The long-term fate of the oil spill in the Atlantic

[G_j]

http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/56926/The_long-term_fate_of_the_oil_spill_in_the_Atlantic.html

The long-term fate of the oil spill in the Atlantic
July 07, 2010

Honolulu, HI - The possible spread of the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon rig over the course of one year was studied in a series of computer simulations by a team of researchers from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Eight million buoyant particles were released continuously from April 20 to September 17, 2010, at the location of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The release occurred in ocean flow data from simulations conducted with the high-resolution Ocean General Circulation Model for the Earth Simulator (OFES). "The paths of the particles were calculated in 8 typical OFES years over 360 days from the beginning of the spill," says Fabian Schloesser, a PhD student from the Department of Oceanography in SOEST, who worked on these simulations with Axel Timmermann and Oliver Elison Timm from the International Pacific Research Center, also in SOEST. "From these 8 typical years, 5 were selected to create an animation for which the calculated extent of the spill best matches current observational estimates."

The dispersal of the particles does not capture such effects as oil coagulation, formation of tar balls, chemical and microbial degradation. Computed surface concentrations relative to the actual spill may therefore be overestimated. The animation, thus, is not a detailed, specific prediction, but rather a scenario that could help guide research and mitigation efforts.

<snip>

The narrow, deep Straits of Florida force the Florida Current into a narrow channel, creating a tight bottleneck for the spreading of oil into the Atlantic. As the animation suggests, a filtering system in the narrowest spot of the Florida Current could mitigate the spreading of the oil film into the North Atlantic.

University of Hawaii at Manoa

[MineralMan]

1. Link to animation mentioned in the OP

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/07/year-life-bp-oil-spill

[G_j]

5. thank you! nt

[BeFree]

2. heh

One would think that as high-technologics as we are, that by now there would be some real cleanup going on and it would be in the headlines.

Am guessing here that high-tech is failing?
Or is it that we have the tech but we just can't afford to apply it?
Something is sure FUBAR.

[BeFree]

3. This was a dupe, this was only a dupe, until edit

But it just goes to show how tech can so easily be duped.
And remember, folks, the way your votes are counted is thru the use of tech that can easily be duped.

[Uncle Joe]

4. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, G_j.

[tk2kewl]

6. I hope this is taken seriously

and something is done to capture that oil as it passes through the Straits of Florida

[tk2kewl]

7. I cross-posted this on a fishing forum that I use for fishing and sea condition reports

http://www.noreast.com/discussion/ViewTopic.cfm?topic_ID=149374

all those rugged individualists... i guess they think BP is being screwed too. :eyes:

[G_j]

9. yes, it's an idea I'd want to learn a lot more about

and I hope it is being taken seriously

[amborin]

8. K&R

[G_j]

10. k