La. scientist locates another (3rd) vast oil plume in the gulf

[kpete]

Source: Washington Post

La. scientist locates another vast oil plume in the gulf

By David A. Fahrenthold and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 28, 2010; 1:09 PM

A day after scientists reported finding a huge "plume" of oil extending miles east of the leaking BP well, on Friday a Louisiana scientist said his crew had located another vast plume of oily globs, miles in the opposite direction.

James H. Cowan Jr., a professor at Louisiana State University, said his crew on Wednesday found a plume of oil in a section of the gulf 75 miles west of the source of the leak.

Cowan said that his crew sent a remotely controlled submarine into the water, and found it full of oily globules, from the size of a thumbnail to the size of a golf ball. Unlike the plume found east of the leak -- in which the oil was so dissolved that contaminated water appeared clear -- Cowan said the oil at this site was so thick that it covered the lights on the submarine.

"It almost looks like big wet snowflakes, but they're brown and black and oily," Cowan said. The submarine returned to the surface entirely black, he said.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/28/AR2010052802346.html?nav=rss_email/components

[maddezmom]

1. oh dear god

:(

[Juneboarder]

2. Nothing to look at here, folks. Move along...

:sarcasm:

[tavalon]

32. Actually, there really is nothing to do

What should have happened - no deep water drilling already happened. Now, we reap what we have sown. The Gulf is being murdered and there is nothing anyone can do but hopefully learn.

[golddigger]

3. Chill out! BP's got this.

[Catherina]

4. The dolphins, the whales, the fish... Way to go! Trust BP n/t

[katsy]

5. I have a dumb ? about this:

If the oil bleeds out, what fills that gap below the surface where the oil once was?

Can this cause an earthquake of sorts?

[closeupready]

14. That's actually a good question.

One I've wondered myself.

[BelgianMadCow]

17. if that could easily cause an earthquake, we would be seeing 'em all the time

since it's the leak which is special - not the emtying of the formation.

The formation isn't a big cavern or something : form wikipedia:

"Three conditions must be present for oil reservoirs to form: a source rock rich in hydrocarbon material buried deep enough for subterranean heat to cook it into oil; a porous and permeable reservoir rock for it to accumulate in; and a cap rock (seal) or other mechanism that prevents it from escaping to the surface. Within these reservoirs, fluids will typically organize themselves like a three-layer cake with a layer of water below the oil layer and a layer of gas above it, although the different layers vary in size between reservoirs. Because most hydrocarbons are lighter than rock or water, they often migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until either reaching the surface or becoming trapped within porous rocks (known as reservoirs) by impermeable rocks above. However, the process is influenced by underground water flows, causing oil to migrate hundreds of kilometres horizontally or even short distances downward before becoming trapped in a reservoir. When hydrocarbons are concentrated in a trap, an oil field forms, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum#Crude_oil_reservoirs

[katsy]

20. Okay.

The question and answer aren't stupid at all.

I am just not understanding any of it.

But thanks anyway!

[BelgianMadCow]

21. think of the oil reservoir as an oil-filled rock sponge

without the oil, there is still the dry rock sponge left, not just a big hole

[katsy]

22. I understand.

Thanks for your patience.

[izquierdista]

26. A sponge that is squeezed

If you have ever seen those sponges that are flat as a credit card and swell up when water is added -- picture that in reverse and you have what happens when oil is sucked out. If you drill a perfectly round hole in the wall of a mine, after a few months the hole is oval from the pressure of the overburden. How fast it closes up completely depends on the depth of the mine and the hardness of the strata.

[greiner3]

27. From what I understand;

And I'm no expert, the oil does not exist in a cavern. It is held within porous rock/material and the pressure exerted on this rock causes the oil to have energy. This energy is then directed in such a way as to pump the oil upward. What's left is porous rock that becomes saturated with saltwater. This is also a way that land reservoirs of oil become depleted. Saltwater is pumped into the field and the resulting pressure forces oil to the surface.

Then again I may not be totally correct.

[FLPanhandle]

6. That's one more area BP and their Coast Guard lackies will keep scientists & journalists out of now.

I'm sure Admiral Allens phone is ringing right now with a call from BP HQ.

[aquart]

7. And clean up ships are rushing toward it as we speak? Right?

Then when?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. The Well is closed. No other oil is flowing.

[closeupready]

15. Ah, I see. The Well is closed. The Welll is closed.

[kestrel91316]

9. The number of "plumes" from this one leak will of course increase over time as

the oil spreads outward. Not sure why the panic. The sheer amount of oil involved is reason enough to be concerned - that it spreads in plumes is not.

[Downwinder]

10. No problem. The only thing west is Texas.

[DavidDvorkin]

11. We don't know if this is from the BP well

That's actually the best-case scenario. There could be many of these plumes, coming from many different leaks that we don't know about.

[slackmaster]

12. All the plumes are vast

And the cops are gay.

[kimmerspixelated]

23. Wow! That's some picture!

Words can't describe!...Real Ballsy????

[slackmaster]

28. For some reason, whenever I hear anything that could be the first line of "California Dreaming",

My brain makes the second line "and the cops are gay".

This has been happening to me for several years now, and watching Reno 911 has not helped.

[Stardust]

29. Hilarious.

[Kingofalldems]

13. When will Rove and the media blame it on Obama?

[fascisthunter]

16. everything is just fine... BP will clean it up in weeks

:sarcasm:

[BelgianMadCow]

18. what is also important in these plumes (which are not pure oil!)

but oil in dispersion - oil droplets suspended in water) is the amount of oild they contain. Have seen that being reported as in the parts per billion range in one of the earlier plumes, here it's clearly another thing - much higher oil % - and the less dense type can coagulate (droplets coming together) to form this type, which oceanographers "prefer" in the sense that at least it leaves a "clear" water layer below. Obviously, the PR is much worse...

Very small droplets are problematic in the sense they can more easily enter through gills and the like.

Asides of the oil %, the dispersant is another thing - and not measured at all insofar as I know - where the oil is toxic in the 200 parts per million range and Corexit at 2 ppm.

[Dr.Phool]

19. BP has already banned aircraft and photographers.

Now, they'll ban boats, submarines, and scientists.

[kimmerspixelated]

24. What right do they have to ban anyone??

PUBLIC WATERS!!!

[FLPanhandle]

25. When they have the Coast Guard in the back pocket

That makes it easier for them.

[Gin]

30. can't boats suck up these plumes?

[defendandprotect]

31. IMO, anyone connected to BP hierarchy is going to be in hiding .....