<p><em>by Hannah Hoag </em></p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><p> Oil spills haven't been in the news much lately, but that doesn't mean they are not happening. They're just occurring in quieter but possibly more insidious ways, says George Hunt, an ocean ecologist at the University of California at Irvine. According to a recent National Research Council study, which Hunt helped produce, 76 million gallons of petroleum foul the North American coast each year. More than half of that amount seeps naturally from Earth's crust. Transportation-related spills, including tanker accidents, account for less than 3 million gallons. The overwhelming majority of human-generated spills result from recreational boating and urban runoff (such as motor oil washed off pavement), which send 25 million gallons of oil into the environment each year. Because pleasure boats are used mostly near the shore during the spring and summer months, when marine creatures are growing and maturing, the damage they cause may be especially acute. "Like real estate, oil spills are about location, location, location, and timing," Hunt says. </p><figure class="fr-image-container fr-full"><img src="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/18994/rd_numbers.gif" title="rd_numbers.gif" loading="lazy" data-id="18994"><figcaption class="fr-figcaption"><p class="fr-caption"></p></figcaption></figure><p>Graphic by Matt Zang</p><div data-embedid="9d18565e-af4d-4ddd-bfc5-2dbf51c5675e" id="insticator-embed-temp"></div>

October 2002

The October 2002 issue of Discover Magazine

Why Are We Who We Are?

Oil spills on the North American coast result in 76 million gallons of oil each year, with recreational boating being a major contributor.

Environment

Discover Data: Sailing the Oily Seas

Article

News

Science

by Hannah Hoag Oil spills haven't been in the news much lately, but that doesn't mean they are not happening. They're just occurring in quieter but possibly more insidious ways, says George Hunt, an ocean ecologist at the University of California at Irvine. According to a recent National Research Council study, which Hunt helped produce, 76 million gallons of petroleum foul the North American coast each year. More than half of that amount seeps naturally from Earth's crust. Transportation-related spills, including tanker accidents, account for less than 3 million gallons. The overwhelming majority of human-generated spills result from recreational boating and urban runoff (such as motor oil washed off pavement), which send 25 million gallons of oil into the environment each year. Because pleasure boats are used mostly near the shore during the spring and summer months, when marine creatures are growing and maturing, the damage they cause may be especially acute. "Like real estate, oil spills are about location, location, location, and timing," Hunt says. Graphic by Matt Zang

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探索数据：航行于油腻的海洋

新闻简报

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我们为什么是我们？

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在洗碗机中清洗塑料容器会增加微塑料污染

低毒技术有望帮助回收风力涡轮机叶片

矿山中的金属污染物潜伏在落基山脉的雪中

污水污泥可转化为动物饲料或汽车燃料

海洋真菌可以吞食塑料污染，帮助清洁我们的海洋和海滩

古代铅中毒可能导致罗马帝国衰落

科学家们对太空中日益增多的垃圾发出警告

什么是烟雾，我们为改善空气质量做了些什么？

我们可以从太空看到空气质量的差异

水有哪三种类型？

犹他州曾是大盐湖的虚拟3D卫星飞行视图揭示了惊人的萎缩

洗衣机和烘干机正在污染空气

藻华可能曾威胁这些古老城市

是的，亮片对环境确实有害

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