After speaking with some of the locals I soon realized that oil spills in the Caspian were more common than most people know. It is estimated that the Caspian Sea holds 48 billion barrels of oil, which in today's world is very useful. This leads to each of its five bordering countries to try to obtain its oil, which occasionally leads to an oil spill.
Oil spills are very bad, but many people imagine oil spills to be way worse than they actually are. "Light" oils such as diesel fuel and gasoline are evaporated in days. The trouble with "light" oils are that they are easily ignited and they are hazardous and tend to kill the animals they touch. "Heavy" oils such as bunker oils are a problem because of their stickiness. They tend to stick to animals with fur causing them to lose the ability to keep themselves warm leading them to die of hypothermia. These oils are typically less toxic, but they also take a lot longer to weather away.
When a "light" oil spill occurs few to many animals and fish may die depending on how many come into contact with it. This tends to be fewer animals because how fast the oil evaporates. After a "heavy" oil spill few fish are harmed, but there is a large effect over time on the number of seabirds and the Caspian seals.
Animals and plants that are deeper in water, typically the marine life in the south, are better adapted to survive oil spills. This is because the simple fact that most oils float. This means that animals that come in contact with the top layer of the water will typically be the only ones effected. There are also large numbers of deaths in animals due to the cleanup operations that take place after an oil spill. This is a factor that will gradually decrease as time goes on and cleanup procedures improve.
Overall, there will be no major or permanent changes to the biome.
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