Oil Spill Halts Fishing off US Coast of Gulf of Mexico
02 May 2010...Officials say the fishing restrictions will hold for 10 days as scientists study the effects of the oil spill on commercial seafood in the Gulf of Mexico. The areas under the suspension include waters off the coasts of southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the panhandle of Florida... (click title to entry - thank you)
The United Nations needs to be prepared to intervene in any of the Caribbean countries and those all along the Gulf Coast with supplies and food as the 'immediate' effects of the oil distribution 'inland' won't be realized and the people of those areas won't understand the 'idea' of contaminated food source. The education of those peoples should begin now.
Kiss your economies good-bye !
Eight Major Hurricanes Expected
The United Nations needs to be prepared to intervene in any of the Caribbean countries and those all along the Gulf Coast with supplies and food as the 'immediate' effects of the oil distribution 'inland' won't be realized and the people of those areas won't understand the 'idea' of contaminated food source. The education of those peoples should begin now.
Kiss your economies good-bye !
Eight Major Hurricanes Expected
The 2010 Hurricane Season in the Atlantic Ocean will begin on June 1, 2010, and end on November 30, 2010. Atlantic hurricanes affect the eastern and Gulf coasts of the U.S. and the Caribbean nations. Those with interests in hurricane-prone areas must heed federal and state advice on preparedness, the season in general, and each specific storm in the season.
http://www.mahalo.com/2010-hurricane-season-forecast
Solution could take months
The plan to stop the leak depends on a low-tech strategy that has never been attempted before in deep water.
The plan: to lower 74-ton, concrete-and-metal boxes into the gulf to capture the oil and siphon it to a barge waiting at the surface. Whether that will work for a leak 5,000 feet below the surface is anyone's guess; the method has previously worked only in shallower waters.
If it doesn't, and efforts to activate the shutoff mechanism called a blowout preventer continue to prove fruitless, the oil probably will keep gushing for months until a second well can be dug to cut off the first. Oil giant BP's latest plan will take six to eight days because welders have to assemble the boxes.
Satellite images indicate the rust-hued slick tripled in size in just two days, suggesting the oil could be pouring out faster than before. Wildlife including sea turtles have been found dead on the shore but it is too soon to know whether the spill, caused by an April 20 oil rig explosion, was to blame.
Even if the well is shut off in a week, fishermen and wildlife officials wonder how long it will take for the gulf to recover. Some compare it to the hurricane Louisiana is still recovering from after nearly five years.
"It's like a slow version of Katrina," Venice charter boat captain Bob Kenney said. "My kids will be talking about the effect of this when they're my age."
More than 6,800 square miles of fishing areas, from the mouth of the Mississippi to Florida's Pensacola Bay were closed for at least 10 days on Sunday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The plan: to lower 74-ton, concrete-and-metal boxes into the gulf to capture the oil and siphon it to a barge waiting at the surface. Whether that will work for a leak 5,000 feet below the surface is anyone's guess; the method has previously worked only in shallower waters.
If it doesn't, and efforts to activate the shutoff mechanism called a blowout preventer continue to prove fruitless, the oil probably will keep gushing for months until a second well can be dug to cut off the first. Oil giant BP's latest plan will take six to eight days because welders have to assemble the boxes.
Satellite images indicate the rust-hued slick tripled in size in just two days, suggesting the oil could be pouring out faster than before. Wildlife including sea turtles have been found dead on the shore but it is too soon to know whether the spill, caused by an April 20 oil rig explosion, was to blame.
Even if the well is shut off in a week, fishermen and wildlife officials wonder how long it will take for the gulf to recover. Some compare it to the hurricane Louisiana is still recovering from after nearly five years.
"It's like a slow version of Katrina," Venice charter boat captain Bob Kenney said. "My kids will be talking about the effect of this when they're my age."
More than 6,800 square miles of fishing areas, from the mouth of the Mississippi to Florida's Pensacola Bay were closed for at least 10 days on Sunday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
As BP prepares to drill a relief well in the Gulf of Mexico, we look at the process involved
BP crews are set to begin drilling a relief well in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) to stem the flow from the MC252 well.
BP has relief well contingency plans in place to allow the company to regain control of a well. These plans are now being called into action in the GoM.
A drilling rig drills a relief well or second well to intersect the original, flowing well as deeply as possible. A specialized heavy liquid is then pumped into the flowing well to bring it under control. This liquid is denser than oil and so exerts pressure (known as hydrostatic pressure) to stem the flow of oil. Once the flow is stopped, the well can be returned to a safe condition.
BP has relief well contingency plans in place to allow the company to regain control of a well. These plans are now being called into action in the GoM.
A drilling rig drills a relief well or second well to intersect the original, flowing well as deeply as possible. A specialized heavy liquid is then pumped into the flowing well to bring it under control. This liquid is denser than oil and so exerts pressure (known as hydrostatic pressure) to stem the flow of oil. Once the flow is stopped, the well can be returned to a safe condition.
A relief well should be faster to drill than the original well thanks to the knowledge already gained about the geology and pressure in the reservoir. However, drilling a well of this nature presents many technical challenges to ensure that the flowing well is intersected in the right position and that the fluid pumping operations are effective. BP has assembled a world-class team of experts from within the company and key specialists in the industry to ensure that the relief well operations are conducted safely and successfully.
A second relief well could form part of the contingency plans in case the first well encounters any delays. This means that progress can still be made to stem a flowing well should one drilling operation encounter a problem.
A second relief well could form part of the contingency plans in case the first well encounters any delays. This means that progress can still be made to stem a flowing well should one drilling operation encounter a problem.
