Earth Environment Underground

To collect their seabed samples, the USF team used a box corer, a geological tool for scooping up sediments that’s “as primitive as it gets,” Hollander said. The samples not only emitted the telling fluorescence, but their glow persisted even after the samples had been frozen for seven hours, suggesting that living things weren’t causing the light, Hollander said. But there could still be other substances responsible for the brightness, such as fluorescent minerals. Further laboratory tests—expected early next week—will confirm whether the samples contain Gulf oil, he said. It’s “certainly plausible” there’s oil from the damaged wellhead in the deep sediment and water, added LSU’s Carney. But he added that oil also occurs naturally in the Gulf. Hydrocarbons, for instance, often escape from natural oil seeps on the seabed. (Read more about … Read ahead

Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Latest at news.nationalgeographic.com

• Toxic Oil Lurking Deep on Gulf Seafloor?
• Space Photos This Week: Star Blob, Perseids, More
• Missing the Chance for Big Energy Savings
• Evolution Surprise: Bacteria Have “Noses,” Can Smell
• New Public Road to Split the Serengeti?
• A Fuel That Doesn’t Go to Waste
• Why Antarctic Sea Ice Is Growing in a Warmer World

COLLEGE STATION, Aug. 5, 2010 – Reports saying that 75 percent of the gulf oil spill has either been cleaned up or broken down by natural forces are likely incorrect, and there are still big problems lurking beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, … Read ahead

Source: tamunews.tamu.edu

Latest at tamunews.tamu.edu

• Gulf Oil Spill Gone? Not So Fast
• Keeping Your Horse Cool in the Summer
• KAMU TV To Air “Disaster In The Gulf”
• Cloudseeding and Rainmaking
• The Evolution of Aggie Greeks
• Hill Earns Teaching Awards
• Graduate Contributes To Mental Retardation Research Published In Nature

The Gulf Oil Spill is thousands of miles away, but experts worry that Great Lakes migratory birds are threatened by it. Minnesota’s state bird, the common loon, and the endangered piping plover are among those in harm’s way. … Read ahead

Source: greatlakesecho.org

Latest at greatlakesecho.org

• Kalamazoo River spill: How much oil is 800,000 gallons?
• Is an oil spill worse than a carp invasion?
• Climate changes could disrupt walleye reproduction in Minnesota lakes, Great Lakes
• Michigan Now on the Kalamazoo River oil spill
• The Greening of Flint: Mr. Rogers Garden Program
• Carp bomb: Carp v. cooperation
• MONDAY MASHUP: Great Lakes tapestry map

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil giant BP Plc rejected a request from Texas for a $25 million cash advance to clean up shorelines sullied by the Gulf oil spill, and got a scathing response from top Texas officials, according to letters given to Reuters on Thursday. BP denied a July 5 request from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott for a $25 million "block grant," similar to cash advances for clean up that BP gave to all other Gulf Coast states, the letter from BP to Abbott showed. While BP will not grant the cash advance, it promised to pay Texas for clean-up costs as they arise, and pledged $5 million for the Texas Coastal Protection Fund, which is meant for oil spill responses. Some tar balls linked to BP's Gulf of Mexico spill have hit Texas shores, although damage has so far been small compared to widespread fouling of beaches in other Gulf states. The BP letter, dated July 12, was given to Reuters by Abbott's office. In a scathing response letter, dated July 22, Texas Governor Rick Perry and Attorney General Abbott urged BP to advance more clean-up funds quickly. "BP has taken steps to ensure every other Gulf Coast state is prepared to respond, yet you shortchange the state in which you have chosen to domicile – and whose beaches you threaten with tar balls," reads one passage of the response letter given to Reuters. London-based BP has its U.S. headquarters in Houston and holds billions of dollars in Texas assets. In another passage, Governor Perry, a Republican, tells BP executive Doug Suttles that "you are essentially asking Texas to just trust you." BP did not immediately return phone calls or emails requesting comment on the letters. The company said in its letter to Abbott that Texas shores may face only "the occasional random scattering of tar balls," citing an estimate from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Chemical analysis of sludgy tar balls found at McFadden Beach near Port Arthur, Texas, showed the oil was from BP's spill. BP has paid around $4 billion so far to respond to the massive spill caused by its Gulf of Mexico oil well blowout on April 20. The company has provided "block grant" advances of $50 million to other states affected by the spill. "BP contends that Texas' request for financial assistance to defend its Gulf Coast is "premature" and that BP "expects" that any risk to Texas is "limited," Perry and Abbott wrote. "These predictions about the future are entitled to no weight, and offer no comfort to Texans impacted by the spill," they added. BP has received more than 100,000 oil spill claims so far. According to Perry's letter to BP, more than 4,400 are from Texas, and BP has paid out more than $5 million to Texas claimants. (Editing by David Gregorio) … Read ahead

Source: news.yahoo.com

Just how bad is the Gulf oil crisis? A BBC News correspondent joined an expedition of top scientists in the region to explore the Gulf Coast, who say that it may be decades before wildlife in the region recover. … Read ahead

Source: bbc.co.uk

Iron Chef America has officially banned bluefin tuna from the show. As a perhaps fitting postscript, Makoto lost to Iron Chef Michael Symon, who did not cook any possibly-endangered species for the event. For more on the issue of whether bluefin should be declared an endangered species, especially in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, read this recent … Read ahead

Source: blogs.laweekly.com

Latest at blogs.laweekly.com

• Pink’s Hot Dogs Opens Tomorrow in LAX
• How Honest is L.A.? The Results of Honest Tea’s Social Experiment
• First Bite: The Accidental Bar, or Discovering Fu-ga in Little Tokyo
• The Tower of Torta: ampm’s Secret Menu
• What’s in Season at the Farmers Markets: Green Walnuts
• Fireman’s Brew: Beer (Or Cream Soda) For A Cause
• Food Truck Reps Take their Fight To Adam Carolla & His National Podcast Audience

Greenpeace Greenpeace International Select a website International (English) ———– Africa – Congo (Français) Africa – Senegal (Français) Africa – South Africa (English) Argentina (Español) Australia (English) Austria (Deutsch) Belgium (Nederlands/Français) Brazil (Português) Canada (English/Français) Chile (Español) China Mainland (简体中文) China Mainland (English) Czech Republic (Češka) Denmark (Dansk) Fiji (English) Finland (Suomea) France (Français) Germany (Deutsch) Greece (Ελληνικά) Hong Kong (繁體中文) Hungary (Magyar) India (English) Indonesia (Indonesia) Israel (עברית) Italy (Italiano) Japan (日本語) Lebanon (العربية) Luxembourg (Français) Malta (English) Mexico (Español) Netherlands (Nederlands) New Zealand (English) Norway (Norsk) Papua New Guinea (English) Philippines (Fillipino) Poland (Polska) Portugal (Português) Romania (Român) Russia (Русский) Slovakia (Slovenčina) Spain (Español) Sweden (Svenska) Switzerland (Schweizerdeutsch) Taiwan (繁體中文) Thailand (ไทย) Turkey (Türk) United Kingdom (English) USA (English) Press Publications Home About us FAQ Greenpeace worldwide Greenpeace victories The history of Greenpeace World Park Antarctica The evacuation of Rong… The Founders Amchitka: the founding… Moruroa: Journey into … The bombing of the Rai… The Brent Spar Greenpeace structure Our core values Ships The Rainbow Warrior Work for Greenpeace Head of Executive Dire… What we do Stop climate change Energy [R]evolution Gulf Oil Spill Cool IT Our climate vision Quit Coal Climate impacts Climate science Arctic Under Pressure Solutions Climate reports Forests Threats Solutions Indonesia … Read ahead

Source: greenpeace.org

Underpromising with hopes of overdelivering, BP said Sunday that it is making progress on what could prove its most effective effort yet to contain the Gulf oil leak, but cautioned that the verdict could be several days away. … Read ahead

Source: mail.com

Latest at mail.com

• BP reports progress on oil cap; Gulf Coast waits
• What have prosecutors proved about Blagojevich?
• Alzheimer’s advances show need for better drugs
• Rev. Schuller’s daughter assumes lead pastor role
• FEC filing shows Palin gave $87,500 to candidates
• Vt. scrap-wood dinosaur posing modern-day problem
• Rev. Schuller retiring from Crystal Cathedral

NEW ORLEANS — Robotic submarines working a mile underwater removed a leaking cap from the gushing Gulf oil well Saturday, starting a painful trade-off: Millions more gallons of crude will flow freely into the sea for at least two days until a new seal can be mounted to capture all of it. There’s no guarantee for such a delicate operation almost a mile below the water’s surface, officials said, and the permanent fix of plugging the well from the bottom remains slated for mid-August. “It’s not just going to be, you put the cap on, it’s done. It’s not like putting a cap on a tube of toothpaste,” Coast Guard spokesman Capt. James McPherson said. Robotic submarines removed the cap that had been placed on top of the leak in early June to collect the oil and send it to surface ships for collection or burning. BP aims to have the new, tighter cap in place as early as Monday and said that, as of Saturday night, the work was going according to plan. If tests show it can withstand the pressure of the oil and is working, the Gulf region could get its most significant piece of good news since the April 20 explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers. “Over the next four to seven days, depending on how things go, we should get that sealing cap on. That’s our plan,” said Kent Wells, a BP senior vice president, of the round-the-clock operation. It would be only a temporary solution to the catastrophe that the federal government estimates has poured between 87 million and 172 million gallons of oil into the Gulf as of Saturday. Hope for permanently plugging the leak lies with two relief wells, the first of which should be finished by mid-August. With the cap removed Saturday at 12:37 p.m. CDT, oil flowed freely into the water, collected only by the Q4000 surface vessel, with a capacity of about 378,000 gallons. That vessel should be joined Sunday by the Helix Producer, which has more than double the Q4000’s capacity. But the lag could be long enough for as much as 5 million gallons to gush into already fouled waters. Officials said a fleet of large skimmers was scraping oil from the surface above the well site. The process begun Saturday has two major phases: removing equipment currently on top of the leak and installing new gear designed to fully contain the flow of oil. BP began trying Saturday afternoon to remove the bolted top flange that only partially completed the seal with the old cap. Video images showed robotic arms working to unscrew its bolts. Wells said that could last into Monday depending on whether the flange can be pulled off from above, as BP hopes. If not, a specially designed tool will be used to pry apart the top and bottom flanges. Once the top flange is removed, BP has to bind together two sections of drill pipe that are in the gushing well head. Then a 12-foot-long piece of equipment called a flange transition spool will be lowered and bolted over it. The second piece of pipe inside the well head came as something of a surprise, and raises the possibility that one of the sections of pipe became jammed in the Deepwater Horizon’s blowout preventer, though which the well pipes run. The failure of the blowout preventer, a massive piece of equipment designed to stop the unchecked flow of oil, is partly to blame for the size of the spill. “That will be an important question to ask when we pull the blowout preventer up to the surface and we’ll figure out where that pipe ultimately landed,” Wells said. After the flange transition spool is bolted in place, the new cap — called a capping stack or “Top Hat 10″ — can be lowered. The equipment, weighing some 150,000 pounds, is designed to fully seal the leak and provide connections for new vessels on the surface to collect oil. The cap has valves that can restrict the flow of oil and shut it in, if it can withstand the enormous pressure. That will be one of the key items for officials to monitor, said Paul Bommer, a professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. “If the new cap does work and they shut the well in, it is possible that part of the well could rupture if the pressure inside builds to an unacceptable value,” Bommer wrote in an e-mail Saturday. Ultimately, BP wants to have four vessels collecting oil within two or three weeks of the new cap’s installation. If the new cap doesn’t work, BP is ready to place a backup similar the old one on top of the leak. The government estimates 1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons of oil a day are spewing from the well, and the previous cap collected about 1 million gallons of that. With the new cap and the new containment vessel, the system will be capable of capturing 2.5 million to 3.4 million gallons — essentially all the leaking oil, officials said. The plan, which was accelerated to take advantage of a window of good weather lasting seven to 10 days, didn’t inspire confidence in the residents of the oil-slicked coast. “This is probably the sixth or seventh method they’ve tried, so, no, I’m not optimistic,” said Deano Bonano, director of emergency preparedness for Jefferson Parish. On Saturday he was inspecting beaches at Grand Isle lined with protective boom and bustling with heavy equipment used to scoop up and clean stained sand. “Even if they turn it off today, we’ll still be here at least another six weeks, on watch for the oil,” he said. “Shutting off the oil is a very important step, but we should not assume this disaster is over,” said Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation. “I think it’s important to recognize that there’s an enormous amount of oil still in the Gulf.” ___ Associated Press Writer Holbrook Mohr in Belle Chase, La. contributed to this report. … Read ahead

Source: chron.com

Latest at chron.com

• LA Grim Sleeper suspect had 4-decade arrest record
• Oil unleashed temporarily in attempt to contain it
• GOP candidate Angle to rally GOP against Reid
• 2 Hungarian boat crash victims remembered in Pa.
• In spy swap, agents were pawns in a practiced game
• FAA tells airlines to fix cockpit window heaters
• FAA tells airlines to fix cockpit window heaters

Gulf oil spill resumes as the weather clears, a lawyer for several wildlife advocacy groups said today. Four environmental groups sued BP and the U.S. Coast Guard last week seeking to block the practice of corralling and burning floating patches of oil or force BP to rescue any turtles inadvertently trapped inside the burn boxes. The parties reached a tentative settlement just before a July 2 hearing in New Orleans and worked through the holiday weekend to complete details, the lawyer said. “To keep us from rushing back to court, at a minimum BP and the Coast Guard have agreed to have an observer as part of every single burn team,’’ … Read ahead

Source: bloomberg.com