APES LAB: THE EFFECTS OF OIL SPILLS
INTRODUCTION:
Californians are people on the go! We use more energy than any other
state - energy to light heat and cool; energy to power industry; energy to
transport ourselves and our goods - and all this energy requires a source.
Where do we get all this energy?
California's coast provides nonrenewable resources in the form of gas
and oil, resources that cannot be replenished. In 198O, the U.S.A.,
consumed over 60 million barrels of oil per day, 1/4 of the world's oil
production. Only 15% came from domestic wells and finds of new oil fields
cannot keep up with our needs. At current use, the U.S. has only 9 years of
oil reserves left.
California has both onshore and offshore oil. The offshore oil fields are
located on the continental shelf. In fiscal year 1997-98, the state received
$900,000,000 in royalties from oil leases, 13 of which came from offshore
wells. A partial moratorium on drilling offshore has been in effect in most
areas since the 1969 oil spill in the Santa Barbara Channel.
Drilling can take a variety of forms: where offshore oil is close enough to shore (Huntington Beach), directional slant
drilling from the land is possible; if the oil is too far from land, wells must be drilled offshore. Large quantities of oil go by
pipeline from permanent platforms directly to onshore facilities, Platforms are set in water varying from 200 - 1,000 ft in
depth, but wells in shallower waters are placed on man-made islands (Long Beach Harbor). Some wells are placed on
the ocean floor with no surface structures visible, but these are costly to maintain.
There are several advantages to domestic offshore oil production. American workers are employed and it helps us to
maintain energy independence, free from foreign influences. There still remains the possibility of discovering a large
untapped quantity of oil and gas. In addition, studies have shown that the derricks themselves provide additional marine
habitats and when wells are eventually shut downs they make excellent artificial reefs for use by sports and commercial
fishermen.
Negative impacts due to offshore drilling remain numerous: oil spills and Ieaks are bound to occur and pipelines from
platforms to the shore are controversial. All offshore derricks are expensive and surface platforms are unsightly. Longterm effects on the marine environment still remain unknown.
An alternative to domestic oil production is importation. One real advantage is that oil importation does not negatively
impact our environment. Disadvantages include high transportation costs resulting in higher prices to the consumer and
the uncertainty of reliable sources in times of foreign crises.
Additional energy sources from the marine environment are possible and several are being investigated for use in
California. Large quantities of carbonaceous mud averaging 5-20 gallons of oil per ton are found off our coast,
Destructive distillation, an expensive process, allows such oil to be recovered and research is trying to develop a way to
make this process much less expensive.
Renewable energy sources are also being considered. In France, dams are built across estuaries that have a large
rise and fall of tides. The high tide water is trapped and used to drive low pressure turbines. Sophisticated windmills are
now in operation on the Oregon coast and in the deserts of Southern California where wind flow is fairly constant and
strong,
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plants are currently being built along tropical coasts, such as Hawaii and
Guam, to tap the energy from the difference between sun-warmed surface waters and cold deep waters. Warm water
vaporizes a fluid (such as ammonia) which drives an electricity-generating turbine. Cold water from the ocean depths
condenses the vapor back into a fluid. This nonpolluting renewable resource system could replace 400,000 barrels of oil
per day by the year 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Currently, OTEC works the best in the tropics
where surface temperatures are the warmest.
At present, only oil, gas and nuclear energy are capable of providing vast quantities of energy. However the
production of these fuels can heavily impact our environment. Other answers are urgently needed.
Each year around 11 million gallons of oil enter the world’s oceans undesirably. Only 5% of which occur in dramatic
spills such as the Exxon Valdez in 1989 and the BP Oil spill in 2010. The impact of ocean oil pollution on marine
ecosystems is profound. Imagine you are a marine animal caught in an offshore oil spill. What would happen if you tried
to feed? Could you still move around well? Could you clean the oil off yourself? Now imagine yourself the mayor of a
coastal town with oil on its beaches and harbor. How could you clean up the spill and deal with angry business people
and environmentalists? In this activity, you will be simulating some of the problems of the spill and its clean-up.
MATERIALS
For each group of 4 - 6 students:
1 large bucket
3 ft of rope (2 types)
handful of straw or dried grass
1 turkey baster
1/3 cup alcohol
Packing peanuts
Cotton wipes/balls
Spoon
1/8 cup of 30w motor oil
3-4 rags
2-3 feathers
1 Tbs. liquid detergent
paper towels
Plastic/vinyl pieces
Straw
PROCEDURE
1. Purpose: (write your own purpose)
2. Develop an organized data table. (Data Table #1)
3. Fill the bucket about 2/3 to 3/4 full with water.
4. Pour the oil into the center. (about 1/8 cup)
5. RECORD your observation to what happens to the oil in the water.
6. Use the straw to gently blow the oil around your bucket…
a. What would the wind do to the oil in a real life situation?
b. What happens to the oil at the edge of the bucket?
c. What does the edge of the bucket represent in a real life situation?
7. Now use the string (either type – you can see which one works best) to corral the oil together in the
center of the bucket to help make removal easier.
a. Can you contain the spill?
8. Try to remove the oil by absorbing (and leaving most of the water behind) it with the items given to
you and any other items you have decided to use.
**Note: If one material removes too much of the oil, add another 1/8 cup oil.
9. RECORD your results in your data table. Briefly describe your attempt and your success.
Make sure you write all of your observations, including how easy or hard it was to use that item
to clean up the oil.
10. Develop a 2nd Data Table for your feathers.
11. Dip your feathers in oily water. Attempt to clean the feathers with: alcohol, liquid detergent, a
paper towel, a rag, straw, and any other items you choose… RECORD your results in your
data table
a. Which items were the easiest to use to clean the feathers?
b. Which items were the hardest to use or didn’t clean the feathers at all?
12. Clean and Dry all your equipment, supplies, and work area when all your results are recorded.
Questions within the procedure…:
1. What would the wind do to the oil in a real life situation?
2. What happens to the oil at the edge of the bucket?
3. What does the edge of the bucket represent in a real life situation?
4. Can you contain the spill?
5. Which items were the easiest to use to clean the feathers?
6. Which items were the hardest to use or didn’t clean the feathers at all?
Analysis Questions:
1. Discuss how this is a model for cleaning up oil spills in a water environment.
2. Could you clean-up your oil spill?
3. Explain what happens to the various materials you used in your attempted to recover the oil
while leaving the majority of the water behind.
4. What was your most effective method?
Why?
5. In the open ocean, what conditions could make the clean-up more difficult?
6. What effect do you think an oil spill would have on…
Note: Watch this clip: http://youtu.be/aYCSmhrcrT0 (2:17) Oil spills: How to help affected animals
a) a sea otter?
b) a gray whale?
c) a clam?
d) a brown pelican?
7. Could these animals clean the oil off themselves?
Why or why not?
8. What laws, regulations, and or safeguards would you propose to reduce the chance of future
spills and to protect the environment?
9. Research online “Oil Degrading Microbes”. What are the advantages and disadvantages of
using these microbes in the bioremediation of environmental oil spills?