1 / 16

Ocean in the News: Oil Spills

Ocean in the News: Oil Spills. By Kelly Peak MEA 200H October 10, 2005. “44 Oil Spills found in southeast Louisiana”. Article from MSNBC.com; Sept. 19 th 2005 Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina and a few days before Hurricane Rita

kagami
Download Presentation

Ocean in the News: Oil Spills

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Ocean in the News: Oil Spills By Kelly Peak MEA 200H October 10, 2005

  2. “44 Oil Spills found in southeast Louisiana” • Article from MSNBC.com; Sept. 19th 2005 • Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina and a few days before Hurricane Rita • Only now are the Coast Guard and other agencies able to tackle environmental problems since the search and rescue effort is winding down • Spills range from several hundred gallons to the largest of nearly 4 million gallons

  3. Extent of Spills and Recovery • More than 7 million gallons of oil were spilled from industrial plants, storage depots and other facilities • 2/3 as much oil as spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker in 1989 • nearly 2 million gallons have been recovered and another 2.3 million gallons contained • None of the leaks sent oil directly into the Mississippi River (protected by levees)

  4. Concerns and Significant Cases • But numbers are only estimates • And it’s too early to tell how effective the cleanup will be • Two significant cases: one in Meraux and another in Venice • Meraux Spill (just outside New Orleans on the Mississippi River): oil mixed with floodwaters and sediment to submerge hundreds of homes • Already two class action lawsuits filed against the company responsible– Murphy Oil

  5. Katrina-caused slick in Breton Sound, La. Satellite Image of Katrina Oil Spills

  6. Classification of Spills • Largest known spills are along the Mississippi River south of New Orleans • Major Spills: over 100,000 gallons = 5 locations • Medium Spills: 10,000 to 100,000 gallons = 4 locations • Offshore Oil • No reports of offshore spills in Gulf of Mexico • Though leaks could spring when the thousands of oil platforms and hundreds of miles of pipeline are restarted • And this is all before Hurricane Rita….

  7. Report by the American Petroleum Institute

  8. API’s Impacts on Oil & Gas Operations from Katrina and Rita * The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) which services tankers delivering oil imports

  9. Hurricane Impacts on Gulf of Mexico Production

  10. Facts about Oil Spills… • How much oil enters the ocean? • Estimated at 0.25% of world oil production or about 6 million tons per year • How much oil enters the oceans with oil spills? • Spills account for only 5% of oil entering oceans • During the last decade, more than one billion gallons of oil spilled worldwide

  11. Are tanker accidents the major source of marine oil pollution? • No, only about 10-15% of oil into oceans • Breakdown of sources: • Natural Seeps in seabed fissures and eroding sedimentary rocks- 46% • Discharges from consumption of oils (ships and land-based sources including storage facilities, refineries, terminals and filing stations)- 37% • Accidental spills from ships- 12% • Offshore Extraction of oil (platforms, pipelines, etc.)- 3%

  12. What happens to oil spills in sea water?

  13. Clean up Methods… • Booms: floating barriers to oil • Skimmers: boats that skim spilled oil from the water surface • Sorbents: big sponges used to absorb oil • Chemical dispersants and biological agents: break down the oil into its chemical constituents • In-situ burning: method of burning freshly spilled oil while it’s floating on the water

  14. Chemical Dispersants Skimmer Boom In-Situ Burning In

  15. Take Home Points • More than 7 million gallons of oil were spilled as a result of Hurricane Katrina alone (2/3 the oil spilled with Exxon Valdez Tanker) • Largest spills along Mississippi River south of New Orleans; technically no offshore spills (only leaks) • Globally, oil spills account for only 5% of oil entering the ocean; tanker accidents only a small percentage • Many clean up methods available– booms, skimmers, chemical dispersants, etc.

  16. References • Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9365607/ • Louisiana Oil Rig Photo: http://www.jerrylabella.com/louisianas_steel-legged_reefs.htm • Image of Hurricane Katrina: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina • Exxon Valdez Photo: http://www.hamburger-bildungsserver.de/welcome.phtml?unten=/ozean/oel-111.html • Louisiana oil spill photos: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9612756/ and http://www8.dotd.louisiana.gov/emergency/ • API Slides on Katrina & Rita:http://api-ec.api.org/filelibrary/KatrinaSlides.pdf • Facts about Oil Spills: http://oils.gpa.unep.org/facts/faqs.htm and http://www.offshore-environment.com/facts.html • Clean up methods and photos: http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/stories/oilymess/supp_primer.html; http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/image/viz_man1.html; http://www.ohmsett.com/For_Students_Questions_boomer_skimmer_Skimmer.asp; http://www.vs-c.de/vsengine/printvlu/vsc/en/ch/16/uc/vlus/cleanup1.vlu.html

More Related