The Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska after the ship ran aground. Over 1,100 miles of coastline were impacted, making it the largest oil spill in U.S. waters at the time. Cleanup efforts continued for years. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, releasing up to 5,000 barrels of oil per day. Experts estimated this Gulf spill could surpass the spillage of the Exxon Valdez four times over in just a few weeks if not contained. Multiple containment options were attempted but proved difficult given the depth and scale of the leak. The Gulf spill had
2. Introduction… On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez, going from Alaska to Los Angeles, Within six hours of the grounding, the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. Eight of the eleven tanks on board were damaged. The oil would eventually impact over 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making the Exxon Valdez the largest oil spill to date in U.S. waters.
3. Cleanup…. The cleanup began in April of 1989 and continued until September of 1989 for the first year of the response. The response effort continued in 1990 and 1991 with cleanup in the summer months, and limited shoreline monitoring in the winter months. RecoveredArchaeological resources, Bald eagle, Black oystercatcher, Common murre, Pink salmon, River otter, Sockeye salmon Not RecoveringThese species were not able to recover after the spill: Common loon Cormorants (3 species), Harbor seal, Harlequin duck, Pacific herring, Pigeon guillemot Recovering (In process) Clams, Wilderness Areas, Intertidal communities, Killer whale (AB pod), Marbled murrelet, Mussels, Sea otter, Sediments .
4. Control of the oil spill at sea The Alaska Pipeline Service Company was immediately notified of the incident and sent for stabilizing the vessel. It arrived on scene by 1500 on 24 March. In March 25, Exxon had assumed full responsibility for the spill and cleanup effort.
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6. The oil slick (blue areas) eventually extended 470 miles southwest from Bligh Reef. The spill area eventually totaled 11,000 square miles.
8. Introduction Last April 22, a disasterhappened. It has left 5000 barrels of oileachday and it has beingaffectingmanyspecieslikebirds, seals, whales, turtles, and otherspeciesthat can die because of theoil. To try to stop thespill, coastguards helped a lot and theyput a funnel in thebarrels. The funnel is a 40ft tall iron box, weighing 98 tonnes.It will be placed over the leak, 5,000ft down on the seabed.BP hopes it will collect 85% of the leaking oil and pipe it to the surface
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10. Stopping the oilspill… There are many possibilities for stopping the oil spill. “The first option is trying a smaller box to contain the oil. This new box will drop with pipe already attached so that they can pump in warm water and gasses to prevent the box from forming the “ice crystals” that doomed the original “box” plan. Another option is filling the leak with junk such as golf balls and other items to plug the leak. Once it is filled with junk, they would try to fill the leak with concrete. As we learned with the big box planned, these options have never been used so deep.” Although these are available options, they are difficult to do.
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12. The Gulf spill could end up dumping the equivalent of 4 Exxon Valdez spills per week. The gulf oil spill was worst. The Exxon Valdez leaved 10.9 million gallons while the gulf spill 5000 barrels a day. The Exxon Valdez spill was easily controlled. The Exxon was in Alaska while the other in the gulf of Mexico. Comparing…
13. Bibliography “exxonvaldez oil spill - Encyclopedia of Earth.” Web. 25 May 2010.http://www.eoearth.org/article/exxon_valdez_oil_spill “2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill – Will it Exceed The Exxon Valdez Spill?.” Web. 25 May 2010.http://apexnewsnetwork.com/2972/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-2010-officials-out-of-short-term-ideas/
