SANTA BARBARA OIL POLLUTION, 1969

The initial flow of oil that began on January 28, 1969, from an offshore oil platform deposited an estimated 4,500 metric tons of pollutant oil on nearly 90 kilometers of coast by February 8, 1969. Winds, wave action, tides, and substrate determined the pattern of the oil distribution in the intertidal zone. Heavy biological damage occurred in intertidal surf grass and barnacle populations as a result of the oil pollution. Based on earlier surveys, the greatest negative biological change at a sample station was the loss of 16 plant species. However, these losses in species were attributable in most cases to sand movement and other storm -associated events. The potential long- term biological effects of the continuing pollution are discussed.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of California, La Jolla

  La Jolla, CA  United States  92037
• Publication Date: 1970-11

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental impacts; Oil spills
• Old TRIS Terms: Biological effects (Oil); Oil spill behavior
• Subject Areas: Environment; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00019658
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 1 1973 12:00AM