| | Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns | |
| | Author | Message |
---|
KK
Location : New York Super Powers : poastwhore Number of posts : 8316 pennies : 7853 Rep : 354
| Subject: Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:07 am | |
| Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns « on: Today at 06:52:39 AM » Quote Modify Remove Split Topic
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Absolutely out of control
Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns AP – The oil damaged shoreline in the Northern reaches of Barataria Bay is seen amidst work boats in oil polluted … By MATTHEW BROWN and RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writers Matthew Brown And Ramit Plushnick-masti, Associated Press Writers – Fri Jun 18, 5:32 am ET NEW ORLEANS – It is an overlooked danger in oil spill crisis: The crude gushing from the well contains vast amounts of natural gas that could pose a serious threat to the Gulf of Mexico's fragile ecosystem.
The oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits, said John Kessler, a Texas A&M University oceanographer who is studying the impact of methane from the spill.
That means huge quantities of methane have entered the Gulf, scientists say, potentially suffocating marine life and creating "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives. back to my original point. this isn't a surface spill. the stuff is coming from a mile deep and is stratifying. methane bonds with the water.
"This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.
Methane is a colorless, odorless and flammable substance that is a major component in the natural gas used to heat people's homes. Petroleum engineers typically burn off excess gas attached to crude before the oil is shipped off to the refinery. That's exactly what BP has done as it has captured more than 7.5 million gallons of crude from the breached well. does this make sense? if it can be used why do they typically burn it off instead of collect it? ok, it's captured 7.5 million gallons so far. sounds like a lot. but remember it's leaking 2.5 million a day.
A BP spokesman said the company was burning about 30 million cubic feet of natural gas daily from the source of the leak, adding up to about 450 million cubic feet since the containment effort started 15 days ago. That's enough gas to heat about 450,000 homes for four days.
But that figure does not account for gas that eluded containment efforts and wound up in the water, leaving behind huge amounts of methane.
BP PLC said a containment cap sitting over the leaking well funneled about 619,500 gallons of oil to a drillship waiting on the ocean surface on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a specialized flare siphoning oil and gas from a stack of pipes on the seafloor burned roughly 161,700 gallons.
Thursday was focused on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers chastised BP CEO Tony Hayward.
Testifying as oil still surged into the Gulf at between 1.47 million and 2.52 million gallons a day, coating more coastal land and marshes, Hayward declared "I am so devastated with this accident," "deeply sorry" and "so distraught."
But he also said he was out of the loop on decisions at the well and disclaimed knowledge of any of the myriad problems on and under the Deepwater Horizon rig before the deadly explosion. BP was leasing the rig the Deepwater Horizon that exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the environmental disaster.
"BP blew it," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the House investigations panel that held the hearing. "You cut corners to save money and time."
As for the methane, scientists are still trying to measure how much has escaped into the water and how it may damage the Gulf and it creatures.
The dangerous gas has played an important role throughout the disaster and response. A bubble of methane is believed to have burst up from the seafloor and ignited the rig explosion. Methane crystals also clogged a four-story containment box that engineers earlier tried to place on top of the breached well.
Now it is being looked at as an environmental concern.
The small microbes that live in the sea have been feeding on the oil and natural gas in the water and are consuming larger quantities of oxygen, which they need to digest food. As they draw more oxygen from the water, it creates two problems. When oxygen levels drop low enough, the breakdown of oil grinds to a halt; and as it is depleted in the water, most life can't be sustained. what about pumping in oxygen lie they do in fish tanks?
The National Science Foundation funded research on methane in the Gulf amid concerns about the depths of the oil plume and questions what role natural gas was playing in keeping the oil below the surface, said David Garrison, a program director in the federal agency who specializes in biological oceanography.
"This has the potential to harm the ecosystem in ways that we don't know," Garrison said. "It's a complex problem."
In early June, a research team led by Samantha Joye of the Institute of Undersea Research and Technology at the University of Georgia investigated a 15-mile-long plume drifting southwest from the leak site. They said they found methane concentrations up to 10,000 times higher than normal, and oxygen levels depleted by 40 percent or more.
The scientists found that some parts of the plume had oxygen concentrations just shy of the level that tips ocean waters into the category of "dead zone" — a region uninhabitable to fish, crabs, shrimp and other marine creatures.
Kessler has encountered similar findings. Since he began his on-site research on Saturday, he said he has already found oxygen depletions of between 2 percent and 30 percent in waters 1,000 feet deep.
Shallow waters are normally more susceptible to oxygen depletion. Because it is being found in such deep waters, both Kessler and Joye do not know what is causing the depletion and what the impact could be in the long- or short-term.
In an e-mail, Joye called her findings "the most bizarre looking oxygen profiles I have ever seen anywhere."
Representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration acknowledged that so much methane in the water could draw down oxygen levels and slow the breakdown of oil in the Gulf, but cautioned that research was still under way to understand the ramifications.
"We haven't seen any long-term changes or trends at this point," said Robert Haddad, chief of the agency's assessment and restoration division. he's kidding right? what long term effects would be seen after 2 months?
Haddad said early efforts to monitor the spill had focused largely on the more toxic components of oil. However, as new data comes in, he said NOAA and other federal agencies will get a more accurate read on methane concentrations and the effects.
"The question is what's going on in the deeper, colder parts of the ocean," he said. "Are the (methane) concentrations going to overcome the amount of available oxygen? We want to make sure we're not overloading the system."
BP spokesman Mark Proegler disputed Joye's suggestion that the Gulf's deep waters contain large amounts of methane, noting that water samples taken by BP and federal agencies have shown minimal underwater oil outside the spill's vicinity.
"The gas that escapes, what we don't flare, goes up to the surface and is gone," he said. and depletes the ozone layer comeon, we bitch about cows belching. this stuff is just gone
Steven DiMarco, an oceanographer at Texas A&M University who has studied a long-known "dead zone" in the Gulf, said one example of marine life that could be affected by low oxygen levels in deeper waters would be giant squid — the food of choice for the endangered sperm whale population. Squid live primarily in deep water, and would be disrupted by lower oxygen levels, DiMarco said. | |
| | | Joebert
Age : 63 Location : @ Computer Hobbies : Sleep/Photography Humor : Seinfeld (show) has it all! Super Powers : Faster than a speeding bulet...is that bad? Number of posts : 3905 pennies : 3262 Rep : 97
| Subject: Re: Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:35 pm | |
| Might be interesting when you put a shrimp on the grill. Could turn into popcorn shrimp when it explodes. | |
| | | KK
Location : New York Super Powers : poastwhore Number of posts : 8316 pennies : 7853 Rep : 354
| Subject: Re: Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:59 pm | |
| - Joebert wrote:
- Might be interesting when you put a shrimp on the grill. Could turn into popcorn shrimp when it explodes.
lol, barbequed shrimp. no charcol needed. simply light shrimp | |
| | | c/thru
Blurts : What is this decade called ? Location : almost Mile High Hobbies : Freedom Tracker Humor : floating under a delicate layer of apathy Super Powers : can turn water into ice Number of posts : 3049 pennies : 3303 Rep : 123
| Subject: Re: Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:03 am | |
| so is that whole area extremely combustible or something ? how can we clean up the area at all ?
I missed the news and updates pretty much the whole weekend | |
| | | KK
Location : New York Super Powers : poastwhore Number of posts : 8316 pennies : 7853 Rep : 354
| Subject: Re: Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns Mon Jun 21, 2010 11:41 am | |
| - c/thru wrote:
- so is that whole area extremely combustible or something ? how can we clean up the area at all ?
I missed the news and updates pretty much the whole weekend some of it you almost can't. a lot of thsi stuff coagulates and settles to the bottom and never makes it to the surface. the methane bonds with the water and depleats the oxygen. | |
| | | Sponsored content
| Subject: Re: Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns | |
| |
| | | | Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns | |
|
Similar topics | |
|
| Permissions in this forum: | You cannot reply to topics in this forum
| |
| |
| Latest topics | » the last person the person here wins by Admin Sun Jun 26, 2011 10:38 pm
» Interesting stuff by KK Sat Jun 25, 2011 8:54 pm
» Random Stuff... by Jats Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:58 pm
» anyone still here ? by KK Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:01 pm
» Happy Birthday C/Thru!! by Lady Snipe Dragon Fri Jun 03, 2011 12:51 pm
» vintage movie gifs by Jats Thu May 26, 2011 8:46 pm
» Oprah Memorial service by Joebert Wed May 25, 2011 5:54 pm
» Bristol Palin earns $262K for teen pregnancy work by Joebert Wed May 25, 2011 1:31 am
» whatever you feel like by Joebert Tue May 24, 2011 10:21 pm
» Trumped by Joebert Tue May 24, 2011 10:08 pm
» pick a royal wedding hat by Joebert Tue May 24, 2011 10:01 pm
» so which one of you wants to throw down? by KK Thu May 19, 2011 7:37 pm
» the photo of the year's wiki page by alivegenieII Wed May 18, 2011 6:13 pm
» Congratulations on popping C9's flaming & smite war cherry by Lady Snipe Dragon Tue May 17, 2011 11:29 pm
» President 0bama’s approval rating hits a new low by KK Sun May 15, 2011 5:32 pm
» New Books on Ward by alivejeanie Sat May 14, 2011 3:25 pm
» New Holidays ? by Lady Snipe Dragon Mon May 09, 2011 8:50 pm
» Fleamailman, care to explain this ? by c/thru Sun May 08, 2011 10:25 pm
» Happy Mothers Day.. by c/thru Sun May 08, 2011 8:12 pm
» SuperBowl countdown by Guest Sat May 07, 2011 10:14 pm
» International Womens Day 2011 by Guest Sat May 07, 2011 10:06 pm
» wuzz up suckas by KK Sat May 07, 2011 9:40 pm
» INTELLIGENCE REFORM AND TERRORISM PREVENTION ACT of 2004 by KK Sat May 07, 2011 8:39 pm
» Victron Energy and their Portfolios by KK Tue May 03, 2011 7:47 pm
» I voted today by KK Tue May 03, 2011 7:45 pm
» Flax Milk & your omegas by KK Tue May 03, 2011 7:43 pm
» Happy Easter 2011 by Lady Snipe Dragon Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:37 am
» Spanish scientists search for fuel of the future by KK Fri Apr 22, 2011 7:31 pm
» Amen !!! VIP LINKS by KK Fri Apr 22, 2011 7:28 pm
» Youtube changed their type of linking codes.. by c/thru Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:07 pm
» YOU balance the Federal Budget by c/thru Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:05 pm
» Interesting Images.. by c/thru Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:00 pm
» Avacs by KK Tue Apr 12, 2011 10:13 am
» Oil near $112 as attacks damage Libyan oil fields by KK Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:52 am
» Stamp gaffe tears Kate and William apart It may come as a shock, but Kate Middleton and Prince William have 'split' less than one month before they are due to tie the knot. by KK Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:45 pm
|
|