I also would like to thank you – I run a no drilling campaign in Italy (there are plans to drill 5km out of the Venice lagoon, of all places!) and have used your web site to educate the people over there about this spill, but also Montara a few months ago. Thanks also for testifying in Congress about why drilling our oceans is such a bad idea. Sincerely, Maria

http://www.dorsogna.blogspot.com

Measure and model the rise trajectory of oil escaping the well
Response to the ongoing spill from the uncontrolled well in Mississippi Canyon 252 should employ optimal oceanographic data collection, reporting, analysis and modeling capabilities. The responders presently face severe challenges because the oil is being released at 5000 ft water depth. As it rises through the water column until it reaches the surface it is pushed by ocean currents. The rise rate will be fairly slow, so that it may take 4 hours or more to reach the surface. This means that the oil drops could drift several miles away from the release point before they become visible. For optimal response, the skimmers should be positioned as close as possible to the surfacing point. This is light oil and it spreads rapidly. Once the oil has spread into a thin layer, the skimmers face an increasingly difficult struggle in collecting it. If skimmers could intercept the oil as soon as it reaches the ocean surface, they would have a much better chance to recover or possibly burn the oil in place. The following plan of action has been developed in consultation with concerned oceanographers experienced in the Gulf of Mexico.
1. Make continuous, real-time measurements of the currents not just at the surface but over the entire water column. This can be done with acoustic current profilers (called ADCPs) presently available. At a minimum, two ADCPs should be deployed; one at the surface looking down and profiling the currents down to about 1000 ft and one on the bottom looking up and measuring the bottom currents. They would report their measurements near real time so that responders could continually update their models and shift their response. Information on surface and bottom currents would also be crucial as responders attempt to lower a cap on to the well hole.
a) Upper ADCP: This instrument can be mounted on a surface buoy equipped with satellite communications that would automatically update the responders at regular intervals. The Texas Automated Buoy System, run by Texas A&M University, has long experience with this type of deployment and has previous experience in spill response. There is an available buoy at the University of Mississippi and the buoy could be deployed in a matter of days.
b) Lower ADCP: This instrument could be mounted on the top of one the on-site ROVs presently operating at the well hole. It would send its data up the umbilical cable to the surface where it could be integrated into the overall response information. There are several ADCPs in the Gulf of Mexico region that could be made available. Technicians could helicopter out to the accident site and install the instruments on the ROVs.
2. Model the trajectory of oil rising from the bottom to predict where it will surface: This has been done with a model called SLIKTRAK that was originally developed at Texas A&M University. SLIKTRAK has been used by oil companies and by the US Naval Research Lab for previous studies of oil rising from the bottom. SLIKTRAK can be run on a laptop computer and can integrate the output of ADCP profiles. The model could be adjusted based or the observed rise speed of the oil once it leaves the turbulent jets at the leak point. Fine-tuning based on ship and aerial observations would improve accuracy over time.
For further information on ADCP and SLIKTRAK response, please contact:
Norman Guinasso, Ph.D. (ADCP buoy & ROV deployment)
Director of the Texas Automated Buoy System,
Texas A&M University
norman@gerg.tamuc.edu
979-862-2323 x114
Ian MacDonald, Ph.D. (SLIKTRAK)
Professor of Oceanography
Florida State University
imacdonald@fsu.edu
850-644-5598