Oil Spill Map for June 4, 2010 Map Credit: NOAA
June 2, 2010 – Yesterday, oil and tar balls reached Alabama and Mississippi waters and impacted beaches on Dauphin Island, Alabama and Petit Bois Island, Mississippi which is part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. Last evening, Escambia County, Florida officials said that oil sheen was within 10 miles of Pensacola Beach. Reports this morning put the oil less than 7 miles out. NOAA's latest forecast says shorelines as far east as Pensacola may be threatened by the oil spill by Friday. See oil spill map above or larger PDF version.
See slide show of Dauphin Island photos:
In pictures: Tar balls and oil hit Alabama's Dauphin Island, cleanup begins
AL.com is reporting this afternoon: "Press Register reporters returning from Petit Bois Island discovered a large oil sheen on the surface with floating oil traveling south to north on the Gulf of Mexico toward Pascagoula and Grand Bay shortly after noon Wednesday." Read the rest of the story ...
Admiral Thad Allen of the Unified Command restated this morning that monitoring of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has been stepped up to identify possible oil impact . Boom deployment has also begun, with cleanup workers ready to begin work as weather allows today.
All of these local impacts in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida add to the devastation already caused in Louisiana by the ever-spreading Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, At the same time BP is trying its latest effort (live spill cam) to capture the oil flowing unabated from the ruptured well. This procedure is beginning to be called "cut and cap." See Gulf oil spill: Going forward with LMRP Cap, first step is cutting existing riser pipe (graphics). The operation was halted earlier when the saw became stuck inside the riser pipe. It has now been freed. It is not known at this time when cutting will resume.
Read the story from yesterday: Gulf oil spill update: Oil impacts Mississippi, Alabama, coming to Florida as early as Wednesday
Latest oil spill news:
Gulf oil spill: Oil reaches Mississippi? More monitoring for Mississippi, Alabama, Florida Panhandle
Gulf oil spill: Mississippi, Alabama barrier islands, mouth of Mobile Bay soon? New fishing closures
Gulf oil spill: No underwater oil plumes says BP's Tony Hayward, disagrees with scientists
Gulf oil spill: NOAA ship to study underwater oil plume, Cousteau says it's a nightmare (video)
For a look at one coral reef area at risk in the Gulf of Mexico:
Gulf oil spill disaster: BP update, oil spill flow counter and a look beneath Gulf waters (video)
Get an underwater view of what's polluting the Gulf now:
Gulf oil spill: NOAA ship to study underwater oil plume, Cousteau says it's a nightmare (video)
More coverage:
More oil spill stories from the Environmental News Examiner
Gulf Oil Spill Examiner - Tony Pann
PBS NewsHour Oil Spill Counter
Background
The Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred on April 20, 2010 when the drilling rig platform exploded, burned and sank two days later. Oil continues to flow from the ruptured well one mile under the Gulf of Mexico. Of the 126 people on the drilling platform at the time of the explosion, eleven were killed.
In the aftermath, an environmental and economic catastrophe is being created, as oil continues to spew into the waters of the Gulf, unabated after the latest attempt, called top kill was unsuccessful in temporarily capping the broken well until two relief wells can be completed sometime in August.
Comments
BP pumped mud down a pipe to attempt thier top kill. This pipe had to be quite large as they pumped a very high rates (65 bpm). This mud entered below th blind rams which they were unable to plug with thier junk shot and a portion of the mud came out the BOP's. the remainder of the mud was pumped down the wellbore. It would seem simplle to flow the well up this pipe as the seawater is exerting a pressure of near 2400 psi at the BOP's and the flowing oil and gas gradient would be sufficiently light enough to allow a quite high flow rate. If the pressure at the Bop's was pulled down below the seawater pressure the BOP's could be plugged from the outside and the well flowed at a sufficient rate to stop the spill. I have attempted to submit this idea to BP but have not had any responce
YouTube BP Fails Booming School 101 Gulf Oil Spill
Watch this video and weep
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