. Earth Science News .
FROTH AND BUBBLE
First Report On Fate Of Underwater Dispersants In Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

They found DOSS became concentrated in the deepwater plumes of suspended oil and gas at depths of up to three-quarters of a mile and did not mix with the surface applications of dispersant.
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 31, 2011
Scientists are reporting that key chemical components of the 770,000 gallons of oil dispersants applied below the ocean surface in the Deepwater Horizon spill did mix with oil and gas spewing out of the damaged wellhead and remained in the deep ocean for two months or more without degrading.

However, it was not possible to determine if the first deep ocean use of oil dispersants worked as planned in breaking up and dissipating the oil. Their study, the first peer-reviewed research published on the fate of oil dispersants added to underwater ocean environments, appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Elizabeth Kujawinski and colleagues note ongoing concern about the environmental fate of the 1.4 million gallons of dispersant applied to the ocean surface and the 770,000 gallons of dispersant pumped to the mile-deep well head during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Many studies show that dispersants added to surface oil spills prevent them from coating and harming sensitive coastal environments, but no large-scale applications of dispersants in deep water had been conducted until the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Thus, no data exists on the environmental fate of dispersants in deep water, the scientists say.

The scientists collected and analyzed seawater samples from the Gulf of Mexico for the presence of a key dispersant ingredient, called DOSS (dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate), during the active oil flow and again after the flow had ceased.

They found DOSS became concentrated in the deepwater plumes of suspended oil and gas at depths of up to three-quarters of a mile and did not mix with the surface applications of dispersant.

They also detected the dispersant ingredient at distances of nearly 200 miles from the well two months after deepwater dispersant applications ceased, indicating it was not rapidly biodegraded. Their data is not sufficient to resolve whether the dispersant was effective in dispersing the oil coming out of the wellhead.

However, the scientists argue that the persistence of the dispersant over long distances and time periods justifies further study of the effects of chemical dispersant and oil mixture exposure.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
-
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


FROTH AND BUBBLE
Probe into illegal waste-dumping in Naples, 14 arrests
Rome (AFP) Jan 28, 2011
Italian police arrested 14 people on Friday for alleged illegal waste-dumping in the sea off Naples, including an ex-top figure in the Civil Protection Agency and a state representative, Italian media said. Garbage treatment plants in the Campania region had made deals with public officials allowing them to illegally flush contaminated liquids straight into the sea without treating them, the ... read more







FROTH AND BUBBLE
Clinton visits quake-hit Haiti as new vote looms

Australia flags taxpayer levy for floods

No 'magic pot of money' for Australia floods: PM

UN says Pakistan still in emergency after floods

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Mobile 'apps' to be $58 billion market: study

News Corp. to launch iPad newspaper Wednesday

China's Lenovo, NEC form PC joint venture in Japan

Touchscreens Made Of Carbon

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Warming North Atlantic Water Tied To Heating Arctic

Precise Way To Monitor Ocean Wave Behavior And Shore Impacts

Study Finds Common Ground For Ecosystems And Fishing In Northwest Mexico

Fish consumption at all time high, says UN agency

FROTH AND BUBBLE
'Hidden Plumbing' Helps Slow Greenland Ice Flow

VIMS Team Glides Into Polar Research

Study alters Greenland glacier melt view

Scientists Find That Debris On Certain Himalayan Glaciers May Prevent Melting

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Fishy Consequences Of Transplanting Trout, Salmon, Whitefishes

China goes rabbit-crazy for Lunar New Year

Notre Dame Biologists Call For Regulation Of Rare Plant Sales

Smaller Rows Contribute To More Soybean Yields In Colder Climates

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Hundreds evacuate as Japan volcano erupts

Australia dodges cyclone 'bullet', but worse feared

Airlines resume Bali flights as volcano slows

Cyclones to hit flood-weary Australia

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Sudan recognises landslide vote for indepedent south

Nigeria religious war boosts poll tensions

French defence minister spells out Ivory Coast position

Commentary: Explosive kaleidoscope

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Modern Humans Reached Arabia Earlier Than Thought

Mathematical Model Explains How Complex Societies Emerge And Collapse

Date of humans out of Africa pushed back

Indonesia arrests suspect in asylum deaths


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement