Dissolved oxygen of Gulf Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
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From: Darwin123 on 14 Jun 2010 18:47 It has occurred to me that this dispersion of oil in the gulf may last the rest of our lives, or longer. I am sure that the toxicity of the petroleum is bad. I am particularly concerned about the issue of oxygen in the water and oil floating on the surface. I little bit of oil can cover a lot of area. Curiously, the press is concentrating on those poor pelicans that have are coated with oil right now. There has been no public discussion on how the oil spill is going to effect undersea life. Although I am sure the issues are complex, I suspect there are simple physical principles that could help us understand what is going down. 1) Does the oil from this spill block oxygen from getting into the ocean? 2) How much of the oil is floating actually on the surface? 3) How come there are any fish surviving, considering the oil floating on the surface? 4) What happens to the fishing industry if this gulf spill is NEVER stopped? I am looking mostly for technical discussion. Humorous presentations of technical information are welcome. However, please post contributions that at least superficially sound scientific |:-)
From: Uncle Ben on 14 Jun 2010 21:09 On Jun 14, 6:47 pm, Darwin123 <drosen0...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > It has occurred to me that this dispersion of oil in the gulf > may last the rest of our lives, or longer. I am sure that the toxicity > of the petroleum is bad. I am particularly concerned about the issue > of oxygen in the water and oil floating on the surface. I little bit > of oil can cover a lot of area. > Curiously, the press is concentrating on those poor pelicans that > have are coated with oil right now. There has been no public > discussion on how the oil spill is going to effect undersea life. > Although I am sure the issues are complex, I suspect there are simple > physical principles that could help us understand what is going down. > > 1) Does the oil from this spill block oxygen from getting into the > ocean? > 2) How much of the oil is floating actually on the surface? > 3) How come there are any fish surviving, considering the oil floating > on the surface? > 4) What happens to the fishing industry if this gulf spill is NEVER > stopped? > > I am looking mostly for technical discussion. Humorous > presentations of technical information are welcome. However, please > post contributions that at least superficially sound scientific |:-) The frothyness of some parts of the surface oil indicates that bacteria are already breaking it dowm. There was an even greater oil spill in the Gulf in 1979 closer to the Mexican shore. It attracted little notice on the American side. But now it is only a memory. The sea, as is nature generally, is more resilient than we realize, Uncle Ben
From: Darwin123 on 14 Jun 2010 22:42 On Jun 14, 9:09 pm, Uncle Ben <b...(a)greenba.com> wrote: > On Jun 14, 6:47 pm, Darwin123 <drosen0...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > It has occurred to me that this dispersion of oil in the gulf > > may last the rest of our lives, or longer. I am sure that the toxicity > > of the petroleum is bad. I am particularly concerned about the issue > > of oxygen in the water and oil floating on the surface. I little bit > > of oil can cover a lot of area. > > Curiously, the press is concentrating on those poor pelicans that > > have are coated with oil right now. There has been no public > > discussion on how the oil spill is going to effect undersea life. > > Although I am sure the issues are complex, I suspect there are simple > > physical principles that could help us understand what is going down. > > > 1) Does the oil from this spill block oxygen from getting into the > > ocean? > > 2) How much of the oil is floating actually on the surface? > > 3) How come there are any fish surviving, considering the oil floating > > on the surface? > > 4) What happens to the fishing industry if this gulf spill is NEVER > > stopped? > > > I am looking mostly for technical discussion. Humorous > > presentations of technical information are welcome. However, please > > post contributions that at least superficially sound scientific |:-) > > The frothyness of some parts of the surface oil indicates that > bacteria are already breaking it dowm. The oil is still pouring out. The fact that some oil is being decomposed is not helpful. If the oil gushes out faster than bacteria can decompose it, we still massive a massive problem. > > There was an even greater oil spill in the Gulf in 1979 closer to the > Mexican shore. So how long did it take to close the gusher? Or is it still spilling out? Also you should answer the question. What happens if we never plug up the hole? >It attracted little notice on the American side. But > now it is only a memory. That is reassuring. I still would like to be sure that the oil doesn't eventually spread over the surface and suffocate the fish. Why isn't it doing that now? I would like to know some of the physics involved in allowing oxygen into the water. > > The sea, as is nature generally, is more resilient than we realize, That statement is not reassuring. There is no physical law that "nature is more resilient than we thought." This does not sound like a scientific statement. I recall reading about those coal mine fires in Pennsylvania that had already been burning for many decades. Guess what? Those coal mines still are burning. These fires are still causing problems in the community, and are part of the reason the area is still poor. Some problems don't go away, they just get ignored eventually. So I would rather you reassure me with more technical information. You should read up on those coal mine fires.
From: J. Clarke on 14 Jun 2010 23:17 On 6/14/2010 10:42 PM, Darwin123 wrote: > On Jun 14, 9:09 pm, Uncle Ben<b...(a)greenba.com> wrote: >> On Jun 14, 6:47 pm, Darwin123<drosen0...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >> >> >> >>> It has occurred to me that this dispersion of oil in the gulf >>> may last the rest of our lives, or longer. I am sure that the toxicity >>> of the petroleum is bad. I am particularly concerned about the issue >>> of oxygen in the water and oil floating on the surface. I little bit >>> of oil can cover a lot of area. >>> Curiously, the press is concentrating on those poor pelicans that >>> have are coated with oil right now. There has been no public >>> discussion on how the oil spill is going to effect undersea life. >>> Although I am sure the issues are complex, I suspect there are simple >>> physical principles that could help us understand what is going down. >> >>> 1) Does the oil from this spill block oxygen from getting into the >>> ocean? >>> 2) How much of the oil is floating actually on the surface? >>> 3) How come there are any fish surviving, considering the oil floating >>> on the surface? >>> 4) What happens to the fishing industry if this gulf spill is NEVER >>> stopped? >> >>> I am looking mostly for technical discussion. Humorous >>> presentations of technical information are welcome. However, please >>> post contributions that at least superficially sound scientific |:-) >> >> The frothyness of some parts of the surface oil indicates that >> bacteria are already breaking it dowm. > The oil is still pouring out. The fact that some oil is being > decomposed is not helpful. If the oil gushes out faster than bacteria > can decompose it, we still massive a massive problem. The more oil, the more bacteria. To them it's food and when they have it they grow like crazy. >> There was an even greater oil spill in the Gulf in 1979 closer to the >> Mexican shore. > So how long did it take to close the gusher? Or is it still > spilling out? > Also you should answer the question. What happens if we never > plug up the hole? After a while the pressure in the reservoir is less than the water pressure and it stops. >> It attracted little notice on the American side. But >> now it is only a memory. > That is reassuring. > I still would like to be sure that the oil doesn't eventually > spread over the surface and suffocate the fish. Why isn't it doing > that now? This isn't motor oil, it's crude oil. > I would like to know some of the physics involved in > allowing oxygen into the water. Uh, why would oil be less permable to oxygen than is water? >> The sea, as is nature generally, is more resilient than we realize, > That statement is not reassuring. There is no physical law that > "nature is more resilient than we thought." This does not sound like a > scientific statement. No, it is an observation about the discrepancy between reality and our understanding. > I recall reading about those coal mine fires in Pennsylvania that > had already been burning for many decades. Guess what? Those coal > mines still are burning. These fires are still causing problems in the > community, and are part of the reason the area is still poor. You are aware are you not that coal seam fires are a natural occurrance? > Some problems don't go away, they just get ignored eventually. So > I would rather you reassure me with more technical information. > You should read up on those coal mine fires.
From: Darwin123 on 15 Jun 2010 13:20
On Jun 14, 11:17 pm, "J. Clarke" <jclarke.use...(a)cox.net> wrote: > On 6/14/2010 10:42 PM, Darwin123 wrote: > > > > > On Jun 14, 9:09 pm, Uncle Ben<b...(a)greenba.com> wrote: > >> On Jun 14, 6:47 pm, Darwin123<drosen0...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > You are aware are you not that coal seam fires are a natural occurrance? No I wasn't. I thought that the coal seam has to be exposed to air for a fire to occur. The free oxygen has to be in contact with the the amorphous carbon to sustain a fire. Coal seams are sometimes exposed to air by erosion. I can easily believe that the "spark" initiating it is a natural occurrence (lightening strokes, etc.) However, the fires in Pennsylvania mostly occur in artificial mines. If those fires all occur on naturally exposed coal seams, then I have been misinformed. Otherwise, the mines are creating the problem. If deep-oil (i.e., high pressure) deposits are naturally punctured, creating gushing oil, then this concern over the oil in the gulf is just propaganda. Let it gush, it happens naturally all the time! That comment about oil being permeable to oxygen sounded plausible in a scientific way. So if one places a thin oil slick on a fish tank, the fish will be all right? |