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Plumes of Gulf Oil Spreading East on Sea Floor
CNN ^ | August 17, 2010 | Staff

Posted on 08/17/2010 2:35:04 AM PDT by lbryce

A new report set to be released Tuesday renews concerns about the long-term environmental impact of the Gulf Coast oil disaster, and efforts to permanently plug the ruptured BP oil well have been delayed again.

Researchers at the University of South Florida have concluded that oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill may have settled to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico further east than previously suspected -- and at levels toxic to marine life.

Initial findings from a new survey of the Gulf conclude that dispersants may have sent droplets of crude to the ocean floor, where it has turned up at the bottom of an undersea canyon within 40 miles of the Florida Panhandle. The results are scheduled to be released Tuesday, but CNN obtained a summary of the initial conclusions Monday night.

Plankton and other organisms at the base of the food chain showed a "strong toxic response" to the crude, and the oil could well up onto the continental shelf and resurface later, according to researchers.

"The dispersant is moving the oil down out of the surface and into the deeper waters, where it can affect phytoplankton and other marine life," said John Paul, a marine microbiologist at USF.

The spill erupted April 20 with an explosion that sank the offshore drilling platform Deepwater Horizon. The blast killed 11 men and uncapped an undersea gusher that spewed an estimated 205 million gallons of oil into the Gulf before it was temporarily shut on July 15.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal government's point man in the Gulf, said Monday that attempts to permanently seal the well won't start until the latest potential problem is evaluated.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bp; libmyths; oil; oildisaster; oilspill
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To: lbryce
Initial findings from a new survey of the Gulf conclude that dispersants may have sent droplets of crude to the ocean floor, where it has turned up at the bottom of an undersea canyon within 40 miles of the Florida Panhandle. The results are scheduled to be released Tuesday, but CNN obtained a summary of the initial conclusions Monday night.

...

Plankton and other organisms at the base of the food chain showed a "strong toxic response" to the crude, and the oil could well up onto the continental shelf and resurface later, according to researchers.

41 posted on 08/17/2010 7:35:43 AM PDT by Moonman62 (Politicians exist to break windows so they may spend other people's money to fix them.)
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To: deport
"What’s the half life of these dispersants that were used?

Depending on which constitituents in the dispersants, 10-20 days.

"What happens to the crude when they become ineffective?"

By that time, the surfaces of the microscopic oil droplets have been colonized by bacteria which are eating the oil. The bacterial coating acts as a surfactant layer, so the oil stays "in solution", same as with the dispersant.

As the bacterial continue to eat the oil, the oil droplets shrink until the remaining oil is no longer providing sustenance. All that is left is the really high molecular weight stuff (same as is in tar balls), which is much less toxic.

Basically, the end result is a bunch of non-toxic microscopic tar balls that sink to the bottom of the GOM and stay there. By that time, the material is harmless to marine life.

42 posted on 08/17/2010 7:36:53 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog
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To: KDD
...into the deeper waters, where it can affect phytoplankton

This doesn't seem to make sense. Phytoplankton get their energy from photosynthesis. Deep water doesn't have any light, so how does it hurt the phytoplankton there?

43 posted on 08/17/2010 8:02:20 AM PDT by glorgau
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To: Moonman62; Carry_Okie; lbryce; Wonder Warthog; blam; SunkenCiv; Marine_Uncle; NormsRevenge; ...
How much phytoplankton is found in deeper waters?
Phytoplankton depend on sunlight.

The Scientists seemed to have not realized that....makes me wonder about their real scientific knowledge..

Wonder if they have an opinion on Global Warming?

44 posted on 08/17/2010 8:11:37 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: glorgau; lbryce; blam; Carry_Okie; deport; Eric in the Ozarks; norwaypinesavage; Wonder Warthog
And there is this statement....:

and the oil could well up onto the continental shelf and resurface later, according to researchers.

Is there some magic way that the heavy components of the crude ,...which separated from the lighter components and sank,...can then reach up and reunite with the lighter components and rise from the depths of the canyon and bring the phytoplankton with them...

************************************

This is CNN Garbage,....trying to find a way to get viewers eyeballs....

Was Blitzer involved with this one?

45 posted on 08/17/2010 8:22:57 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: packrat35

CNN trying to find an audience....see above comments...


46 posted on 08/17/2010 8:25:14 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Phytoplankton depend on sunlight.

Not all algal species require sunlight. I have some 450 feet down my well.

47 posted on 08/17/2010 8:31:01 AM PDT by Carry_Okie (Government is an apex predator.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
s there some magic way that the heavy components of the crude ,...which separated from the lighter components and sank,...can then reach up and reunite with the lighter components and rise from the depths of the canyon and bring the phytoplankton with them...

Yes, it's called "upwelling." Sometimes it is driven by the seasonal breakdown of the pycnocline, particularly in the winter. Other mechanisms include cyclical thermal inversions. It gets complicated.

As you know, I'm just as liable to deem an academic to be whoring as anybody. It's just that what he's saying is not to be totally discounted from the realm of possibility.

48 posted on 08/17/2010 8:40:43 AM PDT by Carry_Okie (Government is an apex predator.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

The terms ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ deal with the viscosity of the oil, not the density. Both ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ crude have a density about 90% of water, so they both will float.


49 posted on 08/17/2010 8:43:22 AM PDT by norwaypinesavage (Galileo: In science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of one individual)
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To: Carry_Okie
From the Wikipedia:

Phytoplankton obtain energy through the process of photosynthesis and must therefore live in the well-lit surface layer (termed the euphotic zone) of an ocean, sea, lake, or other body of water. Phytoplankton account for half of all photosynthetic activity on Earth.

Phytoplankton are the foundation of the oceanic food chain.

And the article did use the word Phytoplankton

So I am keying on that word...and that is the major food source for the marine life.

50 posted on 08/17/2010 8:44:49 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: norwaypinesavage
so they both will float.

So where did the crude go to?

51 posted on 08/17/2010 8:50:34 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Carry_Okie; lbryce
Well,...I would doubt the CNN reporters & editors were interested in anything other than getting an eyeball attracting Headline and a little text as they include the rather dull announcements that Thad Allen was giving on the next plans for capping the well.

My aim is to do what I can to stomp on these DoomsDay stories that the Media....particularly CNN and MSNBC.... keep pumping out there to help with their own problems....

52 posted on 08/17/2010 8:56:35 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Benthic phytoplankton start at the surface and sink.


53 posted on 08/17/2010 8:56:52 AM PDT by Carry_Okie (Government is an apex predator.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Plumes? I blame...ma tante.


54 posted on 08/17/2010 8:59:08 AM PDT by decimon
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
My aim is to do what I can to stomp on these DoomsDay stories that the Media....particularly CNN and MSNBC.... keep pumping out there to help with their own problems....

I know. As you know, I too have my little problems with green racketeering. All I'm telling you is that the story is not completely impossible.

55 posted on 08/17/2010 8:59:24 AM PDT by Carry_Okie (Government is an apex predator.)
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To: Carry_Okie

So they fall to their death?


56 posted on 08/17/2010 9:08:52 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: norwaypinesavage
Heavy crudes are low API gravity. They weigh more in pounds per gallon than light crudes. Viscosity can be thick or thin.
57 posted on 08/17/2010 9:15:19 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (Impeachment !)
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To: Carry_Okie
Found this:

Phytoplankton and Benthic Algae

So is it Benthic Algae you are referring to?

Found this from researchers at South Florida:

The Role of Phytoplankton in Benthic-Pelagic Coupling

The quote from the CNN article that started this thread:

"The dispersant is moving the oil down out of the surface and into the deeper waters, where it can affect phytoplankton and other marine life," said John Paul, a marine microbiologist at USF.

58 posted on 08/17/2010 9:24:59 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Carry_Okie
Also in the article we have:

The University of Georgia study "strongly contradicts" reports that only 25 percent of the oil spilled from the well remains in the Gulf.

"One major misconception is that oil that has dissolved into water is gone and, therefore, harmless," said Charles Hopkinson, the director of Georgia Sea Grant and a professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia. "The oil is still out there, and it will likely take years to completely degrade."

59 posted on 08/17/2010 9:28:56 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

Can we express these values in good old specific gravity?


60 posted on 08/17/2010 9:39:23 AM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate: Republicans freed the slaves Month.)
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