{"id":2106,"date":"2010-09-13T14:59:29","date_gmt":"2010-09-13T18:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/?p=2106"},"modified":"2010-09-14T17:31:30","modified_gmt":"2010-09-14T21:31:30","slug":"red-herrings-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-part1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2010\/09\/13\/red-herrings-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-part1\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cRed Herrings\u201d in the Gulf of Mexico – Part 1: It Ain\u2019t the Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the first post in a four part series discussing the ongoing \u2013 and \u201ccascading\u201d \u2013 effects in the Gulf, not from oil, but rather its toxic components and their impacts on sensitive ecosystems. Read the rest of the series<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, nearly every discussion about the BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has focused on the question: \u201chow much of the oil from the broken well is left in the Gulf?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The answer is simple: \u00a0\u201cNone \u2013 it ain\u2019t the oil, stupid!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

For some time now, \u00a0the problem hasn\u2019t been the oil in the Gulf,\u00a0 it\u2019s the complicated series of impacts caused by the diverse substances that made up the oil as they are degraded in stages, both biologically and chemically. Each step along the way \u2013 and even the final breakdown products \u2013 poses important threats to a different suite of living things.\u00a0 The total damage done by this complex array of shifting impacts on the sensitive ecosystems \u00a0and the people of the Gulf<\/a> remains largely unknown.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nSure, some elements of the complex ecology of the Gulf of Mexico may get off scot-free from the disaster.\u00a0 But many others have been or will be heavily impaired, at least for some time.\u00a0 Taken together, there will be a significant total effect on the ecological systems of the Gulf, including the productivity and safety \u00a0of seafood,\u00a0and significant \u00a0bottom-line impacts will be felt \u00a0on human health and social and economic well-being.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oil or Not Oil?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

From the beginning of the disaster back in April, as \u201cGulf Light Sweet Crude\u201d oil spewed\u00a0 into the depths of the Gulf, the components of that oil – a \u201ctoxic soup\u201d of hundreds of different chemicals – have been subjected to intense physical, chemical and biological sorting and processing, and to transportation by currents both towards and away from shore.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This is an underwater look at one of the oil plumes in the Gulf of Mexico in late May. Click to watch the video.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By the time the well was capped in mid-July, a significant amount \u00a0of the approximately 200,000,000 gallons of liquid flowing from the broken well made it to the surface as recognizable oil.\u00a0\u00a0But from the very beginning, the various \u201ctoxic soup\u201d ingredients have followed radically different pathways through the complex oceanographic and living systems of the Gulf, spreading and being processed in different directions at different depths, and at different rates.<\/p>\n

It is clear that all layers of the sea in a large zone around the well have been exposed, from bottom to top, as\u00a0the spreading and rising cone (or \u201cplume\u201d) of oil-based materials\u00a0spewed from the well. In contrast to a more typical oil spill on the water\u2019s surface, where the transport and ecological fate of oil components are well-known, there are still many unknowns related to how\u00a0the various chemicals\u00a0have moved and are breaking down underwater, including the biochemical pathways and timetables.\u00a0\u00a0Intense scientific investigation and complicated modeling are necessary before these complex relationships can be understood fully.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The addition of dispersants, both at the bottom and the top of the water column, has further altered the chemicals\u2019 pathways through the ecosystem, \u00a0likely lessening some kinds of impacts and exacerbating others.It may well turn out that\u00a0chemicals derived from oil spread over a much larger area because of the addition of dispersants, both at the bottom and the top.\u00a0 The final accounting of the ecological and human winners and losers has yet to be made.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, the complex set of effects on the living systems of the Gulf from the oil and its chemical components will be understood, more or less.\u00a0 The impacts on the human populations will be estimated, if not fully understood.\u00a0 It is grossly premature to declare victory, though, until we understand the ways in which the basic fabric of the ecosystems of the Gulf has been altered, and what might be required to restore its weave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

This is the first post in a four part series discussing the ongoing \u2013 and \u201ccascading\u201d \u2013 effects in the Gulf, not from oil, but rather its toxic components and their impacts on sensitive ecosystems.<\/em>
\nIn recent weeks, nearly every discussion about the BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has focused on the question: \u201chow much of the oil from the broken well is left in the Gulf?\u201d The answer is simple: \u201cNone \u2013 it ain\u2019t the oil, stupid!\u201d For some time now, the problem hasn\u2019t been the oil in the Gulf, it\u2019s the complicated series of impacts caused by the diverse substances that made up the oil as they are degraded in stages, both biologically and chemically. Each step along the way \u2013 and even the final breakdown products \u2013 poses important threats to a different suite of living things. The total damage done by this complex array of shifting impacts on the sensitive ecosystems and the people of the Gulf remains largely unknown.<\/p>\n

Read the full post »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[1021,995,637,231,5107,5108,72532,5105],"coauthors":[5155],"class_list":["post-2106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gulf-of-mexico","tag-chemicals","tag-dispersants","tag-ecosystems","tag-oil","tag-plume","tag-redherringseries","tag-seafood","tag-toxins"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cRed Herrings\u201d in the Gulf of Mexico - Part 1: It Ain\u2019t the Oil - EDFish<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2010\/09\/13\/red-herrings-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-part1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cRed Herrings\u201d in the Gulf of Mexico - Part 1: It Ain\u2019t the Oil - EDFish\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is the first post in a four part series discussing the ongoing \u2013 and \u201ccascading\u201d \u2013 effects in the Gulf, not from oil, but rather its toxic components and their impacts on sensitive ecosystems. In recent weeks, nearly every discussion about the BP Oil Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has focused on the question: \u201chow much of the oil from the broken well is left in the Gulf?\u201d The answer is simple: \u201cNone \u2013 it ain\u2019t the oil, stupid!\u201d For some time now, the problem hasn\u2019t been the oil in the Gulf, it\u2019s the complicated series of impacts caused by the diverse substances that made up the oil as they are degraded in stages, both biologically and chemically. Each step along the way \u2013 and even the final breakdown products \u2013 poses important threats to a different suite of living things. The total damage done by this complex array of shifting impacts on the sensitive ecosystems and the people of the Gulf remains largely unknown. 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