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The main cause of wildlife exposure to oil is oil spills. Oil spills occur most commonly near oil-shipping routes, pipelines, wells and refineries. [2] Oil spills have a more drastic impact in the late winter and early spring months, because large populations of overwintering birds gather near shores. [2]
The oil slick as seen from space by NASA's Terra satellite on 24 May 2010. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been described as the worst environmental disaster in the United States, releasing about 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal; 780,000 m 3) of crude oil making it the largest marine oil spill in history.
The oil spill directly affected Atlantic bluefin tuna, as approximately 12% of larval tuna were located in oil-contaminated waters, [9] and Gulf of Mexico is the only known spawning grounds for the western population of bluefin tuna. [7] A decaying fish trapped in oil inside the Bay of Isles, Alaska after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
When oil spills occur, the affects can be felt in an area for decades and can cause massive damage to the aquatic life. For aquatic plant life an oil spill could affect how light, and oxygen is available for photosynthesis. [100] Coral Reef Community. Two other examples of the many ways oil harms wildlife are in the form of oil toxicity and ...
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land.
Oil spills are one of the most emotive of marine pollution events. However, while a tanker wreck may result in extensive newspaper headlines, much of the oil in the world's seas comes from other smaller sources, such as tankers discharging ballast water from oil tanks used on return ships, leaking pipelines or engine oil disposed of down sewers ...
The surface salinity of the ocean is a key variable in the climate system when studying the global water cycle, ocean–atmosphere exchanges and ocean circulation, all vital components transporting heat, momentum, carbon and nutrients around the world. [84] Cold water is more dense than warm water and salty water is more dense than freshwater.
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.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.