Download BP…WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

BP……WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
 DeepWater Horizon Oil Spill
Timeline
 Deepwater Horizon
 floating rig
 exploratory drilling 50 miles southeast of Venice
 water nearly 1 mile deep
 only 40-50 rigs in Gulf drilling this deep
 April 20, 2010 – explosion – methane gas
 April 22, 2010 – rig topples, oil begins to leak from well
in sea floor
 Blow-out preventer failed
 Three leaks, one has been sealed
Current situation
 As of ???????????? gallons of oil have been released into
the gulf.
 Exxon Valdez in 1989 was 11 million gallons
 Attempted to place large “funnel” over leak on Saturday
5/8
 Gas-water crystals clogged
 Mitigation: booms, skimming, burning, dispersants
(bad weather disrupts)
 Oil started showing up on shore over the weekend
What next for BP?
 As of July 15 the leak has been capped.
 Future ???????? $$$$$$
BIODEGRADATION OF OIL
BY
BACTERIA
 BACTERIA AND MICROBES ARE THE ONLY THINGS
THAT WILL ULTIMATELY CLEAN UP (NOT JUST
MOVE AROUND) THE ONGOING OIL SPILL IN THE
GULF OF MEXICO
There are billions of hydrocarbon
chewing microbes
BACTERIA ARE ABLE TO MAKE THEIR OWN
SURFACTANT
( reduces surface tension)
Dispersants
 Separates the oil into smaller droplets
 Dispersed throughout the water column
 Prevent surface slick – affects beaches, marshes, animals
– immediate damage
 Does not destroy or eliminate oil – dilutes and alters
until natural degradation
 Where does it go? – complex currents, water vs
sediment
 What does it do? – food chain, toxicity