THE METULA OIL SPILL

In August 1974 the supertanker METULA ran aground in the Strait of Magellan and spilled over 50,000 tons of light Arabian crude oil. The spill was not contained and the oil was was carried over large segments of beaches and tidal marshes of Tierra del Fuego, and deep into the estuaries of the area. Findings of a team of scientists from the United States and Chile, who investigated the environmental damage in August 1974 and again in January 1975, and of others who discussed the spill at a workshop, are summarized. Included are the background of the accident, the physical environment, the reasons why cleanup measures were not attempted, and the most important follow-up research needs. The research results will be used to identify critical environmental information that can be transferred for use in planning and for predicting environmental impacts in other similar areas of the world.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Portion of report is bilingual (English and Spanish).
• Corporate Authors:

  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  Marine Ecosystems Analysis Program
  Boulder, CO  United States  80302
• Publication Date: 1976-9

Media Info

• Pagination: 342 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aquatic life; Beaches; Birds; Concentration (Chemistry); Continental shelf; Crude oil; Environmental impacts; Estuaries; Fatalities; Fisheries; Groundings (Maritime crashes); Hydrocarbons; Impacts; Maps; Marine biology; Marshes; Oil spills; Photographs; Tankers
• Uncontrolled Terms: Mortality
• Geographic Terms: Chile; Magellan Straits; Tierra del Fuego Archipelago
• Old TRIS Terms: Continental shelves; Oil spill impact; Photograhs; Tanker ships
• Subject Areas: Environment; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00166787
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NOAA-76112408
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 29 1978 12:00AM