Flying in sky between New Orleans and Pensacola, a vast slick of oil-darkened waters hundreds of miles in diameter atop of the Gulf waters can be seen. On the south side of the oil slick, there is a long thin stream close to, if not at the entrance of the loop current, a naturally occurring Gulf current that flows south towards Key West. The loop eventually turns into the Gulf Stream, a river of warm water that heads up the east coast of Florida up past the Carolinas and then out to sea towards the United Kingdom, the home of British Petroleum.
Needless to say, crude oil and aged crude can create ecological havoc should they enter the loop current. Tar balls and gooey dense sludge dropping along the way creates dangerous conditions for the coral reefs, beaches and all forms of sea life. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), chemical gases, or toxic fumes are also likely to be present, further creating health risks for humans.
Loop Current and Gulf Stream
Petroleum crude from the Gulf oil spill may be transported great distances, far beyond the northern Gulf of Mexico waters. How much of it will travel depends on weather conditions, cleanup efforts, capping the well head and just how much crude oil is escaping out of the well head itself. It is safe to say however, should this crude enter the loop current, volumes will pass the tip of Florida and Key West at levels never before seen. This could endanger one of the largest coral systems in the world.
Around the tip of Florida, the loop current moves approximately 30 million cubic meters of water as an ocean river. From Port Everglades to Jupiter Inlet, then to Cape Hatteras, the loop current becomes the Gulf Stream and travels within 15 nautical miles of the seashore. The crude oil, after traveling up the US coast, will turn east at Cape Hatteras. The stream will travel out to sea, crossing the Atlantic to Europe and ironically, headed straight at the United Kingdom coastline.
Along the Way
The Gulf Stream is an ocean-going highway, transporting tiny plankton, fish and other marine life and maybe now, will become the transport medium for crude oil in two forms.
The first form is aged crude oil. Substances are created when crude oil ages on the surface of the water. As crude oil is exposed to air, it transforms to low moisture compounds, sticky solids, and/or gooey substances. Tar balls and oil slicks are good examples of aged crude.
The second form is the crude oil that has remained under the water from the wellhead. When exposed to hot air, evaporation begins on the crude oil and chemical gases are emitted.
Human and Ecosystem Impacts
Aged crude will travel on the Gulf water surface and eventually float to the bottom of the sea onto sand, coral, and other parts of the seabed. In the presence of rough seas, the aged crude may wash up on shore, contaminating the shoreline. Crude oil is a health risk for those who touch it, drink water contaminated by it, or eat seafood tainted by it. Aged crude oil has hydrocarbons. Some hydrocarbons can mutate cells at the DNA level making humans, sea, and animal life open to birth defects, cancers and other illnesses.
In the event that subsurface crude oil surfaces around Key West, gases will be emitted. Benzene, a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC), other VOCs, and Semivolatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) are chemical gases that will be released into the air. You may feel nauseous, have an upset stomach, get a headache, and feel light-headed, just as if you have a flu. However, it is not the flu. It is your body reacting to the toxins in the air. Benzene, for example, enters your blood stream and eventually is stored in you fat. Benzene is known to cause leukemia and other blood diseases.
As the oil travels up the coast and then out to sea, it will likely be less and less dangerous to humans, sea life, and ecosystems. The open water of the ocean will likely begin consuming the contaminants with oil eating organisms and wave action. Wave churn will break up the substances into smaller and smaller particulates to the point that they become reasonably undetectable.
Conclusion
The loop current and the Gulf Stream may become the transport of crude oil and aged oil. The damaging, toxic nature of these substances may create health risks. The more these substances travel in the Gulf Stream to the deep ocean, the less and less threat they will be to human health, sea life, and ecosystems.
