Perspectives on the Unfolding Spill: Evidence of the Environmental Impacts of the Event

While the government declared an end to the oil spill at the Macondo well on September 19, 2010, research into the causes and impacts of the Gulf disaster is ongoing. At the kickoff panel of a three-part symposium, three scientists discuss what they are learning about the disposition of the nearly 5 million gallons of oil, as well as gas and chemicals, injected into Gulf waters following the blowout. A decade ago, a group of oil companies, including BP, sponsored a series of controlled releases of oil and methane off the coast of Norway. Much of what we know about underwater spills comes from these studies, says Eric Adams, who “laments” the lack of follow up research into deeper waters. Scientists learned that the light gas “provided a buoyant engine for crude migration,” and that as this oil mix gushed from the site of injection, it formed small droplets. The Gulf spill, like these studies, involved oil mixed with natural gas. Much of this oil was similarly atomized, suggests Adams, and reduced in size further by chemical dispersants. The resultant miniature droplets could take as long as a year to rise to the surface, and are deposited at different layers in the water. Adams and others hope to create models for how oil diffused into water around the Deepwater Horizon site, and how the particles disperse over time. Using an ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometer, Elizabeth Kujawinski has been sampling sea water at different distances from the well head to identify the presence of oil and dispersants. In particular, she wants to know how these components spread into Gulf waters. With help from the EPA, Kujawinski and her team learned the chemical signature of Corexit, the key dispersant used in the Gulf spill, where it was used heavily for the first time under water. She is busy “quantifying the molecule” in samples from various cruises, and comparing these samples to control batches of sea water. Says Kujawinski, “Our data is providing new insight into compoun...

Channel: MIT World Video Length: 0s Date Found: Thu, Oct 28 2010 12:26 PM Category: Science Date Produced: Thu, Oct 28 2010 12:00 AM View Count: 0