I received an email today from an oceanographer who studies the Gulf of Mexico. He's well-aware of the human tragedy -- some of his colleagues are still unaccounted for -- but he also writes this:
"I can tell you that the environmental damage to lower Louisiana will match the human loss, in terms of impact and severity."
The story of Katrina is just beginning. Her legacy will be yet another scar from the tenure of our twice elected president, George W. Bush.
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Gasoline from a million cars will flow out in the effluent being pumped out, heavy metals, toxic/human waste - you name it -- will all be heading into the lowlands, estuaries, and continental shelf."
My friend studies ocean currents and is a leading researcher of worsening hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, better known as the "dead zone."
The GOM dead zone, usually about 6000 sq. miles, is expanding due to increased discharge from the Mississippi. Hypoxia means "low oxygen" and bottom-dwelling marine life, where the hypoxia is most intense, are especially at risk.
"What doesn't immediately impact the biota will be sequestered in the sediments until another storm churns them up, only to wreak more havoc."
All the contaminated water from New Orleans is being pumped back into the Gulf of Mexico. Imagine that waste settling into the ocean floor. Until the next storm.
"Toxic time capsules."
As the dead zone expands, the Gulf fishing industry suffers. Now add the damage caused by Katrina...
"There are currently dozens of spills and leaks in the Gulf. The MARS platform was obliterated...it is truely unbelievable when you think that that billion dollar rig was tethered with seven, 5-mile cables and anchored with 1500 feet of chain, each link the size of a pick-up truck."
The MARS platform, owned by Royal Dutch Shell, produces about 157 million cubic feet of gas per day. Shell is reporting MARS has "some damage to its upper deck."
Finally:
"Stennis Space Center was taken out and that means that much of the operational capability of the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) is shut down."
Losing NAVOCEANO means a great deal of the computing power that supports science in the GOM, especially modeling, is gone.
Despite this administration's flagrant disdain for science, only scientists can begin to examine and repair the environmental damage to the GOM. Studying an earth system as vast and complicated as the ocean requires modeling -- only a tiny fraction can ever be observed. Models allow us to test and predict the consequences of storms like Katrina.
And scientists also use models to predict how best to repair the damage left behind by natural disasters, and by corrupt, ignorant politicians.