Oil from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill didn’t affect only the animals that live in the water. As the oil drifted toward land, it moved into the coastal marshes. These areas are challenging to clean–crews can’t burn off the oil the way they can when the oil is on the open water’s surface. Oil in the marshes poses danger to many small creatures that live in marshes that could be harmed by oil seeping in. Even in places where oil is no longer visible in the marshes, the effects can be found. In marsh areas affected by smaller oil spills in years past, researchers have found oil many feet deep in the soil.

See pictures of oil in coastal marshes and learn more on National Geographic News.

Photograph by Hans Deryk, Reuters

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