Over the entire period of its existence, man has repeatedly had a negative impact on the environment. With the development of modern technology, environmental disasters began to take on a larger scale. A vivid confirmation of this is the Gulf of Mexico. The catastrophe that happened there in the spring of 2010 caused irreparable damage to nature. As a result, water was polluted, which led to the death of a huge number of marine inhabitants and a reduction in their population.
The cause of the disaster was the accident at the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, which occurred due to the lack of professionalism of the workers and the negligence of the owners of the oil and gas company. Due to improper actions, an explosion and fire occurred, resulting in the death of 13 people who were on the platform and took part in the aftermath of the accident. For 35 hours, firefighters extinguished the fire, but it was possible to completely block the oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico only after five months.
According to some experts, over 152 days, during which oil was spilled from the well, about 5 million barrels of fuel fell into the water. During this time, an area of 75, 000 square kilometers was contaminated. The aftermath of the accident involved American troops and volunteers from all over the world who came to the Gulf of Mexico. Oil was collected both manually and by special vessels. Together, they managed to get about 810 thousand barrels of fuel out of the water.
The most difficult thing was to stop the oil leak, the plugs installed did not help. Cement was poured into the wells, drilling fluid was pumped, but complete sealing was only achieved on September 19, while the accident occurred on April 20. The Gulf of Mexico during this period has turned into the most polluted place on the planet. About 6 thousand birds, 600 sea turtles, 100 dolphins, many other mammals and fish were found dead.
Colossal damage was done to coral reefs that cannot develop in polluted water. Bottlenose dolphin mortality increased almost 50 times, and this is far from all the consequences of the accident on the oil platform. Fisheries also suffered significant damage, as the Gulf of Mexico was one-third closed to fishing. Oil even reached the waters of coastal reserves, which were very important for migratory birds and other animals.
Three years have passed since the disaster, the Gulf of Mexico is slowly recovering from the damage. American oceanologists closely monitor the behavior of marine life, as well as corals. The latter began to multiply and grow in their usual rhythm, which indicates the purification of water. But there was a recorded increase in water temperature in this place, which could adversely affect many marine inhabitants.
Some researchers have suggested that the effects of the disaster will affect the Gulf Stream, which affects the climate. Indeed, the last winters in Europe are especially frosty, and the water in the course itself has decreased by 10 degrees. But scientists have not yet been able to prove that the weather anomalies are associated precisely with the oil accident.
