Problem-Solution research paper. Life Sciences Assignment.

Oil Spills
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Introduction
Research has that millions of gallons of waste oil enter the ocean every year, with over half coming from land drainage and waste disposal; for example, from the improper disposal of used motor oil. Production operations, offshore drilling and oil leaks or spills from tankers or ships normally contribute to lower than 8 percent of the total oil spill. The remaining percentage comes from routine ship maintenance, natural seepage from the seashore and hydrocarbon particles, which stem from onshore air pollution. Oil spills cause great devastation and have everlasting impacts on the marine life and the environment and is something that should be adequately addressed.
Establishing the Issue
Oil spills are an accidental release of oil into a water body from a tanker, offshore drilling rig or underwater pipeline often presenting a hazard to marine life or the environment. According to most of the investigations, oil pollution causes difficult structural and functional changes in natural ecosystems, as well as violates metabolic processes, production and destruction of organic matter, thus leading to a decrease in species diversity. Studies prove that planktonic animals are sensitive to oil pollution in seawater. A concentration of 0.01 mg·dm accelerates their death. The last decade of observation has shown that the highest figures of oil pollution in Northern Caspian and Volga River were recorded in the year 2004. In the same year, as part of the Volga River runoff project, the highest petroleum hydrocarbon amount was recorded. The average annual amount of petroleum hydrocarbons in the Volga delta was 7 MPC fisheries whereas North Caspian showed 8.6 MPC (Mohit). In 2003, a low value of 3 MPC. According to the long-term monitoring materials in the North Caspian Sea, more than 54 percent of the cases are in the petroleum hydrocarbons concentration in the range of 0.5 to 3 MPC. In the places of most intense pollution, petroleum hydrocarbon can cause instant death in animals while it only reduces their abundance in the less contaminated areas. Petroleum can impact animals differently, based on their physiological state, its concentration, the chemical composition of oil, water and temperature. Thus, at a 0.001 mg·dm-3 concentration, oil and petroleum products accelerate plankton death.
Exploration of the Problem
Oil slicks are getting more normal than the vast majority may think, and they happen in different ways. A great many oil spillage happens in US waters each year. Some of these spills are little, for example oil slicks while a boat is refueled however these spills may at present be risky, particularly in the event that they happen in touchy conditions, for example, seashores, wetlands and mangroves. Huge spills typically result from hazardous catastrophes. These will in general happen when enormous oil big hauler ships sink, or pipelines break or penetrating activities go amiss. Results to economies and biological systems can be felt for over ten years after an enormous oil slick (Buskey et al.). Oil slicks can likewise happen at places where oil is bored, utilized or moved. At the point when oil slicks occur in the Incomparable Lakes, seas, shores, or in waterways streaming into these beachfront waters, NOAA specialists regularly get involved.
In the United States, the Mexican Gulf is a major offshore gas and oil source. Approximately half of the total natural gas processing and petroleum refining capacity in the U.S. is found along the Gulf. Unfortunately, the Mexican Gulf is also where the two largest oil spills in history occurred: Ixtoc I spill in 1979–1980 and the Deep water Horizon spill in 2010. The recent spike in the global energy demand has led to increasing marine exploration, manufacture and transport of crude oil, which ultimately increases the possibility of oil leaks in the oceanic environment (Buskey et al.). Most of the adverse effects of oil leaks lie in the accumulation of the less soluble and less volatile elements of crude oil at the sea surface. When these oil slicks are carried to the seashore, they may result to substantial damage to delicate near shore environs such as sea grass beds, salt marshes, coral reefs and mangroves. Chemical dispersants are often used to control marine oil spills so as to reduce oil-water interface tension and make it easier for physical factors to separate surface oil slicks into small droplets. Smaller droplets allow the rapid consumption of oil by hydrocarbon degrading bacteria.
Oil can be toxic to organisms because it can cause either biochemical or physical injury. Physical injury occurs when oil is absorbed, ingested or inhaled thus impairing the ability of a marine organism to go through daily functions. Biochemical injury occurs when specific chemical compounds that are present in oil interact with and damage the cellular metabolism of an organism. The elements of oil that are known to negatively impact marine organisms entail volatile organic compounds like Benzene, Xylene, Ethylbenzene, Toluene and as well as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, that are popular for their persistence in the environs. The polar elements of oil, which are also known as the NSO- containing compounds, have a toxicity that is less established (Buskey et al.). However, they make up ~70% of all oil elements that are dissolved in water, are more toxic to marine organisms and more persistent in the environs than any other crude oil components. When considering the negative effects of oil on marine life, it is important to keep in mind the duration and amount of oil exposure, plus the elements and toxicity of the specific compounds of oil present. The chemical dispersants that were used in response to the DWH spill were ultimately found to be as toxic as the alternative dispersants studied by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Although oil dispersants are used to increase the rate of biodegradation, the consequences of their toxicity need to be evaluated. Undispersed oil generally poses more threat to organisms that dwell on the shoreline and on the surface. However, dispersed oil normally remains in the water column where it threatens benthic and pelagic organisms. Several studies have focused the toxicity of dispersants in the presence of oil or alone. The results showed that crustaceans are sensitive to oil dispersant exposure when compared to fish. Additionally, further research showed that the species with the least amount external tissue is the most sensitive to dispersants. It also came to my attention that oil spills have an impact on the fish I consume. Research has proven that oil dispersants increase the uptake of PAHs by fish (Mohit). This is particularly true with the fish that live in coastal areas of oceans and lakes. Researchers found ...