Scientist finds Gulf bottom still oily, dead

[The Straight Story]

Scientist finds Gulf bottom still oily, dead

WASHINGTON – Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a top scientist's video and slides that she says demonstrate the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor.

That report is at odds with a recent report by the BP spill compensation czar that said nearly all will be well by 2012.

At a science conference in Washington Saturday, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia aired early results of her December submarine dives around the BP spill site. She went to places she had visited in the summer and expected the oil and residue from oil-munching microbes would be gone by then. It wasn't.

"There's some sort of a bottleneck we have yet to identify for why this stuff doesn't seem to be degrading," Joye told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Washington. Her research and those of her colleagues contrasts with other studies that show a more optimistic outlook about the health of the gulf, saying microbes did great work munching the oil.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110220/ap_on_sc/us_sci_oil_spill_lingers

[Edweird]

1. "There's some sort of a bottleneck we have yet to identify for why this stuff doesn't seem to be

degrading," Could it be: "BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING OIL!"? Is that possible?

It's a horrible shame that no one could have possibly foreseen this. I mean, whodathunk that dousing oil in dispersant instead of skimming it would have caused the oil to settle and not magically disappear as expected. (<- That's sarcasm)

I imagine "still oily,dead" will be the prognosis for quite some time. (<- That, unfortunately, is NOT sarcasm)

But hey, at least we got some pics of Obama in swim trunks outta the deal, so it's all good! (<- Sarcasm)

I swear to god I want to channel Sam Kinison: "Come 'ere" (Grabs government official by shirt collar and pushes their face down) "You see this? Huh? This is oil. Know what it's gonna be a hundred years from now? OIL! YOU PUT OIL ON THE FLOOR OF THE OCEAN! NOTHING CAN LIVE THERE!"

[social_critic]

3. Reasons why there may be oil left on the sea floor

I read the reference article, and it lacks details, so it's hard to tell what's really going on from its content. The residue left on the sea floor isn't oil, it's the heavy fractions left after bacteria biodegrade the light fractions. I think it's important to recall that oil floats on water. Therefore "oil" we see on the bottom is no longer "fresh" oil, it's biodegraded oil. If you have been to a Florida beach, you may have got some of this biodegraded oil stuck to your feet - we call it beach tar.

So, this oil from the BP well came out at high speed, the oil drops were partially consumed by bacteria, who like to eat the lighter hydrocarbons (they love natural gasoline if it's waxy). The heavier stuff, the tar, then starts to sink. When it gets to the bottom, in 5000 feet of water, it's mighty dark, and cold, and the pressure is very high. So the tar particles, which stick to very fine sediments, get as hard as a rock. And this isn't what the bacteria like to eat - bacteria don't go for asphalt like stuff sitting in 36 degrees F. My guess is this stuff sitting in deep water will be there forever, and it'll be gradually covered as more sediment comes in via the Mississippi river (which is always dumping sand and mud on the Gulf of Mexico sea floor).

I read some of what Joye was saying in the past, so I gave her a call (I work as a business consultant and some of my clients are oil companies). I found her to be quite evasive when I tried to get into the details. She has also failed to publish hard data. My impression is Joye is using the event to blow her own horn, she found a niche, and she's using it to get famous.

The BP oil spill was real, bad things did happen and do happen, and the culprits need to pay, but this pseudo science and faulty reporting remind me of the Iraqi WMD stories before we invaded Iraq. Our media, alas, has very low quality reporting, the reporters don't even know how to ask the right questions, have a tendency to editorialize rather than report, and the end result is garbage. This is what we see in nearly everything today, just garbage. For quality coverage about anything, I recommend al Jazeera rather than anything in the US. But most of you are not able to watch it, it's censored in the US.

[Hannah Bell]

4. your clients are oil companies & she's blowing her own horn. ok.

[Edweird]

6. Corexit is basically dish soap. It is NOT 'bacteria'. It breaks up the oil and causes it to sink.

You can try it at home if you like: Fill up your sink with water. Pour cooking oil on top. Now pour dish soap. The oil seems to disappear - but it hasn't. It's waiting for you at the bottom of your sink. (For a better example try washing dishes at a Pizza Hut - that'll really drive the point home) This is what has happened on a grander scale in the Gulf of Mexico. It is not some 'partially digested' nonsense. It is the direct result of the oil company and the government trying to hide the extent of what happened instead of dealing with it responsibly. It was 'swept under the rug', only in this case the 'rug' happened to be teeming with life.

In summation: It is my assertion that your 'clients' are full of shit.

[Rex]

2. They've already moved on, don't like dwelling in the past and all

that rot. B(o)P flexed their muscles and the American govt said, 'yes sir whatever you want sir, no I don't see any oil anymore either'. Next issue.

[Shandris]

5. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the time that they put that coagulant shit...

...in the water, wasn't it reported that it would coagulate into little balls then stay on the bottom of the ocean? I swear to God I heard it once or twice, then it wasn't mentioned again. But it's like...well no shit there's oil on the floor, you guys SAID the coagulant would do that...? :wtf: