Bp Oil Spill Research Paper

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Have you ever heard of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill? More than likely you have, you probably have just recognize it as the BP Oil Spill. The BP Oil spill is the largest accidental oil spill ever in the U.S. The BP oil spill not only affected the lives of humans, but the lives of many animals. This also affected the animals habitats and homes. The BP oil spill is responsible for putting several thousand animals on the endangered species list. On April 20, 2010 the BP employees lost control of the well with the blowout preventer, and then the blowout preventer did not seal the gaps of the initial explosions. The explosions caused oil to start leaking out of the oil rig. Then that is when the stopping system couldn't stop the flow of the oil …show more content…

This killed several thousand animals. The BP oil spill made the beaches, wetlands, etc less diverse; so biodiversity definitely decreased a ton. As you know, the BP oil spill took place on the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico is home to a very large forests called the Mangrove Forests. The Mangrove forests hold great value to a large amount of animals that live in the gulf. Some of the animals such as the birds nest, crabs, and oysters, live here and survive off of the lands sediment. The oil hurt the animals, especially the mammals. If any of the mammals swallowed or inhaled the oil, they more than likely would have severe internal bleeding in their stomach or ulcers. The fish were also affected such as yellow fin tuna, sharks, etc. The oil affects them through surface exposure, ingestion, and absorption. The birds were also affected greatly. The birds wings were coated with the oil. It made them less buoyant and almost impossible to fly. This is also made it hard to regulate their internal body temperature, or maintain homeostasis. The BP oil spill also covered the sea turtles. The five types of sea turtles were already on the endangered species list. IN 2009 around one hundred turtles were found stranded, since the oil spill over five hundred turtles have been found each year. The oceans coral reefs were also affected. Most are either dead or dying from the massive oil spill. Scientist are finding abundant amount of oil on the ocean floor from the oil spill. Any of the oil that has washed up on the beaches, or in the wetlands will more than likely be there for many more years. We can’t see most of the oil because it’s in so many places, but it is far from being gone, there is still a lot to be cleaned