As thousands and thousands of gallons of thick black oil continues to spew out the sea bed and spread across the Ocean, AquaViews takes a closer look at the effects that one of the decades biggest environmental disasters has and will continue to have on the marine ecology.
“A vast amount of oil one mile beneath the surface has bled since April 20 into the Gulf of Mexico. According to BP, it’s about 200,000 gallons a day; researchers at Florida State University estimated about two weeks ago it was at least 1 million gallons a day, and even more recently engineers from Purdue University predicted it’s probably closer to 2.5 million gallons a day.” – Mercurynews.com
With several million gallons of medium crude in the water already, you’ve probably seen and heard a lot about it’s effects on the ecosystem. Pictures of birds coated in the black substance have covered the front pages of newspapers and have been splashed across various news reports. What you haven’t heard so much about is what damage this disaster has had and could potentially continue to have for a long long time for the marine ecology.
Some people are saying, “It hasn’t gotten to shore yet so it’s all good,”.But we’re forgetting about the thousands of species that live in the ocean and a spill like this is bad for marine life as soon as it hits the water. You have endangered sea turtles, the larvae of bluefin tuna, shrimp, crabs, oysters, grouper and dolphins to name a few creatures already affected by the slick. Dolphins bodies saturated in oil have washed up on shores. These creatures are so badly affected due to their necessity to surface twice a minute to breathe and all they inhale is the fumes from the spill. What can’t be assessed is the loss in the form of fish eggs, larvae and hatch-lings in their most sensitive stages of life that will be wiped out in such numbers that could move species into extinction or dangerously low numbers.
The undersea oil poses a direct threat to marine wildlife, such as fish, sharks and cetaceans and also to the tiny stuff, including zooplankton, shrimp, corals, crabs and worms. By endangering these latter populations, the foundation of the marine food chain, the oil could have chronic long-term effects on the wider Gulf ecosystem.
Another worry is that the oil could soon extend its reach, traveling around the tip of Florida and entering Atlantic waters. The oil which entered the Gulf of Mexico’s fast-moving Loop Current, a powerful conveyor belt that carries the warm Gulf water through the Straits of Florida. Eventually, the Gulf Stream becomes the North Atlantic Current, destined for Western Europe where its fan-like tendrils become the Norwegian Current. The moment this oil makes it to the Atlantic, it becomes global! But for right now, the 5,000-7,000 year old shallow coral reefs along the Florida coast especially the Keys with its 500 odd species of fish and marine life including spiny lobsters, snow crabs, Caribbean manatees, American crocodiles, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles are in eminent danger of the spreading oil. This reef being the 3rd largest coral reef formation on Earth, could potentially spell major marine ecological disaster!
So even if the spilling oil can finally be capped, mitigating the damage…the damage is already done! If there can be any silver lining to this catastrophe, it may be that it is the wake-up call we’ve needed to start moving more rapidly away from fossil fuels to a clean, renewable energy future and opt for clean and green energy sources whenever possible.
*Photo credits: photos by Deepwater Horizon Response, SkyTruth, Deepwater Horizon Response on flickr
