Oil spills, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, are impactful environmental disasters that have long lasting effects to the landscape, native species, and inhabitants who depend on the area. The USGS explores the adverse effect that large-scale oil spills have on the environment and helps responders prepare for environmental recovery and rehabilitation.
BACKGROUND
As the name implies, an oil spill refers to any uncontrolled release of crude oil, gasoline, fuels, or other oil by-products into the environment. Oil spills can pollute land, air, or water. Although the term "oil spill" often makes people think of spills in the ocean and coastal waters, such as in 2010 during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska, it also refers to land spills, too. Spills are incredibly harmful to those species that come in direct contact with the polluted areas. And depending on the size and scale of an oil spill, the recovery time can take days to decades.
2010 DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
The USGS responded to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by establishing baseline conditions in water chemistry in coastal waters and bed sediments prior to landfall of the oil spill. After the spill reached shore, the USGS conducted additional sampling in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to assess the effect of the oil spill on the Gulf coastal environment. Sampling locations include barrier islands and coastal wetlands that are critical to fish and wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. The USGS provided decision support tools to help land managers and first environmental responders mitigate the effects of the oil spill and assist in restoration efforts.
- USGS Responds to Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
- Tracking Oil—USGS Tools and Analysis Inform Response
- USGS Deepwater Horizon Response (Archived)
- RestoreTheGulf.gov
RELATED USGS RESEARCH
The USGS monitors and assesses the impacts of oil spills on the environment. Here are a few additional resources to highlight USGS work on oil spills across the country. By no means are these the only oil spill studies the USGS conducts, but these links offer a good starting point to explore more research.
- Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
- Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
- Wildlife Recovery After 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
- Bemidji Oil Spill, MN
- Oil-Particle Interactions and Submergence from Crude Oil Spills
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Deepwater Horizon
Small-scale oil spills are somewhat common across the United States. However, it is the rarer large-scale spills, such as Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon, that draw in USGS involvement.
Science Related to Oil Spills
Tracking Oil Spills: Before, During, and Decades Later
Crude Oil Contamination in the Shallow Subsurface
NRDA: Deepwater ROV Sampling to Assess Potential Impacts to Hardbottom Coral Communities and Associates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Mapping Oil in Marshes and Its Implications
- Overview
Oil spills, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, are impactful environmental disasters that have long lasting effects to the landscape, native species, and inhabitants who depend on the area. The USGS explores the adverse effect that large-scale oil spills have on the environment and helps responders prepare for environmental recovery and rehabilitation.
BACKGROUND
As the name implies, an oil spill refers to any uncontrolled release of crude oil, gasoline, fuels, or other oil by-products into the environment. Oil spills can pollute land, air, or water. Although the term "oil spill" often makes people think of spills in the ocean and coastal waters, such as in 2010 during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska, it also refers to land spills, too. Spills are incredibly harmful to those species that come in direct contact with the polluted areas. And depending on the size and scale of an oil spill, the recovery time can take days to decades.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.USGS scientists collected environmental data and samples at beach in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (Credit: Shane Stocks). 2010 DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
The USGS responded to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by establishing baseline conditions in water chemistry in coastal waters and bed sediments prior to landfall of the oil spill. After the spill reached shore, the USGS conducted additional sampling in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to assess the effect of the oil spill on the Gulf coastal environment. Sampling locations include barrier islands and coastal wetlands that are critical to fish and wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. The USGS provided decision support tools to help land managers and first environmental responders mitigate the effects of the oil spill and assist in restoration efforts.
- USGS Responds to Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
- Tracking Oil—USGS Tools and Analysis Inform Response
- USGS Deepwater Horizon Response (Archived)
- RestoreTheGulf.gov
RELATED USGS RESEARCH
The USGS monitors and assesses the impacts of oil spills on the environment. Here are a few additional resources to highlight USGS work on oil spills across the country. By no means are these the only oil spill studies the USGS conducts, but these links offer a good starting point to explore more research.
- Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
- Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
- Wildlife Recovery After 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
- Bemidji Oil Spill, MN
- Oil-Particle Interactions and Submergence from Crude Oil Spills
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Deepwater Horizon
- Science
Small-scale oil spills are somewhat common across the United States. However, it is the rarer large-scale spills, such as Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon, that draw in USGS involvement.
Science Related to Oil Spills
Crude oil or oil distilled product (e.g. gasoline, diesel fuels, jet fuels) spills can occur during oil exploration, production, and transportation activities. Environmental impacts of spills are complex and can be difficult to assess. The chemical makeup of oil and oil products is diverse which affects oil behavior (e.g. volatilization, sinking). Oil degradation and fate are also influenced by...Tracking Oil Spills: Before, During, and Decades Later
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil. At the time, the spill was the Nation’s largest environmental disaster.Crude Oil Contamination in the Shallow Subsurface
This investigation focuses on the long-term persistence in soils and groundwater of petroleum hydrocarbon spills, including crude oil and refined petroleum fuels. The study site near Bemidji, MN, is a laboratory for developing site assessment tools and understanding chemical changes affecting human and environmental health that occur during natural attenuation of petroleum hydrocarbons.NRDA: Deepwater ROV Sampling to Assess Potential Impacts to Hardbottom Coral Communities and Associates from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The MC252 oil spill introduced hydrocarbons, dispersants, and drilling muds into the Gulf of Mexico, potentially adversely affecting the seafloor environment surrounding the spill site.Mapping Oil in Marshes and Its Implications
Remote sensing helps USGS scientists detect and map surface oil in coastal environments. - Multimedia
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