Olieudslippet i den Mexicanske Golf 2010
Koordinater: 28°45′19.34″N 88°23′15.65″V / 28.7553722°N 88.3876806°V
Olieudslippet i den Mexicanske Golf var et stort pågående olieudslip i den Mexicanske Golf, som startede med, at olieboreplatformen Deepwater Horizon eksploderede og sank den 20. april 2010.
Hændelsesforløb
Olieselskabet BP bekræftede, at Deepwater Horizon var i brand klokken 22:00 den 20. april 2010 amerikansk tid efter en kraftig eksplosion, som dræbte 11 af de 126 oliearbejdere om bord. Yderligere sytten personer blev skadet, heraf tre alvorligt.[1] Eksplosionen skete formentlig på grund af et pludseligt gasudslip fra borehullet på 1.500 meters dybde, en såkaldt blowout. Den ventil som skulle have været installeret på havbunden for at lukke hullet ved et blowout, var aldrig blevet monteret.[2]
Da platformen forliste efter eksplosionen blev rørene revet af boringen, og trykket fra oliekilden pumpede 800 ton råolie per døgn ud i havbugten.
Følger
Forliset har skabt store forureningsproblemer på strandene rundt om golfen; BP samarbejder med de amerikanske myndigheder om oprydning efter ulykken, som har vakt stort politisk røre og de har indvilget i at afsætte 20 milliarder dollars til at afhjælpe følgerne og erstatninger til de skadelidte.
Eksterne kilder og henvisninger
- ^ The Deepwater Horizon incident Arkiveret 6. maj 2010 hos Wayback Machine (9. maj 2010)
- ^ Kleja, Monica (5. maj 2010). "Gasbubbla kan ha orsakat oljeexplosionen". nyteknik.se (svensk). Arkiveret fra originalen 7. maj 2010. Hentet 19. juni 2010.
Medier brugt på denne side
100505-G-4590R-001 Oak oil skimming response
GULF OF MEXICO - Crewmembers assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Oak, homeported in Charleston, S.C., place the Weir Skimmer into the apex of the boom, during oil skimming operations. The Oak is assisting with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response. U. S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign Jason Radcliffe.Description from NASA (source):
"NASA's Terra Satellites Sees Spill on May 24
Sunlight illuminated the lingering oil slick off the Mississippi Delta on May 24, 2010. The Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image the same day.
Oil smoothes the ocean surface, making the Sun’s reflection brighter near the centerline of the path of the satellite, and reducing the scattering of sunlight in other places. As a result, the oil slick is brighter than the surrounding water in some places (image center) and darker than the surrounding water in others (image lower right). The tip of the Mississippi Delta is surrounded by muddy water that appears light tan. Bright white ribbons of oil streak across this sediment-laden water.
Tendrils of oil extend to the north and east of the main body of the slick. A small, dark plume along the edge of the slick, not far from the original location of the Deepwater Horizon rig, indicates a possible controlled burn of oil on the ocean surface.
To the west of the bird’s-foot part of the delta, dark patches in the water may also be oil, but detecting a manmade oil slick in coastal areas can be even more complicated than detecting it in the open ocean.
When oil slicks are visible in satellite images, it is because they have changed how the water reflects light, either by making the Sun’s reflection brighter or by dampening the scattering of sunlight, which makes the oily area darker. In coastal areas, however, similar changes in reflectivity can occur from differences in salinity (fresh versus salt water) and from naturally produced oils from plants.