> Recovery Time
How long does it take the ocean to recover from an oil spill?
That all depends on:
1.How much oil is spilled (the more you spill, the longer it takes to clean up the mess);
2.What type of oil it is (light oil is much easier to clean up than heavy, thick oil, and a lot of the light oil will evaporate);
3.Where the spill is (oil is easier to clean up in the middle of the ocean where it’s easy to get to and can’t do too much damage, whereas if the spill is in a small lake or wetlands, there’s less room, and a lot more plants and animals that can be injured);
4.What the weather is like (nice weather is of course easier to work in, storms, waves, thunders, and cold weather are much harder).
Oil does several things when it’s spilled. The light oils (like gasoline) tend to evaporate into the air, and if the spill is all light, the oil will disappear (into the air) by itself. Some of the oil mixes with the water forming an emulsion where everything mixes together because of the waves (think of shaking up a jar of oil and vinegar). Some of the emulsified oil (an oil/water mixture, sometimes called mousse) sinks and attaches to the rocks and sand at the bottom of the ocean or lake. Some of the oil breaks down from the sun (photo-oxidation), and some of it is eaten by the microorganisms in the water (biodegradation). Of course, some of the oil makes it to shore where it mixes with the sand, the rocks, the trees, and the marsh grass.
Scientist taking slick
depth measurements
