OIL SPILL RECOVERY ACTIVITY: QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS CLEAN-UP METHODS Jean R. Anastasia, Ph.D. Biology Department, Suffolk County Community College

Deep Water Horizon/ BP Oil Spill Oil Spills in the Real World

Deepwater Horizon: Spill Details Incident Occurred April 20, 2010

Deepwater Horizon: Spill Details End of Free-Flowing Oil temporary cap on 7/15/10; completely stopped 9/19/10

Deepwater Horizon: Spill Details  Total Oil Spilled was about 5 million barrels or 210,000,000 gallons (  Many endangered or threatened animals live in the oil spill area including sea turtles, beach mice, and marine and shore birds

Data taken from Deepwater Horizon Response Consolidated Fish and Wildlife Reports Melissa Weber, Jacobs, presented at NABT 2010 conference Deepwater Horizon: Impacts to Wildlife

Deepwater Horizon: Clean Up Methods Used  Deploying Booms

Booms Merriam-Webster Definition a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill Types: floating top with a “skirt” that hangs down, sorbent, or fire-retardant Melissa Weber, Jacobs, presented at NABT 2010 conference

Deepwater Horizon: Clean Up Methods Used  Skimming

Deepwater Horizon: Clean Up Methods Used  In-Situ Burns

Deepwater Horizon: Clean Up Methods Used  Use of Dispersants

Deepwater Horizon: Concerns with Clean Up Methods  Harm to wildlife during clean-up  Sea turtle examples:  Burned during in-situ burns  Nests destroyed by machinery used in shoreline clean-up  Access to nesting areas limited by beach clean-up  Hatchlings stuck in tire tracks left by equipment  Lights used during nighttime clean-up disorient turtles and hatchlings  Unknown impacts of chemical dispersants  Over 1.3 million gallons used, largest use ever in a US oil spill MC252 Planning Environmental Unit, Mobile ICC

Simulating Spills and Quantifying Recovery Methods Oil Spills in the Laboratory

Chinese food take-out containers, plastic food storage containers, etc. Teaches “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” Use Recycled Containers for Your “Ocean Basin”

Makes vegetable oil look more like crude oil Makes it easier for students to see Color Oil Using Cocoa Powder

Use spoon to simulate skimming clean-up method Skimming

Have students brainstorm and come up with various materials to absorb the oil. Sawdust is on example Useful website: 17 ways to Clean-up an Oil spill ( Sorbent materials

Use fish tank filter media bags to hold the sorbent material; these are available at any pet store Pet Hair Booms

Use fuzzy pipe cleaners to simulate the action of booms Containment Booms

Use liquid dishwashing detergent as a dispersant Add one drop and have students observe effect. then stir Discuss surface area and its affect on natural breakdown of oil by bacteria Dispersants

Use graduated cylinders to measure oil spilled and oil recovered Quantify Each Clean Up Method

For older students, use computer software to quantify percent cover Like Image J Quantify Each Clean Up Method

Using Image J Select “Run Image J as a Signed Applet”

Using Image J Or you can download it to your computer Select “Download” from the first screen

Using Image J Select “File” and “open” and use the dialog box to open a digital image of your oil spill

Using Image J Use the rectangle or polygon selection tool to outline the ocean basin in your picture

Using Image J Choose “Image”, “Crop” to crop out only the ocean basin in your picture

Using Image J Select “Image” and “Type” and “8 bit” to convert the image to black and white

Using Image J Select “Image” and “Adjust” and “Threshold” to highlight only the oil on the surface of the water A small Threshold dialog box will open

Using Image J Choose “B&W” from the drop down menu and your oil will appear black

Using Image J Choose “Analyze” then “Set Measurements”

Using Image J In the “Set Measurments” dialog box make sure “Area fraction” and “Limit to threshold” are checked Then click OK

Using Image J Choose “Analyze” then “Measure”

Using Image J A “Results” window will open and give you the percent of the area that is covered by the oil spill Repeat for picture of basin after oil clean-up to compare

Other Ideas and Tips  Have students generate waves to simulate what really happens in the ocean  Compare recovery methods with and without waves  Discuss why reptiles, birds, and mammals are more affected than fish and invertebrates  (air-breathers need to surface through the oil slick to breathe)  Bring in feathers and have students pour oil on them  Discuss the impact of spills on bird’s feathers and the ability of birds to keep warm  Have students clean the feathers with dish detergent  After lab exercise, dispose of the oil by pouring sawdust on the oil and scooping it out into the garbage (rather than down the drain which can clog up drains after awhile)

Bird Rehabilitation Center  ?bctid= ?bctid= By Charlie Riedel, USA Today