Responding to Oil Spills in Coastal Marshes: The Fine Line between Help and Hindrance

摘要

Marsh environments are highly sensitive to oiling and thus receive high priority for protection during oil spills. When protection fails, and marshes are oiled, questions arise about the advantages and disadvantages of cleanup in these sensitive habitats. Follow-up studies from past spills have documented that inappropriate response activities can cause additional harm to oil-impacted marshes. Less clearly delineated are the conditions when cleanup is desirable in a marsh$ which methods should be employed and at what point intervention is no longer useful.