The Gulf Oil Spill

The Gulf Oil Spill

On April 20, 2010, a blast sank the Deepwater Horizon rig which caused a massive oil spill. No one knows for sure how this spill in the Gulf of Mexico will affect the deep sea ecosystem. This disaster caused an environmental and economic nightmare which will last for many years. This spill is the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.


The Deepwater Horizon spill has created huge deep water plumes where the oil is actually in the water column and not on the surface of the water. These plumes are wide, deep, and long and are without substantial biodegradation. The ingredients in the dispersants are also a concern because the ingredients are a trade secret that only the company that makes it knows what is in it. Although the toxic like napthalenes, benzene, toluene and xylenes in oil may be different, the compounds are all known human carcinogens with different health effects for humans, animals, wildlife, and plants.


According to NOAA, the deep water oil threatens the large marine wildlife like sharks and fish. Small marine wildlife such as shrimp, crabs, and worms which is endangering this group. This undersea spill may be worse. Hypoxia a condition that happens every spring may make problems worse. Hypoxia causes fast growing algae to deplete oxygen from sections of the water column in the Gulf of Mexico. This takes away oxygen that the wildlife and other life forms need to survive. Without oxygen it is like a long-term toxic body of water.


To make things worse, the oil washed up on the shore and is causing more damage the coastal wetlands that are trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina. These wetlands are already suffering from overdevelopment and pollution. Some of the immediate effects of the spill could be seen right away. Seabirds were soaked and suffocated in the gulf.


The oil is still out there and can be smelled and touched. The degradation of oil slows over the years. What is known as the asphaltenes are the large and complex compounds that remain once the microbes move on and the aspaltenes are very hard to digest.


Scientists warn the spill will have ripple effects that will last for years if not decades. Creatures that died and sunk to the bottom of the gulf will make it difficult to estimate the total number of creatures that actually died. The reproduction rate of sea turtles and the damaged caused by the Gulf Oil Spill will take years to figure out.


Many people are trying to make ends meet. This spill caused tourism along the Gulf of Mexico to slow down. For some time the waters were closed to commercial fishing. The shrimpers that were allowed to fish are having trouble convincing people that the shrimp is safe to eat. In closing, damage to the environment, human health, the seafood industry, and tourism has been affected by the Gulf Oil Spill. The financial costs and changes to the Climate Bill are also changed because of the Gulf Oil Spill.





http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/330/6001/201

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/17/gulf-oil-spill-update-well_n_720602.html

http://www.sciencemag.org/hottopics/oilspill/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/05/AR2010060503987.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/10/7-long-term-effects-of-th_n_562947.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-long-will-oil-spill-last

PH scale, acids, and basics.

What is the PH scale? It is a scale to determine how acidic or basic a substance is. Ph stands for potential of hydrogen. It ranges from 0 to 14. If a substance is at 7 then it is neutral but if it is below that then it is acidic. Anything greater that 7 is basic. Each whole value below PH 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value. It holds true for anything above 7. A PH level of 9 is ten times more basic (alkaline) than a PH scale of 8. Therefore a PH level of 0 is super acidic and a PH level of 14 is strongly basic. Some examples of acidic substances is vinegar and lemon juice. In addition battery acid would be a 0 on the scale. Water is neutral and Lye and ammonia are examples of basic substances. Liquid drain cleaner would be a 14 on the scale. This is to just kind of give you an idea of what is highly acidic and what’s highly basic. The PH scale is all intertwined with acids and bases. Here is a chart to show you a little of what I mean.

http://staff.jccc.net/pdecell/chemistry/phscale.html

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/184ph.html

Article Review

The Gulf Oil Spill

On April 20, 2010, a blast sank the Deepwater Horizon rig which caused a massive oil spill.  No one knows for sure how this spill in the Gulf of Mexico will affect the deep sea ecosystem.  This disaster caused an environmental and economic nightmare which will last for many years.  This spill is the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

The Deepwater Horizon spill has created huge deep water plumes where the oil is actually in the water column and not on the surface of the water.  These plumes are wide, deep, and long and are without substantial biodegradation.  The ingredients in the dispersants are also a concern because the ingredients are a trade secret that only the company that makes it knows what is in it.

According to NOAA, the deep water oil threatens the large marine wildlife like sharks and fish.  Small marine wildlife such as shrimp, crabs, and worms which is endangering this group.  This undersea spill may be worse.  Hypoxia a condition that happens every spring may make problems worse.  Hypoxia causes fast growing algae to deplete oxygen from sections of the water column in the Gulf of Mexico.  This take away oxygen that the wildlife and other life forms need to survive.  

To make things worse, the oil washed up on the shore and is causing more damage the coastal wetlands that are trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina.  These wetlands are already suffering from overdevelopment and pollution.            

Many people are trying to make ends meet.  This spill caused tourism along the Gulf of Mexico to slow down.  For some time the waters were closed to commercial fishing.  The shrimpers that were allowed to fish are having trouble convincing people that the shrimp is safe to eat.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/330/6001/201

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/17/gulf-oil-spill-update-well_n_720602.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/17/gulf-oil-spill-update-well_n_720602.html

http://www.sciencemag.org/hottopics/oilspill/

Antiacid Lab

Water

Water is more than just what we drink or what we wash our cars with, it is a pretty complicated part of science. It is pretty well known that water covers 70 percent of the earth. What you may not know is that there is a little bit of water on any surface. Also, water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Water has a high heat capacity and that’s why its valuable in a cars radiator. Water molecules are not linear but bent in a special way and that’s why the molecule is partly negatively and positively charged. Water can be found in three states. One being a solid, for example, frozen water(freezes at 32 degrees). Water can also be found in a liquid state which is pretty much common sense. Water can also form into gas like vaporization. Water is constantly changing, interacting and in movement. Also water molecules are cohesive and adhesive and that’s why its allowed to fill a tubular vessel. Cohesion allows water to run up veins in a tree. When doing the lab I learned water has a high surface tension and that’s why the water didn’t fall off the edges when we put drops of water on it. One thing I didn’t know is that water is a big factor in the warming and cooling of the earth, but it makes total sense when I think about it. Yes this is a lot of information but it is very good to know.

Double Blind Placebo-What I Learned

For the past few days we've been working on clinical trials. This is somethig i really had no idea of. This involved using the double blind placebo effect.  Therefore this meant that;

1-double blind meant the doctor nor the patient knew what medicine was being handed out, all they knew was that they either got a sugar pill or the actual pill that is being tested.

2-Placebo stands for the sugar pill that is recieved.

This type of experiment is done to help protect the results.  I say this because if someone is told they have the pill that will "cure" then they will do things in different ways and most likely have positive thoughts.  All this put together will affect the results because positive thoughts or acting in a happier way can literally get rid or help some problems that the pills are trying to cure.  An example of this is like when you hear of people recieving choclate pills for a diet and then when they come back, they"ve lost weight.  Its sometimes all in your head. 

I learned there are tons of new drugs being tested every day. I had no idea! There are seriously drugs being tested for anything i could think of.  It was prety crazy and cool.   In addition these tests affectly me greatly.  The drugs tested now are cures for tomorrows defects or diseases.  They may one day help me, a friend of mine, or a family member and this is very beneficial to me.