Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster: Satellite Photo – Update May 8

Already, the Gulf oil spill and the subsequent application of dispersant have caused incalculable damage to seafood

Oysters, shrimp, crabs and other shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico generate at least $6.5 billion in revenues annually.

“It [oyster] is not only the economic engine of this region, it is a real indicator of the environmental and ecological health of the Gulf Coast area,” said Jamie R. Clark, former head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and executive VP of  Defenders of Wildlife, a local conservation group.

NOAA Fishing Restriction News UPDATE:

NOAA has expanded commercial and recreational Fishing closure in oil-affected sections of Gulf of Mexico.  The closed area restricts fishing in about 5 percent of the Gulf waters. The earlier closure, which came into effect  last Sunday, covered  less than 3 percent of the Gulf of Mexico federal waters.  The fishing restriction will remain in place until May 17, NOAA said.

Oil Spill Reaches Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana

Light tan streamers snake across Chandeleur Sound in this detailed natural-color satellite image from May 5, 2010. The streamers surround Freemason Island and arc through Chandeleur Sound west of the Chandeleur Islands. The image is from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite.

The Chandeleur Islands are low, sandy barrier islands that are constantly being reshaped by storms, wind, and waves. Together with the Breton Islands to their south, they form the Breton National Wildlife Refuge. A variety of seabirds and shorebirds inhabit the islands, including the endangered brown pelican, least tern, and piping plover. Thousands of brown pelicans and other shorebirds are currently nesting on the islands and sea turtle nesting season is approaching, says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Image and Caption: NASA E/O. Download large image (3 MB, JPEG)

Trajectory Forecast

Mississippi Canyon 252 -NOAA/NOS/OR&R
Estimate for: 0600 CDT, Monday, 5/10/10 — Date Prepared: 1300 CDT, Friday, 5/07/10

This forecast is based on the NWS spot forecast from Friday, May 7 AM. Currents were obtained from the NOAA Gulf of Mexico, Texas A&M/TGLO, and NAVO/NRL models; and HFR measurements. The model was initialized from satellite imagery and analysis provided by NOAA/NESDIS obtained Thursday morning, and Thursday/Friday
overflight observations. The leading edge may contain tarballs that are not readily observable from the imagery (hence not included in the model initialization). Click image to enlarge.

News and Updates:

Two lines of oil booms are set up around one of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana May 7, 2010 as seen from a plane used by the environmental group Mobile Baykeeper and Southwings to look at the damage caused by the oil spill.  Credit: REUTERS/Brian Snyder. Image may be subject to copy right. Click image to enlarge.

Oysters, shrimp, crabs and other shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico generate at least $6.5 billion in revenues annually.

Oyster, high on the list of seafood gourmet, “is also the backbone of marine life along the U.S. Gulf Coast and among the most vulnerable creatures now threatened by a giant oil spill.”  More at Spill could devastate U.S. Gulf Coast oyster reefs

BP says its best chance is to use the giant dome to contain and pump out the oil spill.

The 98-ton steel monstrosity has been lowered to the seabed about 1.5km below the surface with the container suspended over the leak . The is conducted using remote-controlled devices.  “It will hover there until they are ready. They hope to lower to sea floor today, but they need to finish prepping the surface,” the Unified Command Center late update said. More at Containment dome suspended just above U.S. Gulf leak

Robots have fail to shut the valves on the leaking BP oil wellhead. BP said it has abandoned its efforts to close valves on the failed blowout preventer using underwater robots. “We’ve essentially used up all those options,” Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP US said.  “We don’t want to do anything that would make the situation worse.”  More at Robots fail to close valves at leaking BP oil well

Related Links:

• GoM Oil Disaster – UPDATE May 7
• Gulf Oil Disaster: Why Obama Was Slighted
• Obama: A Serious Self-Hater
• BP Won’t Pay – Oil Spill Update May 5
• Why BP Didn’t Care – Oil Spill Update May 4

• Obama’s energy security falls around his ankles
• Exxon Mobile Court Orders Only Fraction of Damages
• Oil Disasters

• More Photos: Reuters Image Gallery

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