Arcitic tundra recovery from crude Oil after 24 years, Prudhoe Bay

摘要

When oil spills occur, usually much commotion ensues as agency and industry personnel converge to stop the flow, contain it, and recover and/ or remove the oil. If the spill is large, in prominent locations or special habitats, it usually receives proportionately greater attention from the public and media organizations. In time, these incidents lose their attraction and fade from headlines, until another occurs, and the process is repeated. Seldom are facts of long-term effects known, and as a consequence only the initial sensational aspects are reported, leaving the general public with the impression all spills are environmental disasters, with no hope for recovery. Nowhere is this incorrect impression more apt to persist than when crude oil is spilled on arctic tundra. Oil-blackened vegetation and terrain are the typical images associated with a tundra oil spill. The pervasiveness of that impression has a major influence as the public and agencies review environmental assessments for proposed production sites in Alaska.