Alaska Beat always figured that the oil leftover from the Exxon Valdez spill would just disappear from the beaches as soon as the company paid all of its penalties, but according to a new study, scientists have determined that the physical conditions of the beaches are to blame for the oil's persistence. According to the Anchorage Daily News, scientists have wondered for the last ten years why the oil wasn't being broken down by microorganisms and wave action as quickly as anticipated. The study, published Sunday (1/17), concludes that a compact layer of soil is inhibiting the natural processes that would have degraded the remainder of the spill, instead trapping and preserving it. An estimated 21,000 gallons of oil remains beneath the surface of Prince William Sound beaches. Read more from the ADN here. For more, check out the study's press release on ScienceDaily.com, here, the journal article's abstract at Nature, here, and Nature's news article, here. You can even read the unvarnished field notes from the research team, here, via Marine Science Today (link goes to the most recent entry).
Spilled oil's persistence explained
