There have been conflicting rumblings across the newswire services and across social media outlets whether the Gulf oil spill has been entrained into the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current.
The images below from NASA's MODIS satellite speaks volumes and confirms many people's worst fears.
Per The Weather Channel's tropical expert Dr. Richard Knabb, "based on satellite images, model simulations, and on-site research vessel reports, I think it is reasonable to conclude that the oil slick at the surface is very near or partially in the loop current. The loop current is responsible in the first place for extending that stream of oil off to the southeast in satellite imagery."
Image credit: NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response
Image credit: NASA/GSFC, MODIS Rapid Response
Why is the Loop Current a big deal?
It's a big deal because it's a mode of transportation for the oil spill. No longer will it be confined in the northern Gulf Coast.
The oil spill has discovered its exit strategy and that exit is now in progress.
The Loop Current's influence has pulled the oil at the ocean surface toward the southeast away from the original oil spill area.
This influential "pull" has now positioned the oil either just at the doorstep of the Loop Current or it is indeed now inside the current.
rest at http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/oil-spill-encounters-loop-current_2010-05-17
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