Posts Tagged ‘loop current’
Oil now seeping from ocean floor?
The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is not getting better, its getting worse. Not only have estimates of the amount of oil spewing into the gulf doubled, tripled and quadrupled since the original (experts are now estimating a 2.5 million gallon per day leak) there are real concerns and evidence that the actual well head is compromised and oil and gas are leaking from the ocean floor. This flow of oil, gas and debris being forced from beneath the earth under extreme pressure is eroding the man made structures that are somewhat limiting this flow. With eventual failure of this equipment due to the erosion, the results will be an unstoppable geyser that will wreak havoc on all people, sea life and total lifestyle of the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.
Ever since the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank on April 20th, I’ve followed this story and not just on mainstream news outlets. I”ve dug deep, I’ve looked for sites that might have some insider info. I’ve visited places like Rigzone.com which is an industry site for offshore drilling vessels, I’ve spent a lot of time at The Oil Drum, a site with many experts who back up data with links to other sites, video, news footage and more. GCaptain is also a great site with a lengthy (over 100 page) discussion that started on day one of the fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon. Its a captivating read! I don’t keep up with it daily and at this point i usually start on the last page of the posts and go back a few to catch up, but there is a lot of great info and great posters who have inside knowledge of offshore drilling procedures and equipment. These guys are glued to the live feed and if anything happens, they are talking about it.
Observers of the live video feeds have reported seeing gas leaking from the floor (see above video clip) and some report witnessing an explosion beneath the well head causing the ocean floor to sink in that area. Even Senator Bill Nelson observed and reported this. As reported on MSNBC June 7th:
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL): Andrea we’re looking into something new right now, that there’s reports of oil that’s seeping up from the seabed… which would indicate, if that’s true, that the well casing itself is actually pierced… underneath the seabed. So, you know, the problems could be just enormous with what we’re facing.
Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC: Now let me understand better what you’re saying. If that is true that it is coming up form that seabed, even the relief well won’t be the final solution to cap this thing. That means that we’ve got oil gushing up at disparate places along the ocean floor.
Sen. Nelson: That is possible, unless you get the plug down low enough, below where the pipe would be breached.
It’s nice to know that Senator Nelson is not sugar coating what he knows. Many scientists are reporting potential worse case scenarios that are practically doomsday in nature. There are reasons for this that i discovered early on in my research. I documented a lot of it in my first post on the subject : Gulf Oil Disaster will Change Our Lives Forever.
The tragedy of this is not oil coated pelicans, and dead wildlife, but the horror of those images turn many away from continuing developments we should all be watching. This disaster unfolding is unprecedented. Many seek to point fingers of blame, That’s easy. But the largest crime is a veil of secrecy that is not pierced, except by a few. Everything BP does to “help” people is tied up in strings of secrecy. No one is getting help unless they sign releases stating they wont talk to the press. Makes me wonder what USF’s Florida Institute of Oceanography gave up when they accepted BP’s 10 million dollar grant this week for research into the impact. Does this PUBLIC University now work for BP? I just went to the USF.EDU site so that i could insert the link to the headline and guess what? I cannot find any reference to this grant that was all over the site on Monday. After a little more searching Idid find a cached copy of a news release: FIO to Receive 10 Million Grant from BP .
Forget the claims of the largest oil spill in the country… this is the largest environmental disaster ever and its in our YARD and not even close to being stopped. The options to do so is the relief well which will be completed AT THE EARLIEST in August and many experts say that will be a stroke of luck if that happens. God knows we need a stroke of luck, but so far, after one failure on top of another, its difficult to be optimistic.
Nobody wants to have to think about all this.. everyone just wants life as usual… summer’s here..schools out, it’s beach time, fishing time, lazy time. But there is a disaster underway and we need to stay on top of it, even if we have to force ourselves.
My Friend Chery Vaughn sent a link to this video in an email. The source is wimp.com
I did not catch the names of either man,only that their area of expertise is erosion control. The video does not introduce the men or their company but the demonstration is pretty amazing, all done with a very common, very green product: hay. Considering the sheer volume of oil in the water, it would certainly take an enormous amount of hay, but still the ability of the hay to absorb the oil is impressive. Watch!
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The explosion of Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon on April 20th 2010 has caused a calamity of epic proportions. The latest video from BP shows the eruption of oil at the Blow Out Preventer (BOP.) The previous video posted was the flow of oil and gas from one of the leaks from the crumpled riser pipe. When you look at both videos you can understand the difficulties of estimating the flow of oil and gas. Estimates range from BP’s 5,000 BPD, to 100,000 BPD, from various experts. The site SkyTruth.org has an amazing flow of information on all subjects related to the oil leak, from estimates of quantities, to the flow of the leak into various currents affecting our coast line.
John Amos at Sky Truth, has this to say about the leaking oil:
Why is it important to get this number right? This is about more than just liability, or PR. You can bet that our future response capacity is going to be overhauled and retooled based on this spill. If we low-ball the spill amount and rate, we run the risk of designing an inadequate new spill-response system that is doomed to fail the next time something this big occurs.
A couple of thoughts:
1) Are we really being asked to believe that the spill-response capability of one of the world’s biggest oil companies AND the United States Coast Guard has been totally overwhelmed by a spill of just 210,000 gallons per day? That’s a big spill, but not nearly as big as could reasonably be anticipated. Plenty of wells in the Gulf produce more than that under controlled flow-rate conditions; plenty of tankers plying our waters hold millions of gallons of oil.
2) BP claims the siphon they’ve inserted into the end of the damaged riser pipe is diverting 84, 000 gallons (2,000 barrels) of oil per day from the main leak to a tanker at the surface. That is good news indeed. But it’s worth remembering that for nearly a week BP stated the total spill rate was only 1,000 barrels per day.
Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, The National Incident Commander, says that all estimates are just that, estimates. From an Article in the Mississippi Press he states:
When asked whether an estimate of 5,000 barrels of oil leaking every day is still accurate, Allen stressed that any number reported is simply a best guess.
“We are operating in an environment where there is no human access,” Allen said of the well 5,000 feet down on the seafloor. “I think it has the potential to be catastrophic. I am going to act as if it is. We all should.”
On The Oil Drum site, discussion abounds concerning all aspects of the leak. Many posters and independent researchers add links that were helpful for this article.Thanks guys!
UPDATE: 5/22/10
Estimates being revised upward! Sorry for the sarcasm but… what a suprise. The latest ticker widget from PBS show’s shocking amount of oil released to date:
BP has also released a live feed of the oil leak. See it at PBS
Praying for a solution.
BP, after working around the clock this weekend, and with at least one set back, has managed to insert a 4 inch pipe,encircled with baffels, into the 21 inch diameter pipe spewing oil and gas one mile beneath the Gulf surface. As of this morning, They’ve estimated the amount of the capture at 1000 barrels a day. This reduces the estimated flow of the leak by one fifth of the total estimated volume of the leak. At least it’s something!
The graphic provided by BP shows the process. Their explanation:
How it works
- The insertion tube is a five foot long steel pipe about four inches in diameter with specially designed rubber baffles. The tube will be inserted into the Horizon’s riser to provide a direct connection.
- The direct connection, combined with the injection of methanol, will minimize the formation of hydrates that could block the flow of hydrocarbons.
- The riser insertion tube will be installed about 600 feet from the wellhead.
- The insertion tube will be connected to a 5,000 foot riser that will convey the hydrocarbons to the Transocean Discoverer Enterprise drillship on the surface.
- Once in place, oil will flow up into the Enterprise’s riser to the surface.
- Once at the surface, the hydrocarbons will be processed and oil will be separated from water and gas. The oil will then be temporarily stored before being offloaded and shipped to a designated oil terminal onshore.
- The Enterprise is capable of processing 15,000 barrels of oil per day and storing 139,000 barrels.
Also reported this morning is that the Gulf Oil Leak has reached the Loop Current which feeds the Gulf Stream and winds around the tip of Florida and close to the Florida Keys.
The National Weather Service Environments Modeling Center graphic shows the flow of the current through the Yucatan peninsula,Northwards, up into the gulf and South, out of the gulf into the Florida current which eventually becomes and fuels the Gulf Stream .
Obviously the discovery of oil in this current is not good news and as the oil is drawn into it, it will sweep through the Florida Keys and around to the East Coast of Florida, then North, up the East coast. The potential damage is frightening.
The Loop Current, does seem to protect the gulf coast from Tampa Bay South to the Florida Bay, just above the Florida Keys. According to an MMS Study done in 1996 by dropping “floaters” and tracking these devices in the Gulf of Mexico, this particular area from Tampa Bay South to Florida Bay, is considered a “forbidden zone” in that no floaters were tracked traveling into this zone.
While being a resident of this general area, it’s hard not to feel somewhat relieved about this, it truly doesn’t lessen the overall impact and possibility of destruction of sensitive gulf marine habitat.
The Florida Keys, are not so lucky. The Florida Current will pick up the oil leak, from the Loop Current and possibly distribute the oil across the reefs already threatened by other environmental pressures. The results are hard to determine but obviously could cause devastating damage.
BP Releases underwater video showing the gas and oil spewing from one of the broken riser’s, a 12 inch pipe. Wow.
