The Washington Independent » national oceanic and atmospheric association http://washingtonindependent.com National News in Context Thu, 10 May 2012 20:13:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The ‘Fate of Oil’ In the Gulf http://washingtonindependent.com/93723/the-fate-of-oil-in-the-gulf http://washingtonindependent.com/93723/the-fate-of-oil-in-the-gulf#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:30:10 +0000 Andrew Restuccia http://washingtonindependent.com/?p=93723 As expected, the White House released the details of an administration report that says “vast majority” of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the last several months has been “either evaporated or been burned, skimmed, recovered from the wellhead or dispersed.”

According to a White House More...

]]> As expected, the White House released the details of an administration report that says “vast majority” of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the last several months has been “either evaporated or been burned, skimmed, recovered from the wellhead or dispersed.”

According to a White House statement detailing the “fate of oil” in the Gulf, the report, created by the Interior Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, finds:

A third (33 percent) of the total amount of oil released in the Deepwater Horizon/BP spill was captured or mitigated by the Unified Command recovery operations, including burning, skimming, chemical dispersion and direct recovery from the wellhead. … An additional 25 percent of the total oil naturally evaporated or dissolved, and 16 percent was dispersed naturally into microscopic droplets.  The residual amount, just over one quarter (26 percent), is either on or just below the surface as residue and weathered tarballs, has washed ashore or been collected from the shore, or is buried in sand and sediments.  Dispersed and residual oil remain in the system until they degrade through a number of natural processes.  Early indications are that the oil is degrading quickly.

As I noted earlier today, despite the report’s rosy outlook, significant work remains to be done in the Gulf. There are still real questions about the spill’s long-term impacts in the region, and the upcoming victims’ compensation process is certain to be complicated.

]]> http://washingtonindependent.com/93723/the-fate-of-oil-in-the-gulf/feed 17 New Climate Change Report: A Wake-Up Call http://washingtonindependent.com/47338/new-climate-change-report-a-wake-up-call http://washingtonindependent.com/47338/new-climate-change-report-a-wake-up-call#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:49:52 +0000 Aaron Wiener http://washingtonindependent.com/?p=47338 This afternoon, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association released a report on the impact of climate change in the United States. Its aim is as much political as it is scientific — The Guardian calls it “part of a carefully crafted strategy by the White House to help build More...

]]> This afternoon, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association released a report on the impact of climate change in the United States. Its aim is as much political as it is scientific — The Guardian calls it “part of a carefully crafted strategy by the White House to help build public support for President Obama’s agenda and boost the prospects of a climate change bill now making its way through Congress” — and it shows not only the potentially devastating future effects of global warming, but also the pronounced consequences already engendered by rising temperatures.

I encourage you to take a look at the full report — or at least the summary — but for a quick overview, check out the truly startling maps below the jump:

over-100

According to the report, the Southeast will be particularly hard-hit:

over-90

And for those who think that the threat of rising sea levels is pure alarmism, here’s the impact we’ve already felt:

rising-sea-level

Likewise, shrinking Arctic sea ice:

arctic-ice

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