Video: The Gulf of Mexico is an environmental disaster of the 21st century
2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40
During all the time of its existence, man has repeatedly had a negative impact on the environment. With the development of modern technologies, environmental disasters began to take on larger forms. A vivid confirmation of this is the Gulf of Mexico. The catastrophe that happened there in the spring of 2010 caused irreparable damage to nature. As a result, the waters were polluted, which led to the death of a huge number of marine life and a reduction in their population.
The cause of the disaster was the accident on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, which occurred due to the unprofessionalism of workers and the negligence of the owners of the oil and gas company. Due to incorrect actions, an explosion and a fire occurred, resulting in the death of 13 people who were on the platform and took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident. Within 35 hours the fire was extinguished by fire ships, but it was possible to completely block the oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico only after five months.
According to someexperts, for 152 days, during which oil poured out of the well, about 5 million barrels of fuel fell into the water. During this time, an area of 75,000 square kilometers was contaminated. The liquidation of the consequences of the accident was carried out by American military personnel and volunteers from all over the world who had gathered in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil was collected both manually and by special vessels. Together, they managed to get about 810,000 barrels of fuel out of the water.
The most difficult thing was to stop the oil leak, the installed plugs did not help. Cement was poured into the wells, drilling fluid was pumped, but complete sealing was achieved only on September 19, while the accident occurred on April 20. The Gulf of Mexico during this period has become the most polluted place on the planet. About 6,000 birds, 600 sea turtles, 100 dolphins, and many other mammals and fish were found dead.
Colossal damage has been done to coral reefs that cannot develop in polluted water. The death rate of bottlenose dolphins has increased almost 50 times, and this is not all the consequences of the accident on the oil platform. Fisheries also suffered significant damage as the Gulf of Mexico was one-third closed to fishing. Oil even reached the waters of coastal reserves, which were very important for migratory birds and other animals.
Three years have passed since the disaster, the Gulf of Mexico is slowly recovering from the damage. American oceanographers are closely monitoring the behavior of marineinhabitants, as well as for corals. The latter began to multiply and grow in their usual rhythm, which indicates the purification of water. But an increase in the temperature of the waters in this place was also recorded, which could adversely affect many marine inhabitants.
Some researchers have suggested that the consequences of the disaster will affect the course of the Gulf Stream, which affects the climate. Indeed, the last winters in Europe are especially frosty, and the water in the course itself has dropped by 10 degrees. But scientists have not yet succeeded in proving that the weather anomalies are connected precisely with the oil accident.
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