What happens when a lot of oil is spilled into the ocean ?

Question

I'm investigating the "Exxon Valdez" oil spillt . Can anyone give me a clue of what happens when oil encouters seawater ?

please , only serious answers prefebly with links attached,

thank you ,

Answer 1

the oil will float on the water because it is immiscible it means they cannot be mixed. the ocean life will be destroyed such as the fishes, the fishes will be poisoned. You need to extract oil from the ocean. You need to do it as soon as possible before the water go into another ocean. One time i watched t.v. and the news is about the oil spills then the people who are helping there uses human hair because it can absorb the oils.

Answer 2

Check out the EPA site for oil spills, facility response plans and read their analysis.

http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/

Oil will float on the water and wash up on shore like it did in Alaska.  When it washes ashore, it will stain the surficial soils, be absorbed into the soil and coat any animal it comes in contact with.  As the animals skin will be sealed with oil, it does cause them to die unless it is washed off.

For the short term, it is an environmental disaster that can yield huge ecological damages.  However, in the long term, oil will naturally attenuate in water and soil to below harmful levels.  This process can take several years, so EPA requires companies to immediately react to any spill that reaches water and exceeds 42 gallons (you have to report all spills within 24 hours).  

Overview of spill prevention rules:  http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/opprover.htm

The Ashland Oil Spill (before the Valdez):  http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/ashland.htm

The Valdez:

http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/exxon.htm

Answer 3

it pollutes the water