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  • #76
    Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

    Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response
    <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = AGL /><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER>



    GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] is a new online tool that employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA?) a web-based GIS platform that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. The site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill
    response information.
    The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill?s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources ? such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships ? into one customizable interactive map.
    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER>Updated daily
    Situation: July 20, 2010 </AGL:CONTAINER>

    <AGL:CONTAINER>NOAA Response
    NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. Experts from across the agency have mobilized to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico?s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish, and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S. Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Overflights are conducted on a daily basis (weather permitting) to provide field verification of model trajectories. NOAA?s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed six NOAA owned vessels in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

    Please see GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse for further information on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.

    Trajectories
    Persistent ESE and E winds are forecast to continue through Thursday with speeds of 10-20 knots. Satellite analysis and overflights indicate surface oil has moved west toward the Delta but has not yet crossed the convergence line associated with the Mississippi River outflow. Scattered streamers and tar patties were also observed to the west of the Delta.

    With moderately strong easterly winds in the forecast, the Delta and shorelines west to Terrebonne Bay are threatened by shoreline contacts within this forecast period. Trajectories also indicate some oil may move northward threatening the Chandeleur Islands.
    OR&R?s modeling team continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore surface oil. The offshore trajectory maps (previously displayed on this page, showing oil interacting with the Loop Current) have been temporarily suspended because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for oil to enter the Loop Current from the source. Also, there have been no reports of recoverable oil in the Loop Current or Eddy Franklin and the oil has moved to the North and away from the Eddy Franklin. We will continue to monitor the area with overflights, vessel observations, and satellite analysis. When the threat of shoreline impacts to the Florida Keys increases, we will resume producing the offshore trajectory maps.
    The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico. It generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the west Florida coast. An eddy is water that rotates. </AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER>Closures </AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER>The July 13 closure remains in effect. (See map.) All commercial and recreational fishing including catch and release is prohibited in the closed area; however, transit through the area is allowed. The current closure measures 83,927 square miles (217,371 square kilometers) and covers about 35% of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone. The majority of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are open to commercial and recreational fishing. Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing. Any changes to the closure are announced daily at 12 p.m. Eastern at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov and take effect at 6 p.m. Eastern the same day. </AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER>Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals (effective July 19, 2010) </AGL:CONTAINER>

    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER>A total of 691 sea turtles have been verified from April 30 to July 19 within the designated spill area from the Texas/Louisiana border to Apalachicola, Florida. Five live oiled turtles were captured by directed on-water search teams operating as part of the Wildlife Branch of the Unified Area Command. Ten loggerhead sea turtle nests were moved from the northern Gulf of Mexico to the east coast of Florida and 38 hatchlings were released in Florida from nests moved from the northern Gulf of Mexico. </AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER>Seven turtles were reported stranded dead, including two from Alabama and four from Mississippi. There are 200 live sea turtles in rehabilitation centers. These include 157 sea turtles captured as part of the on-water survey and rescue operations, and 43 turtles that stranded alive. A total of 176 stranded or captured turtles have had visible evidence of external oil since verifications began on April 30. These include 159 that are alive and 17 that are dead. All others have not had visible evidence of external oil.

    Of the 691 turtles verified from April 30 to July 19, a total of 473 stranded turtles were found dead, 58 stranded alive. Four of those subsequently died. Eleven live stranded turtles were released, and 43 live stranded turtles are being cared for at rehabilitation centers. Turtle strandings during this time period have been much higher in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle than in previous years for this same time period. This may be due in part to increased detection and reporting, but this does not fully account for the increase.

    The NOAA Ship Pisces reported a dead 25-foot sperm whale on June 15, 2010, that was located 150 miles due south of Pascagoula, Mississippi and approximately 77 miles due south of the spill site last week. The whale was decomposed and heavily scavenged. Samples of skin and blubber have been taken and will be analyzed. The whale had not evidence of external oil. Sperm whales are the only endangered resident cetacean in the Upper Gulf of Mexico. There are no records of stranded whales in the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June for the period 2003-2007.

    From April 30 to July 19, 66 stranded dolphins have been verified in the designated spill area. One dead dolphin stranding was reported in Mississippi on Sunday, July 18. Of the 66 strandings, five were live strandings, three of which died shortly after stranding, one was released and one is in rehabilitation. Sixty-one dolphins were found stranded dead.

    Visible evidence of external oil was confirmed on four dolphins. We are unable at this time to determine whether the three dead stranded dolphins were externally oiled before or after death. Since April 30, the stranding rate for dolphins in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has been higher than the historic numbers for the same time period in previous years. In part, this may be due to increased detection and reporting and the lingering effects of an earlier observed spike in strandings for the winter of 2010.

    A stranding is defined as a dead or debilitated animal that washes ashore or is found in the water. NOAA and its partners are analyzing the cause of death for the dead stranded and dead captured sea turtles and the stranded marine mammals. This report contains corrections based on new information. The status of one live dolphin was changed from oiled to unoiled based on further evaluation.

    Assessment
 To help determine the type and amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of the spill, a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Document format: PDF, size: 90.8 K) will be conducted by NOAA and our co-trustee agencies. Although many agencies are involved in this process, NOAA is a lead federal trustee for coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected. For additional information, see the DARRP Deepwater Horizon Web page. </AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER>Important Contacts </AGL:CONTAINER>

    <AGL:CONTAINER>
    • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
    • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This Web site also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
    • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
    • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
    • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
    • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
    • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
    • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
    More Information about this Incident </AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline photo gallery box --></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 5 --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
    24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily. </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
    </AGL:CONTAINER>http://response.restoration.noaa.gov...topic_topic)=1
    "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
    -Nelson Mandela

    Comment

    • #77
      Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

      Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response
      <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = AGL /><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER>


      GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] is a new online tool that employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA?) a web-based GIS platform that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. The site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information. The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill?s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources ? such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships ? into one customizable interactive map.
      <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER>Updated daily
      Situation: July 21, 2010 </AGL:CONTAINER>

      <AGL:CONTAINER>NOAA Releases Data Report on Air Quality Measurements Near the Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill Area

      Findings are consistent with EPA, OSHA data

      NOAA scientists today released a data report on air quality measurements taken in June in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill area. The report, available online, summarizes the levels of nearly 100 air pollutants measured with sophisticated air sampling instruments onboard a NOAA WP-3D research aircraft.

      Scientists found common air pollutants, such as ozone, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, in amounts typical of urban areas in U.S. cities.

      However, 15 to 70 kilometers downwind from the oil spill, concentrations of certain hydrocarbons were much higher than found in typical polluted air. Particulate matter downwind of the oil slick was comparable to concentrations in moderately polluted urban air, but the particles were almost entirely organic material, as opposed to those typically found in urban particulate matter. Scientists also measured large amounts of black carbon in smoke from a controlled burn of crude oil on the water.

      ?Data from the NOAA flights are providing an important detailed and independent set of air quality data to assess air quality risks of workers at sea and the public ashore,? said A. R. Ravishankara, director of the Chemical Sciences Division of NOAA?s Earth System Research Laboratory, who led the science team.
      Read entire article.


      NOAA Response NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. Experts from across the agency have mobilized to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico?s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish, and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S. Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Overflights are conducted on a daily basis (weather permitting) to provide field verification of model trajectories. NOAA?s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed six NOAA owned vessels in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

      Please see GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse for further information on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.

      Trajectories
      Persistent ESE and SE winds at 10-15 knots are forecast to continue through Thursday then become NE on Friday. Overflights today indicate the surface oil is breaking up into numerous patches separated by clean water ? for the first time no surface oil was observed in the vicinity of the source. Satellite analysis and overflights indicate that the leading edge continues to move northwestward towards the Mississippi Delta. The Delta and shorelines west to Terrebonne Bay are threatened by shoreline contacts within this forecast period. Trajectories also indicate some oil may move further northward threatening the Chandeleur Islands.

      OR&R?s modeling team continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore surface oil. The offshore trajectory maps (previously displayed on this page, showing oil interacting with the Loop Current) have been temporarily suspended because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for oil to enter the Loop Current from the source. Also, there have been no reports of recoverable oil in the Loop Current or Eddy Franklin and the oil has moved to the North and away from the Eddy Franklin. We will continue to monitor the area with overflights, vessel observations, and satellite analysis. When the threat of shoreline impacts to the Florida Keys increases, we will resume producing the offshore trajectory maps. The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico. It generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the west Florida coast. An eddy is water that rotates. </AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER>Closures </AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER>The July 13 closure remains in effect. (See map.) All commercial and recreational fishing including catch and release is prohibited in the closed area; however, transit through the area is allowed. The current closure measures 83,927 square miles (217,371 square kilometers) and covers about 35% of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone. The majority of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are open to commercial and recreational fishing. Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing. Any changes to the closure are announced daily at 12 p.m. Eastern at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov and take effect at 6 p.m. Eastern the same day. </AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER>Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals (effective July 20, 2010) </AGL:CONTAINER>

      <AGL:CONTAINER>A total of 708 sea turtles have been verified from April 30 to July 20 within the designated spill area from the Texas/Louisiana border to Apalachicola, Florida. Eight live oiled turtles were captured by directed on-water search teams operating as part of the Wildlife Branch of the Unified Area Command. One of those sea turtles with a smudge of oil was cleaned and released into unoiled waters. Four dead turtle strandings were reported (one each in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana). Fifty-six hatchling turtles were released in Florida from nests that were moved from the northern Gulf of Mexico. There are 207 live sea turtles in rehabilitation centers. These include 164 sea turtles captured as part of the on-water survey and rescue operations, and 43 turtles that stranded alive. A total of 184 stranded or captured turtles have had visible evidence of external oil since verifications began on April 30. These include 167 that are alive and 17 that are dead. All others have not had visible evidence of external oil.

      Of the 708 turtles verified from April 30 to July 20, a total of 477 stranded turtles were found dead, 58 stranded alive. Four of those subsequently died. Eleven live stranded turtles were released, and 43 live stranded turtles are being cared for at rehabilitation centers. Turtle strandings during this time period have been much higher in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle than in previous years for this same time period. This may be due in part to increased detection and reporting, but this does not fully account for the increase.

      The NOAA Ship Pisces reported a dead 25-foot sperm whale on June 15, 2010, that was located 150 miles due south of Pascagoula, Mississippi and approximately 77 miles due south of the spill site last week. The whale was decomposed and heavily scavenged. Samples of skin and blubber have been taken and will be analyzed. The whale had not evidence of external oil. Sperm whales are the only endangered resident cetacean in the Upper Gulf of Mexico. There are no records of stranded whales in the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June for the period 2003-2007.

      From April 30 to July 20, 66 stranded dolphins have been verified in the designated spill area. Of the 66 strandings, five were live strandings, three of which died shortly after stranding, one was released and one is in rehabilitation. Sixty-one dolphins were found stranded dead. Visible evidence of external oil was confirmed on four dolphins. We are unable at this time to determine whether the three dead stranded dolphins were externally oiled before or after death. Since April 30, the stranding rate for dolphins in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has been higher than the historic numbers for the same time period in previous years. In part, this may be due to increased detection and reporting and the lingering effects of an earlier observed spike in strandings for the winter of 2010.

      A stranding is defined as a dead or debilitated animal that washes ashore or is found in the water. NOAA and its partners are analyzing the cause of death for the dead stranded and dead captured sea turtles and the stranded marine mammals. This report contains corrections based on new information. The status of one live dolphin was changed from oiled to unoiled based on further evaluation.

      Assessment
 To help determine the type and amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of the spill, a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Document format: PDF, size: 90.8 K) will be conducted by NOAA and our co-trustee agencies. Although many agencies are involved in this process, NOAA is a lead federal trustee for coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected. For additional information, see the DARRP Deepwater Horizon Web page. </AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER>Important Contacts </AGL:CONTAINER>


      <AGL:CONTAINER>
      • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
      • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This Web site also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
      • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
      • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
      • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
      • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
      • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
      • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
      More Information about this Incident </AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline photo gallery box --></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
      <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 5 --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
      24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
      </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
      </AGL:CONTAINER>http://response.restoration.noaa.gov...topic_topic)=1
      "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
      -Nelson Mandela

      Comment

      • #78
        Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

        Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response
        <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = AGL /><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER>


        GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] is a new online tool that employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA?) a web-based GIS platform that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. The site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information. The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill?s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources ? such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships ? into one customizable interactive map.
        <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER>Updated daily
        Situation: July 22, 2010 </AGL:CONTAINER>

        <AGL:CONTAINER>Statement by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen on Tropical Storm Bonnie

        "Due to the risk that Tropical Storm Bonnie poses to the safety of the nearly 2,000 people responding to the BP oil spill at the well site, many of the vessels and rigs will be preparing to move out of harm's way beginning tonight. This includes the rig drilling the relief well that will ultimately kill the well, as well as other vessels needed for containment. Some of the vessels may be able to remain on site, but we will err on the side of safety.

        As I stated earlier today, I have directed BP to continue with the well shut in procedure while the work to kill the well is temporarily suspended. I have also directed BP to take measures to ensure the vessels operating the ROV's are the last to leave, and the first to return in order to maximize monitoring of the well. Monitoring of the site during the well integrity test remains one of the government's highest priorities.

        While these actions may delay the effort to kill the well for several days, the safety of the individuals at the well site is our highest concern. We are staging our skimming vessels and other assets in a manner that will allow us to promptly re-start oil mitigation efforts as soon as the storm passes and we can ensure the safety of our personnel."

        NOAA Response NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. Experts from across the agency have mobilized to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico?s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish, and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S.

        Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Overflights are conducted on a daily basis (weather permitting) to provide field verification of model trajectories. NOAA?s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed six NOAA owned vessels in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.


        Please see GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse for further information on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.

        Trajectories
        Winds are forecast to be ENE on Friday at 10-15 knots, and then begin increasing as a tropical depression moves into the north central Gulf. On Saturday, winds are forecast to be E/SE at 20-30 knots then decrease on Sunday to 10-15 knots. Today?s overflights and aerial imagery indicate the surface oil is continuing to break up into numerous patches. Trajectories indicate the leading edge to the north will continue to move northwestward into Breton Sound and towards the Chandeleur Islands. Oil moving westward around the Mississippi Delta is collecting in the convergence line associated with the fresh water outflow ? this oil will continue moving westward threatening the Delta and shorelines west to Caillou Bay.

        OR&R?s modeling team continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore surface oil. The offshore trajectory maps (previously displayed on this page, showing oil interacting with the Loop Current) have been temporarily suspended because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for oil to enter the Loop Current from the source. Also, there have been no reports of recoverable oil in the Loop Current or Eddy Franklin and the oil has moved to the North and away from the Eddy Franklin. We will continue to monitor the area with overflights, vessel observations, and satellite analysis. When the threat of shoreline impacts to the Florida Keys increases, we will resume producing the offshore trajectory maps. The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico. It generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the west Florida coast. An eddy is water that rotates. </AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER>Closures </AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER>The July 13 closure remains in effect. (See map.) All commercial and recreational fishing including catch and release is prohibited in the closed area; however, transit through the area is allowed. The current closure measures 83,927 square miles (217,371 square kilometers) and covers about 35% of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone. The majority of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are open to commercial and recreational fishing. Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing. Any changes to the closure are announced daily at 12 p.m. Eastern at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov and take effect at 6 p.m. Eastern the same day. </AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER>Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals (effective July 21, 2010) </AGL:CONTAINER>

        <AGL:CONTAINER>A total of 709 sea turtles have been verified from April 30 to July 21 within the designated spill area from the Texas/Louisiana border to Apalachicola, Florida. One dead turtle stranding was reported in Louisiana. Nine hatchling turtles were released in Florida from nests that were 
moved from the northern Gulf of Mexico. There are 207 live sea turtles in rehabilitation centers. These include 164 sea turtles captured as part of the on-water survey and rescue operations, and 43 turtles that stranded alive. A total of 184 stranded or captured turtles have had visible evidence of external oil since verifications began on April 30. These include 167 that are alive and 17 that are dead. All others have not had visible evidence of external oil.



        Of the 709 turtles verified from April 30 to July 21, a total of 478 stranded turtles were found dead, 58 stranded alive. Four of those subsequently died. Eleven live stranded turtles were released, and 43 live stranded turtles are being cared for at rehabilitation centers. Turtle strandings during this time period have been much higher in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle than in previous years for this same time period. This may be due in part to increased detection and reporting, but this does not fully account for the increase.


        The NOAA Ship Pisces reported a dead 25-foot sperm whale on June 15, 2010, that was located 150 miles due south of Pascagoula, Mississippi and approximately 77 miles due south of the spill site last week. The whale was decomposed and heavily scavenged. Samples of skin and blubber have been taken and will be analyzed. The whale had not evidence of external oil. Sperm whales are the only endangered resident cetacean in the Upper Gulf of Mexico. There are no records of stranded whales in the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June for the period 2003-2007.

        From April 30 to July 21, 66 stranded dolphins have been verified in the designated spill area. Of the 66 strandings, five were live strandings, three of which died shortly after stranding, one was released and one is in rehabilitation. Sixty-one dolphins were found stranded dead. Visible evidence of external oil was confirmed on four dolphins. We are unable at this time to determine whether the three dead stranded dolphins were externally oiled before or after death. Since April 30, the stranding rate for dolphins in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has been higher than the historic numbers for the same time period in previous years. In part, this may be due to increased detection and reporting and the lingering effects of an earlier observed spike in strandings for the winter of 2010.

        A stranding is defined as a dead or debilitated animal that washes ashore or is found in the water. NOAA and its partners are analyzing the cause of death for the dead stranded and dead captured sea turtles and the stranded marine mammals. This report contains corrections based on new information. The status of one live dolphin was changed from oiled to unoiled based on further evaluation.

        Assessment
 To help determine the type and amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of the spill, a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Document format: PDF, size: 90.8 K) will be conducted by NOAA and our co-trustee agencies. Although many agencies are involved in this process, NOAA is a lead federal trustee for coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected. For additional information, see the DARRP Deepwater Horizon Web page. </AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER>Important Contacts </AGL:CONTAINER>


        <AGL:CONTAINER>
        • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
        • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This Web site also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
        • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
        • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
        • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
        • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
        • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
        • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
        More Information about this Incident </AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline photo gallery box --></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
        <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 5 --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
        24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
        </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
        </AGL:CONTAINER>http://response.restoration.noaa.gov...topic_topic)=1
        "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
        -Nelson Mandela

        Comment

        • #79
          Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

          Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response
          <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = AGL /><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER>


          GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] is a new online tool that employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA?) a web-based GIS platform that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. The site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information.
          The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill?s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources ? such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships ? into one customizable interactive map.
          <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER>Updated daily
          Situation: July 23, 2010 </AGL:CONTAINER>

          <AGL:CONTAINER>Second Federal Analysis Gives Further Clues about Location and Movement of Subsurface Oil

          NEW ORLEANS ? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy today released its second peer-reviewed, analytical summary report about subsurface oil monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico. The report contains preliminary data collected at 227 sampling stations extending from one to 52 kilometers from the Deepwater Horizon/BP wellhead. Data shows movement of subsurface oil is consistent with ocean currents and that concentrations continue to be more diffuse as you move away from the source of the leak. This confirms the findings of the previous report.

          The report comes from the Joint Analysis Group (JAG), which is comprised of the afore mentioned agencies and was established to facilitate cooperation and coordination among the best scientific minds across the government and provide a coordinated analysis of information related to subsea monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico.

          The JAG report contains data analysis of fluorometric measurements and comments on the methods used to monitor dissolved oxygen levels. Data were collected on the R/V Brooks McCall, R/V Ocean Veritas, R/V Walton Smith, NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson and NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter between May 19 and June 19, 2010. The fluorometric data provide additional information on the likely presence of sub-surface oil and its location in the water column. The report indicates that subsurface oil concentrations are highest near the wellhead and become more diffuse farther away from the source.
          Read entire article.


          NOAA Response NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. Experts from across the agency have mobilized to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico?s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish, and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S.

          Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Overflights are conducted on a daily basis (weather permitting) to provide field verification of model trajectories. NOAA?s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed six NOAA owned vessels in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

          Please see GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse for further information on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.

          Trajectories
          Winds are forecast to be ENE on Friday at 10-15 knots, and then begin increasing as a tropical depression moves into the north central Gulf. On Saturday, winds are forecast to be E/SE at 20-30 knots then decrease on Sunday to 10-15 knots. Today?s overflights and aerial imagery indicate the surface oil is continuing to break up into numerous patches. Trajectories indicate the leading edge to the north will continue to move northwestward into Breton Sound and towards the Chandeleur Islands. Oil moving westward around the Mississippi Delta is collecting in the convergence line associated with the fresh water outflow ? this oil will continue moving westward threatening the Delta and shorelines west to Caillou Bay.

          OR&R?s modeling team continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore surface oil. The offshore trajectory maps (previously displayed on this page, showing oil interacting with the Loop Current) have been temporarily suspended because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for oil to enter the Loop Current from the source. Also, there have been no reports of recoverable oil in the Loop Current or Eddy Franklin and the oil has moved to the North and away from the Eddy Franklin. We will continue to monitor the area with overflights, vessel observations, and satellite analysis. When the threat of shoreline impacts to the Florida Keys increases, we will resume producing the offshore trajectory maps. The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico.

          It generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the west Florida coast. An eddy is water that rotates. </AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER>Closures </AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER>The new closure announced yesterday, July 22, continues to be in effect. NOAA re-opened 26,388 square miles of Gulf waters to commercial and recreational fishing on Thursday. The reopening of a third of the overall closed area was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.
          </AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER>Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing. Any changes to the closure are announced daily at 12 p.m. Eastern at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov and take effect at 6 p.m. Eastern the same day. </AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER>Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals (effective July 22, 2010) </AGL:CONTAINER>

          <AGL:CONTAINER>A total of 715 sea turtles have been verified from April 30 to July 22 within the designated spill area from the Texas/Louisiana border to Apalachicola, Florida. One dead turtle stranding was reported in Alabama. Twenty seven hatchling turtles were released in Florida from nests that were moved from the northern Gulf of Mexico. There are 209 live sea turtles in rehabilitation centers. These include 166 sea turtles captured as part of the on-water survey and rescue operations, and 43 turtles that stranded alive. A total of 189 stranded or captured turtles have had visible evidence of external oil since verifications began on April 30. These include 172 that are alive and 17 that are dead. All others have not had visible evidence of external oil.

          Of the 715 turtles verified from April 30 to July 22, a total of 479 stranded turtles were found dead, 58 stranded alive. Four of those subsequently died. Eleven live stranded turtles were released, and 43 live stranded turtles are being cared for at rehabilitation centers. Turtle strandings during this time period have been much higher in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle than in previous years for this same time period. This may be due in part to increased detection and reporting, but this does not fully account for the increase.

          The NOAA Ship Pisces reported a dead 25-foot sperm whale on June 15, 2010, that was located 150 miles due south of Pascagoula, Mississippi and approximately 77 miles due south of the spill site last week. The whale was decomposed and heavily scavenged. Samples of skin and blubber have been taken and will be analyzed. The whale had not evidence of external oil. Sperm whales are the only endangered resident cetacean in the Upper Gulf of Mexico. There are no records of stranded whales in the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June for the period 2003-2007.

          From April 30 to July 22, 69 stranded dolphins have been verified in the designated spill area. Of the 69 strandings, five were live strandings, three of which died shortly after stranding, one was released and one is in rehabilitation. Sixty-three dolphins were found stranded dead. Visible evidence of external oil was confirmed on four dolphins. We are unable at this time to determine whether the three dead stranded dolphins were externally oiled before or after death. Since April 30, the stranding rate for dolphins in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has been higher than the historic numbers for the same time period in previous years. In part, this may be due to increased detection and reporting and the lingering effects of an earlier observed spike in strandings for the winter of 2010.

          A stranding is defined as a dead or debilitated animal that washes ashore or is found in the water. NOAA and its partners are analyzing the cause of death for the dead stranded and dead captured sea turtles and the stranded marine mammals. This report contains corrections based on new information. The status of one live dolphin was changed from oiled to unoiled based on further evaluation.

          Assessment
 To help determine the type and amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of the spill, a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Document format: PDF, size: 90.8 K) will be conducted by NOAA and our co-trustee agencies.

          Although many agencies are involved in this process, NOAA is a lead federal trustee for coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected. For additional information, see the DARRP Deepwater Horizon Web page. </AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER>Important Contacts </AGL:CONTAINER>


          <AGL:CONTAINER>
          • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
          • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This Web site also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
          • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
          • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
          • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
          • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
          • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
          • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
          More Information about this Incident </AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline photo gallery box --></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
          <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 5 --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
          24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
          </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
          </AGL:CONTAINER>http://response.restoration.noaa.gov...topic_topic)=1
          "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
          -Nelson Mandela

          Comment

          • #80
            Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

            Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response
            <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = AGL /><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER>


            GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] is a new online tool that employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA?) a web-based GIS platform that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. The site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information.
            The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill?s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources ? such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships ? into one customizable interactive map.
            <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER>Updated daily
            Situation: July 24, 2010 </AGL:CONTAINER>

            <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER>Admiral Allen and Administrator Lubchenco Provide an Update on Tropical Depression Bonnie and its Impact on the BP Oil Spill Response
            National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen and NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco provided a briefing to inform the American public and answer questions on Tropical Depression Bonnie and its impacts on the progress of the administration-wide response to the BP oil spill. Bonnie has since been downgraded to a disorganized area of low pressure. A full transcript is available here.

            Administrator Lubchenco discussed Bonnie?s expected impact on oil in the Gulf of Mexico. ?We do not expect any significant storm surge along the coast. Because Bonnie has weakened, all tropical storm warnings along the Northern Gulf Coast have been discontinued.
            ?We expect that Bonnie should help dissipate and weather the oil that's at the surface. It will spread the surface slick out and thereby lower oil concentrations. It's expected to break tar patches and tar mass into smaller tar balls which means faster weathering and faster natural biodegradation,? she said. ?It will also cause more natural dispersion, again lowering the concentration of oil in the water and making it more available to the natural bacteria that are in the water that do this natural biodegradation.?

            Admiral Allen provided an update on pressure readings of the wellhead.
            ?As of last night at midnight, we had 6,891 pounds per square inch pressure. This was an increase of 14 pounds per square inch over the last 24 hour time period,? he said. ?So we continue having integrity at the well head. The pressure continues to slowly rise.?


            Allen also discussed estimated timelines for resuming preparations for the static kill and relief well drilling operations once the equipment is reconnected. ?I think probably within 48 hours, they'll be able to start relaying that casing which is the final piece of pipe they have to put into the well bore, and then once that casing is in place, they will put some cement around it to hold it. While that cement is drying, within 48 hours, they will be able to begin the hydrostatic top kill putting the mud down the top of the well,? he said.

            ?It will probably take somewhere between five and seven days for that cement to dry and for them to be in position to be able to actually drill into the well annulus itself. So if you add all that up we're probably looking at somewhere between seven to ten days before we would be able to start the well intercept after the Development Driller III is on scene and has latched up.?

            NOAA Response
            NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. Experts from across the agency have mobilized to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico?s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish, and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S.

            Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Overflights are conducted on a daily basis (weather permitting) to provide field verification of model trajectories. NOAA?s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed six NOAA owned vessels in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

            Please see GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse for further information on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.
            Trajectories

            Winds and seas will be increasing Friday night as Tropical Storm Bonnie moves into the region. Maximum winds by late Saturday are forecast to be 30-40 knots (from the NE then SW). Winds on Sunday-Monday are forecast to be SE from 10-20 knots. Today?s overflights and aerial imagery indicate the surface oil is continuing to break up into numerous patches. Trajectories indicate the leading edge to the north will continue to move northwestward into Breton Sound and towards the Chandeleur Islands. Oil moving westward around the Mississippi Delta is collecting in the convergence line associated with the fresh water outflow ? this oil will continue moving westward threatening the Delta and shorelines west to Caillou Bay.

            OR&R?s modeling team continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore surface oil. The offshore trajectory maps (previously displayed on this page, showing oil interacting with the Loop Current) have been temporarily suspended because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for oil to enter the Loop Current from the source. Also, there have been no reports of recoverable oil in the Loop Current or Eddy Franklin and the oil has moved to the North and away from the Eddy Franklin. We will continue to monitor the area with overflights, vessel observations, and satellite analysis. When the threat of shoreline impacts to the Florida Keys increases, we will resume producing the offshore trajectory maps. The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico. It generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the west Florida coast. An eddy is water that rotates. </AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER>Closures </AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER>The new closure announced yesterday, July 22, continues to be in effect. NOAA re-opened 26,388 square miles of Gulf waters to commercial and recreational fishing on Thursday. The reopening of a third of the overall closed area was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.
            Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing. Any changes to the closure are announced daily at 12 p.m. Eastern at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov and take effect at 6 p.m. Eastern the same day. </AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER>Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals (effective July 23, 2010) </AGL:CONTAINER>

            <AGL:CONTAINER>A total of 719 sea turtles have been verified from April 30 to July 23 within the designated spill area from the Texas/Louisiana border to Apalachicola, Florida. Seventy-three hatchling turtles were released in Florida from nests that were moved from the northern Gulf of Mexico. There are 209 live sea turtles in rehabilitation centers. These include 166 sea turtles captured as part of the on-water survey and rescue operations, and 43 turtles that stranded alive. A total of 189 stranded or captured turtles have had visible evidence of external oil since verifications began on April 30. These include 172 that are alive and 17 that are dead. All others have not had visible evidence of external oil. 

Of the 719 turtles verified from April 30 to July 23, a total of 483 stranded turtles were found dead, 58 stranded alive. Four of those subsequently died. Eleven live stranded turtles were released, and 43 live stranded turtles are being cared for at rehabilitation centers. Turtle strandings during this time period have been much higher in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle than in previous years for this same time period. This may be due in part to increased detection and reporting, but this does not fully account for the increase. 


            The NOAA Ship Pisces reported a dead 25-foot sperm whale on June 15, 2010, that was located 150 miles due south of Pascagoula, Mississippi and approximately 77 miles due south of the spill site last week. The whale was decomposed and heavily scavenged. Samples of skin and blubber have been taken and will be analyzed. The whale had not evidence of external oil. Sperm whales are the only endangered resident cetacean in the Upper Gulf of Mexico. There are no records of stranded whales in the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June for the period 2003-2007.

            From April 30 to July 23, 69 stranded dolphins have been verified in the designated spill area. Of the 69 strandings, five were live strandings, three of which died shortly after stranding, one was released and one is in rehabilitation. Sixty-three dolphins were found stranded dead. Visible evidence of external oil was confirmed on four dolphins. We are unable at this time to determine whether the three dead stranded dolphins were externally oiled before or after death. Since April 30, the stranding rate for dolphins in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has been higher than the historic numbers for the same time period in previous years. In part, this may be due to increased detection and reporting and the lingering effects of an earlier observed spike in strandings for the winter of 2010.

            A stranding is defined as a dead or debilitated animal that washes ashore or is found in the water. NOAA and its partners are analyzing the cause of death for the dead stranded and dead captured sea turtles and the stranded marine mammals. This report contains corrections based on new information. The status of one live dolphin was changed from oiled to unoiled based on further evaluation.

            Assessment
 To help determine the type and amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of the spill, a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Document format: PDF, size: 90.8 K) will be conducted by NOAA and our co-trustee agencies.

            Although many agencies are involved in this process, NOAA is a lead federal trustee for coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected. For additional information, see the DARRP Deepwater Horizon Web page. </AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER>Important Contacts </AGL:CONTAINER>

            <AGL:CONTAINER>
            • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
            • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This Web site also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
            • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
            • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
            • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
            • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
            • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
            • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
            More Information about this Incident </AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline photo gallery box --></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
            <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 5 --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
            24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily. </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
            </AGL:CONTAINER>http://response.restoration.noaa.gov...topic_topic)=1
            "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
            -Nelson Mandela

            Comment

            • #81
              Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

              Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response
              <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = AGL /><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER>


              GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] is a new online tool that employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA?) a web-based GIS platform that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. The site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information. The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill?s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources ? such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships ? into one customizable interactive map.
              <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER>Updated daily
              Situation: July 25, 2010 </AGL:CONTAINER>

              <AGL:CONTAINER>Admiral Allen Provides an Update on the BP Oil Spill Response
              National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen provided a briefing to inform the American public and answer questions on the administration-wide response to the BP oil spill. A full transcript is available here.

              Admiral Allen discussed the remobilization of response vessels at the well site to resume drilling the relief wells and performing acoustic and seismic monitoring to ensure the integrity of the wellbore?no anomalies have been detected?and reported on reconnaissance flights happening today to search for oil and boom that may have been displaced during the storm.
              Allen also provided a revised estimated timeline for the static kill procedure and the relief well?based on a series of recent meetings with the federal government science team, led by Energy Secretary Chu, and BP representatives in Houston.

              Preparations Are Made to Resume Relief Well Drilling

              After suspending operations and evacuating as a precautionary measure to protect the safety of response personnel and evade the threat of then Tropical Storm Bonnie, Development Driller II and Development Driller III have returned to the well site and are making preparations to resume drilling the relief wells. Before suspending operations, Development Driller III had drilled the first relief well to a depth of 17,864 feet below the Gulf surface and Development Driller II had drilled the second relief well?a redundancy measure taken at the direction of the administration?to a depth of 15,963 feet below the surface.

              NOAA Response NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. Experts from across the agency have mobilized to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico?s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish, and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S.

              Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Overflights are conducted on a daily basis (weather permitting) to provide field verification of model trajectories. NOAA?s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed six NOAA owned vessels in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.


              Please see GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse for further information on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.

              Trajectories
              Strong winds are expected by late Saturday as Tropical Depression Bonnie moves into the region -- maximum sustained winds are forecast to be 25-35 knots (from the NE then SW). Winds on Sunday -Tuesday are forecast to be SE/ESE/SSE at 10-20 knots. Satellite imagery indicates the surface oil is continuing to break up into numerous patches. However, due to strong and variable winds during this forecast period, the Chandeleur Islands, Breton Sound, the Mississippi Delta and shorelines west to Atchafalaya Bay are threatened by shoreline contacts within this forecast period.

              OR&R?s modeling team continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore surface oil. The offshore trajectory maps (previously displayed on this page, showing oil interacting with the Loop Current) have been temporarily suspended because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for oil to enter the Loop Current from the source. Also, there have been no reports of recoverable oil in the Loop Current or Eddy Franklin and the oil has moved to the North and away from the Eddy Franklin. We will continue to monitor the area with overflights, vessel observations, and satellite analysis. When the threat of shoreline impacts to the Florida Keys increases, we will resume producing the offshore trajectory maps. The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico. It generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the west Florida coast. An eddy is water that rotates. </AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER>Closures </AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER>The new closure announced yesterday, July 22, continues to be in effect. NOAA re-opened 26,388 square miles of Gulf waters to commercial and recreational fishing on Thursday. The reopening of a third of the overall closed area was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.
              Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing. Any changes to the closure are announced daily at 12 p.m. Eastern at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov and take effect at 6 p.m. Eastern the same day. </AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER>Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals (effective July 23, 2010) </AGL:CONTAINER>

              <AGL:CONTAINER>A total of 719 sea turtles have been verified from April 30 to July 23 within the designated spill area from the Texas/Louisiana border to Apalachicola, Florida. Seventy-three hatchling turtles were released in Florida from nests that were moved from the northern Gulf of Mexico. There are 209 live sea turtles in rehabilitation centers. These include 166 sea turtles captured as part of the on-water survey and rescue operations, and 43 turtles that stranded alive. A total of 189 stranded or captured turtles have had visible evidence of external oil since verifications began on April 30. These include 172 that are alive and 17 that are dead. All others have not had visible evidence of external oil. 

Of the 719 turtles verified from April 30 to July 23, a total of 483 stranded turtles were found dead, 58 stranded alive. Four of those subsequently died. Eleven live stranded turtles were released, and 43 live stranded turtles are being cared for at rehabilitation centers. Turtle strandings during this time period have been much higher in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle than in previous years for this same time period. This may be due in part to increased detection and reporting, but this does not fully account for the increase. 


              The NOAA Ship Pisces reported a dead 25-foot sperm whale on June 15, 2010, that was located 150 miles due south of Pascagoula, Mississippi and approximately 77 miles due south of the spill site last week. The whale was decomposed and heavily scavenged. Samples of skin and blubber have been taken and will be analyzed. The whale had not evidence of external oil. Sperm whales are the only endangered resident cetacean in the Upper Gulf of Mexico. There are no records of stranded whales in the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June for the period 2003-2007.

              From April 30 to July 23, 69 stranded dolphins have been verified in the designated spill area. Of the 69 strandings, five were live strandings, three of which died shortly after stranding, one was released and one is in rehabilitation. Sixty-three dolphins were found stranded dead. Visible evidence of external oil was confirmed on four dolphins. We are unable at this time to determine whether the three dead stranded dolphins were externally oiled before or after death. Since April 30, the stranding rate for dolphins in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has been higher than the historic numbers for the same time period in previous years. In part, this may be due to increased detection and reporting and the lingering effects of an earlier observed spike in strandings for the winter of 2010.

              A stranding is defined as a dead or debilitated animal that washes ashore or is found in the water. NOAA and its partners are analyzing the cause of death for the dead stranded and dead captured sea turtles and the stranded marine mammals. This report contains corrections based on new information. The status of one live dolphin was changed from oiled to unoiled based on further evaluation.

              Assessment
 To help determine the type and amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of the spill, a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Document format: PDF, size: 90.8 K) will be conducted by NOAA and our co-trustee agencies. Although many agencies are involved in this process, NOAA is a lead federal trustee for coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected. For additional information, see the DARRP Deepwater Horizon Web page. </AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER>Important Contacts </AGL:CONTAINER>


              <AGL:CONTAINER>
              • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
              • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This Web site also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
              • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
              • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
              • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
              • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
              • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
              • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
              More Information about this Incident </AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline photo gallery box --></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
              <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 5 --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
              24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
              </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
              </AGL:CONTAINER>http://response.restoration.noaa.gov...topic_topic)=1
              "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
              -Nelson Mandela

              Comment

              • #82
                Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

                Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response
                <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = AGL /><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER>

                GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] is a new online tool that employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA?) a web-based GIS platform that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. The site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information.

                The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill?s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources ? such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships ? into one customizable interactive map.
                <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER>Updated daily
                Situation: July 26, 2010 </AGL:CONTAINER>

                <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>

                <AGL:CONTAINER>NOAA Response NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. Experts from across the agency have mobilized to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico?s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish, and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S. Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Overflights are conducted on a daily basis (weather permitting) to provide field verification of model trajectories. NOAA?s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft. Currently, NOAA has deployed six NOAA owned vessels in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
                Please see GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse for further information on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.

                Trajectories
                An overflight this afternoon saw no oil in the vicinity of the source. Winds on Sunday-Wednesday are forecast to be SE/SSE/S at 5-15 knots. Satellite imagery indicates the surface oil is continuing to break up into smaller scattered patches. Moderate winds during this forecast period may bring some remaining oil to Chandeleur Islands, Breton Sound, the Mississippi Delta and shorelines west to Caillou Bay within this forecast period.
                OR&R?s modeling team continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore surface oil. The offshore trajectory maps (previously displayed on this page, showing oil interacting with the Loop Current) have been temporarily suspended because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for oil to enter the Loop Current from the source. Also, there have been no reports of recoverable oil in the Loop Current or Eddy Franklin and the oil has moved to the North and away from the Eddy Franklin. We will continue to monitor the area with overflights, vessel observations, and satellite analysis.

                When the threat of shoreline impacts to the Florida Keys increases, we will resume producing the offshore trajectory maps.
                The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico. It generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the west Florida coast. An eddy is water that rotates. </AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER>Closures </AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER>The closure announced July 22, continues to be in effect. NOAA re-opened 26,388 square miles of Gulf waters to commercial and recreational fishing on Thursday. The reopening of a third of the overall closed area was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states.
                </AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER>Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing. Any changes to the closure are announced daily at 12 p.m. Eastern at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov and take effect at 6 p.m. Eastern the same day. </AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER>Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals (effective July 25, 2010) </AGL:CONTAINER>

                <AGL:CONTAINER>A total of 720 sea turtles have been verified from April 30 to July 25 within the designated spill area from the Texas/Louisiana border to Apalachicola, Florida. Four hundred and sixty hatchling turtles were released in Florida from nests that were moved from the northern Gulf of Mexico. There are 209 live sea turtles in rehabilitation centers. These include 166 sea turtles captured as part of the on-water survey and rescue operations, and 43 turtles that stranded alive. A total of 189 stranded or captured turtles have had visible evidence of external oil since verifications began on April 30. These include 172 that are alive and 17 that are dead. All others have not had visible evidence of external oil.

                Of the 720 turtles verified from April 30 to July 25, a total of 484 stranded turtles were found dead, 58 stranded alive. Four of those subsequently died. Eleven live stranded turtles were released, and 43 live stranded turtles are being cared for at rehabilitation centers. Turtle strandings during this time period have been much higher in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle than in previous years for this same time period. This may be due in part to increased detection and reporting, but this does not fully account for the increase.

                The NOAA Ship Pisces reported a dead 25-foot sperm whale on June 15, 2010, that was located 150 miles due south of Pascagoula, Mississippi and approximately 77 miles due south of the spill site last week. The whale was decomposed and heavily scavenged. Samples of skin and blubber have been taken and will be analyzed. The whale had not evidence of external oil. Sperm whales are the only endangered resident cetacean in the Upper Gulf of Mexico. There are no records of stranded whales in the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June for the period 2003-2007.

                From April 30 to July 25, 69 stranded dolphins have been verified in the designated spill area. Of the 69 strandings, five were live strandings, three of which died shortly after stranding, one was released and one is in rehabilitation. Sixty-three dolphins were found stranded dead. Visible evidence of external oil was confirmed on four dolphins. We are unable at this time to determine whether the three dead stranded dolphins were externally oiled before or after death. Since April 30, the stranding rate for dolphins in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle has been higher than the historic numbers for the same time period in previous years. In part, this may be due to increased detection and reporting and the lingering effects of an earlier observed spike in strandings for the winter of 2010.

                A stranding is defined as a dead or debilitated animal that washes ashore or is found in the water. NOAA and its partners are analyzing the cause of death for the dead stranded and dead captured sea turtles and the stranded marine mammals. This report contains corrections based on new information. The status of one live dolphin was changed from oiled to unoiled based on further evaluation.

                Assessment
 To help determine the type and amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of the spill, a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Document format: PDF, size: 90.8 K) will be conducted by NOAA and our co-trustee agencies. Although many agencies are involved in this process, NOAA is a lead federal trustee for coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected. For additional information, see the DARRP Deepwater Horizon Web page. </AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER>Important Contacts </AGL:CONTAINER>


                <AGL:CONTAINER>
                • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
                • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This Web site also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
                • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
                • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
                • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
                • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
                • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
                • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
                More Information about this Incident </AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline photo gallery box --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 5 --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
                24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
                </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
                </AGL:CONTAINER>http://response.restoration.noaa.gov...topic_topic)=1
                "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
                -Nelson Mandela

                Comment

                • #83
                  Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

                  DATE: July 27, 2010 17:35:10 CST
                  Transcript – Press Briefing by National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen and NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco



                  Excerpt:

                  Jane Lubchenco: Thanks Admiral Allen, good afternoon everyone. NOAA remains fully mobilized on many fronts to track the oil with satellites and planes in the air, ships on the water and shore line assessment teams on the ground. NOAA scientists are deployed throughout the Gulf helping to assess where the oil has gone, where it will go and to determine the extent of the damages to the Gulf seacoast system.

                  We know that a significant amount of the oil has disbursed and been biodegraded by naturally occurring bacteria. Bacteria that breaks down oil are naturally abundant in the Gulf of Mexico in large part because of the warm water there and the conditions afforded by nutrients and oxygen availability.

                  While there’s more analysis to be done to exactly quantify the rate of biodegradation early indications show that the light crude oil is being, is biodegrading quickly. When oil is dispersed into smaller bits from the use of dispersants or by weathering it’s even easier for the bacteria to get to it and to consume it.



                  .../
                  http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/829055/
                  "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
                  -Nelson Mandela

                  Comment

                  • #84
                    Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

                    Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response
                    <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = AGL /><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER>


                    GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] is a new online tool that employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA?) a web-based GIS platform that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. The site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information.
                    The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill?s trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources ? such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships ? into one customizable interactive map.
                    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER>NOAA Response </AGL:CONTAINER>

                    <AGL:CONTAINER>
                    NOAA provides coordinated scientific weather and biological response services to federal, state and local organizations. Experts from across the agency have mobilized to help contain the spreading oil spill and protect the Gulf of Mexico?s many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, shellfish, and other endangered marine life. NOAA spill specialists are advising the U.S. Coast Guard on cleanup options as well as advising all affected federal, state and local partners on sensitive marine resources at risk in this area of the Gulf of Mexico. Overflights are conducted on a daily basis (weather permitting) to provide field verification of model trajectories. NOAA?s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is supporting the response work in the Gulf with NOAA-owned ships and aircraft.

                    Please see GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse [leaves OR&R site] for further information on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Incident.

                    Trajectories
                    To see the most recent Trajectory Forecast Maps, see the column at the right of this page.

                    OR&R?s modeling team continues to generate daily trajectories for the nearshore surface oil. The offshore trajectory maps (previously displayed on this page, showing oil interacting with the Loop Current) have been temporarily suspended because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for oil to enter the Loop Current from the source. Also, there have been no reports of recoverable oil in the Loop Current or Eddy Franklin and the oil has moved to the North and away from the Eddy Franklin. We will continue to monitor the area with overflights, vessel observations, and satellite analysis. When the threat of shoreline impacts to the Florida Keys increases, we will resume producing the offshore trajectory maps.
                    The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean, flowing past the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico.

                    It generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the west Florida coast. An eddy is water that rotates. </AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER>Closures </AGL:CONTAINER>

                    <AGL:CONTAINER>For the latest closure information, see Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill: Federal Fisheries Closure and Other Information [leaves OR&R site]. Modeling and mapping the actual and projected spill area is not an exact science. NOAA Fisheries Service strongly advises fishermen not to fish in areas where oil or oil sheens (very thin layers of floating oil) are present, even if those areas are not currently closed to fishing. Any changes to the closure are announced daily at 12 p.m. Eastern at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov [leaves OR&R site] and take effect at 6 p.m. Eastern the same day. </AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER>Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals </AGL:CONTAINER>

                    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER>For information on sea turtle and marine mammals affected by the spill, please visit: Sea Turtles, Dolphins, and Whales and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill [leaves OR&R site] (NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources) or Deepwater Horizon Response - Consolidated Fish and Wildlife Collection Report [leaves OR&R site] (Deepwater Horizon Web site).
                    Assessment

                    To help determine the type and amount of restoration needed to compensate the public for harm to natural resources as a result of the spill, a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (Document format: PDF, size: 90.8 K) will be conducted by NOAA and our co-trustee agencies. Although many agencies are involved in this process, NOAA is a lead federal trustee for coastal and marine natural resources, including marine and migratory fish, endangered species, marine mammals and their habitats. The focus currently is to assemble existing data on resources and their habitats and collect baseline (pre-spill impact) data. Data on oiled resources and habitats are also being collected. For additional information, see the DARRP Deepwater Horizon Web page. </AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- title / graphic / text block 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER>Important Contacts </AGL:CONTAINER>

                    <AGL:CONTAINER>
                    • For NOAA media inquiries, please contact Ben Sherman, John Ewald or Rachel Wilhelm or phone 301.713.3066.
                    • To offer suggestions to clean, contain, recover or stop the flow of oil visit Deepwater Horizon Response Suggestions. This Web site also provides procedures and forms for Alternative Response Tool Evaluation System (ARTES) proposals.
                    • For response-related inquiries, please phone the Joint Information Center (JIC) at 985.902.5231 or 985.902.5240.
                    • To report oil on land, or for general community information, please phone 866.448.5816.
                    • To report oiled or injured wildlife, please phone 866.557.1401.
                    • To learn about volunteer opportunities in all areas and what training is required, please phone 866.448.5816.
                    • To discuss spill related damage claims, please phone 800.440.0858.
                    • BP is asking fishermen for their assistance in cleaning up the oil spill. BP is calling this the Vessel of Opportunities Program and through it, BP is looking to contract shrimp boats, oyster boats and other vessels for hire to deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about the Vessel of Opportunity Program, fishermen should phone 281.366.5511.
                    More Information about this Incident </AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline photo gallery box --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline linkbox 5 --></AGL:CONTAINER>
                    <AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 1 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 2 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 3 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 4 --></AGL:CONTAINER><AGL:CONTAINER><!-- inline resource box 5 --><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
                    24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily. </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
                    </AGL:CONTAINER>http://response.restoration.noaa.gov...topic_topic)=1
                    "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
                    -Nelson Mandela

                    Comment

                    • #85
                      Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

                      <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
                      24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
                      </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


                      /.../

                      response.restoration.noaa.gov
                      http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=809&subtopic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=2&topic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=1
                      "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
                      -Nelson Mandela

                      Comment

                      • #86
                        Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

                        <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
                        24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
                        </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
                        /.../

                        response.restoration.noaa.gov
                        http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=809&subtopic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=2&topic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=1
                        "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
                        -Nelson Mandela

                        Comment

                        • #87
                          Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

                          Current Trajectory Maps ? top

                          24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily. /.../

                          response.restoration.noaa.gov
                          http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/dwh.php?entry_id=809
                          "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
                          -Nelson Mandela

                          Comment

                          • #88
                            Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

                            <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps ? top
                            24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
                            </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>/.../

                            response.restoration.noaa.gov
                            http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=809&subtopic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=2&topic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=1


                            </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
                            "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
                            -Nelson Mandela

                            Comment

                            • #89
                              Re: NOAA update on Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

                              <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Current Trajectory Maps • top
                              24, 48 and 72 hour trajectory forecast maps and offshore trajectory forecasts are produced once daily.
                              </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD>
                              • Deepwater Horizon 72Hr Trajectory Map 2010-08-09-2000 Note: Because there was no significant oil identified today, trajectory runs generated no oil slick contours and the final trajectory maps were blank. So, instead of producing three blank trajectory maps - for 24, 48, and 72 hour forecasts - look for one trajectory forecast that covers the full 72-hour period.
                                (Document format: PDF, size: 2.7 M)
                              /.../

                              response.restoration.noaa.gov
                              http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY%28entry_subtopic_topic%29=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=809&subtopic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=2&topic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=1



                              </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
                              "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
                              -Nelson Mandela

                              Comment

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