On the Surface
Today I visited Gulf State Park Pier in Gulf Shores, Alabama. This site was heavily oiled a few weeks ago and I wanted to revisit it to see the status of this shoreline.
On first view, the beach appeared clean and the water clear. I wanted to investigate a little closer to see what I could tell using my five senses.
There are tar balls on the beach and in the surf zone. The sand is sticky where it was oiled.
Crustaceans I saw appeared lethargic. Tiny coquina shells, that usually burrow quickly into the tidal sand, only sat on the sand, half covered. They usually dig into the sand ferociously as the surf washes over them.
There were lots of tiny fish swimming near the shore and some larger fish being driven by predators close to shore.
On the surface, it looked good–much, much better than the last time I was here. Yet upon closer investigation there were things that were not great. Of course we’ll see tar balls for many years and they were abundant in the surf zone. The part of the beach that was inundated with oil and oily sludge a month ago still smelled of diesel fuel and there were millions and millions of tiny tar balls mixed in the sand. But right now I’m more interested in what is happening in the water.
Barnacles on the pilings of the pier appeared dead yet there were tiny fish, that make their home among the crustaceans, living there watching my video housing with interest. Crabs at the base of the pilings were definitely lethargic.
My intention is simply to record what I see and form an opinion using my senses and intuition. My conclusion today? The beach there is much better than the last time I saw it; however, the beach still contains obvious hydrocarbons and oil-related products that are invisible but evident due to their smell. The water had suspended particles of unknown origin and had small tar balls rolling in the surf. Some animals looked okay while others appeared dead (barnacles) or sluggish. Bottom line: It’s an unhealthy ecosystem trying to recover.
These are images from a month ago and today of Gulf State Park Pier and condos that border the park boundary.
