what are some of the ecological affects of oil spills?

If oil waste reaches the shoreline or coast, it interacts with beach sand and gravel, rocks and boulders, vegetation, and habitats of both wildlife and humans, causing contamination . Waves, water currents, and wind move the oil onto shore with the surf and tide.Beach sand and gravel saturated with oil may be unable to protect and nurture normal vegetation soo the food chain could be slightly affected.

Oil spills present the potential for enormous harm to deep ocean ,coastal fishing and fisheries.Seeming as once the oil ages slightly it condenses to form 'balls' of oil which then sink to the bottom of the ocean and could easily be mistaken for food by marine animals.

Oil waste poisons the marine and coastal organic life, interrupting the food chain on which fish and sea creatures depend on. Commercial fishing companys may be affected permanently.

What will happen when the hurricane season comes?

If the hurricane season hits the oil slick it could drive the oil onto the costal shores of Louisiana, whose low-lying topography makes it ecspecially vunerable to storm surges. The oil could then start to effect wetlands and residential areas.
Also damaging the wildlife food chain.
But of course if the hurrican comes from the East it would drive the oil out to sea instaed of going inland, but would this reall y be a good thing? If all the oil goes further out to sea, it could spread more into the ocean. Damaging the habitats of meny marine life.

What caused the explosion on the oil rig ?

The deadly blast on board the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico was triggerd by a bubble of methane gas. A report into the explosion said gas escaped from the oil well and shot up the drill column, expanding quickly as it burst through several seals and barriers before exploding.It caused the 'Deepwater Horizon' to burn and sink, and started a massive off shore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which is now considered the largest U.S history and environmental disaster. The explosion killed 11 people and injured 17 others, 98 others survived without serious physical injury.The Deepwater Horizon was a floating semi-submersible Drilling Unit — a fifth-generation, ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, column-stabilized. The platform was 396 feet (121 m) long and 256 feet (78 m) wide and could operate in waters up to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep, to a maximum drill depth of 30,000 feet (9,100 m).

How badly has the oil spill affected the wild life ?

We have all seen pictures and videos of wildlife covered in black, sticky oil after an oil spill. These pictures are usually of oiled birds. Many people are not aware that it is not just birds that get affected during a oil spill. Other marine life such as marine mammals can also suffer from the effects of an oil spill.

Not all oils are the same. There are many different types of oil and this means that each oil spill is different depending on the type of oil spilt. Each oil spill will have a different affect on wildlife and the surrounding environment depending on:

-the type of oil spilled,
-the location of the spill,
-the species of wildlife in the area,
-the timing of breeding
-and even the weather at sea during the oil spill.

oil effects wildlife by coating there bodies with a thick layer of oil. Over time many oils get sticker (called weathering)and soo effects the wildlife more violently. Some fish are attracted to oil because it looks like floating food.

Animals covered in oil at the beginning of a spill may be affected differently from animals who come across the oil later. The weather conditions can make it reduce or increase the potential for oil to cause damage to the environment and wildlife. For example, warm seas and high winds will encourage lighter oils to form gases, and will reduce the amount of oil that stays in the water to affect marine life.

Video of oil spill disaster !

Did BP have an emergency oil spill plan ?

BP did have an emergency plan.Two annular valves were used in the prevention of the oil spill, these are valves that closes in and seals on the drill pipe, or if the drill pipe is not in use, it closes the open hole. However, the rubber that was supposed to close the hole on the drill pipe failed, the pressure on the rubber was immense, this caused the rubber to detoriate and break down into large pieces which then was propelled to the surface in with the "muddy" substance.
BP had spent $21 million, a million each day, They thought they would only spend $14 million but this didn't happen so BP told the drillers to speed up the process of drilling, because the drilling was too fast the rig was compelled to be destroyed, resulting in BP having to spend $300 million, this is for the cleaning up and the damage to the environment.

Where and when exactly did this oil disaster take place?

The fire went out as the Deepwater Horizon, operated by Transocean Ltd, sank below the surface at 10:21 a.m. CDT (1521 GMT), about 64 Kilometres off the Louisiana coast.