Simulated Oil Spill Essay
Introduction
Fossil fuels are an integrated part of how humans consume and produce energy. In the 1990s, it was estimated that, “the annual global input of petroleum would be between 1.7 and 8.8 million metric tons, the majority of which is derived from anthropogenic sources.” Meaning the estimated amount of oil that would be used every year to meet the energy demand.(Leahy and Colwell 1990) Since this prediction, the amount actually used each year has grown considerably. Due to this increased use, there have been an equal amount of environmental response from increased hydrocarbon concentration. A majority of these responses are focused on marine systems, terrestrial systems, and a variety of environmental conditions which are affected. These affects are not only linked to the use of the fuels, but the accidental contamination of the system through direct exposure. These accidental contaminations have a variety of sources ranging from negligence or failing containment equipment. There are a number of natural events that release …show more content…
In this paper, we will be focusing on the interaction of a simulated oil spill with a microbial system. Focusing on both the most common areas affected by an oil spill, there are separate experiments for both terrestrial and marine systems. This study will have two main foci. First will be a time oriented experiment, to see how varying quantities of oil will affect the distribution of microbes by employing the Shannon–Weaver index. This is used not to just observe the richness or abundance of microbes, but to determine how great the variation is before and after the introduction of non-native hydrocarbons to a system. The second experiment will be focusing on bioremediation and human interactions in an attempt to cleanup a spill. Both experiments will be discussed in greater detail in the Methods
Fossil fuels are an integrated part of how humans consume and produce energy. In the 1990s, it was estimated that, “the annual global input of petroleum would be between 1.7 and 8.8 million metric tons, the majority of which is derived from anthropogenic sources.” Meaning the estimated amount of oil that would be used every year to meet the energy demand.(Leahy and Colwell 1990) Since this prediction, the amount actually used each year has grown considerably. Due to this increased use, there have been an equal amount of environmental response from increased hydrocarbon concentration. A majority of these responses are focused on marine systems, terrestrial systems, and a variety of environmental conditions which are affected. These affects are not only linked to the use of the fuels, but the accidental contamination of the system through direct exposure. These accidental contaminations have a variety of sources ranging from negligence or failing containment equipment. There are a number of natural events that release …show more content…
In this paper, we will be focusing on the interaction of a simulated oil spill with a microbial system. Focusing on both the most common areas affected by an oil spill, there are separate experiments for both terrestrial and marine systems. This study will have two main foci. First will be a time oriented experiment, to see how varying quantities of oil will affect the distribution of microbes by employing the Shannon–Weaver index. This is used not to just observe the richness or abundance of microbes, but to determine how great the variation is before and after the introduction of non-native hydrocarbons to a system. The second experiment will be focusing on bioremediation and human interactions in an attempt to cleanup a spill. Both experiments will be discussed in greater detail in the Methods