The Deepwater Horizon, an
offshore oil-drilling rig, exploded on the night of April 20, 2010 while
working on a well on the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico. Things appeared
to be running normally as crewmembers began preparing to seal up an oil well
23,000 feet underneath water and rocks (Pallardy 2014). Deepwater Horizon
workers considered their examination of the rig as “a good test.” However, at
9:40 p.m., mud flowed up to the floor of the rig and less than 10 minutes
later, the first explosion was heard. Mayday was called at 9:52 p.m., and the
rig was evacuated. Within hours, 11 men were reported as missing
(Counterspill.org, 2011). Transocean put out a press release the
following day, providing a vague outline of the disaster. It announced that a
fire was reported aboard the rig, which was located approximately 41 miles off
the shore of Louisiana. Transocean also announced that company response teams
were working with the U.S. Coast Guard and BP to care for rig personnel
(Counterspill.org, 2011). On April 25, The US Coast Guard
confirmed that the well below the exploded rig started to flow at a rate
of 1,000 barrels a day. After the rig exploded, it caught fire and burned for
over two days before sinking to the bottom of the ocean intact.
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At this point, the spill coated 40 square miles of water with an oily
sheen. The rate of the spill was increased to 5,000 barrels a
day on April 28. BP CEO Tony Hayward said that the ultimate reason was
the rig’s “blowout preventer” failing to engage (Counterspill.org,
2011).
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As of Aug. 16, more than 7,000 birds, sea turtles
and dolphins have been found dead or debilitated in the gulf since the oil
spill began. A majority of the dead were not visibly oiled, and officials have
yet to determine why they died. But they have confirmed that many more animals
are dying than during the same time period in previous years.
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(NYtimes.com, 2010)
* This section below has been taken
directly from a NY Times article:
Officials have found more than twice
the number of stranded sea turtles than normally found this time of year. A
majority have been a species called Kemp’s ridley, one of four that are
endangered in the gulf, and among the smallest and rarest of sea turtles.
Most of the dead are not visibly oiled. Some suspect that shrimpers are
causing the increased deaths by not using devices that prevent turtles from
getting trapped in nets and drowning
More dolphins have been found dead or
debilitated since the start of the spill than are usually found at this time
of year. In previous spills, dolphins have been observed swimming in oiled
waters. Like whales and sea turtles, dolphins surface to breathe air, and
scientists think that the dolphins may be inhaling toxic chemicals from the
oil. A majority of those found have been bottlenose dolphins, the best-known
species and one commonly seen in zoos.
Most of the birds recovered have been
brown pelicans, the state bird of Louisiana, which was recently removed from
the endangered species list. Biologists say the birds dive into oil because
the slick makes water look calmer. While pelicans are large, and thus easier
to find, many smaller birds harmed by oil may never be found. The hardest-hit
species in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida has been the northern gannet,
which spends most of its life over open water.
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Resources
"BP
Oil Spill: A Brief History." Counterspill.org. Counterspill,
10 Apr. 2011.Web. 26 Feb.2014. http://www.counterspill.org/article/bp-oil-spill-brief-history
"Oil
Spill in he Gulf." News-Basics.com. News-Basics, 20 Apr.
2012.Web. 26 Feb. 2014. http://news-basics.com/2010/oil-spill-in-the-gulf/
Park, Haeyoun, Graham Roberts, Shan Carter, Kevin Quealy,
Erin Aigner, and Xaquín G.V. "The Oil Spill’s Effects on
Wildlife." NYtimes.com. The New York Times, 27 Apr. 2010. Web.
26 Feb. 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/28/us/20100428-spill-map.html
Photographs
