There is growing suspicion that the 'live' BP feed is

[Subdivisions]

actually a loop after some chaotic activity at the gusher site yesterday. Some discussion of it can be seen here:

http://monkeyfister.blogspot.com/2010/05/major-change-down-below.html

and here...

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/05/lookin-ugly-at-the-deepwater-horizon-live-cam.html

I have called Cong. Markey's Washington office and requested that he pressure BP into putting the time/depth/etc display like this...



...onto the screen in the current feed from BP.com here:

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/homepage/STAGING/local_assets/bp_homepage/html/rov_stream.html

I need your help to convince Cong. Markey to require BP to put this readout display back up on the "live" feed so that we can see the time and date in order to confirm that the feed is indeed live. Here are the congressman's contact details:

Medford
5 High Street, Suite 101
Medford, MA 02155
781-396-2900

Framingham
188 Concord Street
Suite 102
Framingham, MA 01702
508-875-2900
TTY Line: 508-820-1802

Washington, D.C.
2108 Rayburn House
Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-2836

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. K & R!

[flamingdem]

2. I think that it is Transocean who is in charge of the cameras, they own the ROVs nt

[Subdivisions]

4. It was Markey that got us the live feed from BP.com. Are you going to call? n/t

[flamingdem]

14. No. Just letting you know that BP might not be running those cams nt

[Teaser]

3. The chaotic activity may have been nothing...

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6501#comment-628318

VIEWING ROV VIDEO

Apologies to those who already read this on a previous thread.

There should be a short course in viewing ROV videos to go along with this live streaming. There is always a learning curve when a new oil company man comes onboard until he understands the peculiarities of ROV video. A lot of this is not intuitive and no one should feel stupid because things in the pictures confuse them. I’ll try to hit just a few of the highlights.

Debris in the picture – This area of the Gulf of Mexico is covered with incredibly fine soft mud. If an ROV is working near the bottom and he has to move upwards his thruster wash will hit the bottom and stir up this mud and any other light debris (hydrates, tar balls, strings of heavier petroleum products, etc). The currents at this depth are usually slow and it can take a long time, as much as 15 minutes or more, before the visibility clears. And if the ROV is working anywhere near the bottom it is very difficult not to occasionally kick up some mud.

There are a number of other ROVs working in the area (any light you might see is another ROV vehicle or cage). So if any ROV upcurrent from the one feeding the live video stream kicks up some mud and debris that will drift over the area and cloud or obscure the picture.

It is also possible that another ROV is doing some excavating which will stir up LOTS of mud.

If there were any actual “eruptions” of gas coming from around the casing or elsewhere I doubt conditions would return to normal.

[Subdivisions]

7. All I'm asking for is a readout on the video that tells the time and date and

the depth, etc. Will you be calling Cong. Markey's office?

[Teaser]

11. perhaps

but that's not all I'm asking. I'm asking that people do some research on how to interpret these images and understand the vast uncertainties there are with their own interpretations.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. But couldn't BP fake that too?

[Subdivisions]

9. Hi p2BlK =)

I suppose they could. But pressuring them to make such a fake is, nonetheless, pressure. It serves to remind them that we are closely watching every move they make. Faking a digital readout on the video would be just another thing they'd have to worry about biting them in the ass later.

[Oceansaway]

6. K&R...n/t

[tkmorris]

8. If they are willing to fake the feed

What is to stop them from putting a current timestamp etc on top of a looped recording? I don't think that solves anything.

[Subdivisions]

10. That's a defeatist attitude. Are you going to help me by calling Markey or not? n/t

[tkmorris]

13. LOL I'm not being defeatist at all

I am saying that your proposed solution doesn't accomplish a damned thing. So no, I won't join you in demanding something silly and pointless. If you want my help suggest something actually useful.

[edgineered]

12. of course this event was no more than a question of when.

du subscribers provide a wealth of information not only on the flow rates and the abrasive materials (rock, sand, etc) that are rapidly wearing down the linings of the pipes and equipment. suspicions (deeper ones) were unsettling to me as not receiving information regarding the flow rate that was due on saturday has never been provided. the extent of the media blackout, even through foreign press, is equally disturbing.

[tavalon]

21. There is a reason DU is stop number one for me for the latest news

and it isn't the partisanship, it's the in depth truth.

[Jokinomx]

15. you know...

I was wondering about the live video...

The first videos showed the gusher coming out almost sideways... like a broken pipe laying on it's side. Later, we see the plume shooting straight up...

then there is one with what looks as two or three plumes....

I just don't know what to believe.

imho

[yodoobo]

16. I would rather they concentrate on plugging the hole

as opposed to fiddling with their webcams.

It would be just like them to post a fake video, but that's not the real crime.

The real crime is the the oil that is bubbling to the surface.

THATS what needs to be fixed.

[Subdivisions]

17. All it takes to put that read out back on the screen is the click of a mouse. I guess

I'm being silly and asking too much, according to some people here. The call I made was well-received and lasted just five minutes. All anyone has to do is call and say "I'd like to see the detail readout on the live feed showing the time and date information. Thank you." Is that so hard for some to do? Hell! Got anything else to say about the blowout? Call your own representatives and tell them what's on your mind.

[amborin]

18. kick

[Subdivisions]

19. Looks like I got my wish. There is now a telemetry readout on the live cam. Thanks

to those very few that took the time to call Rep. Markey's office. Don't know if that's what did it but, in the absense of anything to the contrary...

[CoffeeCat]

20. I felt, when I was looking at the live feed...

...online and on television--that it appeared to be slowed down. The video
looked as if it was in slow motion.

My husband and I both said that. It was as if they were distorting the
actual flow--to prevent an accurate analysis of how much is being spilled; or
to make it appear as if the "leak" is flowing out slower than it really is.

I think James Cameron, some researchers and experts in underwater photography--should
sail on down there and take REAL film of this leak.

Who can trust these maniacs from BP?