2 million tonnes of oil per year are
released from all sources into the environment. The majority of this oil is due to
general shipping and industrial activities across the world.

Method:
The data was collected from various websites and articles published by various news
organisations during and after the event. In this paper the secondary data was
analysed, sorted and put forward in an organised way.

Result:

Oil spill is the most harmful type of water pollution as it adversely affects the marine
biodiversity as well as the coastal regions. The spilled oil contains harmful
chemicals and as the density of oil is more than water it settles down on the surface
of the water which results in a chemical reaction between water and oil which is
known as ‘Mousse’. Mouse becomes even more sticky than oil alone causing, it to
stick to organisms and materials much more readily. During and after an oil spills,
animals can suffer detrimental effects on their fur and feathers. For example, a seal
pup’s fur would break down, causing it to experience hypothermia. This same effect
was responsible for the majority of bird deaths in oil slicks. Outright ingestion in the
oil creates toxins in the system. This was seen in the animals in the immediate
vicinity of the oil spill and also by animals farther up the food chain. If a fish
consumes a small amount of oil, it can survive, but passes on that oil to another
animal far away from its site, causing its death. One long-term effect on animals was
the fact that most birds and reptiles exposed to an oil slick have the side effect of
producing thinner egg shells. In addition, algae and sea grass became tainted. This
holds the ability to make the entire ecosystem uninhabitable for years. Due to the
layer of the oil on the water the sunlight gets blocked from reaching organic
environments, which severely impact producers and, thus, the entire food chain of an
ecosystem. Much of the oil we use for machinery, vehicles and industry is deep
below the surface of the Earth oftentimes in the middle of the ocean. When oil rigs
or machinery malfunction or break, thousands of tons of oil seeps into the
environment. Oil spills effects on environment and habitats can be catastrophic: they
kill plants and animals, disturb salinity/pH levels, pollute water and more.

Marine and coastal life gets be contaminated in a number of ways, through poison
by ingestion, destruction of habitat and direct contact with oil. For example, when
oil floats on the water surface, a marine mammal that surfaces in the centre of the
slick ingests the oil. Marine animals and organisms that swim through the slick area
also ingests oil through their gills. Even if a marine animal is miles away from the
 oil spills, but they eat another organism that was close by, they’ll ingest that oil,
which is poisonous. Ingesting oil causes number of problems besides death and
sickness. An animal or any other marine organism ingests oil, it affects their ability
to reproduce and produce viable offspring. Habitat destruction is all too obvious
with an oil spill. The most visible destruction was seen on shore, but beneath the
water there is a very delicate balance in the reefs and shallow water habitats.
Plankton, producers at the bottom of the food chain, are often killed by oil spills, as
a result of changes to the water and lack of sunlight beneath the oil slick. This effect
moves right up on the food chain. Of particular concern are, the very delicate sea
animals, such as clams and mussels that feed on plankton. Direct contact with oil
harms any organism that comes in contact with the oil. For example, when oil cakes
the feathers of a bird, it keeps their feather from repelling water. Oil also weighs
down the bird, keeping it from flying. If a bird isn’t cleaned of the oil, it’s a sure
licence to death. Many birds also ingest deadly amount of oil trying to clean their
feathers. The same hold true for marine mammals. Marine mammal fur acts as an
insulator to keep the animal warm in the coldest waters. When oil saturates the fur, it
ruins the ability of the fur to retain heat. Again, marine mammals can ingest the oil
when trying to clean their fur.

Oil spills were caused due to collision of oil tankers, explosion in tankers or oil rigs,
leaks, war between two countries, bombings on oil tankers, drowning of ships, etc.
Some of the largest oil spills were:-

 The Gulf War 1991(Kuwait):- As Iraqi forces retreated from Kuwait during the first
Gulf War they opened the valves of oil wells and pipelines in a bid to slow the
onslaught of American troops. The result was the largest oil spill history has
seen .Some 240 to 360 gallons of crude oil flowed into the Persian Gulf. The
resulting oil slick spanned an area just larger than the size of the island of Hawaii.
However, the largest oil spill the world has seen exacted little permanent damage on
coral ecosystem and local fisheries, according to a report by the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission at UNESCO.
 Deepwater Horizon 2010(Mexican Gulf):- The British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill
flowed for three months, becoming the largest accidental marine oil spill in the
history of the petroleum industry. The spill stemmed from a sea-floor oil gusher that
 resulted from the April 20, 2010, explosion of Deepwater Horizon, which drilled on
the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. The explosion killed 11 men working on the
platform and injured 17 others. On July 15, 2010, the leak was stopped by capping
the gushing wellhead, after it had released about 4.9 million barrels of crude oil. An
estimated 53,000 barrels per day escaped from the well just before it was capped.
The 210 million gallons spill caused extensive damage to marine and wildlife
habitats and to the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. Skimmer ships, floating
containment booms, anchored barriers, sane-filled barricades along shorelines, and
dispersants were used in an attempt to protect hundreds of miles of beaches,
wetlands, and estuaries from the spreading oil. Scientists also reported immense
underwater plumes of dissolved oil not visible at the surface as well as an 80-square-
mile “kill zone” surrounding the blown well.
 Ixtoc 1 Oil Spill, 1979 (Bay of Campeche, Mexico):- In June, 1979, an oil well in
Bay of Campeche collapsed after a pressure buildup sparked an accidental
explosion. Over the next 10 months about 140 million gallons of crude spouted into
the Gulf of Mexico from the damaged oil will. In order to slow down the flow of oil
from the damaged well, mud and later steel, iron and lead balls were dropped down
its shaft. The resulting slick measured 1100 square miles.
 Atlantic Empress 1979 (Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies):- One stormy evening in
July 1979, two full super tankers collided off the coast of Tobago in the Caribbean
Sea, the 88.3 million gallons spill was the largest ship sourced oil spill in history.
Crippled by the accident, both vessels began to leak their crude oil and caught fire.
One of the tanker exploded 300 nautical miles offshore, killing 26 crew members.
 ABT Summer 1991 (Of the coast of Angola):- En route to Rotterdam, the fully
loaded tanker ABT Summer experienced an explosion onboard and caught fire while
it was 900 miles off the coast of Angola, leaking its payload into the ocean.
Surrounded by a growing oil slick that spanned 80 square miles, the tanker burned
for three days, spilling 80 million gallons of oil, before sinking. The oil is thought to
have been broken up high seas at little environmental coast, thanks to the incident’s
offshore location.

Cleaning up the spill:- There are ways to clean a spill, but most have a downside.
Dispersants, a type of chemical, are the main cleanup tool. These break the oil into
fragments and bacteria that already live in the water and can decompose.
Dispersants, however, have a downside: they can further contaminate the
environment. If there is enough oil, it can be burned, but that usually leads to air
pollution. When the water is very calm, those in charge of cleaning the spill can
skim oil off the top of the water. Perhaps the best way to clean a spill is to use
machines that can separate the oil and water. However, if a leak is ongoing, such a
machine may not be able to keep up with the rate of contamination.

One method is to do absolutely nothing. The effects of solar radiation, wind, and
current will disperse the oil, and eventually it will evaporate. But this method is
dangerous if there are beaches or coasts in the close vicinity of the spill and is also
very harmful for the marine life.

Introducing “oil eating” bacteria and nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous,
into a spill will speed up the natural degradation of the oil.

Setting fire to an oil slick removes the oil by converting the form of its potential
energy into heat and light. This approach leaves behind a heavy carbon residue and
is suitable only for use on the open ocean.

Discussion:

Oil spill – One of the worst phenomenon which holds the capacity to disrupt the
marine life, the coastal region in the vicinity, the ecosystem, and also the economy
of the region. When oil is spilled into an aquatic environment, it can harm organisms
that live on, around, and under the water surface by both chemical toxicity and by
coating and smothering wildlife. This has both short term and long term effects on
all parts of the marine food web, including ling term damage to breading and
migration habitats that affects future generations of marine life. Short term effects
vary with the type of environment, amount of oil, effects of waves and weather, and
type of oil: light, medium or heavy.

Oil spills also affect the offshore and coastal waters, shallow inshore waters,
shorelines, mangroves or salt marshes, etc.

Conclusion:
Oil spills are such disastrous event, which could cause the marine life to deplete and
harm the marine ecosystem, the environment as well as humanity in many ways. It
endangers some marine life which is on its way to extinction like whales, dolphins
who surfaces themselves to breath can suck the toxic oil into their lungs which could
result into their death. It could contaminate the fishes in its vicinity, which when
fished by the various fishermen, could harm the humans as well. In such a way oil
spills can be proved dangerous for each and every living being present on this earth
as well as for the environment and the economy.

References:

www.nationalgeographic.com

www.sciencing.com

www.intecopen.com

www.oceanservice.noaa.gov