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 ...
...
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.
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.
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?
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?
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...
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This is CNN Garbage,....trying to find a way to get viewers eyeballs....
Was Blitzer involved with this one?
CNN trying to find an audience....see above comments...
Not all algal species require sunlight. I have some 450 feet down my well.
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.
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.
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.
So where did the crude go to?
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....
Benthic phytoplankton start at the surface and sink.
Plumes? I blame...ma tante.
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.
So they fall to their death?
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.
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."
Can we express these values in good old specific gravity?
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