as of oceans lists one hundred eighty-six tanker accidents between the years 1970 - 1985. Each accident was given an estimated oil-spill of ten thousand barrels (1,130 tons) or more. Potentially more disastrous are the oilrig blowouts, since they are more difficult than the tanker accidents. For example, in January 1969 an underwater oil drill exploded in the Santa Barbara Channel off the California coast. For nearly two weeks crude oil was polluted into the channel at nearly twenty-one thousand gallons a day. To this day wildlife experts are calling this spill the worst to ever hit the California coast, affecting over thirty different beaches, and killing thousands of birds, seals, and dolphins as well as affecting hundreds of different species of fish.
             Oil breaks down into different compounds, depending on the molecular structure of the crude. It breaks down by the process of evaporation which leads to the process of dissolution, which in turn leads to emulsification and finally to biodegradation. Evaporation occurs after the first few hours after the oil has been introduced into the water. The best-known way to evaporate the crude is to set it on fire, but this can only be done within a few hours after the oil spill due to having sufficient amount of pure flammable oil to ignite. After the evaporation process the dissolution process begins. The density of the oil will determine just how long the oil will stay at the surface of the water, or how long it will take for the oil slick to break apart and dilute itself. If the oil is relatively light then the period of dilution shall be relatively shorter. Whereas if the oil is heavier in mass, the outcome is a highly persistent water-in-oil emulsion of semi-solid lumps known as chocolate mousse or more appropriately called tar balls. The latter is potentially more dangerous in a sense that the breakdown period, as
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