Gulf Oil Spill Pictures: Oil, Tarballs Hit Beaches

Tarball Picking on Gulf Coast

Photograph by Brian Snyder, Reuters

On Monday, cleanup crews pick up tarballs suspected to be from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on Dauphin Island, Alabama.

The joint federal-industry task force responding to the Gulf oil spill has tried several methods—including underwater robots, chemical oil dispersants, and giant oil-containment "domes" (pictures)—to slow or stop the seafloor leaks. So far, response workers haven't been able to bring the spill under control. (See "Gulf Oil Leaks Could Gush for Years.")

In the meantime, every effort should be made to clean tarballs off beaches and other sites where they wash ashore, Kendall said.

Published May 14, 2010

Broken Tarball From Gulf Coast

Photograph by Kari Goodnough, Bloomberg/Getty Images

A 5-inch-wide (13-centimeter-wide) tarball that washed up on an Alabama beach sticks to a person's gloved fingers as it's broken apart for inspection on Sunday. As with liquid oil, sticky tarballs can be hard to clean off animals' feathers and fur.

Oil—regardless of what form it takes—can also be dangerous to plants. "It has physical properties that are not good for habitats," Kendall said. "If it settles on grasses or marine plants, it basically kills" them. (See "Nature Fighting Back Against Gulf Oil Spill.")

Published May 14, 2010

Oil and Water in the Gulf

Photograph by Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Reddish blobs of oil float on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, as seen on May 5 off the Louisiana coast.

Oil is naturally buoyant, but the chemical dispersants that cleanup crews are using to break up and scatter the surface slicks cause the oil drops to sink deeper into the water column, Kendall said.

"Fish, particularly larval fish, can be killed" by the dispersed oil droplets, he said. "And if it sinks to the seafloor, it can be toxic to bottom-dwelling organisms such as crabs and marine worms." (See "Gulf Oil Spill a 'Dead Zone in the Making'?")

Published May 14, 2010

Bagged Gulf Oil

Photograph by Carlos Barria, Reuters

A man holds up a plastic bag filled with oil and seawater from the Gulf of Mexico south of Freemason Island, one of Louisiana's Chandeleur Islands (map), on May 7.

As of May 13, oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at an estimated rate of 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons, or 795,000 liters) a day, though a new independent estimate suggests the rate is at least ten times greater than that.

The environmental effects of the oil "are real complicated, and the more oil that continues to be released, the more complicated it's going to be," Kendall said. "Dose makes the poison, and right now we've got a big dose of oil in the Gulf of Mexico."

Published May 14, 2010

Oily Hands

Photograph by Gerald Herbert, AP

Oil scooped from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico stains a reporter's hands on May 10.

The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1, presents a looming danger for the Gulf cleanup efforts, Kendall said. Strong storms would halt cleanup efforts and could scatter the oil slick to faraway places.

"To me, there's nowhere safe in the Gulf Coast right now," Kendall said. "Depending on what kinds of storms come in, this oil can go anywhere." (See "Hurricane Could Push Spilled Gulf Oil Into New Orleans.")

Published May 14, 2010

Oil-Drenched Bird

Photograph by Gerald Herbert, AP

An oil-soaked seabird struggles against the side of the HOS Iron Horse supply vessel as the ship sails near the site of the Gulf oil spill on May 9.

The U.S. Gulf Coast serves as a winter resting spot for many U.S. waterfowl and tropical migratory birds. What's more, the spill is happening during nesting season for numerous shorebird species.

"If oil gets on a bird's feathers, it reduces the insulation quality of the feathers and makes the bird susceptible to hypothermia," Kendall said. And if the bird ingests the oil, the results will be even worse, he said, as the toxic substance can affect the animal's liver, kidney, or gastrointestinal tract.

If a nesting bird that has been exposed to oil manages to get back to shore, the bird could get oil on its chicks and potentially kill them.

Published May 14, 2010

Beached Dolphin on Gulf Coast

Photograph by Mike Stewart, AP

A dead dolphin lies on the beach on Horn Island, Mississippi, on May 11. Officials say that at least six dead dolphins have been found along the Gulf of Mexico coast since May 2.

Authorities don't yet know whether the animals died due to the Gulf oil spill. But Kendall said oil is a likely culprit.

"I'm not surprised that we're seeing dead dolphins already," he said. "Dolphins have to surface to get air, and if they surface through oil and they're inhaling, they're going to suck the oil down their airways."

Published May 14, 2010