Microorganism

In the Mexican Bay in 2010 there blew up and sank a drilling tower, as a consequence of which there were sunk in the sea aprox. 5 million gallons (about 800 liters) of raw gasoline. But in the matter of a few months the pollution was gone. What is the explanation?

The scientific experiments revealed, that there exist sea bacteria which are capable to decompose the long coal chains inbuilt into the gasoline.

Terry Hazen, professor of microbiology called these organisms „oil finder rockets.” which helped clean the Mexican Bay.

According to the BBC it is not surprising that the sea gives shelter to oil eating microbes. After all, the oil is pouring into the sea for ages. It is true that humans also have effective means for making the oil spots disappear, but these efforts do more harm than good.

The chemicals that disperse oil actually are blocking the natural oil-decomposing processes. More than that, these chemicals are poisonous and leave lasting damages in the environment.

As opposed to these, the natural oil dispersing processes, such as the actions of oil eating microbes, make it possible for the sea to actually clean itself without harming the natural habitat.