Canada would need to leave 75 per cent of its oil in the ground as part of a global effort to cap global warming at two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a new study shows. The authors also conclude that the exploitation of resources in the Arctic should be ruled out. Using computer models, the authors found that […]
Tag: oil
Deepwater Horizon: soiled ocean floor
After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident, the fate of around two million barrels of oil out of the five million barrels released in the Gulf of Mexico was uncertain. R esearchers now estimate that much of these two million barrels has settled on the ocean floor around the well at a depth of 1.5 km. They looked […]
Scientists propose ‘roadmap’ to determine the impact of fracking
An international review highlights the knowledge gaps related to the ecological consequences of shale gas development, and sets priorities for future research. The authors point out that shale-drilling operations have increased by more than 700 per cent in the United States since 2007 and that it has occurred mostly in areas of biological diversity, yet […]
The Deepwater Horizon spill and fish heart defects
A new study shows that fish embryos developed heart defects when exposed to crude oil levels similar to that found in oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The study looked at bluefin and yellowfin tuna as well as amberjack, species that are highly valued in commercial fisheries. Stock of Bluefin tuna that spawns in the […]
Western oil buried under eastern sand
Researchers showed that most of the actual sand at the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta is originally from the east. By analysing trace amounts of uranium and lead in individual sand grains called zircons, researchers showed that most of the sediment was originally eroded from faraway places, such as the Appalachian mountains. This improved understanding […]
