What is it?

• Oil tankers = ocean vessels

• transport petroleum oil

• Petroleum is a liquid mixture composed of hydrocarbons

• mainly used to produce gasoline

It affects....

• Water

• animals and their habitats

• Humans

• Plants

​ POLLUTION

• Oil is less dense than water but some are heavier than water

• poisons aquatic animals

• fish

• whales

• sea turtles 

• dolphins

• shell fish

• FISH

• the oil get's into their gills and poisons them

WATER

Biology 

animals

• predators of aquatics animals
• oil catches onto their body
• Bird's feathers gets stuck together
• can't fly, will die
• otters 
• sea weeds
• sharks

Humans

marine animals

Fishing Industries

• consuming fish

•  extinction

•  economy

Oil

• Oil prices go up

•  economy

HUMANS

Plants

Phytoplankton:

microscopic organisms that live in water, both salty and fresh.

capture sunlight, uses photosynthesisto gives off oxygen 

• bacteria 

• protist

• mostly: plants

fix nitrogen

• FOUNDATION OF AQUATIC FOOD WEB

• PRIMARY PRODUCERS

1:Phytoplankton

• Black oil on surface = no sunlight

• cause many chain reactions

2:Phytoplankton

• a small change in the growth/production of phytoplankton may affect atmospheric temperatures

• RESPONSIBLE FOR CARBON INPUT TO THE OCEAN

• no sunlight = no photosynthesizing

• they will die = more carbon dioxide = green house gas 

• AKA: we will die faster...

Climate Change & Carbon Cycle

3:Phytoplankton

Physics (just fyi)

when they bloom by the billions, the high concentration of chlorophyll and other light-catching pigments change the way the surface reflects light.

• swirls of greenish, brownish, reddish

4:Phytoplankton

Climate Change cont.

as the surface water warms, the water column becomes increasingly stratified (less vertical mixing to recycle nutrients from deep waters back to the surface) 

Phytoplankton needs these nutrients - they need the vertical mixing of the water column.

Controlled Burning

• Useful for remote areas
• Fast & effective
• form of combustion
• FYI: The USA burns 20 million barrels of oil per day!

BTW the PROBLEM:

• harmful to the environment 
• black carbon (soot), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide get released into the atmosphere
• anthropogenic greenhouse gases 

Solutions 

Solutions 

Solutions 

Bioremediation

• Uses micro organisms to degrade wastes.
• pH affects the solubility and how well the organisms break down the waste
• less harmful to environment

PROBLEM:

• Longer time and more expensive

Solutions 

Dispersant Spray

• Uses chemicals to degrade oil so that it mixes with water more easily to speed up its natural biodegration
• dispersed into the water column 
• used since the early 60s & 70s
• minimum negative effect to marine environment
• efficient & operators not exposed to wind-blown chemicals

PROBLEM:

• $$$$$$$$