Gulf Oil Spill

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Oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico impacts the coast at Pass a Loutre, La.
Oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico impacts the coast at Pass a Loutre, La. Photo was taken on June 2, 2010.
Office of the Governor of the State of Louisiana

The Gulf oil spill is recognized as the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Within days of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people, remote underwater cameras revealed the BP pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. By the time the well was capped on July 15, 2010, an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf.

President Barack Obama established a National Commission to investigate the 2010 oil spill as well as offshore oil drilling. The Commission released its findings in January, 2011. 

The well is located 5,000 feet beneath the water’s surface in the vast frontier of the deep ocean—a permanently dark environment, marked by constantly cold temperatures just above freezing and extremely high pressures. Scientists divide the ocean into at least three zones, and deep ocean accounts for about three-quarters of Earth’s total ocean.

Since the explosion, a number of official resources have come online to track the disaster and its impacts, including the official website of the Unified Command of the Deepwater Horizon Response. In addition to BP and Transocean (owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig) the Unified Command includes NOAA (an Ocean Portal collaborator), the U.S. Coast Guard, EPA, the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and other government agencies. Numerous organizations and institutions are also responding, including scientists and researchers descending on the Gulf region to gather data. In the aftermath, researchers are attempting to understand the spill and its impact on marine life, the Gulf coast, and human communities.

The 2009 scientific reference Gulf of Mexico: Origin, Waters and Biota (Vol. 1: Biodiversity) "lists 15,419 species within 40 phyla -embracing most of the large categories of life on Earth."

– Dr. Sylvia Earle in testimony to Congress on May 19, 2010

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Science

The National Museum of Natural History's Department of Invertebrate Zoology has developed an online map that provides information about invertebrates in the National Collection from areas impacted by the oil spill.

Get a quick overview of useful online resources from NOAA , and find out how a Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute submersible will help NOAA study the oil plume. Watch what researchers like Chris Reddy of WHOI know about the long-term impacts of spilled oil, and see what the Smithsonian Gulf of Mexico invertebrate collections look like on a Google Map.

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Threats & Solutions

Workers contracted by BP load oily waste onto a trailer on Elmer's Island, just west of Grand Isle, La., May 21, 2010.

Read for yourself as Dr. Sylvia Earle makes the case for saving the Gulf of Mexico and investing in its further study and exploration. Learn about turtle rescue efforts in the Gulf and where you can access daily updates from the field. Get an overview of resources dedicated to assessing the human health risks from oil, dispersants, and contaminated sea food.

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I was ruminating last night and came up with a potential good idea to stop the spill in maybe a couple of days of effort.

Imagine in your mind a common slide type Mikuni Morotcycle carb. The float bowl represents the underground oil reserve, the air passing through the venturi is the lower pressure in the deep water. The main jet is the original bore hole that presumably goes straight down into the Earth below whatever messes they have made trying to stop the gusher. Now roll the throttle to the off position and you see the needle going into the main jet and reducing the amount of fuel by the graduating taper.

My idea is to get some tubing that has as it's O.D. the I.D. of the existing bore hole with a tapered end so it slides in with little guidance. The new pipe should be extra thick so as to reinforce the existing original pipe and as long as needed to get into the rock sub-strata so as to bypass any compromised original bore pipe that may be fractured in place. Once the needed length is determined a valve can be installed but left in the open position until the final part is completed so as to keep the whole deal from being pushed up out of the hole like a blowgun dart. After the new tubing has been inserted, a flange below the new shutoff valve can be weighted by the dumping of granite blocks which would be impervious to the action of Sal***er and electrolysis. Several tons should be plenty to overwhelm the oil pressure trying to push up the new pipe once the new valve is closed to allow hook up to the rig to begin flow to whatever they use to get the oil to the refinery. Perhaps some kind of compression rings - like any piston has - could be employed to keep oil from leaking by the small gap between the two pipes. Once leakage has been addressed, a robot welder can finish this patch and perhaps even bolster this union with additional metal sleeving.

First off, I think whatever crap they have lying about near the bore from the original setup should be scraped off and a suction style dredge used to remove the loose sand, exposing the original bore pipe so the new tubing can be inserted cleanly.

What do you think, and who/where would I/you send this idea off too?

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 06/26/2010 - 6:24am.

Wow, it's great that you have put so much thought into this!

You can submit spill clean-up ideas through the U.S. EPA's website or through the Unified Command's site.

If you're interested in how ideas are being sorted and prioritized, check out this recent article from Business Week.

Submitted by Ocean Portal Team on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 10:21am.

It is so sad that the animals are getting killed like this. i wish there was something I could do.:(

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 1:51pm.

I have been thinking about a way to stop the oil spill ever since my teacher started talking about the oil spill. I thought that maybe the people that lives there can help with the oil spill by using this machine to try sucking the oil out of the water.They can do it everyday like a job you do everyday. Then maybe the oil spill will be sucked up! I wish the people luck that is trying to do this!!!!!!!!!!!:)

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 2:00pm.

I think i have an idea. you will have to use a pipe. in the pipe, there shall be a sponge, and some kind of filter. then you put it in the water. this machine will somehow filter the water. then, when it used, make more or just try to scrub the oil out of the " filter thing". This is just an "idea" to help. it may not work, but may give other people ideas.

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 2:05pm.

When my teacher told me about the oil spill I was really sad to hear that the fish, the pelicans, and all the animals were dying because of it. If there was only a way to take all the oil and store it some place other then the ocean. I hope the oil gets cleaned up fast so no more animals die. I hope the oil doesn't spread ***her. The animals don't deserve this. This oil is destroying the environment. The ocean probably looks and feels like mud and, of course, oil. I feel sorry for the animals. I know it will be cleaned someday.

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 2:06pm.

we should help the animals when they are stuck in the oil or something:)

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 2:11pm.

When I heard about the oil spill I saw what had happen to the birds & fish I was sad they didn't do anything.

Submitted by Logan on Thursday, July 1, 2010 - 9
;57 PM

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 10:58pm.

i know i feel waht you feel because the president did not do enthing about waht happened to those poor animals and fish its just so sad he did not do enything about it .......... i wish i was the president

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 12:14pm.

Hello. splendid job. I did not imagine this. This is a impressive story. Thanks! =-=

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 10/26/2011 - 1:47pm.

we need to help the ocean life sothey will stay alive i remember the oil spill it killed most of the fish we don't ant that to happen agian so we need to help the ocean.

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/10/2011 - 4:17pm.

This is horrible! Beautiful marine life, ruined! I heard about it and it just broke my heart!

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/02/2011 - 8:37am.

i think that the hurt and the kills of the animals is all the presidents fult because th r president should have done somthing righ taway about the oil spill. all those animal sorverd because of you.

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 12:11pm.

the president really has a nerve not to do enything about what just happend to those poor animals and fish. i eish i was the president so i could do somthing about this ......... relply to me thank you

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 12:17pm.

i really wish we could have saved those poor animals that died. =( the people who saved the animals in need, i bet if they could talk they would sincerely thank you for the love, help and compassion. =p

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 12:18pm.

when i heard about the oil spill it just crushed my heart into a million pieces. i really wish i could do something to help! all those animals that have died had hopes and dreams that will never happen, and for those who are living are singing" I AM A SURVIVOR, GOOD GRACIOUS IM A SURVIVOR" thank you for reading my comment! =D

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 12:23pm.

Visit NOAA's Gulf Spill Restoration website to learn about how the President's Administration has responded to the oil spill and to submit your own clean-up proposals.

-The Ocean Portal Team

Submitted by Ocean Portal Team on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 12:37pm.

i think that the gulf oil spill was sad .i hated to see the anmals in danger and hearing peolpe died from it

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 11/28/2011 - 9:30am.

I know if we all work together to make the ocean and earth a better clean place to live on for thousands of generations

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/09/2012 - 5:05pm.

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