Describe what happened to the oil that polluted the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling platform in 2010?
What will be an ideal response?
Nearly 795 million liters (210 million gallons) of oil contaminated the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists estimate that BP removed about a quarter of the oil, most of it recovered directly from the well, burned at sea, or skimmed by boats. Another quarter of the oil evaporated or dissolved into scattered molecules. And a third quarter was either naturally dispersed in the water as small droplets or chemically dispersed. But the last quarter hasn't been fully accounted for; this oil is called residual oil. Some scientists suggest that the majority of it formed slicks or sheens on the water, washed onto local beaches and marshes, and accumulated as tar balls on the sea floor. other scientists suggest that some oil never made it to the surface; instead, the oil formed diffuse plumes more than 1000 meters (3300 feet) below the surface and likely dispersed into the ocean, was biodegraded by microbes, or sunk to the sea floor as tar mats. Even years later, it's still not clear what happened to the missing oil.
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What are some possible influences of ocean currents on glaciation?
A) Cold currents can cool the land, allowing glaciers to form if there is sufficient precipitation. B) Cold currents can inhibit the growth of glaciers because they put less moisture into the atmosphere. C) Warm currents can warm parts of continents, inhibiting glaciation. D) Warm currents bring warm moist air that can increase precipitation and snowfall if the temperature is cold enough. E) All of these are correct.
____________ measures the speed at which precipitation is moving toward or away from an
observer. a. A radiosonde b. An anemometer c. A psychrometer d. Doppler radar
Afghanistan has more arable (farm) land than any other country in the world
Indicate whether the statement is true or false
A rock outcrop exposes a layer of obsidian overlain by volcanic ash and a layer with fragments of lapilli. What rock composition and eruptive type fits this description?
A) andesite and basalt erupted from a stratovolcano B) basalt erupted from a cinder cone C) basalt flows and interbedded andesite deposited on a shield volcano D) rhyolite erupted in violent pyroclastic eruptions