Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, Florida 32561, United States.
Sitka Sound Science Center, Sitka, Alaska 99835, United States.
Environ Sci Technol. 2020 Jun 2;54(11):6456-6467. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.9b05020. Epub 2020 Apr 15.
The long-term ecological impacts of the oil spill (EVOS) are compared to two extensively studied and more recent large spills: Deepwater Horizon (DWH) and the oil spill (HSOS). Each of the three spills differed in magnitude and duration of oil released, environmental conditions, ecological communities, response and clean up measures, and ecological recovery. The EVOS began on March 24, 1989, and released 40.8 million liters of Alaska North Slope crude oil into the cold, nearly pristine environment of Prince William Sound, Alaska. EVOS oiled wildlife and rocky intertidal shorelines and exposed early life stages of fish to embryotoxic levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Long-term impacts following EVOS were observed on seabirds, sea otters, killer whales, and subtidal communities. The DWH spill began on April 20, 2010, and released 507 million liters of light Louisiana crude oil from 1600 m on the ocean floor into the Gulf of Mexico over an 87-day period. The DWH spill exposed a diversity of complex aquatic communities in the deep ocean, offshore pelagic areas, and coastal environments to petroleum hydrocarbons. Large-scale persistent ecological effects included impacts to deep ocean corals, failed recruitment of oysters over multiple years, damage to coastal wetlands, and reduced dolphin, sea turtle, and seabird populations. The HSOS began on December 7, 2007, and released approximately 13 million liters of Middle East crude oils into ecologically sensitive areas of the Taean area of western Korea. Environmental conditions and the extensive initial cleanup of HSOS oil stranded on shorelines limited the long-term impacts to changes in composition and abundance of intertidal benthic communities. Comparisons of EVOS, DWH, and HSOS show the importance and complexity of the interactions among the environment, oil spill dynamics, affected ecological systems, and response actions.
溢油事件（EVOS）的长期生态影响与两个经过广泛研究且规模更大的近期溢油事件（深水地平线（DWH）和 油溢事件（HSOS））进行了比较。这三个溢油事件在释放油量、环境条件、生态群落、反应和清理措施以及生态恢复等方面存在差异。EVOS 始于 1989 年 3 月 24 日，阿拉斯加北坡原油 4080 万升泄漏到寒冷、几乎原始的阿拉斯加威廉王子湾环境中。EVOS 污染了野生动物和岩石潮间带海岸线，并使鱼类的早期生命阶段暴露在多环芳烃（PAH）的胚胎毒性水平下。EVOS 事件后，观察到海鸟、海獭、虎鲸和亚潮带群落受到长期影响。DWH 溢油事件始于 2010 年 4 月 20 日，从海底 1600 米处泄漏了 5.07 亿升轻质路易斯安那原油，在 87 天内进入墨西哥湾。DWH 溢油事件使深海、近海浮游区和沿海环境中的各种复杂水生群落暴露在石油碳氢化合物中。大规模持久的生态影响包括对深海珊瑚的影响、多年来牡蛎繁殖失败、沿海湿地受损以及海豚、海龟和海鸟数量减少。HSOS 始于 2007 年 12 月 7 日，约 1300 万升中东原油泄漏到韩国西部泰安地区生态敏感地区。环境条件和 HSOS 搁浅在海岸线上的初始大规模清理限制了长期影响，仅限于潮间带底栖群落组成和丰度的变化。EVOS、DWH 和 HSOS 的比较表明了环境、溢油动态、受影响生态系统和应对行动之间相互作用的重要性和复杂性。
