Oil+Spills+&+The+Jessica

 An Oil Spill and Its Effects



 Pictured above is a sea lion on San Cristobol Island in the Galapagos. In the background is the Ecuadorian tanker, the "Jessica," listing with oil spilling out (Malazan, 2001). On January 16, 2001, this ship was carrying 160,000 gallons of petroleum for delivery. The "Jessica" ran aground upon getting too close to the island and within the next few days it listed 25 degrees. Crews worked frantically to stop the spill, put up barriers to prevent it from spreading, and rescue wildlife. Nonetheless, approximately 158,500 gallons of oil contaminated the water by the end of the week. Although the immediate effects were mild with few organisms' deaths, the long term effect has the capacity to endanger 5,000 species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Mitigation techniques are being used to lessen the effects (Urbina, 2002). Mitigation is the method used to clean up oil spills. To mitigate simply means to lessen in degree of harm. Technology has been created to assist with this process. To begin, the steps are to: 1. Predict the spill and the flow rate with Hyperspectral Image Analysis (HSI). 2. Identify shoreline and other sensitive habitats with HSI. 3. Determine the pollutant type and best cleanup method. 4. Begin clean up efforts. (Salem, 2001).

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