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90% of the world’s oil spills are caused by humans, not nature

Published September 30, 2022
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A team of Chinese and U.S. scientists developed the first global map of chronic oil slicks in the ocean and found that more than 90% of them come from human sources—from sources such as ships, pipelines, and platforms. The number was much higher than they expected,

A team of researchers used artificial intelligence to examine more than 560,000 satellite radar images collected between 2014 and 2019, pinpointing each small slick of oil floating on the ocean surface, assessing its location, size, and potential source.

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90% of the world’s oil spills are caused by humans, not nature