Significant decrease in the amount of tar stranding on Bermuda

<em>Sargassum</em> Watch Warns of Incoming Seaweed

“…However stricter regulations on discharging oil have been successful in reducing oil and tar pollution, with the frequency of tar balls in the Sargasso Sea decreasing to nearly zero from the mid-1990s onwards ( FiguRe 25) (Siuda 2011, unpublished), illustrating that appropriate regulation does have a positive environmental impact. A measurable decline in tar stranding on Bermuda's beaches was reported in this time period by Smith and Knap (1985) and Butler, Wells, Johnson and Manock (1998).…”

Marine Tar Residues: a Review

“…Another observation that can be made from the survey studies is that the majority of the quantitative tar residue surveys were carried out in the 1980s, perhaps reflecting an increased focus on the petroleum industry and its environmental effects at that time in light of the prevalence of major oil spills that occurred over the previous decade. Tar balls in particular were more ubiquitous in the 1970s when fewer regulations were in effect to mitigate the release of petroleum into the marine environment due to transport by tankers and have been noted to have declined over the past two decades, most likely as the result of greater oversight on petroleum operations provided by conventions such as MARPOL (Smith and Knap 1985 ; Peters and Siuda 2014 ). Less interest is reflected in the literature in the 1990s and early 2000s, but recent years have seen a resurgence in tar residue related studies, likely spurred by the DWH blowout in 2010.…”

“…Temporal sampling resolution is important in marine tar residue studies because ocean dynamics play an important role in the transport of both pelagic and benthic tar residues. For beached tar balls, local wind patterns and storm activity can “clean” or “dirty” a beach in a short amount of time (Gundlach et al 1981 ; Smith and Knap 1985 ; Tsouk et al 1985 ). Similarly, the temporal distribution of pelagic tar balls may change as a result of hydrodynamic factors and water temperatures, which can cause floating tar balls to sink or resurface (Golik 1982 ; Balkas et al 1982 ).…”