As it appears that the oil flowing from the GOP gusher has finally been stopped, we need to take a long look below the surface… literally.
As BP works to finally kill its runaway well and anxious coastal residents breathe a sigh of relief, experts warn it could take years — or even decades — for the Gulf of Mexico to recover.
Three weeks after the flow was fully stemmed with a temporary cap, the massive slick which once spread for hundreds of miles has been mostly dissolved or dispersed.
Nightmare scenarios in which tens of thousands of birds were smothered to death by blankets of oil proved unfounded after the bulk of the slick stayed offshore. Fishermen who feared their way of life was destroyed are being allowed back into most waters.
"There’s essentially no skimmable oil left on the surface," Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, told reporters Friday.
"Things have improved quite dramatically and that’s a combination of the work we’ve done and Mother Nature."
But while Suttles appeared relieved that the well was finally plugged and should be officially "killed" in a matter of days, he cautioned that "we’re far from finished."
Hundreds of miles of Louisiana’s fragile coastal wetlands remain coated with sticky sludge and each tide carries fresh tar balls onto once-pristine beaches as far away as Florida.
Vast quantities of oil remain hidden below the waves, suspended in the water column in droplets which remain toxic to the fish and other marine life which once supported a multibillion dollar commercial and recreational fishing industry.
The good news is that the oil appears to be biodegrading rapidly.
The problem is that there is simply so very much out there.
It took 87 days to fully cap the well in the wake of a devastating explosion on April 20 that killed 11 workers and sank the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig, unleashing a torrent of oil into the Gulf.
In that time, 4.1 million barrels of oil escaped into the sea: enough to fill 260 Olympic-sized pools and make this one of the world’s worst spills on record.
Just eight percent of the oil was removed from the sea by skimmers and controlled burns.
A government report issued last week estimates that another 42 percent is essentially "gone" thanks the heavy use of chemical dispersants and natural processes like evaporation and the microbes which feed on hydrocarbons.
"This whole notion that that stuff is weathering away is really questionable," said Jim Cowan, a professor in Louisiana State University’s department of oceanography and coastal sciences.
"What dispersed oil does is eventually dissolves [sic] into sea water and the ultimate fate of that is ultimately undetermined."
Tarballs from the 1979 Ixtoc blowout are still washing up on Texas beaches. While the oil may float initially, it will sink once mixed with sand or sediment and then get kicked back up again during storms, he explained.
"What this has turned into now is the potential for a long term chronic problem," he said in a telephone interview.
"Chronic impacts are always more difficult to deal with from an ecosystem standpoint."
The toxic mix of oil and chemical dispersants could decimate fish populations by killing off vulnerable larvae and reducing the reproductively of those which survive.
"It’s a race between the microbes eating it and everything else being exposed to it," said Larry McKinney, executive director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.
"Microbial action comes at a cost. They’re organisms. They use oxygen."
The Gulf was already under stress from coastal erosion and a massive "dead zone" created when agricultural runoff from the Mississippi River feeds algae, which sucks the oxygen out of the water.
"We will likely have a pretty severe impact," McKinney told AFP, adding that the real concern is that the oil spill could be the final tipping point for an already stressed ecosystem.
"You can only be knocked down so many times before you can’t get back up again."… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <AFP>
The bottom line is this. We still do not know how long it will take for the Gulf to completely recover, or even if it ever will. In the face of all this, BP has the bold-faced audacity to suggest that they grill a new well in the same spot.
10 Responses to “Effects of the Gusher Will Last for Years”
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To give the all clear is simply criminal, and brings into question the intelligence of anyone who believes this stuff. One of the guys from the show “Deadliest Catch” told the story very recently that if you dig down just a few inches on the beaches where oil from the Exxon Valdez you can still find oil residue.
And I’m sure it will be the same on the gulf coast for years to come. 🙁
major parts of the gulf are dead – FOREVER. and forever is not a long time – did you see a major chunk of greenland broke off recently. and this summer of sweltering – no accident.
besides once will kill all the wildlife off -both animal and plant – the planet will be about as habitable as Neptune. no wonder we sent a probe to Titan
DC, you raise a valid point. The oil infesting the coastline will matter little, it it’s all under water.
Tom Cat, speaking of being underwater, if the polar ice cap continues to melt at it’s current pace (and I don’t see any reason the melting will abate) coastal areas will be submerged in several years. Florida? Wave good bye! Every time they have heavy rain down there it’s practically submerged!
Nikolai, you’re right. The only positive thing is that Wall Street will drown.
I just saw that huge chunk of ice off Greenland – and there are still people (Inofe) denying global warming. I doubt the Gulf will ever be the same again and you sure as hell won’t see me swimming in it. I just keep thinking about all those beautiful beaches and wildlife that were destroyed, some of which may never come back. So, before BP starts patting themselves on the back, the full damage assessment should be done and I don’t care if BP is sued out of existence. Let them drill off their shores.
And not that long ago, Antarctica lost a piece of its ice sheet bigger than RI. The problem with suing BP out of existence is that the non-existent cannot pay.
TC
I could write volumes on this. This is not the end, just the beginning.
Another Point, Sure BP is lying, they have since the beginning. We expect it.
What I didn’t really expect is our Government going right along with it.
I’m shocked at the blatant lies being told. The face of that voice for the most part is
Carol Browner. I didn’t know you wrote this and I did a piece on Browner. Somewhat on the
same vein. Needless to say the scientific community does not hold what is being spoon feed to the public as
Truth.
Tim, our government is trying to keep BP viable so they can pay the bills.