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Biologists Eyeing Extent of Damage After California Oil Spill

1 minute read

Two days after a ruptured oil pipeline spewed crude into the waters off of California — tainting 9 miles of ocean teeming with coastal creatures — environmentalists are scrambling to assess how mucked up the ecosystem is.

This much is clear: It could be weeks before the beach near Santa Barbara is cleaned up, and even years before the damage to the water and wildlife is realized, scientists say.

But there is some relief that this spill, at 105,000 gallons, is on a smaller scale when compared to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the previous 1969 spill off Santa Barbara

Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News

See a Massive Oil Slick in the Pacific Ocean After Spill

California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
An oil slick is seen along the coast of Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015.Lucy Nicholson—Reuters
California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
An oil slick washes up on a beach along the coast of Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015.Lucy Nicholson—Reuters
California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
Workers clean up an oil leak that caused a slick in the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015. Lucy Nicholson—Reuters
California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
A man watches an oil slick wash up on a beach along the coast of Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015. Lucy Nicholson—Reuters
California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
Oil covers a local resident's boot at Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015. Robyn Beck—AFP/Getty Images
California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
Spilled oil covers the coast at Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015.David McNew—Getty Images
California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
An oil slick is seen along the coast of Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015. Lucy Nicholson—Reuters
California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
An oil slick is seen along the coast of Refugio State Beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015. Lucy Nicholson—Reuters
California Oil Spill Refugio State Beach Goleta
Officials walk along an the oil-covered beach in Goleta, Calif. on May 19, 2015.David McNew—Getty Images

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