I remember when it happened.

It was the year I turned 21. Having spent my childhood in Baldwin County, I'd grown accustomed to the gentle embrace of the nearby beach, the allure of hermit crabs, the mesmerizing dance of minnows, the treasure trove of shells, the pure white sands and healing waves.

Yet, growing up just a stone's throw away from the beach afforded me the freedom to opt out of visiting during tourist season, which anyone who has lived in Baldwin County will tell you, summer tourist season begins when Baldwin County seniors graduate if not before. Having the luxury of being so near the beach all my life meant I never felt like I was missing out on anything during those peak times.

But 2010 was different. A group of friends and I made a deliberate pilgrimage to the coast despite the tourist season having started, sensing it might be our last chance to experience the beach in its unspoiled glory.

As we stood at the water's edge, the warm embrace of the sun on our backs and the gentle lull of the waves at our feet, an unsettling scent wafted on the breeze — oil, an olfactory omen of the impending changes looming over our beloved shoreline.

Reflecting on that moment more than a decade later, the gravity of the experience still weighs heavily on my mind. The legacy of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues to cast a shadow over our beaches, waters and delicate ecosystems, especially in light of recent groundbreaking research conducted by the New England Aquarium regarding the hormonal impacts on sea turtles affected by the 2010 catastrophe.

The Deepwater Horizon incident, infamous as the largest marine oil spill in history, has had profound consequences for marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico. According to official reports, the volume of oil discharged from the damaged well, initially estimated at about 1,000 barrels per day by BP, was believed by U.S. government officials to have peaked at over 60,000 barrels per day.

Published in the journal Endangered Species Research, the study delves into the repercussions of the spill on marine life, notably the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles, according to a news release.

The study reveals the oil spill exposed hundreds of thousands of sea turtles to oil, resulting in the tragic loss of an estimated 86,500 juvenile Kemp’s ridley turtles. Responding to the catastrophe, 319 live sea turtles were rescued from the ocean and transported to rehabilitation facilities for medical evaluation and treatment. Blood samples were meticulously collected from each turtle to gauge their health, with a portion frozen and preserved for future scientific inquiries.

Over the past three years, scientists at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium have developed a pioneering test to analyze sea turtle blood for the hormone aldosterone. This, combined with existing tests, allowed researchers to assess the hormonal profiles of the affected turtles.

The findings revealed abnormally elevated levels of aldosterone, corticosterone and thyroid hormone in Kemp’s ridley sea turtles upon admission for treatment. These hormones, originating from the adrenal gland, can significantly impact metabolic processes and electrolyte balance.

“As we develop more and more tools to study the health status of endangered sea turtles, we learn more about the impact of various threats and how to better treat the affected animals. We can now use this test to study sea turtle health in other situations,” said Charles Innis, a senior scientist and veterinarian at the Aquarium, who spearheaded the study.

Innis contributed to the veterinary efforts during the 2010 oil spill, tending to distressed sea turtles at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans.

In the aftermath, the turtles’ hormone levels returned to normal over the course of one to two months with treatment according to the release. The release also stated that 99% of the treated turtles were released back into the ocean post-rehabilitation.

The study highlights the necessity of preserving samples for future research, given that the hormone tests were not initially validated for sea turtles during the oil spill.

“This study would not have been possible if the team did not have the foresight in 2010 to archive these samples,” Innis said in the release.

The findings of the study complement prior research from 2012, which highlighted physiological impacts on sea turtles exposed to oil.

Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, facing a myriad of threats including fisheries interactions, climate change and habitat degradation, are classified as critically endangered. The New England Aquarium's leading sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation program play a pivotal role in conserving this species.

Funded by the Morris Animal Foundation, the study emphasizes ongoing efforts to comprehend and mitigate the impacts of environmental disasters on marine life, particularly endangered species like the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.