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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 11:23:14 GMT -8
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 11:27:58 GMT -8
Red-brown oil washes ashore at Dauphin Island Wednesday, June 2, 2010 Hermit crabs covered in reddish-brown oil are shown on the coast at Dauphin Island, Ala., Tuesday, June 1, 2010. The Associated Press Published: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 3:30 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 1:11 a.m. ( page of 2 ) DAUPHIN ISLAND | Red-brown oil made its first appearance Tuesday on an Alabama island near the mouth of Mobile Bay, three weeks after tar balls were found there. Donald Williamson, director of the state Department of Public Health, said patches of oil washed up on Dauphin Island's east end, prompting officials to close some state waters to fishing and post warnings urging beachgoers to stay out of the water. “It's weathered oil. I don't sense that this is the beginning of a tide of oil, but we are going to have to monitor it to see exactly how much more comes in,” Williamson said of the oil sighted on the island, a popular tourist destination. IMAGE: Hermit crabs covered in reddish-brown oil are shown on the coast at Dauphin Island, Ala., Tuesday, June 1, 2010. bpoilslick.blogspot.com/2010/06/red-brown-oil-washes-ashore-at-dauphin.html
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 11:30:41 GMT -8
Gulf of Mexico Initiative Targets Oil Spills and Other Ecological Challenges - 05.19.10 Viewing the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Gulf from 438 miles (705 km) away can be quite different from seeing it in person. But for NASA, the satellite view of the oil spill can be very informative. NASA scientists and research partners are working closely to provide satellite data to those who need it in the wake of the disaster. One such scientist is Sonia Gallegos, of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), who recently spent several days on a boat seeing the effects of the oil spill first hand. This project, which proposes to use NASA's active and passive remote sensing capabilities to monitor oil slicks, was funded by NASA six months ago and got a serious jump start three weeks ago when the Deepwater Horizon BP oil rig caught fire and sunk. www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/oilspill/oilspill-calipso-caliop.html
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 11:34:13 GMT -8
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 11:38:14 GMT -8
Sea Turtle Turned Red, Struggling in Oil Slick Orange-colored oil from the April 22 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reached Louisiana’s fragile Chandeleur Islands, which are part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge, an area that officials have now closed so that nesting sea birds will be undisturbed and to “allow cleanup operations continue uninhibited.” Environmentalists are increasingly worried about [...] "turns red when the iron in the oil oxidizes" vodpod.com/watch/3566773-sea-turtle-turned-red-struggling-in-oil-slick
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 11:45:33 GMT -8
Experts Puzzled at Red Gulf Oil Slick This occurrence is highly unusual May 25th, 2010, 09:02 GMT One of the most defining traits of any oil spill is the fact that it's black. The tar and crude cover the surface of land or water in a thin, black layer, which causes a lot of damage, and also gives the slick its characteristic look. But this does not appear to be the case with the most recent disaster of this nature. The oil spill taking place in the Gulf of Mexico for the last month has covered the waters of the Atlantic Ocean with a reddish slick, which has left scientists puzzled. They infer that the mixing process currently taking place between water and oil must have something to do with this peculiar event, but a connection is not immediately visible, LiveScience www.livescience.com/technology/Gulf-Oil-Slick-Color-Red-100524.html reports. “We believe that the reddish brown color is indicative of the formation of a water-in-oil emulsion, called a mousse. These [oil slicks] typically have colors other than black, but with this oil, the colors are fairly vivid. We still don't know the exact cause of the color change but it probably as something to do with the water/asphaltene interactions,” explains Louisiana State University professor emeritus Edward Overton, who is a member of the team conducting investigations into this issue. He adds that asphaltene compounds are essentially remnants of the green plant pigment called chlorophyll, and that the chemicals make up an important part of the crude oil. Since April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible drilling rig exploded, killing 11, thousands of barrels of crude oil have been leaking into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The oil slick has extended considerably in the month that passed, and now threatens delicate coastal areas. Some say underwater plumes may have entered the Loop Current, which is a deep-water current that heads east, towards Florida, and then even further, into the Gulf Stream. Since April 22, when the rig sunk, British Petroleum, the company in charge of operating the platform, has been struggling to contain the situation with federal help, but thus far efforts have been in vain. news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Puzzled-at-Red-Gulf-Oil-Slick-142907.shtml______________________________ [Why Is the Gulf Oil Slick Red? He added, "We still don't know the exact cause of the color change but it probably as something to do with the water/asphaltene interactions." Asphaltenes are residues from chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants, and they make up a component of crude oil. Over hundreds of thousands of years, as plants died and sank to the bottom of the sea, along with other organic matter, they (along with their chlorophyll) mixed with mud and sand of the surrounding area. As more and more sediment piled on top, the resulting heat and pressure transformed the organic layer into kerogen, a dark and waxy substance. Over time, kerogen molecules broke up into shorter and lighter molecules made mostly of carbon and hydrogen (hydrocarbons). Depending on the mixture of liquid and gas, the result can be either petroleum or natural gas. "We are trying to see if we can find the chromophores, but this is not a priority project because it doesn't affect the ultimate weathering of the oil," Overton told Life's Little Mysteries. A chromophore is the light-absorbing part of a molecule responsible for its color. The scientists hope to see if other oils in the area have the same reddish color when mixed with water. www.livescience.com/technology/Gulf-Oil-Slick-Color-Red-100524.html
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 11:53:53 GMT -8
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 11:55:51 GMT -8
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 12:04:49 GMT -8
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 12:16:10 GMT -8
Red Moon, Red Sea Why is Mars red? The red color comes from various oxides of iron (hematite mostly) in very, very fine particles, and trace amounts of other elements including titanium, chlorine and sulfur. 8. Crude oil Images of the recent BP oil spill showed red oil floating in the water. It has now turned black. Apparently, there are different types of crude oil, as evidenced by the color difference. ____________________ Wildlife Apocalypse: Video of Gulf birds, fish caught in BP oil spill www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1ngYi6EZzsWildlife apocalypse along the Gulf of Mexico coast is fast becoming a reality. Pelicans are becoming trapped by the oil and dead birds and dolphins have been washing ashore, coated in the sludge. Government officials estimate that roughly 83 to 182 million litres of oil have leaked into the Gulf since the April 20 explosion. _____________________ 9. Manufactured “Red Oil” in the water- Any intermediate-grade petroleum lubricating oil that is red in color Red oil is defined as a substance of varying composition formed when an organic solution, typically tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP, an agent used for extracting heavy metals in nuclear reprocessing plants) and its diluents, comes in contact with concentrated nitric acid at a temperature above 120 °C. Red oil is relatively stable below 130 °C, but it can decompose explosively when its temperature is raised above 130 °C. Three red oil events have occurred in the United States: at the Hanford Site in 1953, and at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in 1953 and 1975. A red oil explosion also occurred in 1993 at the Tomsk-7 site at Seversk, Russia. Generic types of equipment capable of producing red oil in the complex are categorized as evaporators, acid concentrators, and denitrators. The chemicals necessary to produce red oil are, at a minimum, TBP and nitric acid; other, contributory chemicals can include diluent (kerosene-like liquid used to dilute TBP) and/or aqueous phase metal nitrates. heavenawaits.wordpress.com/red-moon-red-sea/
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 12:31:28 GMT -8
Oil May Still be Leaking from BP Spill Source 07.19.10 When expert after expert cautioned that when it comes to the BP spill, we're not out of the woods yet, they meant it. And this latest development clearly signals why: Thad Allen, the incident commander of Gulf operations, wrote a letter to BP regarding concerns that oil may now be seeping out of a new leak some ways away from the recently capped well head. According to Mother Jones, Allen was also concerned with "undetermined anomalies at the well head." These may be precisely the problems that Bill Nye outlined with BP's deep sea operation to stem the spill -- the immense pressure forcing oil up out of the ground makes capping the well more complicated than just plugging it up and sealing it off. The hope was that when BP closed off the valve of its containment unit, it would withstand that pressure -- but as Nye says, if there were leaks in the piping below the surface, the pressure may simply force oil out elsewhere. And that may be what has happened, though certainly hopefully not. Here's Kate Shepperd from Mother Jones with more: Thad Allen, the incident commander for the Gulf disaster, sent a letter to BP last night asking for more information about "a seep a distance from the well and undetermined anomalies at the well head." The letter doesn't offer much in the way of detail about the seep, but the acknowledgment of an additional leak is a bad sign; it could mean that the well is damaged enough that oil is escaping through other avenues. Allen granted BP permission to keep the well closed off for another 24 hours while tests and observation of this new leak continue.www.treehugger.com/assets_c/2010/05/bp-gulf-spill-worst-history-thumb-436x281-18364.jpgwww.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/oil-still-leaking-bp-spill-source.php_________________ Must-See Video Shows BP Gulf Spill & Toxic Dispersants Underwater www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/must-see-video-shows-bp-gulf-spill-toxic-dispersants-underwater.php
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 12:35:46 GMT -8
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 12:37:52 GMT -8
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 12:40:45 GMT -8
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Post by moabiter on Aug 7, 2010 12:57:42 GMT -8
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