We are all aware of the devastating effects an oil spill can have on an ecosystem. Often we think of destroyed wildlife, both marine life and birds, but we never really stop to think of what happens to the land. This video shows another side effect of an oil spill, the complete dissolution of an island. That’s right, the 2010 Gulf Oil spill that we all heard so much about completely dissolved an ENTIRE island! It just disappeared! Cat Island, Louisiana is no more.
It was home to an important colony of indigenous birds. Watch as National Geographic films what happens to this island post-oil spill. Natalie Peyronnin, from the Environmental Defense Fund, explains “the oil comes down, it kills the mangroves, which then kills the root system. And the root is holding together this island, and without that root system holding together, the sediment it just erodes away.” A 5.5 acres island is gone completely thanks to the Deepwater Horizon spill.
For birds and marine life that rely on the island the effects are disastrous. Many species can no longer use this island for breeding, which has a lifetime effect on the ecosystem and our environment. As much as the immediate effects of an oil spill are terrible, these long term effects will last forever.