Re: We're Gonna Get Hammered - Oil Spill!
Has anyone heard any comparisons between cleaning up light sweet oil and heavy crude, I know the point may be moot but just wondered.
I haven't heard/read any comparison between cleaning up the crude that was spilled in Alaska v. this crude, but don't get too attached to the term,
light, sweet crude.
As this oil makes the journey up through a 5,000 water column, the lighter components separate. The heavier components are still lighter than water and continue to rise to the surface. When this portion of the crude first reaches the surface and is agitated by wave action for a bit, it becomes about like "Noxema Skin Cream" in consistency. After days on the surface and exposure to air and sunlight, it thickens even more. What is now on the surface is a gooey, red substance that is more like mud, than any sort of a film.
Having this coat the marshes is going to be a big mess. It probably isn't going to be possible to clean them, so there are possible plans to simply burn the marshes, at some point in time. What has not been decided, however, is when to do that. Our marshes and estuaries provide a great deal of hurricane protection. In fact, one of the reasons why Katrina did so much damage, is because we have lost huge amounts of marshland over the decades. As such, our leaders are leary about burining the marshes before hurricane season is over this year. If we go ahead with the burn, we could be giving up what little protection we have left, until the marsh grasses grow back.
Unfortunately, this is to a large degree, a "take it day by day" situation.
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