Tar Balls Found Off Key West

[Ponce]

Tar Balls Found Off Key West
| 05/17/10 11:24 PM |

Tar balls like those found on the Louisiana shore, seen above, have now been found off Key West, Florida.Get Breaking News Alerts

Share Comments 3,834 KEY WEST, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard says 20 tar balls have been found off Key West, Fla., but the agency stopped short of saying whether they came from a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Some 5 million gallons of crude has spewed into the Gulf and tar balls have been washing ashore in several states along the coast.

Scientists are worried that oil is getting caught in a major ocean current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and up the East Coast.

The Coast Guard says the Florida Park Service found the tar balls on Monday during a shoreline survey. The balls were 3-to-8 inches in diameter.

Coast Guard Lt. Anna K. Dixon said no one at the station in Key West was qualified to determine where the tar balls originated. They have been sent to a lab for analysis.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/tar-balls-key-west_n_579660.html

[k-os]

This does not bode well for our beautiful, fragile coral reef system off of the coast of Southeast Florida.

I would think that if it's in the Keys, it's in the Gulf Stream and the mess is headed all the way up the East Coast of the United States.

[madfranks]

Coast Guard Lt. Anna K. Dixon said no one at the station in Key West was qualified to determine where the tar balls originated. They have been sent to a lab for analysis.

Are these people idiots? They're claiming that they don't know where the tar is coming from? This article is proof that the media is trying to downplay the significance of what is going on in the gulf.

[TPTB]

"Let them eat tar balls." :-X

[banjo]

This does not bode well for our beautiful, fragile coral reef system off of the coast of Southeast Florida.

I would think that if it's in the Keys, it's in the Gulf Stream and the mess is headed all the way up the East Coast of the United States.



It makes me sick to think of the reef covered with oil.

[k-os]

It makes me sick to think of the reef covered with oil.


It makes me want to cry.

[Ponce]

I just to dive of "No Name Key" searching for lobsters when I was with a international group that was training to go into Cuba.......the water was pretine and no lobster could scape, also did spear fishing for food.........those were the days.

[Gaillo]

Coast Guard Lt. Anna K. Dixon said no one at the station in Key West was qualified to determine where the tar balls originated. They have been sent to a lab for analysis.

Are these people idiots?...


Yes.

[DMac]

Tar Balls found in Florida Keys; Tuesday Conference Call with NOAA Regarding possibility of oil entering Loop Current (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6481)

Posted by Gail the Actuary on May 18, 2010 - 12:36pm

I listened to a press conference with NOAA administrators this morning regarding the possibility of oil from the oil spill getting into the Loop Current. Some of the takeaways from the press conference:

1. While tar balls have been found in the Florida Keys, test have not yet been performed to determine whether they are from BP's oil spill. They might be from another source.

2. Any oil that does get into the Loop Current will be very dilute and weathered, by the time it gets to Florida. If oil does go this far, tar balls would be typical of the kind of hydrocarbons one would expect, by the time the oil gets this far.

3. The vast majority of the oil in the oil slick is "dozens of miles" from the Loop Current. What is relatively close is the very tip of a tendril of light oil slick extending to the south. According to a map on the NOAA website (shown below the fold), "Ocean models indicate that the band of oil sheens along the souther edge of the plume which is in a counterclockwise eddy could enter the northeastern edge of the Loop Current."

4. The exact location of the oil slick and of the Loop Current changes over time. NOAA is doing additional monitoring tests, to try to determine with more precision how far apart the tip of the oil slick is from the Loop Current.

5. The behavior of the Loop Current varies at different depths. The top layer seems to moves faster than the lower layers. Based on the speed of the top layer, if oil enters the oil slick, it would take 8 to 10 days to travel to the Florida Keys. During this time, the oil would continue to evaporate and weather, reducing the amount of oil getting to Florida, and changing its nature.

6. Samples of water from the underwater "plumes" have been taken by the Pelican research ship. These samples have been divided and sent to testing centers, but no results are yet available.

7. New fishery closures are being announced today. The total proportion closed now amounts to 19% of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA is also starting a new seafood sampling plan.

8. The NOAA Website (http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY(entry_subtopic _topic)=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=809&subtopic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=2&topic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=1) shows the following forecast for the oil slick for Thursday. (Click for larger image).

http://www.theoildrum.com/files/2011_TMF72-2010-05-17-2100.png


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Government to Oil Plume Discovery Team: Shut Up (http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/48816)