How did the oil spill affect the Galapagos Islands?

By: Michelle Langan and Katie Libengood

 

Timeline

 

5 million years ago Galapagos islands rose out of the sea.

 

   1535

Spanish first officially discovered the islands.

 

1832

Ecuador annexed and settled them.

 

1835

Darwin came to the islands and studied evolutionary theory.

 

1959

All uncolonized areas were declared a national park.

 

            1991

There was a discovery of drowned older islands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the Galapagos?

The Galapagos Islands are a chain of islands 965km off the coast of South America. These islands are a main group of 13 larger volcanic islands, and 6 smaller volcanic islands, 19 in all. They have a total area of 7845 km, a cool dry climate, and the coasts are desolate. Further inland the mountains are covered in a thick rain forest. These islands are most commonly known for they’re unique animal species of tortoise, cormorant, and the marine iguana (the only iguana that is known to be able to swim).  The climates range in such wide variety from  deserts to rain forests. 

 

What caused the oil spill and how could it have been prevented?

The oil spill occurred on January 16, 2001 when tanker Jessica “ran aground” on San Cristobal Island. At first no oil was spilled but when they started to pull the tanker away, the hull scraped an the jagged rocks allowing the ship to sink 25 degrees, also letting oil leak out. By January 20^th almost 2000 gallons of oil had seeped into the sea (25% of the oil on board the ship. The officals believe that the oil could have been contained or prevented if the fisherman had taken more care in hauling the boat away from the island.  If the ship had been tilted it might of not let the oil flow from “jessica”. 

 

How did it affect the marine life? 

When the oil spill occurred most of the oil went onto the water and slowly started to sink into the sea. With the use of special padding a lot of the oil was sucked up. But still some of the oil that was spilled, sank down and killed a few fish, But we wont really know the affect it will have on the marine life for about 50 years however using satelight vision scientists can predict what kind of affect it will have on the islands and they can improve upon it for better or worse!

 

How did it affect the land animals?

Most of the spectacular coastal wildlife of Galapagos seems to have escaped major damage. But the total cost of mitigation and clean-up operations, plus the evaluation, monitoring and planning, will run into millions of dollars.  And as with the marine animals it will be years before you can fully asses the damage.  (for extra info go to: Charles Darwin Foundation Web Site.)