Posted on 09/22/2010 12:59:33 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
NEW YORK - Now that BP's Deepwater Horizon oil well has been sealed, the long, hard work of assessing the damage begins even as the oil is dispersing throughout the Gulf.
A research team from Columbia University in New York returned this past weekend (Sept. 17 to 19) from a tour of duty in the Gulf of Mexico with new data to attempt to measure the location and magnitude of subsurface oil plumes, and their effects on the marine ecosystem, which have recently been the focus of much debate.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
I notice that they don’t say a word about that dispersant that the government ordered to be used, which was designed to make the oil sink to the bottom.
Maybe because it’s a Chicago company with times to Rahm and Obama?
Its whale s#$T
Exactly! I’m sure the oil is under the water and under the sand.I read yesterday that on some beaches it is illegal to dig 6” down? I want to know why what is there there that we are not supised to see before the mid terms?
Exactly! I’m sure the oil is under the water and under the sand.I read yesterday that on some beaches it is illegal to dig 6” down? I want to know why what is there there that we are not supposed to see before the mid terms?
Now that we know where it is we should vacuum it up and send it to a refinery.
There is going to be a feeding frenzy for grant money to “study” this thing. Why is my wallet twitching?
Soon there will be reports stating ‘oil gone from Gulf benthic environment but potential damaging effects still linger.’ [ even though we can’t demonstrate ANY]
Then once there is no more oil spill hype to fill the pipeline, it’ll be “Lindsay Lohan blames environmental anxieties for her relapse. Gulf Oil spill cited by her spokesperson.”
To the best of my recollection, oil is lighter than water, especially lighter than salt water. Why would any oil sink to the bottom?
Because Crude is made up of ‘fractions’ that separate. Some fractions float, some sublimate off the water when they surface, some sink and coat the bottom of the seafloor.
If you do some Googling, you’ll find examples of divers having to go down with ‘vacuums’ to pull pools of oil off the seafloor on spills near docks, in harbors, etc.
Nasty business when you consider the pressure and low temp on the bottom of the seafloor of the gulf.
Further comments at TOD...link to the subthread:
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Posted by dissent555 on September 22, 2010 - 4:13pm
Yet again I am astounded by the awesome skillz of our science journalism mega-swat team. The "oil on the seafloor" link is to an old graphic from back on 28 April that doesn't reference the condition of oil on the seafloor at all. The headline blares that oil "Coats [the] Gulf Seafloor", then the article tells that "in spots" the "oily snow" is up to 6 inches thick - clearly a different perception that one would get from the headline alone.
And no, Brett, Lakeview still wins as the "largest oil spill in U.S. history". Oh, you meant "offshore oil spill"? Sorry, that's not what you wrote.
Expect better from a place that calls itself LiveScience.
The data will be interesting, whenever it does come in. This kind of reportage just feeds the trolls.
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Sentence from near the end of the article:
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After a relief well was drilled to intercept the well, the gusher was finally sealed on Sept. 18 with a blast of cement to cap the busted pipe.
—the volatile stuff evaporated and the heavy asphalt-like stuff sinks, somewhat similar to what has been going on for millions of years-—tar washes up on the California coast, etc.,-—
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So much for a competent Science Writer
Kevin Costner calls for $895 million Gulf oil spill disaster plan
Columbia? Lol, we'd definitely need a second opinion on that.
API index......
It will sink to the bottom, roll around and mix with sand, basically becoming a lump of asphalt.
Been doing that for thousands of years from natural seepage.
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