Gulf Oil Spill

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1. When the oil was slowly poured onto the water at a steady pace, the oil floated on top of the water. This resulted because oil is less dense then water, meaning that it has less mass in its given volume (less densely packed particles) and its particles aren’t as attracted to each other. Oil’s density is 0.93 g/cm3 compared to water’s density which is 1.0 g/cm3.
2. Of the three methods we used to contain our mini oil spill I would have to say that skimmers would not only be the most efficient but also the most environmentally friendly. Considering sorbents and dispersants, sorbents are able to sink to the bottom of a lake if they cannot retain a high buoyancy and disrupt marine wildlife living at the bottom, and as for dispersants, …show more content…
Considering that most oil spills are said to occur in the Gulf of Mexico, most of the time caused by old abandoned wells that leak, I believe biological agents are the best option for efficient clean up. The Gulf of Mexico holds a humid subtropical climate, meaning warm and humid temperatures are experienced mostly year round and strong storms are often present. Because of the strong storms in this very oil spill prone area, dispersants are used most often but this has proved to be harmful for the various species of marine life living in this aquatic community. Dispersants make it easier for small aquat8ic creatures to swallow the oil, damage coral reefs or sea grass and cause tar balls to form that later wash up to the sea. Since most oil spills here are caused by old broken down wells that expel oil, oil spills are often found far from land where if possible they can be contained using booms and skimmers can suck the oil of the surface without causing noise pollution to settlements. Negative traits to skimmers though, include the fact that marine creatures can be sucked in by accident and skimmers cannot and clean up huge oil spills which are unfortunately found here. Sorbents have the capacity to clean up huge oil spills but are costly, time consuming and can be ineffective in containing the oil inside. Both skimmers and sorbents can be used if the climate allows it and the spill can be contained by boomers, if not dispersants or biological agents are to be used. Biological agents are, and have always been the best solution to eliminate an oil spill in any climate as they break down the oil into fatty acids and carbon dioxide, but only if money is not in the
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