"Researchers said that in recent days they have discovered miles-long underwater plumes of oil that could poison and suffocate sea life across the food chain, with damage that could endure for a decade or more.... hazardous effects of the plume are twofold.... vast amounts of oxygen are also being sucked from the water by microbes that eat oil. Dispersants used to fight the oil also speed up the oxygen depletion."
"BP hopes to siphon up to half of oil in Gulf
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- BP said Monday it hopes to siphon as much as half of the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico and is getting ready to shoot mud into a blown-out well later this week to try and stop all of it.
Meanwhile, scientists said they were concerned about the ooze reaching a major ocean current that could carry it through the Florida Keys....
The political fallout from the spill continues. Congress is holding hearings, and the federal Minerals Management Service said Monday that Chris Oynes, who oversees offshore drilling programs, will retire at the end of the month. Oynes has come under criticism for being too close to the industry the agency oversees. His departure comes as President Barack Obama has vowed to end a "cozy relationship" between the MMS and the oil industry.
Except for himself, right?
Millions of gallons of oil have already gushed into the Gulf, and researchers said that in recent days they have discovered miles-long underwater plumes of oil that could poison and suffocate sea life across the food chain, with damage that could endure for a decade or more.
Yes, this is WAY, WAY WORSE than KATRINA!!!!!!!!
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday that the researchers' announcement of the oil plumes was premature, and that further tests need to be conducted to confirm that the plumes detected were indeed caused by the well blowout.
Umm, yeah, FUCK YOU, you LYING SHIT BAG of a GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But Samantha Joye, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia, said researchers have found more underwater plumes of oil than they can count from the well.
With MORE EVERY SECOND!!!!
"The discovery of these plumes argues that a lot more oil and gas is coming out of that well every day, and I think everybody has gotten that fact except BP," she said.
Engineers finally got the siphoning contraption working Sunday after several setbacks....Strange, because the news media is all positive about BP doing this, doing that!
I mean, my impression was that BP was doing all it can and a pretty darn good job!
--more--"
NEW ORLEANS — Millions of gallons of crude are already in the water, however, and researchers said the black ooze may have entered a major current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and around to the East Coast....
The blown well has been leaking for more than three weeks, threatening sea life, commercial fishing, and the coastal tourist industry from Louisiana to Florida....
A researcher said yesterday that computer models show the oil may have already seeped into a powerful water stream known as the loop current, which could propel it into the Atlantic Ocean. A boat will be sent to collect samples and learn more.
William Hogarth, dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science, said one model shows oil has already entered the current, while a second shows the oil is 3 miles from it — still dangerously close. The models are based on weather, ocean current, and spill data from the Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among other sources....
The first chance to choke off the flow for good should come in about a week....
Still, scientists warned of the effects of the oil that has already leaked into the Gulf. Researchers said miles-long underwater plumes of oil discovered in recent days could poison and suffocate sea life across the food chain.
Researchers have found more underwater plumes of oil than they can count from the well, said Samantha Joye, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia.
The hazardous effects of the plume are twofold. Joye said the oil itself can prove toxic to fish, while vast amounts of oxygen are also being sucked from the water by microbes that eat oil. Dispersants used to fight the oil also speed up the oxygen depletion.--more--"
