Scientists Fault Lack of Studies Over Gulf Oil Spill

[groovedaddy]

Tensions between the Obama administration and the scientific community over the gulf oil spill are escalating, with prominent oceanographers accusing the government of failing to conduct an adequate scientific analysis of the damage and of allowing BP to obscure the spill’s true scope.

The scientists assert that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies have been slow to investigate the magnitude of the spill and the damage it is causing in the deep ocean. They are especially concerned about getting a better handle on problems that may be occurring from large plumes of oil droplets that appear to be spreading beneath the ocean surface.

The scientists point out that in the month since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, the government has failed to make public a single test result on water from the deep ocean. And the scientists say the administration has been too reluctant to demand an accurate analysis of how many gallons of oil are flowing into the sea from the gushing oil well.

“It seems baffling that we don’t know how much oil is being spilled,” Sylvia Earle, a famed oceanographer, said Wednesday on Capitol Hill. “It seems baffling that we don’t know where the oil is in the water column.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/science/earth/20noaa.html?th&emc=th

[NJmaverick]

1. Scientific studies are for AFTER a disaster is corrected, not during

It's silly comments like these that give scientists that egg head repuation.

[groovedaddy]

2. It doesn't seem like you read the article. When will the "after" be for this disaster? This one is

is going to go on for years. I believe this is also the first deepwater spill. This eventuality had only been dealt with on a theoretical basis. Now that it's happened, it's vital to pay attention to what is happening now. That is why scientific research and evaluation is critical NOW.

[NJmaverick]

3. I don't think you read my post. The disaster stops when the leak is stopped

AFTER the leak is stopped, is WHEN you start the studies, not in the mist of an emergency. If we followed your suggestion, we would conduct studies on a burning building before we actually got the people out. You get the people out, put out the fire then do the studies on how the fire started and how to prevent future fires and what to do with the fire damaged building. There is a natural order of things and scientific study has to wait until an emergency situation is stabilized.

[groovedaddy]

4. Your analogy is not apt to the situation. This is unprecendented. Scientific observation on what

happening NOW is critical. That has absolutely nothing to do with stopping the flow of oil from the breeches. No one is suggesting to abandon that effort in order to do research. They are not at all mutually exclusive. And you are absolutely wrong in asserting that the disaster is stopped when the leak is stopped. The millions of gallons of crude oil already in the Gulf, both above and the surface and below, is a huge disaster that will have an impact LONG after the flow of oil is stopped. If we are not following the underwater plumes we'll have no clue as to where they'll end up.