1. Page 1 Oil Spill clean-up Man made solutions Natural solutions – Bioremediators

2. Page 2 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill also known as the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill or the BP Oil Spill is the largest marine oil spill in history, and was caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform about 50 miles southeast of the Mississippi River delta on April 20, 2010 oil spill

3. Page 3 Chemical dispersants Designed to break oil up into tiny droplets. Easier for oil to break down Dispersants did not work in Gulf of Mexico

4. Page 4 Mechanical means Oil booms – floating barriers to catch surface oil.

5. Page 5 Skimmer sucks up oil that is floating on surface

6. Page 6 Absorbent booms Soaks up oil or fuel spills

7. Page 7 Disc skimmer Spinning discs pick up oil and sling it into a catch basin in center where it is pumped to storage containers link, another link,link

8. Page 8 Brush Skimmer Brushes rotate in oil and pick oil up and deposit in a trough where it is pumped away linklink

9. Page 9 Other solutions Soak up the oil with straw Mushrooms eat oil

10. Page 10 Phytoremediation is the removal of contaminates from soil by plants. the microbes which thrive among plant root systems are vital to the process.

11. Page 11 Bioremediation of Methane In June - elevated methane concentrations, no microbial methane chomping microbes. September - unusually “high relative abundances” of methane eating microbes and the methane gas had virtually disappeared! oil spill released between 7.3 to 10.1 billion cubic feet of methane a whole lot of methane chomping action must have been “go’in on” This is bioremediation at its best!

12. Page 12 Did you also know, under perfect laboratory conditions, a single bacterium cell could multiply to become a sextillion in less than 24 hours (one sextillion is written 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)? Texas bioremediation experiment video

13. Page 13 Nature’s Oil Recyclers Questions (page 48) 1.What does bioremediation mean? 2.How many different species of bacteria are there that can break down crude oil? 3.What have scientists discovered helps the bacteria? 4.How long does it take for bacteria to break down oil compared to natural processes?