Posted on 05/14/2010 3:46:57 AM PDT by valkyry1
Marine scientists were carefully viewing footage of oil and gas billowing out of a ruptured well on the ocean floor today, to try to deliver the first reliable estimates of the crude gushing into the Gulf of Mexico – it could be as much as 70,000 barrels a day.
snip
Independent marine researchers have suggested the spill could be much larger.
snip
Its analysis was conducted by Steve Werely, an associate professor at Purdue University, using a technique called particle image velocimetry, a method was accurate to 20%. That puts the range of the oil spill from 56,000 to 84,000 barrels a day.
Werely told The Guardian he based his estimate on techniques which track the speed of objects travelling in the flow stream.
"You can see in the video lots of swirls and vortices pumping out of the end of the pipe, and I used a computer code to track those swirls and come up with the speed at which the oils is shooting out of the pipe," he said. "From there it is a very simple calculation to figure out what is the volume flow." snip
Eugene Chiang, an associate professor at the University of California Berkeley who teaches a course on measurement, said he had been copied on an email which set it as a science challenge for academics.
"It was just like estimating the number of jelly beans in a can, it had that kind of a feeling – but of course with much more serious consequences," he told the Guardian.
Chiang said he used relatively "back of the envelope" calculations to put an estimated rate for the spill at 20,000 to 100,000 barrels a day.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
I doubt the containment box solution is going to get a handle on this one.
That looks like one of the smaller nukes, go larger!
A not so subtle way to excuse the mess-i-ah for not bothering to act on the spill?
I did not see that part. No doubt he gets a pass on that like he does for everything else. If this was under Bush I cant imagine the reaction.
Last night was our Rep. debate for FL D-20 (DWS) and Robert Lowry asked how the timing for this was so perfect for those against drilling.
We have 3 good choices. But I like Lowry best. Turnout was SRO.
lowryforcongress.com
WE MUST DEFEAT DWS!!!!!
I see this as an attempt to say that no one realized how serious this could be. The loss of eleven lives has been totally ignored. The fact that we, the US, seems to be doing nothing more than watching is very suspicious.
I for one have never ignored the eleven lives.
As long as that thing is spewing oil at that rate out of control in the deep Gulf it does elicit some measure fear for me I must admit.
That would be the worst thing to happen, paralyze BP right now. yeh thrat’s the ticket.
It’s a great example of how liberals have no clue about running a business.
There was another thread over there this morning about a guy who was boasting about getting a job. He was hired by an evil Republican. LOL!
Essentially they are tossing spaghetti at the wall and hope that it sticks while they drill the relief well.
In the meantime this thing is pumping (most likely) about 50,000 barrels of oil and gas a day into the Gulf (and other components such as benzene and toluene)
I am not crying wolf here folks, this is a huge catastrophe for the Gulf of Mexico, and there is no end in sight for now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.