How big is the Deepwater Horizon oil slick... GET A SENSE OF THE TRUE SIZE HERE!

[jus_the_facts]

http://paulrademacher.com/oilspill/

The spill covers at least 2500 square miles of ocean surface. You can see the extent of the damage here as of May 6th, just southeast of New Orleans.

But how big is the spill, really? It's hard to get a sense of the true size when it's over the ocean floor. Use the links below to see how large the spill is.

[malaise]

1. Wow!

Unfuggingbelievable

Drill baby drill!!

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. Wow. That really puts it into perspective.

[doc03]

3. That is frightening. Question: Hurricane season is coming

soon, what happens if a hurricane hits the gulf?

[lonestarnot]

4. I hope no one strikes a match.

[Meldread]

5. A hurricane would actually be helpful.

At least under certain conditions. It would help break up the oil. Learned that from one of the guests on Rachel Maddow, she asked the same question!

EDIT: I should also add that a hurricane could also be bad, as it could / would halt efforts to plug the leak. So "under certain conditions" - very certain conditions - say, if we can stop the oil, and then go into full clean up mode, and during that time if a hurricane comes it -should- help break up the oil.

I'd actually call it a mixed bag though.

[lunatica]

7. Hurrican's need moisture to grow and the oil slick will block that won't it?

Maybe not at the size it is now but it's growing very fast.

[Meldread]

11. Nope!

Evaporation doesn't stop just because there is oil covering the surface. Also keep in mind that the oil is evaporating as well. It has been reported that the air in some places of the Gulf has a foul odor - this is actually a good thing, as it shows that the oil is evaporating. The downside is that it could potentially come down as acid rain.

To get an idea of what a hurricane would do: Get a glass bowl and fill it with water. Then get some olive oil and pour it into the bowl. The oil will float on top, that's the oil slick. If you get a spoon and stir the contents of the bowl, you'd notice that the oil gets broken up - that's what a hurricane does. If you take the contents of the bowl, pour it into a pot and let it boil then watch the steam - that's evaporation. Both the water and the oil are evaporating.

EDIT TO ADD: Hurricane's actually mostly need heat to grow, not necessarily moisture. As the oil is darker than water, it is likely to attract more solar heat, and as a result, should also accelerate evaporation.

Keep in mind I'm not a scientist or anything though. I've just seen these questions posed to various scientists and answered already.

[IndianaGreen]

13. What if a hurricane's storm surge brings that oil deep inland?

What a FUBAR situation would that be?

[Meldread]

14. It's a concern, yes.

Obviously, storm surges would bring it further ashore.

However, to be frank, the coast is already fucked. We're likely looking at the largest environmental disaster in human history. I've heard some talk of acid rain, but it's not something really being focused on right now. I have no idea how bad that'll be - it's a larger concern for those deeper inland - perhaps even across the entire country.

[lunatica]

6. Cool site! Ugly spill

It's as big as the entire Bay Area!

[Rex]

8. So does it shine I wonder? If you look from space?

The size is amazing, yikes.

[jus_the_facts]

9. Here are some images...other links with more info here as well.....

http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/05/gulf-oil-spill-radar-satellite-image.html

[inna]

10. "Your browser does not support the Google Earth Plugin"

Damn! Why do some sites still discriminate against Opera - THE BEST browser???

[Initech]

12. Shouldn't this be living, breathing proof that we need to find a new source of fuel?

[BobbyBoring]

18. Yes

It should, but the elections of 2000 and 2004 should have been lessons as well as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the financial crisis, etc, etc. We need to change a lot of things, that's why we voted for Obama.

[DebJ]

15. thanks. n/t

[jus_the_facts]

16. kick for reality....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwWMKC3U01w

[ensho]

17. kick

nt

[jus_the_facts]

19. kick for the meaning..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQu_RRLbVDA