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Exxon Valdez Research Paper

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The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred on March the 24, in 1989. Nearly 11 million gallons of oil were spilled into the Bligh Reef in Prince William’s Sound, in Alaska when the Exxon oil tanker, Valdez, grounded, which raptured its hull, causing the crude oil that was collected from Prudhoe Bay to completely drain out into the reef. Prudhoe Bay, in Alaska, is the largest oil field in the United States, and even North America, covering a total of 213,543 acres. Before the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest oil spill in history. The Deepwater Horizon spill, however, in comparison to the 11 million gallons that were spilled in the Exxon Valdez spill, which may seem like a lot of oil, the …show more content…

But not only does oil affect the wildlife in the water, but also affects the wildlife surrounding that specific body of water. Oil destroys the insulating abilities of mammals that have fur, such as sea otters. Oil can also render a bird’s repellency of its feathers, completely useless, which creates an exposure to the harsh elements that surround them. Without these insulation and repelling abilities, fur-bearing mammals and birds usually die of hypothermia. Many birds also bathe in the water, and when oil is spilled in that water, the bird could possibly ingest some of the oil-contaminated water, which leads to poisoning, which leads to death. While fish and shellfish may not be affected immediately following the spill, the oil spreads through the water column, over time, which affects many fish and shellfish over a period of time. When exposed to oil, fish may experience reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart respiration, fin erosion, and it could prevent any reproduction. The oil affects plants when it covers the plant, preventing the intake of sunlight, which leads to the process of photosynthesis coming to a halt. With many affects on the wildlife in or near a body of water with oil that has been spilled inside, cleanup is very

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Like what is said above there is a risk for oil to get into the water and there is a lot of concern in the parts of the aquifers that are just below the Sand Hills and certain areas of the aquifer the water is near on at the surface Subpoint: Wildlife— There are two primary types of impacts that occur with a spill of crude oil Physical impacts— soil, sediments, plants, and animals can become coated with oil. When animals are covered in oil they can have difficulty feeding or obtaining oxygen toxicological impacts— crude oil may be toxic when ingested… “ingestion occurs typically when an oiled animal attempts to clean its fur or feathers

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The biggest threat to sea otters is oil spills. They are very vulnerable because they rely on their fur to keep warm. When their fur is soaked with oil, it loses its ability to retain air so the animals can die quickly from hypothermia. The liver, kidneys, and lungs of sea otters also become damaged after they inhale oil or ingest

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An example of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill affecting the ecosystem is do to the pollution of the water, the death of fish, and the plants that died from the oil. The reason of the the oil spill is do to the pipe that was cut that contained the oil. Statistics show that the oil spill harmed and or killed approximately 82,000 birds of 102 species, 6,165 sea turtles, and up to 25,900 marine mammals, including bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, melon-headed whales and sperm whales. An incident that lead to the ecosystem collapsing was do to the oil rig having to cut the pipe that pumped the oil, which caused the oil to seep into the sand and the roots of the plants. A fact that shows that the ecosystem was affected is the death of all the animals.

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The Prudhoe Bay oil field is situated on the Northern coast of Alaska, it is the largest oil field in the United States at 213,543 acres. It was first discovered by Arco on December 19, 1967, it produced oil at a maximum rate of 2,415 barrels per day at this time (http://doa.alaska.gov). This oil field has now been acquired by BP exploration and other companies also have a stake in it as well, such as Conoco Phillips Alaska and ExxonMobil. Prudhoe oil pool contains both oil and gas, it is estimated it contains ~25 billion barrels of oil and 46x10^12 cubic feet of gas, but only ~64% of that oil is able to be recovered, at 16 billion barrels. On the other hand there is only ~56% recoverable gas, at 26x10^12 cubic feet (https://en.wikipedia.org).

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Another thing that the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill affected is the food chain. Maybe some fish were killed. With one break in the chain, the rest of the chain could be greatly impacted. The animals that ate the fish may not have enough food to survive which would create another break in the food chain. If the breaks in the food chain continue, almost all animals will eventually go extinct.

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The Exxon Valdez was a supertanker ship that produced an oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred for a variety of causes. The oil leak tragedy harmed the Prince William Sound, Alaska area by polluting the water. They were able to repair the Exxon Valdez oil spill thanks to their employees and the others who assisted them. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred for a variety of causes, and the oil leak disaster harmed Prince William Sound, Alaska, owing to pollution, and they rectified the oil spill disaster thanks to their personnel and others who assisted.

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Studies examining the effect of oil exposure on polar bears indicate that upon petroleum or fuel exposure, polar bears absorb bulk of oil in their hairy coat. After the physical contact, polar bears can metabolize sufficient quantity of oil, causing kidney malfunction, digestive system imbalance, and brain diseases that lead to death. Removal of thick blanket of hair, and skin and eye irritations are few of the other harmful effects (“Polar bears and oil developments”). Species like polar bears and seals are able to absorb oil across their skin, via gastrointestinal tract, or by inhalation. Once absorbed, it spreads to all tissues in varying quantities.

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The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: 27 Years Later Sachin Nair, Biologist, Ph.D. Anchorage, Alaska-- On March 24, 1989, the oil freighter Exxon Valdez entered Alaska's Prince William Sound, a sound off the Gulf of Alaska, after leaving the Valdez Marine Terminal filled with crude oil. At exactly 12:04 am, the oil tanker crashed into a reef, piercing the hull open and releasing 11 million gallons, 41 639 530 liters, of oil into the surrounding marine environment. Emergency responses by the oil company, Exxon, and the Alyeska Pipeline Company were very insufficient to contain much of the spill, while soon after, a storm blew in, spreading the oil vastly across 11,000 square miles of ocean water.

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Oil spill effect our environment, ecosystems, animals, and humans. Environmental effects are that animals are endangered by oil spills. For example, birds that dive into the ocean are then unable to fly because of their wings being covered in oil. Also, once birds, fish, or other marine mammals ingest the oil, it is poisonous to them and kills them. Oil has a thick consistency and chokes them.

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On March 24, 1989 an oil tanker named the Exxon Valdez, crashed into a reef on the shallow sea floor as it was taking off from Prince William Sound, Alaska. The spill was neglected and it caused the spill to be worse than it would have been if the cleanup team reacted quicker. 10 million gallons of oil spilled into the bay area and it caused an estimated 250,000 animals like otters, seals, whales, eagles, birds, and fish to die from the oil.

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From the sociological perspective, it was a huge social, cultural, economic and psychological threat for the communities living across the coastlines, cleanup workers, and especially children. Firstly, oil was released into the sea; it spread out on the surface of the water and contaminated the sea and coastlines. Statistics had shown that the Gulf oil spill killed 3,902 birds, 517 turtles, 71 marine mammals and more than thousands of other wildlife animals under the sea are covered by oil during or after the disaster (Merchant, 2010). Besides, the contaminated

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Oil can literally smother some species because it hinders their ability to absorb from the water. Plants and kelp are particularly affected by oil spills, and as the base of most ocean life it causes ripples up the food change, much like sea star wasting caused ripples down the food chain. Some species are more affected than others such as kelp, sea otters and marine birds all of which play critical roles in the marine ecosystem. Oil spills are yet another threat for these already threatened ecosystems. Unfortunately, oil spills aren’t the only additional threat, as the ocean waters

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Firstly, many people were affected by the effects of the oil spill. There are a list of harmful chemicals and conditions associated with the oil spill which put those who took the effort to clean it up, and those in the surroundings at great risk. More than anyone, the workers that helped to clean up the mess were most affected. With the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico now in its sixth week, reports of clean-up workers falling ill are on the rise.

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1. Introduction In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil platform spit nearly five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, making it the largest oil spill in history. The 1989 oil spill surpassed Exxon Valdez's oil spill in 1989 as the largest oil spill ever seen in US-controlled waters and the Ixtoc I oil spill of 1979 as the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon, an ultra-deepwater offshore rig, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico about 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 riggers and injuring 17 others.

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What is an oil spill?(JDB) An oil spill is a type of pollution which consists on the dumping of petrol into the environment, mainly into oceans although it can also occur on land. These oil spills are mainly caused by the release of crude oils, wells, platforms and drilling rings. These oil spills, can very well damage the environment and therefore causing many consequences to different groups of animals and pollute the area where the dumping took place.

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