Scientists can be Superheroes too.
Have you ever needed a Penicillin shot,
or did comparison shopping on a PC,
or wondered what the surface
of Mars looks like?
Well thank a Scientist, then.
Those guys, in the data trenches, have way more practical expertise,
than the average Politician or CEO will acquire in a lifetime.
Scientists Fault Lack of Studies Over Gulf Oil Spill
Justin Gillis, NYTimes - 05/19/2010
Rick Steiner, a marine biologist and a veteran of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, assailed NOAA in an interview, declaring that it had been derelict in analyzing conditions beneath the sea.
I'd say marine biologist, Rick Steiner knows a thing or two, about Oil Spills, having been in the those slippery Trenches for a while.
[marine biologist, Rick Steiner continues ...]
Mr. Steiner said the likelihood of extensive undersea plumes of oil droplets should have been anticipated from the moment the spill began, given that such an effect from deepwater blowouts had been predicted in the scientific literature for more than a decade, and confirmed in a test off the coast of Norway. An extensive sampling program to map and characterize those plumes should have been put in place from the first days of the spill, he said.
"A vast ecosystem is being exposed to contaminants right now, and nobody’s watching it," Mr. Steiner said. "That seems to me like a catastrophic failure on the part of NOAA."
According to Steiner -- the current extent of Oil damage, COULD HAVE been predicted -- by the Experts who have studied the field, for years.
And WHAT have some of those boring "Scientific Studies" shown?
Scientists have long theorized that a shallow spill and a spill in the deep ocean — this one is a mile down — would behave quite differently. A 2003 report by the National Research Council predicted that the oil in a deepwater blowout could break into fine droplets, forming plumes of oil mixed with water that would not quickly rise to the surface.
That prediction appeared to be confirmed Saturday when the researchers aboard the Pelican reported that they had detected immense plumes that they believed were made of oil particles. The results were not final, and came as a surprise to the government. They raise a major concern, that sea life in concentrated areas could be exposed to a heavy load of toxic materials as the plumes drift through the sea.
Here are some key excerpts from that National Academy of Sciences study.
Perhaps NOAA officials might want to bookmark it for 'future reference' ?
National Academy of Sciences: Deep Water Plume Study (pdf)
Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects
http://www.nap.edu/...
Plume phase
For most substantial releases, the discharged hydrocarbon will form a rising plume shortly after release, which is analogous to the previously described plume that forms in a shallow-water release. However, in deep water, the plume eventually entrains so much dense water that the aggregate density of the oil-gas-hydrate-seawater suspension is no longer buoyant.
Once the plume sheds some of its heavier components, it may re-form as the plume ceases to rise, and "mushrooms."
This process can occur numerous times (known as peeling).
Whether or not a given plume reaches a terminal level will depend on
-- the depth of discharge,
-- the plume buoyancy (flow rate and composition of oil, gas, and hydrates), and
-- the strength of the ambient stratification.
Most substantial releases will reach a terminal depth within an order of 100 meters of the release orifice although it can be much higher especially if the stratification is weak.
Larger image
[...]
Despite the fact that surface slicks capture the public attention, there are a substantial percentage of accidental spills that occur beneath the surface, typically from the seafloor. Examples include blowouts of exploration wells, pipeline ruptures, and shipwrecks.
The release of oil beneath the surface introduces a number of complications compared to oil released at the surface. From the standpoint of fate the most important complications are:
-- enhanced dissolution in the water column and,
-- perhaps, emulsification.
If natural gas is present it will tend to dissolve rapidly during the rise through the water column.
When your pipes are busted, you don't call a Bureaucrat, or a Lobbyist, or a CEO, now do you?
NO. you call an Expert.
So maybe, NOAA Administrators, may actually want to consider, adding some ACTUAL Oceanographers, and Fluid Engineers, to "their Team" ???
-- that they are "just starting" to put together.
Oceanographers may actually know a thing or two, ABOUT WHAT we are Trying to Protect!
(Hint: It's not BP's Reputation.)
Scientists Fault Lack of Studies Over Gulf Oil Spill
Justin Gillis, NYTimes - 05/19/2010
"It seems baffling that we don’t know how much oil is being spilled," Sylvia Earle, a famed oceanographer, said Wednesday on Capitol Hill. "It seems baffling that we don’t know where the oil is in the water column."
The administration acknowledges that its scientific resources are stretched by the disaster, but contends that it is moving to get better information, including a more complete picture of the underwater plumes.
"We’re in the early stages of doing that, and we do not have a comprehensive understanding as of yet of where that oil is," Jane Lubchenco, the NOAA administrator, told Congress on Wednesday. "But we are devoting all possible resources to understanding where the oil is and what its impact might be."
Some more somber advice, from ... "Her Royal Deepness":
Sylvia Earle: How to protect the oceans (TED Prize winner)
TEDtalksDirector
http://www.youtube.com/...
Intelligent Life ... it's out there somewhere ...
Even if it's only rarely seen,
like a deepwater Giant Squid.
It may be time to Turn to the Scientists -- since They get it.
And if we don't?
Well, WE Humans, just may end up on that "Endangered Species List" too.
Cuz those Silly Scientists know a thing or two about that too.