Scientists Find That Tons Of Oil Seep Into The Gulf Of Mexico Each Year

Science Daily ^ | January 27th, 2000

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

Twice an Exxon Valdez spill worth of oil seeps into the Gulf of Mexico every year, according to a new study that will be presented January 27 at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

But the oil isn't destroying habitats or wiping out ocean life. The ooze is a natural phenomena that's been going on for many thousands of years, according to Roger Mitchell, Vice President of Program Development at the Earth Satellite Corporation (EarthSat) in Rockville Md. "The wildlife have adapted and evolved and have no problem dealing with the oil," he said.

Oil that finds its way to the surface from natural seeps gets broken down by bacteria and ends up as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. So knowing the amount of fossil fuel that turns to carbon dioxide naturally is important for understanding how much humans may be changing the climate by burning oil and gas.

Using a technique they developed in the early 1990s to help explore for oil in the deep ocean, Earth Satellite Corporation scientists found that there are over 600 different areas where oil oozes from rocks underlying the Gulf of Mexico. The oil bubbles up from a cracks in ocean bottom sediments and spreads out with the wind to an to an area covering about 4 square miles.

"On water, oil has this wonderful property of spreading out really thin," said Mitchell. "A gallon of oil can spread over a square mile very quickly." So what ends up on the surface is an incredibly thin slick, impossible to see with the human eye and harmless to marine animals.

When oil spreads out over water, surface tension causes it to act like a super-thin sheet of Saran Wrap, flattening down small waves on the ocean surface.

[crusty old prospector]

Here is a wikipedia blurb. Most oil source rocks are Type II kerogen and gas source rocks are Type III. Type I are pretty rare as they are formed in freshwater lakes, which have sourced much of the oil in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerogen

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

thanks

[crusty old prospector]

By the way, oil seeps are a pretty good indicator that there is an accumulation down below as the oil is probably coming up a fault. Many of the earliest oil fields in the world were found beneath seeps. If you know where one is today, it might be a good idea to go get a lease.

[SierraWasp]

Is your tagline in a coma, or comma???

[BOBTHENAILER]

Been meaning to change it and I only noticed it yesterday. Sheesh,

[SierraWasp]

Unless what???

[GraceG]

Gaia is so distressed over oil spills that she is polluting herself with oil.....

That will be the latest line spewed from the eco-tards.

[BOBTHENAILER]

A question everyone must ask themselves more and more every day.

Unless we suck it up and do something about it.

[SierraWasp]

Well... ya know what Mao said about where real power comes from, right??? (he was dead right)

[BOBTHENAILER]

YEP

[airborne]

Well DUH!

That’s been common knowledge for years! Ask any oil man.