BassanioGratiano wrote:
Qoofi wrote:
Shortly after the Persian Gulf War, investigators reported that the area, which had been subjected to hundreds of smoky oil fires and deliberate oil spills when regular oil production slowed down during the war, displayed less oil contamination than they had witnessed in pre-war surveys of the same area. They also reported that the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) - used as a marked of combustion products spewed from oil wells ignited during the war-were also relatively low, comparable to those recorded in the temperature oil producing areas of the Baltic Sea.
Which one of the following, if true, does most to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?
A) Oil contaminants have greater environmental effects in temperate regions than in desert regions.
B) Oil contamination and PAH pollution dissipate more rapidly in temperate regions than in desert regions.
C) Oil contamination and PAH pollution dissipate more rapidly in desert regions than in temperate regions.
D) Peacetime oil production and transport in the Persian Gulf result in high levels of PAH's and massive oil dumping.
E) The Persian Gulf War ended before the oil fires and spills caused as much as originally expected.
I spent over 6 minutes trying to figure out what this problem was trying to say. I got it right but it was more from an educated guess. Does anyone have an explanation?
I believe the question asks for an explanation on why post-war surveys in the Gulf War resulted in less oil contamination than in pre-war surveys. We are looking for an explanation or fact that explains this unusual circumstance.
A, B, and C makes an out of scope comparison in detailing temperate/desert regions.
E to me seems nonsensical. We already know that "hundreds of smoky oil fires and deliberate oil spills " occurred, so there was damage.
The strongest answer is D, if there was more dumping and combustion of oil products before the war, than this explains why the post-war survey reflected less contamination.
kudos if this makes sense!