News Release : WHOI Scientists Map and Confirm Origin of Large, Underwater Hydrocarbon Plume in Gulf

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have detected a plume of hydrocarbons that is at least 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, a residue of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

The 1.2-mile-wide, 650-foot-high plume of trapped hydrocarbons provides at least a partial answer to recent questions asking where all the oil has gone as surface slicks shrink and disappear. “These results indicate that efforts to book keep where the oil went must now include this plume” in the Gulf, said Christopher Reddy, a WHOI marine geochemist and oil spill expert and one of the authors of the study, which appears in the Aug. 19 issue of the journal Science.

The researchers measured distinguishing petroleum hydrocarbons in the plume and, using them as an investigative tool, determined that the source of the plume could not have been natural oil seeps but had to have come from the blown out well. 

Moreover, they reported that deep-sea microbes were degrading the plume relatively slowly, and that it was possible that the plume had and will persist for some time. 

Posted by swamphawk22 on 8/7/2010 3:21:00 AM (view original):
Remember a few weeks ago they were telling us the Gulf was destroyed and that Florida and maybe the whole Atlantic coast would be covered in oil? Remember Obama shutting down all the drilling and putting thousands of people out of work because we cannot allow another disaster like this one?

So it is all gone now.

The enviromentalist movement is wrong about another disaster that never came.

...

I have a large hydrocarbon plume about to erupt as well.

That's probably your morning coffee.

Can you send FEMA to my office?  I'm afraid it will require some hazmat cleanup

Posted by creilmann on 8/20/2010 10:00:00 AM (view original):

Posted by swamphawk22 on 8/7/2010 3:21:00 AM (view original):
Remember a few weeks ago they were telling us the Gulf was destroyed and that Florida and maybe the whole Atlantic coast would be covered in oil? Remember Obama shutting down all the drilling and putting thousands of people out of work because we cannot allow another disaster like this one?

So it is all gone now.

The enviromentalist movement is wrong about another disaster that never came.

...

I stand by this. Show me a negative impact from this plume.

Again our side said it was a big incident, their side said this was an epic disaster that would create havoc all across the gulf.

We were right. We were not making the wild claims there side was.

Admit it. This is another Alar!

Your attitude is one of extreme ignorance and blind allegiance to any corporate entity.  If there is no conclusive evidence on the current and future extent of the damage in the Gulf (not even the NOAA report has been peer reviewed and they won't release it to the public), then how can you make claims of minimal impact?

So the default position is "Epic Disaster"?

I have to prove that something isnt going to be a horrific disaster? And until then we have to act like it is?

Not even remotely close to what I said.

$20 billion is the charge for Holy corps?

This is just corporation bashing. They didnt want this to happen and are doing everything to fix it.

That doesnt make the rants of the enviromental extreme any more true!

“I have been in the oil and gas industry for 40 years, and this administration is trying to break us.  The moratorium they imposed is going to be a financial disaster for the gulf coast, gulf coast employees and gulf coa..... 

With the limited impact of the spill, shouldnt we remove any moratorium on drilling?

Drill baby Drill!

We need to stop letting enviromentalist lies harm the economy.