Oil Spills Flashcards
we transport a lot of fuel, such as crude oil, diluted bitumen, and petroleum. Define each
Crude Oil= liquid mixture of hundreds of different petrochemicals (Hydrocarbons), later refined to make products like gasoline
Diluted Bitumen (dilbit)= bitumen (crude oil + sand) diluted with lighter petroleum (usually naphtha) to make it less viscous
Petroleum= broad category that includes both crude oil and petroleum products
T/F
“oil” and “petroleum” are used interchangeably
true, but not entirely accurate b/c petroleum is broader
Most of Canada’s oil is transported by ___
Name the 4 major ones
pipeline
- transmountain
- keystone
- express
- enbridge
__% of the oil that Canada exports goes to the USA
99%
Terrestrial vs Marine Oil Spills
Terrestrial:
- most common (ruptured pipeline)
- impacts localized area- easier to contain on land)
Marine:
- less frequent, but much more petroleum is released
- very hard to contain= major impacts (oil is transported by sea currents/ winds)
Fates of Spilled Petroleum (by weathering):
Evaporation=
evaporation of fumes / vapors reduces volume of spillage and can eliminate up to :
- 100% of gasoline
- 50% of crude oil
- 10% of denser bunker fuel
Fates of Spilled Petroleum (by weathering) :
Spreading=
the movement of an oil slick over water or land
- slow on land (soil is very absorbent)
- faster on water (due to water currents/ winds)
Fates of Spilled Petroleum (by weathering):
Dissolution=
pollution of the water beneath an oil slick, lighter hydrocarbons become dissolved in water
Fates of Spilled Petroleum (by weathering):
Residual Materials=
heavier hydrocarbons (lighter ones evaporate or dissolve) form a gelatinous emulsion (water-oil) known as mousse
- mousse can wash up onto shorelines or sink to bottom
- also tar balls
Fates of Spilled Petroleum (by Weathering):
degradation=
the slow decomposition of petroleum by either microbes (biodegradation) or photo-oxidation by UV radiation
what makes petroleum toxic?
- contains many volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- VOCs are irritants and carcinogens
Toxicity of oil depends on its ___ and level of ___
source
processing
What are the 2 types of crude oil?
- Sweet Crude Oil
- low sulfur
- better for making gasoline - Sour Crude Oil
- high sulfur
- requires much more processing to be used
When a bird’s feathers become soaked in oil, what are the risks?
oil mats the feathers and separates the tiny barbs in the wing, which impairs the waterproofing
this puts the bird at risk of hypothermia
why are fish less impacted by other animals (ducks, for example) by oil spills
fish are more mobile, so they can typically avoid the oil
What risk do oil slicks pose for aquatic organisms
suffocation!
- oil slicks form a barrier between air and epilimnion, preventing atmospheric exchange
- especially impacts organisms that live at the surface, because they’re adapted to living with high oxygen
How does an oil spill impact soils?
The biggest concern: petroleum will seep into groundwater
may kill soil organisms/ higher organisms (can disrupt food webs)
can also produce harmful fumes if it evaporates from the soil
____ ___ help stabilize food webs; if they’re impacted, the whole food web is in trouble
carnivorous fish
(they’re “critically resilient” in the food web)
How could an oil spill increase coastal erosion?
oil is toxic to marsh/ coastal grasses
- kill grass= reduce protection from wind/ water, and erosion increases
How Oil Spills Are Cleaned Up:
Mechanical Recovery=
physical containment and collection of spilled oil
How Oil Spills Are Cleaned Up:
In-Situ Burning=
controlled burning of spilled oil to remove it
- this is fast
How Oil Spills Are Cleaned Up:
Chemical Recovery=
use of dispersants or gelling agents to either break down the oil into smaller droplets, or to congeal it together
How Oil Spills Are Cleaned Up:
Bioremediation=
use of fertilizers and nutrient to increase microorganism growth, which in turn break down the oil
How Oil Spills Are Cleaned Up:
List and describe 3 methods of mechanical recovery
- containment booms= floating barriers used to contain the oil on the surface (works b/c oil floats)
- skimmers= work like a vacuum to suck the oil away, but not the water (hydrophobic/ oleophilic)
- Sorbents= straw, clay, nylon etc- used to soak up the oil (works for smaller terrestrial spills)
How Oil Spills Are Cleaned Up:
What are some problems associated with in-situ burning?
- causes air pollution
- only works w/ low wind
- best for lighter petroleum
- produces residues that often sink and persist (like mousse)
How Oil Spills Are Cleaned Up:
When are dispersants (chemical recovery) used?
What are some problems associated with using them?
used in choppy waters when other methods are ineffective (aircraft/ boats disperse it)
Problems:
- must be used immediately to be effective
- works better in warm waters
- sometimes they can be more toxic than the oil itself… (COREXIT)
What is COREXIT?
a dispersant used for chemical recovery of oil spills
- used extensively to clean up deepwater horizon
- very toxic to organisms inc humans: altered blood in the workers who dispersed it
- banned in Europe, but not in Canada and US
What are the 2 methods of chemical recovery?
- dispersants
- gelling agents (solidifiers)
How do gelling agents work to clean up oil spills?
- 2 benefits?
- 2 problems?
physically bonds with oil, forming a rubbery solid
Benefits:
- low toxicity/ flammability
- can potentially recycle the solidified oil (working on methods)
Problems:
-expensive
- need a large volume of it
What’s a method used just to clean terrestrial spills?
Electrical Resistance Heating
- put a current through contaminated soil= heats up = increased evaporation
- even moving the soil to insert the electrodes can increase evaporation
When did the Huntington Beach (Orange County, California) oil spill occur?
How did it happen?
Oct 2021
- a cargo ship anchor snagged the pipeline and it leaked
_____ ______ is the largest oil spill in history, and it happened in ___.
Deepwater Horizon
2010
Where did the Deepwater Horizon occur and what happened?
The Gulf of Meixco
there was a piping failure on the oil drilling rig, and natural gas built up, causing an explosion.
- Blowout Preventer (BOP) malfunctioned and manual override wasn’t enacted fast enough to prevent the blowout
- 11 people died trying to manually override the BOP
- leaked for 89 days before they could cap it (still leaking a bit)
T/F
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill couldn’t be seen from space, but it did spread well into the ocean and along American coasts
false
it could be seen from space!
Why is the Gulf of Mexico healing so slowly from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?
- animal recovery slowed due to bioaccumulation/ biomagnification of COREXIT
- oil linked to birth defects and death of marine organisms
What was the largest oil spill in history before Deepwater Horizon? When/ where?
Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill
Alaska, 1989
note- actions taken to clean up deepwater horizon were learned from this one
Why did the Exxon-Valdez Oil spill occur?
the captain was drunk and ran into a coral reef (yikes)
The Hebei Spirit Oil Spill occurred in ____ in ___ ___
2007
South Korea
- not too big, but still a lot of oil got into the ocean
What We’ve Learned From Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill
- weathered oil will ____ (has been observed on Alaskan Coast ___ after the spill)
- indirectly impacts ___ ___, ____ species, and can lead to the loss of ____ species
persist, 16+ years
food webs, social species, keystone species
