The largest oil spill in U.S. history was even bigger than previously thought, at least in terms of the amount of coastline that was oiled, scientists report in a new study. National Geographic reports that the findings shed new light onto the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which began six years ago today.
Scientists from the federal government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and several private research companies found oil along 1,313 miles out of 5,930 miles of surveyed shoreline after the spill, an increase of 19% from previously published estimates. That makes the disaster the largest marine oil spill in history by length of shoreline oiled, the team reported in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.
The spill released millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf over 87 days, from April 20 to July 15, 2010, in a dramatic event that shocked the world. Some of the oil was recovered, burned, or dispersed at sea, while some washed up on the shorelines of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Texas.
To estimate the complete extent of the oil’s reach, the scientists pored over all the available ground-based data on the area, including recent data from cleanup efforts. The team members hope their work will provide a more clear picture of the spill and help managers better predict and understand future accidents.
The scientists found the majority of the oiling in Louisiana, with significant oiling in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and, to a lesser extent, Texas.
The team also found that the oiled shoreline was roughly evenly split between beaches, 46%, and coastal wetlands, 52%, with the remaining 2% being all other shoreline types. Most of the wetlands were in Louisiana.
The behavior of that oil in the shoreline environment has been complex, the team adds. Some was removed or treated by cleanup crews, some degraded naturally, some soaked into the soil, and some remains at the surface. Additional oil was also deposited months after the initial spill, due to the drifting of currents.
