22-mile-long oily plume mapped near BP well site

[Poboy]

22-mile-long oily plume mapped near BP well site

Scientists on Thursday reported results from the first detailed study of a giant plume of oily water near the blown-out BP well — stating that it measured at least 22 miles long, more than a mile wide and 650 feet tall.

While other scientists earlier found evidence of plumes in the area, the new data is the first peer-reviewed study about oil lurking in the water, in this case at some 3,000 feet below the surface. It's also the first to offer some details about the size and characteristics of a plume not only vast in size but which remained stable and intact during a 10-day survey last June.

Moreover, the study adds to the controversy over how much oil is still in the Gulf ecosystem from the spill. The U.S. government earlier this month estimated that 75 percent of the oil that spewed from the Macondo well had been skimmed, burned or broken up by chemical dispersants and natural microbes in the water.

The plume, which scientists said came from the busted Gulf well, shows the oil "is persisting for longer periods than we would have expected," lead researcher Rich Camilli said in a statement issued with the study. "Many people speculated that subsurface oil droplets were being easily biodegraded. Well, we didn’t find that. We found it was still there."

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38770508/?gt1=43001

[City Lights]

1. K&R. nt

[Poboy]

2. Thank you,

I wonder where all the deniers are today?

[Fumesucker]

3. K&R, thanks for posting..

[Poboy]

5. and thank you...

and to all the other reccers as well. I guess I got my answer on where all the deniers are. There are a group of silent unreccers doing battle.
I've seen this post go from 5, to 3, then back up to 8 so far. Who knows what it will be by the time I finish this post. This is just a news story providing peer reviewed study.
Are the unreccers anti science?

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. I rec'd. Hope it helps.

:thumbsup:

[SoCalDem]

4. anyone who has ever made oil & vinegar salad dressing knows that

Do people really believe that it all just went away:(

[Subdivisions]

7. Some think most of it did. n/t

[SoCalDem]

8. sad, isn't it? n/t

[Subdivisions]

10. It is, it is... On another note, I love your sig =) n/t

[nashville_brook]

6. gee, i thought it all evaporated.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. The oil will never go away. Crude oil is chemically inert.

Like oxygen. Or hydrogen.

[Poboy]

12. Florida State University scientist Ian MacDonald

Florida State University scientist Ian MacDonald, in testimony before Congress on Thursday, said the gas and oil "imprint of the BP discharge will be detectable in the marine environment for the rest of my life."

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. That really doesn't mean much though, does it?

[Poboy]

14. Well,it means more than your initial snide remark.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. No it doesn't.

You're having difficulty understanding these things, aren't you?

[Poboy]

21. Weak. Why do you hate science?

Deepwater Horizon oil plume more than twice all natural seeps in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Thursday, August 19, 2010, 2:00 PM
Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute research team found an extensive plume of droplets of oil about four-fifths of a mile below the surface and stretching 22 miles southwest of the Deepwater Horizon well site deep below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico during a 10-day research cruise at the end of June.

In a peer-reviewed article published today in Sciencexpress, an online research magazine, the scientists say the concentration of toxic constituents of oil found in the plume indicate that twice as much oil was being supplied by the wellhead to that plume than was released by all natural petroleum seeps in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which means the plume itself could not have been created by the seeps.

The results of the survey and previous surveys also indicate "that this plume persisted at this depth interval for months," the report said.
"The evidence we collected showed conclusively that the plume existed at that depth," said Woods Hole oceanographer Richard Camilli, lead author on the scientific paper, during a Thursday news conference. "Furthermore, it shows fairly clearly that it was created by the Macondo site, the Deepwater Horizon well, and it was not created by naturally-occuring seeps."
Camilli said the monitoring indicated the plume stayed at a constant depth, flowing through what amounts to an underwater valley away from the wellhead. He said the research cruise had to be cut short at the end of June as Hurricane Alex entered the Gulf.


Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) still images taken during descent through the water column from a location less than 500 m southwest of the well site on June 1, 2010. Still images were recorded from a forward looking video camera on the ROV. A highly turbid oil-emulsion layer was evident in the depth region between 1065 and 1300 m, with small oil droplets temporarily collecting on the camera lens within this depth interval.



Graphic showing (A) A 3D reconstruction of natural gas distributions detected within the water column by mass spectrometry. Relative methane signal intensity (m/z 15:17) is displayed in the color bar on a log10 scale (blue indicating lower methane, red indicating higher methane). The SW trending plume, designated by the black field, extends throughout the entire length of Sentry dive 2 and 3 surveys. Contour lines indicate bathymetric increments of 100 m. (B) Plot of methane signal intensity as a function of straight-line (linear) distance from the Deepwater Horizon well site. The gray colored lower band indicates signal range at or below two standard deviations from mean baseline variability.


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http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/08/deepwater_horizon_oil_in_22-mi.html

[Cetacea]

27. Relax.

Have some dish washing fluids.

[Cetacea]

28. Thank you for posting this.

K&R

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. Science is fine, poboy.

I'm not disagreeing with any of it, and the scientists are not disagreeing with each other.

[Desertrose]

17. Crude oil may be inert - but it will still mess up the environment

for a loooong time.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. facepalm

[Desertrose]

20. Why facepalm...you saying it won't? nt

[Forkboy]

25. What's your field of science?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Chemistry.

Yours?

[Forkboy]

35. We've had a breakthrough!!!!!

I'm not a scientist, so I like to know what people do when they talk about it before deciding if they're people worthy of trusting. Some scientists suck at what they do, which only becomes clear upon looking at their work. Could you point me to any papers you've done, or any record of yours at all so I can have a greater understanding of how good you are at your work? Just saying you're in chemistry is a little vague, and doesn't impress on it's own.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

36. No.

I'm not going to show you any of my publications. They're irrelevant to the point at hand.

Furthermore, any given scientist is going to be a whole lot better at what they do then the scientifically illiterate kooks that populate these sort of discussions.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

16. Every day or so I check the "Oil Sightings" page on the NOLA site

They continually are spotting oil in different amounts and all forms no matter what MSM tells us...

[Poboy]

22. Yep-

Louisiana authorities report oil sightings from Gulf of Mexico spill

Published: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 8:00 PM

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/08/louisiana_authorities_report_o_26.html

[quinnox]

18. The attempted whitewashing of this was never going to work

Even the federal government can't make this mega disaster go away or disappear.

We will be hearing about the ramifications of this oil spill for years, and who knows how damaging the long term effects will be.

[nashville_brook]

23. kickety

[Poboy]

24. Thank you. -nt

[BeFree]

26. heh

Just yesterday I was asking what's-his-name where the plumes were.

Now will NOAA come out and tell what seems to be the truth that there are more than 100 million gallons of oil floating around in the Gulf?

I guess, if they wanted to be perfectly clear, they just might. If.

[Poboy]

29. TTT

[blindpig]

30. Nothing to see here....

the cynicism of those who would minimize this ecological disaster is beyond the pall.

Nationalize the Energy Sector

[Poboy]

31. What kind of person would deny this crime for only making

someone 'look good' for political purposes?

[SOS]

33. June 8, 2010:

New York Times:

"Researchers aboard the F.G. Walton Smith vessel briefed reporters on an underwater oil plume 15 miles wide, 3 miles long and about 600 feet thick. The plume's core is 1,100 to 1,300 meters below the surface, they said."

August 20, 2010:

"Scientists on Thursday reported results from the first detailed study of a giant plume of oily water near the blown-out BP well — stating that it measured at least 22 miles long, more than a mile wide and 650 feet tall.

The oil magically disappeared between June 8 and August!
Except for this minor detail.


http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/08/08greenwire-scientist-awed-by-size-density-of-undersea-oil-98517.html

[yella_dawg]

34. But, but, but...

But the Oil Fairy made it all go away!