Oil-eating Bacteria Are Cleaning Up Gulf | The Institute for Creation Research

Oil-eating Bacteria Are Cleaning Up Gulf

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has spawned concerns regarding the long-term negative impact on the area's ecology, and especially on local fisheries. These worries are based on the assumption that the oil would persist and, like an infamous pesticide from the 1950s, carry deadly effects up the food chain for many years. But a recent study showed that the oil is actually disappearing rather quickly.

The cause? Oil-eating bacteria, researchers found. They're important because "we'd have oceans covered with oil slicks if they weren't degrading,"1 according to Alan Mearns, a NOAA marine ecologist who commented for ScienceNOW. Forty to 50 million gallons a year naturally seep into the Gulf of Mexico, even before the Deep Horizon offshore rig disaster on April 20, 2010 added millions more, so these bacteria have been at work breaking down oil for a long time.

Microbiologists sampled a Gulf oil plume and found an increased concentration of oil-eating bacteria inside it.2 While the bacteria are capable of rapidly multiplying to quickly clean up even vast amounts of oil, their proliferation is limited by factors, such as oxygen and oil availability, at the microscopic level. But the team found that dispersants used during clean-up had broken up the oil and accelerated bacterial degradation. Also, oxygen levels inside the plume were sufficient for bacterial growth.

Study lead author Terry Hazen of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory told The Washington Post, "We've gone out to the sites, and we don't find any oil, but we do find the bacteria."3 The research results "demonstrate faster-than-expected hydrocarbon biodegradation rates at 5°C."2 For this reason, scientists are optimistic that "the oil will be gone much sooner than people thought before."1

But those people had not taken into account the presence, let alone the effectiveness, of oil-eating bacteria that were made for specific purposes--to fill the earth by pioneering into its varied and changing environments, and to maintain optimal living conditions on the planet. The bacteria were found to be fulfilling these functions rather well. The Washington Post stated that the bacteria "not only outcompeted fellow microbes, they each ramped up their own internal metabolic machinery to digest the oil as efficiently as possible."3

The Creator and Sustainer of all life deserves credit for providing these bacteria that clean ocean water, rapidly adapt to process new oil sources, moderate oil spills, and maintain just the right conditions for life.4

References

  1. Minogue, K. Bacteria Are Gobbling Gulf Oil. ScienceNOW. Posted on news.sciencemag.org August 24, 2010, accessed August 25, 2010.
  2. Hazen, T. C. et al. Deep-Sea Oil Plume Enriches Indigenous Oil-Degrading Bacteria. Science. Published online August 24, 2010.
  3. Brown, D. Study: Petroleum-eating microbes significantly reduced gulf oil plume. The Washington Post. Posted on washingtonpost.com August 24, 2010, accessed August 25, 2010.
  4. Thomas, B. Does Earth Balance Carbon Dioxide Levels Automatically? ICR News. Posted on icr.org January 12, 2009, accessed August 25, 2010.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on August 27, 2010.

The Latest
NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...

NEWS
Mary Parker, Creation Ministry Partner of Dr. Gary Parker, Is...
Mary Parker, the wife and co-laborer of Dr. Gary Parker, went home to be with her Lord on March 20, 2025. Dr. Parker was a popular and effective...

NEWS
Plants Rely on Quantum Mechanics
Scientists will probably never fully understand photosynthesis as additional research uncovers even more fascinating mysteries.1,2 ICR’s...

NEWS
Martian Polar Ice Cap ''Surprisingly Young''?
A team of German planetary scientists has concluded that a three-kilometer-thick northern polar ice cap on Mars has a “surprisingly young”...

NEWS
''Blood Worm Moon'' Total Lunar Eclipse 2025
Barring cloud cover, about 75% of the country saw the total lunar eclipse, aka the “Blood Worm Moon.” Texas had good weather conditions...