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Oil’s wandering Path

Oil’s wandering Path. Content is modified after National Ocean Service /An Oily Mess, Smithsonian Institute /Pollution Solution, PWSSC/ Marine Oil Pollution and PWSSC/ Fate of Spilled Oil. What items can you think of that are made from petroleum products?. How do we use oil?.

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Oil’s wandering Path

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  1. Oil’s wandering Path Content is modified after National Ocean Service/An Oily Mess, Smithsonian Institute/Pollution Solution, PWSSC/Marine Oil Pollution and PWSSC/Fate of Spilled Oil

  2. What items can you think of that are made from petroleum products?

  3. How do we use oil? • Transportation • Fuel • Lubrication • Asphalt/pavement • Plastics • Medicines • Ink • Fertilizers/pesticides • Paints/varnishes • Electricity • Waxes • Beauty products National Ocean Services/An Oily Mess

  4. Oil’s Travels • Oil is extracted from the ground • Oil is pumped to a pipeline • Oil is transported to a refinery • Oil is transported to its final destination Oil can be spilled at any of these steps!

  5. How Do Oil Spills Happen? • Oil spills are caused by accidents, usually when transporting the oil. • People make mistakes or are careless • Equipment breaks down • Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes • Deliberate acts by terrorists, countries at war, vandals, or illegal dumpers

  6. What Causes Man-Made Oil Spills?

  7. Tanker Accidents – 15% • Oil Drilling – 6% http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/news/gallery/2007/dec/10/1/GD5563862 http://www.sierraclub.bc.ca/seafood-and-oceans/threats-to-our-oceans-and-coastline/Tanker-Traffic-Oil-Spills/jim_wark_AKoilrig.jpg

  8. Tanker Operations – 5% • Aircraft Fuel – 1% http://contrailscience.com/wp-content/uploads/e6-below-from-tacamoorg.jpg http://www.nortest.com.cy/images/TankerPipelines/deep%20pioneer.06.No1%20(1).JPG

  9. Atmospheric Deposition – 8% • Runoff – 21% http://www.icenews.is/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/dirt_is_in_the_air.jpg http://mythreethings.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/img_0096.jpg

  10. Small Ships and Boats – 41%

  11. Man-Made Causes of Spills PWSSC/OSLE/Marine Oil Pollution

  12. What Happens Once There is an Oil Spill? • Oil and waxes stick together • Usually float on water • Very heavy (dense) oil can sink

  13. Ocean Surface Spills • Oil stays on top of the water • Oil is affected by winds and currents • Oil spreads out rapidly and forms a thin layer (slick) • 90% of a spill’s volme is contained in 10% of its area • Oil keeps spreading and becoming thinner until it becomes a “sheen” or “film”

  14. Deep Water Spills • If the spill involves a gas explosion, the gas add buoyancy to the oil • In shallow waters, the oil rises as a single plume and then spreads out once it reaches the surface • In deep waters, the oil rises like a smokestack until it starts to dissolve and “tip over” • Bubbles rise at different speeds • Bubbles get smaller the taller the smokestack

  15. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill? • When did the Exxon Valdez oil spill happen? • Where did the Exxon Valdez hit? • How much oil did the Exxon Valdez spill?

  16. Can you name any other oil spills?

  17. World Oil Spills • Kuwaiti Oil Fires • 1991 • 170 million tons • Gulf War Oil Spill • Kuwait, Iraq, Persian Gulf • 1991 • 5.1 million tons • Deepwater Horizon • Gulf of Mexico • 2011 • 0.57 million tons Image from Time.com Image from guardian.co.uk

  18. How does this compare with the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill? Kuwaiti Oil Fire Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Image from http://best-diving.org/adrenalin-diving/138-diving-with-blue-whale-song-my-first-adrenalin-diving-experience

  19. What happens to the oil once it spills? • Oil immediately starts to undergo weathering • Evaporation • Photo-oxidation • Emulsification “mousse” • Biodegradation • Sedimentation

  20. What habitats are sensitive to oil spills? • Oil affects different environments, plants, and animals in different ways • Estuaries • Sandy Beaches • Rocky Shores • Juvenile Species Habitat • Open Ocean • We must also consider how and where we can stage equipment in order to respond to the oil spill

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