The initial effects of the Santa Barbara oil spill on intertidal and kelp bed organisms were studied. Based on earlier surveys, the greatest negative biological change at a sample station after the spill was the loss of 16 plant species. However, losses in species were correlated in most cases with sand movement, and may have been related to the severe storms which occurred before and during the oil spill. Although gross species changes were not correlated with oil dosage, severe damage occurred in intertidal surf grass and barnacle populations as a result of the oil pollution. Potential long-term biological effects of the continuing pollution are discussed., , ,
The quantity of oil which came ashore during the early stages of the Santa Barbara oil spill has been estimated from intertidal oil samples and aeirial photographs. These methods indicate that 4500 metric tons of crude oil were deposited on nearly 90 km of coast by 8 February 1969, 11 days after the spill began. Dosages in the intertidal zone varied from 2·7 to 118·1 metric tons/km. These dosage estimates suggest that the flow rate at the well was around 5000 barrels (726 metric tons)/day during the early stages of the spill. A large quantity of oil was held for varying periods of time in the surface canopies of offshore kelp beds. The interaction of wind, wave action, tides, and substrate determined the pattern of oil distribution within the intertidal zone., , ,
