io9.com — Today scientists revealed the results of an investigation into the severity of the Deepwater oil spill. The plume of petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals measures a staggering 22 miles long & has settled in a deep underwater layer. They were able to study the plume for ten days in June before Hurricane Alex forced them from the area.
Aug 19, 2010 View in Crawl 4
corsair2112Aug 20, 2010
Oils well that ends well.
Closed AccountAug 20, 2010
And this really surprises anybody? I seriously doubt anybody believed the claims that most of the oil had magically dissolved, dissipated, etc.
murrdpirateAug 20, 2010
Dissolved and dissipated = magic?
bigp3rmAug 20, 2010
Well it's good that researchers are actually getting in there and seeing what is going on. Now BP can't stop the real story.
pw378Aug 20, 2010
BP didn't say it was gone, the Obama administration did.
pw378Aug 20, 2010
I don't think the words "dissolved" and "dissipated" mean what you think they mean.
shwaavayAug 20, 2010
FTA: "it's going to take months to figure out what all this means for the already damaged marine environment."
By the time they figure it out, it will all be gone.
holk23Aug 20, 2010
We're gonna need a lot of pannies
jonathan102Aug 20, 2010
I love how people seriously believed BP and the government's claim of 70% of the oil is gone. Where did you expect to oil to go?
peestandingupAug 20, 2010
But but, Obama swam in the Gulf. /s
protodonAug 20, 2010
Please, you act like oil is some sort of hydrophobic substance that doesn't readily dilute in the universal solvent we call water...oh wait.
sweetdaddydAug 20, 2010
Exactly. Uhm, I left my dishes in the sink and went on vacation. When I got back that small amount of oil that was in the bowl was still there. According to BP shouldn't it of disappeared, evaporated, absorbed, etc?
(If you start debating salt water vs fresh water, ocean vs sink, petroleum vs vegetable oil etc, in my example you are still a moron and the type that would believe BP that it's all gone and they did a bang up job)
differentangleAug 20, 2010
There is bacteria in the ocean that eats oil when it appears. Your body digests other types of hydrocarbons - there are things in the world that digest crude oil.
jonathan102Aug 20, 2010
Do you really think bacteria can eat THAT much oil in such a short amount of time?
differentangleAug 20, 2010
It's been months and bacteria reproduces exponentially in a food-rich environment.
peestandingupAug 20, 2010
Gee, thanks Mr Wizard. Can it eat all those yummy dispersants too?
Ask the people that worked on the Exxon cleanup how that all went. Oh, you cant. Most are dead (or dying) now
pw378Aug 20, 2010
Ask the people that worked on the Exxon cleanup how that all went. Oh, you cant. Most are dead...
[citation needed]
fuzzynyankoAug 20, 2010
Lighter crude will evaporate into the atmosphere.
crussell96Aug 20, 2010
Even if 80% of the oil is really gone that left over 20% is still a s**t ton of oil. Just because they found oil doesn't mean anyone is lying.
They said about 75% was accounted for and the remaining was still out there in one form or another.
halyardAug 20, 2010
Alternate title: The Deepwater oil plume is only 22 miles long.
datagodAug 20, 2010
Just when you thought the weather couldn't get worse than Tornadocanes, we now need to worry about FLAMING tornadocanes!!
Closed AccountAug 20, 2010
There cannot be a plume of oil down there. BP said there wasnt....... What-ever!
taxmoreAug 20, 2010
The government told me it disappeared.
squakerAug 21, 2010
the government told you lot of things.
neutron7Aug 20, 2010
sediment falls on it and it becomes buried, just like all the other oil, arsenic, lead, asbestos, uranium, cadmium and other nasty things that come from underground.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
pimpdawgAug 20, 2010
Did we say the oil is 74% gone? We meant it's 7.4% gone. And the plan would have worked if it weren't for those meddling scientists...
hddiggerAug 20, 2010
June? Wasn't the oil still gushing then?
murrdpirateAug 20, 2010
Someone found oil in the Gulf in June? I love how the press is just fighting tooth and nail to justify the Armageddon they hyped this as.
tsothaAug 20, 2010
lol yeah. There probably *was* a plume in June. But who cares? Is there one now?
crussell96Aug 20, 2010
Come one people, think. First of all, this was back in June when the oil was still flowing. Second, even if this was found recently it doesn't mean anyone is lying about 75% of the oil being gone. There is still a lot of oil out there not accounted for.
squakerAug 21, 2010
Only 22 miles ay...
kreuzbergjakobAug 22, 2010
only "22 miles were MEASURED" !!!!!
This doesn't say anything about the whole volume!