Hurricane season gulf oil left out detail

Dennis Dennison

I been thinking about the upcoming season and the Gulf oil.
So far what was discussed was the transport of oil inland via convection.
I have seen nothing discussed about floating oil being blown and scattered via 80+ winds, and even more disturbing factor is tidal surge.
What will be the case and what kind of deterrent is planned/ in force to keep the oil laden globs from being pushed inland via Tropical Storm Surge--this could get into local drinking water, how about the future damage that oil moved inland via a surge would do to say-grocery stores, restaurants, homes?

Will BP try to claim they are no longer liable for damages from the oil spill as it was the Hurricanes that made it worse-an unforeseen natural event?

I believe 100 times the effort and manpower needs to be harnessed NOW to clean and stop the leak before we have damages so bad they will be irreversible for decades.
 
Dennis...

I have been wondering about the same thing. I can only imagine what it might be like if a major hurricane hits that region. A major storm surge will cause great damage.

I am in total agreement with you. Something needs to be done to stop this now. The oil just keeps pouring out.

It's just sickening... :(
 
Something needs to be done to stop this now. The oil just keeps pouring out.

It's just sickening... :(

I don't know if they can stop it. I don't think the technology exists to stop it. I have seen pressure estimates as high as 100K PSI. Current blowout preventers are designed for 1000 PSI. What has happened is that BP has hit a big natural gas bubble along with the oil. How big is the bubble? If it's big enough (which it looks like it is), there could be enough NG to keep this thing blowing for a very long time. All a relief well will do is give the ultra-high-pressure gas and oil another path of least resistance to the surface.

IMO, BP should be punitively banned from offshore drilling for a period of 10 years, and in order to get out of time-out they need to show accident prevention technology and accident remediation plans that set a gold standard for the industry. Give the leases to other companies to make money off of, with the caveat that the US government as well as independent environmental watchdog groups are going to set up a branch office in their collective colon.
 
For hurricanes,

I think the mass transport plus translation (moving water and breaking waves atop it) can shove the dispersed oil ashore and / or inland with the surge right of a hurricane's core in the Gulf.

Let's all face it, if there is a hurricane in that area, it WILL happen. Oil will come ashore.

As for it affecting the hurricane's intensity, I do not see any effect. It is not a layer of oil inches thick, but a highly dispersed and separated area. I would be more concerned about some of this being blown ashore with the winds / surge.
 
95L

Some of the High Res models are trying to get a TS going on Sunday not to far away from the oil spill area. Wait and see what happens!
 
Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that the NOAA has it covered in a PDF file.. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.
 
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