Massive Russian spill threatens Arctic.In late August, an 18-year-old pipeline just south of the Arctic Circle Arctic Circle, imaginary circle on the surface of the earth at 66 1-2°N latitude, i.e., 23 1-2° south of the North Pole. It marks the northernmost point at which the sun can be seen at the winter solstice (about Dec. spewed crude oil onto fragile Russian tundra near the town of Usinsk. Komineft, the Russian oil company that owns the pipeline, erected earthen earth·en adj. 1. Made of earth or clay: an earthen fortification; an earthen pot. 2. Earthly; worldly. dams to contain the growing lakes of oil as crews worked to patch the latest in this pipeline's long history of leaks. But around Oct. 1, heavy rains caused some of the oil-holding dikes to collapse, Komineft acknowledged last week. The body of crude released -- variously described as anywhere from one-half to eight times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez This article is about the tank vessel Exxon Valdez. For the spill, see Exxon Valdez oil spill. Exxon Valdez was the original name (later Sea River Mediterranean and eventually Mediterranean spill -- fouled miles of local rivers and streams. Cold weather has slowed the spilled oil's flow rate, and cleanup technologies have removed much of the crude. But Russian officials warn that once the area thaws next spring, the remaining oil may continue wending its way north toward the Barents Sea Barents Sea, arm of the Arctic Ocean, N of Norway and European Russia, partially enclosed by Franz Josef Land on the north, Novaya Zemlya on the east, and Svalbard on the west. and Arctic Ocean. |
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