Will oil getting into the Loop Current make it into the Gulf Stream?

[cap]

If so, what will be its impact? I am wondering if we have a planetary ecological disaster or whether the Gulf Stream will dilute the oil sufficiently.

Is there anyone knowledgeable about currents...

[Botany]

1. January currents but the potential for a world wide disaster is there

The government must federalize the response to the oil gushers ASAP

[n2doc]

2. Some will get into the GS

There was a similar spill from a failed rig in the late 70's. When scientists looked for oil in the Gulf Stream, they found some tar balls (no sheets of oil) but these stayed in the GS and did not come ashore. The oil will be diluted to a much greater extent than seen in the Gulf. This doesn't mean that no damage will occur, just that we aren't looking at armegeddon.

The Gulf of Mexico states will bear by far the heaviest burden of damage.

[Botany]

3. The oceans produce 50% of the world's O2 ...... there are billions if not ...

.... trillions of gallons of oil in the deposit that BP just opened up. Those a-holes drilled 25,000 feet under the sea floor
into the middle of the formation not just to the top where they were supposed to have stopped. And we have never had
large plumes of oil @ great depths in the ocean too.


We are really into unknowns here as per the outcome.

[madrchsod]

4. may 18th ESA satellite image

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMBKST889G_index_1.html

[HooptieWagon]

5. It may not.

See diagram at post #4 - it appears the Tortugas Eddy is pinching off the loop current. This happens once or twice a year. The upper portion of the loop will close the circle and form an eddy that drifts off to the west, carrying the oil with it. The Yucatan Current will basically turn east and join the Gulf Stream. It will take a few months for the Loop Current to reform and grow north up to the spill. Hopefully it will be shut off by then.

[Odin2005]

6. There are already tar balls in east Florida.

[HooptieWagon]

8. You have a link?

[Odin2005]

9. Not at the moment, it was posted here on DU a day or 2 ago.

[HooptieWagon]

10. Then you are probably referring to the tar balls in Key West.

Which;
A) Were determined to NOT be from the DH spill,
B) Key West really isn't Florida's East Coast, either geographically or in attitude.

[Recursion]

7. Sadly that might be our best hope

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham%27s_law

It would somewhat degrade the Atlantic. If it doesn't get out of the Gulf it will flat-out kill it.

[BeFree]

12. Yep

The sooner the oil gets out of the gulf, the better.

The Atlantic would be better able to dilute the pollution.

Of course, if the well is not capped soon, not only the gulf but the east coast will be severely harmed.

But we can pretty much write off the gulf coast for 20 years even if they cut off the flow today.

[DavidDvorkin]

11. BP: We Put the British (Beaches) in Petroleum!

Or vice versa.

[BeFree]

13. Beached Petroleum

And what are you environmentalist gonna do about it? Nothing, says BP.

[DavidDvorkin]

14. That's a good one

And of course they're right about the powerlessness of environmentalists and everyone else who isn't connected to a huge corporation.

[cap]

15. I am thinking that the response to the BP oil spill

will require international response even if it's not armageddon. Maybe just to track it to make sure there aren't more side effects. It won't be contained completely to the US. Just a hunch.