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Oceans and Oil Spills
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History of the Gulf Oil Spill• Explosion kills 11 men on rig on April 22,
2010• The Entire rig sinks on April 23, 2010• A customized containment cap was fitted to
the well in early June, – Oil was piped to the Discover Enterprise
vessel. • A second containment system was installed
in mid-June, using a manifold and hoses to carry oil and gas to the Q4000 vessel on the surface.
• On July 12, a new sealing cap was installed • On July 15, a well integrity test began in
which the cap’s three ram capping stack was closed, effectively shutting in the well and all sub-sea containment systems.
• On August 5, BP completed cementing operations at the MC252 well, as part of the static kill procedure.
• The relief well drilled by the DDIII drilling rig intercepted the annulus of the MC252 well on September 15
• Pumping of cement into the annulus on September 17, permanently sealed the well.
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This Spill in Context (6 largest previous Spills)
June 3, 1979, 4.2- 12.5 million gal
November 1, 1979, ~2.6 million gal spilled, 7.8 million galburned
June 8, 1990, 5.1 million gal.
July 30, 1984, 2.7 million gal
August 10, 1993, 336,000 gal
August 8, 2005, >8 million gal in 250 reported spills
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Active Oil Platforms in Gulf
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Oil Pollution in our Oceans• 3.25 million metric tons of
petroleum annually• Human Sources
– Leaks at marine terminals– Disposal of drilling muds
from offshore operations– Municipal and industrial
wastes– Urban runoff into rivers– Atmospheric fallout from
the incomplete combustion of oil in motor vehicles
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Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
• Exxon Valdez– 11.6 million Gal Spilled
• Horizon Spill– 210,000–4,200,000
gal/day
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How Much Oil was spilled?
• Used optical plume velocimetry to estimate the velocity of fluids escaping the damaged well,
• Average flow rate from 22 April to 3 June– 5.6 x 104 ±21% barrels/day
• After the riser was removed– 6.8 x 104 ±19% barrels/day
• Taking into account the oil collected at the seafloor– 4.4 x 106 ±20% barrels of oil was
released into the ocean– ~1.8 billion gal.
• Crone, TJ & Tolstoy, M, 2010 Science
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What happens in typical oil spill?
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Mousse
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Clean-up process
• Use Dispersants• Collect with boom and
scoop out of ocean• Burn it
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Gulf Oil Spill
• Escaping oil sprayed with dispersant at well head– Produced tiny droplets
of oil in deep ocean
• Surface oil– Collected with booms– Burned
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The “Loop Current”
• Initial concerns that the surface oil would enter the loop current
• Winds helped to contain the oil
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Gulf Stream from Satellite
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Hurricane Impacts on Oil Spill
• Hurricanes are likely to disperse remaining oil further
• Potentially oil can be driven onshore through the storm surge
• BP States that deep water oil is in ppm and should not be significant
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Hurricane effects on oil spill
• Position and approach of hurricane will effect potential damage
• Right side of hurricane can bring significant oil ashore
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Gulf Oil Spill Clean-up
• Escaping oil sprayed with dispersant at well head– Produced tiny droplets
of oil in deep ocean
• Surface oil– Collected with booms– Burned
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Shore Clean-up Methods
• Can Spray water on shore– Drives oil into
sediment– Hot water kills micro-
organisms
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Meiofauna in Beach Environments
• Microscopic invertebrates that live in beach sands
• Base of the food chain
Meiofauna
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Pelagic Organisms
• Nekton may be able to avoid oily areas
• Plankton are unable to move away
– Plankton-floaters– Nekton-swimmers
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Benthic Organisms
• Organisms that live on the ocean bottom
• Typically in shallow water– 2 types
• Sessile-Cannot move to avoid oil
• Vagile-may be able to crawl or swim short distances to escape oil residue
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Turtle Strandings on Gulf Coast
• Green is confirmed• Red are new
strandings• Too soon to tell
how many are from oil
• Numbers may be inflated
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Sea Turtles Collected since Spill
Dead (5% oiled) Live (85% oiled)
Oiled
No Oil
Oiled
No Oil
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Sea Turtles Collected by State
Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas On Water0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Live
Dead
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Marine Mammal Strandings
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Mammals Collected
Dead (4% Oiled) Live (22% Oiled)
Oiled
No Oil
Oiled
No Oil
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Mammals Collected Since Oil Spill
Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas On Water0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Live
Dead
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Volunteer Groups Capture Oiled Birds
• Brown pelicans are particularly susceptible
• Dive into water • Feathers become coated
with sticky mousse• Too heavy to fly• May die of
– exposure– starvation– drowning– exhaustion Gulf Coast oiled bird
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Birds Collected since Spill
Dead (37% oiled)
Oiled
No Oil
Live
Oiled
No Oil
Note: Only live birds that were in distress were collected.
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Number of Birds Collected
Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas On Water0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Live
Dead
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Fishing Closures
October 5, 2010 October 22, 2010
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Oil in the Water Column
• Dispersant caused oil to remain at depth
• Natural bacteria eats oil
• Oxygen is depleted at depth
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Normal Oxygen Levels in the Ocean
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BP’s Response• Amount Spent
– Over $8 billion spent to date– $20 billion claims escrow
fund– $100 million unemployed rig
workers' fund– $500 million establishing Gulf
Coast Research Initiative• Containment
– 827,926 barrels of oily liquid skimmed
– 265,450 barrels in controlled surface burns