Gulf oil now in powerful Loop Current, scientists say

Gulf oil now in powerful Loop Current

The first oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill has entered an ocean current that could take it to Florida and up the east coast of the US, scientists say.

The European Space Agency said satellite images suggested oil could reach the coral reefs of the Florida Keys within six days.

"We have visible proof that at least oil from the surface... has reached the current," said Dr Bertrand Chapron.

Now, it gets really interesting.

[edit on 19-5-2010 by loam]

Maybe start collecting your bottles and carriers people
maybe not?

reply to post by loam


Should be a good thing if it gets caught in the loop current. Once it gets dragged into the current it will begin to dilute. Not sure this is such a bad thing.

I wonder how many people in North America are aware of how devastating this gas/oil volcano is and will be?



The eastern sea board fishery was once the food basket of the world. More then likely most living in North America, if able to look back to the diet of their ancestors three generations ago...which would be 4 or 5 to younger persons...we would see that salted cod fed everybody here to a certain degree.

The past 230 years has pretty well devastated the eastern fisheries and this thing if and when it hits will not be good.

15th and 16th Century

After his voyage in 1497, John Cabot's crew reported that

"the sea there is full of fish that can be taken not only with nets but with fishing-baskets".[41]

and around 1600 English fishing captains still reported cod shoals

"so thick by the shore that we hardly have been able to row a boat through them."[42]

In the early sixteenth century, fishermen from England, France, Spain and Portugal discovered the best places to fish for cod in the waters off Newfoundland, and how best to preserve the fish for the journey home.[43]

The French, Spanish and Portuguese fishermen tended to fish on the Grand Banks and other banks out to sea, where fish were always available. They salted their fish on board ship and it was not dried until brought to Europe. The English fishermen, however, concentrated on fishing inshore where the fish were only to be found at certain times of the year, during their migrations. These fishermen used small boats and returned to shore every day. They developed a system of light salting, washing and drying onshore which became very popular because the fish could remain edible for years.[41] Many of their coastal sites gradually developed into settlements, notably St. John's,[43] now the provincial capital.

In the late sixteenth century the Spanish and Portuguese fisheries were terminated, mainly as a result of the failure of the Spanish Armada,[41] and thereafter the English and French shared the fishery every summer until 1904 when the French agreed to relinquish it to the Newfoundland residents.[43]

Modern fishing methods and the fishery collapse

In 1951 factory fishing began with new super-trawlers such as the 'Fairtry'; 280 feet long and 2,600 gross tons.[42]

The cod catch peaked in 1968 at 810,000 tons, approximately three times more than the maximum yearly catch achieved before the super-trawlers. Approximately 8 million tons of cod were caught between 1647 and 1750, a period encompassing 25 to 40 cod generations. The factory trawlers took the same amount in 15 years.[44]

The industry collapsed entirely in the early 1990s owing to overfishing and debatably, greed, lack of foresight and poor local administration.[45] By 1993 six cod populations had collapsed, forcing a belated moratorium on fishing.[44] Spawning biomass had decreased by at least 75% in all stocks, by 90% in three of the six stocks, and by 99% in the case of 'northern' cod, previously the largest cod fishery in the world.[44]

After a 10 year moratorium on fishing the cod had still not returned.[46] It is likely that the local ecosystem has changed, one example being that greater numbers of capelin, which used to provide food for the cod, now eat the juvenile cod.[citation needed] The waters now appear to be dominated by crab and shrimp rather than fish.[46]

en.wikipedia.org...://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod_fisheries

reply to post by CheeseyMonkey


I briefly considered the same thing, but then wondered about gulf stream populating biota and other organisms.

I'll need to dig further to see if I still agree.

Originally posted by jazz10
Maybe start collecting your bottles and carriers people

maybe not?

For what??? please explain

I have read that the density of the release may actually not only change the loop current itself but entirely navigate its ecosystem into something we don't want.

But once it enters the deep and intense Loop Current, they warned, turbulent waters will accelerate the mixing of oil and water.

"This might remove the oil film on the surface and prevent us from tracking it with satellites, but the pollution is likely to affect the coral reef marine ecosystem," said Fabrice Collard of CLS, a subsidiary of France's National Centre for Space Studies.

The Loop Current joins the Gulf Stream, the northern hemisphere's most important ocean current system.

This has sparked fears that the oil could enter this system and be carried up the US East Coast.

news.yahoo.com...

reply to post by whiteraven


Personally, I just think that is all fear mongering. Maybe the keys get some oil on them but the rest will just get diluted to a point that its negligible.

Originally posted by CheeseyMonkey
reply to post by whiteraven

 

Personally, I just think that is all fear mongering. Maybe the keys get some oil on them but the rest will just get diluted to a point that its negligible.

Yet another one appears man BP are pulling all the dis-info tom foolery and sparing no expense this poster joined to taday.
Maybe this is the Alter Ego of "Just Wondering"

reply to post by alchemist2012


I wish I was being paid by BP, but I give you the truth for free. Who is to say you are not some poster being paid by the doom and gloomer eco-Nazi's.

The truth is if you dilute the oil it is less harmful. If you pull it into the loop current it gets deleted.

Plus, sure it is going to be damaging to the environment, but no nearly as bad as some of the end of the world scenarios people post on here with no knowledge of science. They just FEEL its going to be real bad.

Originally posted by CheeseyMonkey
reply to post by alchemist2012

 

I wish I was being paid by BP, but I give you the truth for free. Who is to say you are not some poster being paid by the doom and gloomer eco-Nazi's.

The truth is if you dilute the oil it is less harmful. If you pull it into the loop current it gets deleted.

Plus, sure it is going to be damaging to the environment, but no nearly as bad as some of the end of the world scenarios people post on here with no knowledge of science. They just FEEL its going to be real bad.

OK i understand but do you realize where hurricanes get there rain source??when hurricane season starts in 11 days they risk for toxic rain is not just limited to the gulf anymore and they say the water is allready warm enough to have a hurricane due to the heat retention is all im saying

reply to post by alchemist2012


Its not going to rain oil because of a hurricane that is just stupid. A good hurricane would help stir the waters and further dilute the oil. You should be praying for a category 4 or 5.

Remember people that the well is STILL spitting out oil. Going into the loop current is bad by itself. however it will help get it out of the gulf where it would sure do more harm. Its poison in our environment no matter how you look at it, cancers from pollouted food, birth defects, autism in children, WE WILL EAT THIS OIL in future times.
we will see a large increase in dead zones, red tides do to the fertilizer effect of oil. Oil supplies our fertilizer people, first it will kill the good ecosystem, then it will fertilize the harmfull alge that sucks the oxygen out of the water creating dead zones. IT IS NOT OVERSTATED, HOW BAD THIS WILL BE , BUT TIME WILL TELL , IF THE TRUTH CAN BE ALLOWED TO BE REPORTED

Originally posted by CheeseyMonkey
reply to post by alchemist2012

 

Its not going to rain oil because of a hurricane that is just stupid. A good hurricane would help stir the waters and further dilute the oil. You should be praying for a category 4 or 5.

ok you were saying

all those drill baby drill people in the south, have the oil coming right up to their beaches...they can just scoop it up, refine it a little and put the cheap gas in their SUVs. i mean hell, what's a few tar balls on the beach for your children to play with, and the sweet smell of petroleum in the morning, when you have practically your own gas station in your backyard.
and when it sweeps around to miami beach, you don't even have to use suntan oil, just go into the surf alittle and you'll come out all glistening and lubed up for the day.

it double posted

[edit on 19-5-2010 by jimmyx]

This "oil" is not your typical lightsweet crude.

The leak is full of sourgas,natural gas, methane, sulfides, benzine's, and a plethora full of other harmful chemicals.

Remember the ratio...1 quart to 250 gallons of seawater

Pretty amazing weather forecast.

[edit on 20-5-2010 by loam]

Dont forget people that the stuff you see on top, is only a fraction of whats supposedly come out and still sitting suspended thousands of feet down.

Dilution might happen, but it aint gonna really make it any better given the sheer size of this, visible and not visible.