Gulf Proves Resilient to Oil Spills -- Where's the Disaster? -- A Call for More Drilling in the Gulf...

polifrog



Polifrog suggested two weeks after the BP explosion that the Gulf was perhaps a uniquely resilient environment to oil spills or in this case an oil gusher.

Now it appears that Polifrog may be proven correct in his hope that this would be the disaster that never was. From the NYTimes:

The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be dissolving far more rapidly than anyone expected, a piece of good news that raises tricky new questions about how fast the government should scale back its response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

This knowledge should open the gulf to 'Drill Baby Drill' and fear mongering environmentalists should loose face over the unknown cost to society they bring.

Reposted below is Polifrog's May 3rd piece on the BP oil spill:

First off, this is a developing story.
But, secondly, where is, at least, some of the predicted devastation?

Nearly two weeks ago one of BP's oil drilling platform suffered an accident. BP’s estimate is that the well produces some 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day and currently covers around 7500 sq/miles.

Images of the Valdez spill in 89 (250,000 barrels spilled over 11,000 sq/miles) immediately spring to mind. But is it accurate to compare the current spill to Valdez?

I don't think so. There is too much that is different.

For instance,

Viscosity. The oil being spilled in the Gulf is less viscous than the oil spilled by the Valdez. Not only is it less viscous due to its nature, but also due to the higher temperatures in the gulf. This is why we will not likely see the same type of sludge we saw associated with Valdez.

Latitude and resulting albeto. The interaction between sunlight and water changes based on latitude. In lower latitudes the sun hits the surface of the water at a very steep angle which means that the light penetrates the water more than it does at higher latitudes.

These two above combine to thin the oil and help aid its evaporation to a greater degree in the gulf than in Prince William Sound Bay.

Environment. The Gulf is known to naturally leak oil due to natural underground seepage. The natural leakage is of similar volume to the BP tragedy currently unfolding. Of course, doubling the amount of oil leaking into the Gulf and dumping it all in one place is not a good thing, but it is also obvious that the Gulf is capable of absorbing oil to a large degree. Oil is incorporated in the Gulf's ecosystem whereas it is a foreign substance in Price William Sound.

What if it turns out that the Gulf is a uniquely resilient ecosystem to oil spills?

We can only hope that this will be a disaster that never was.

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