After an oil spill occurs it can take anywhere from months to years for the area to recover. There are multiple factors that decide how long it takes, such as how much oil was spilled, if it was thick or light oil, the weather.
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The Aftermath
Most areas take multiple years for ecosystems to heal. This is because much of the life has died off. Oil suffocates many of the plants that grow in the ocean so it can take them up to many years to regenerate to where they were before.
Oil spills can destroy entire ecosystems which will never return to the ocean. Fragile eco systems by just one animal being affected which then triggers a chain reaction killing of the rest of the organisms that depend on each other,In their symbiotic relationships.