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#275181 - 05/21/15 11:46 PM Santa Barbara Oil Spill
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
California Governor Declares State Of Emergency As Santa Barbara Oil Spill Worsens Dramatically It isn't a natural disaster but it is a disaster. Hikermor is probably very close to this calamity.
Quote:
...What was originally thought to be around 21,000 barrels is now over 105,000 barrels of oil spilled on to the pristine beaches of Santa Barbara County. ...

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#275182 - 05/22/15 12:35 AM Re: Santa Barbara Oil Spill [Re: Russ]
EMPnotImplyNuclear Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 09/10/08
Posts: 382
More info at Refugio Oil spill
2500 barrels of oil at todays price of $60.72 , is $151,800

They lost $151,800 from a pipeline and didn't even notice they had a leak, and gas pumps have existed for over 100 years.

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#275183 - 05/22/15 12:53 AM Re: Santa Barbara Oil Spill [Re: EMPnotImplyNuclear]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Thanks EMP, the report I posted said 105K barrels which is way more than 105K gallons -- gallons, not barrels. Still, what a mess.

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#275184 - 05/22/15 03:30 AM Re: Santa Barbara Oil Spill [Re: Russ]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Originally Posted By: Russ
Hikermor is probably very close to this calamity.


Just up the coast a bit.This is definitely a calamity, but don't forget that natural oil seeps have been leaking hydrocarbons into the Santa Barbara Channel for thousands of years. I am just back from a trip to Santa Rosa Island where we observed sediments 80,000 years old that were permeated with oily deposits.

Some of these seeps are marked on nautical charts....
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#275185 - 05/22/15 05:09 AM Re: Santa Barbara Oil Spill [Re: hikermor]
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
Originally Posted By: hikermor
This is definitely a calamity, but don't forget that natural oil seeps have been leaking hydrocarbons into the Santa Barbara Channel for thousands of years. I am just back from a trip to Santa Rosa Island where we observed sediments 80,000 years old that were permeated with oily deposits.

Some of these seeps are marked on nautical charts....
Hikermor is correct that there are many natural oil seeps in that region, both under the water and on land. For example most people will have heard of the La Brea Tar Pits.

The ecosystems have adapted to the slow, chronic, natural release of hydrocarbons over millennium. However, the reason spills like this are a calamity is because it is way too much, way too fast for the environment to deal with. No bird or other critter can easily survive being drenched in oil. And while natural organisms can cope with small amounts of some of the (numerous) toxic compounds in oil, a sudden big dose like this likely just kills them.

Another issue is the oil from the seeps is already partially degraded by the time it reaches the surface (evaporation of volatiles, interaction with groundwater, action of bacteria in the ground,etc). Thus it may be marginally less toxic. My understanding is that the spilled oil apparently came more or less directly from a well into the leaking pipeline. I don't know any specifics about that particular crude, but oil fresh from a deep reservoir could easily be a lot more nasty than oil from a natural seep.
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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz

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