BP's Macondo site still leaking, Corexit being used "legally and liberally"

Glassy water still streaked with oil

2011 September 10, Saturday
Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi Canyon

Wings of Care: "We took a last-minute evening flight over the Gulf, to test out a repair to our electrical system and to try to show a friend visiting some whale sharks. They also wanted to see if there was still oil out there, so with little sunlight left, we headed directly for the Mississippi Canyon and the scene of last year's disaster, where we've been documenting signs of fresh oil, lots of it, for the past few weeks. We found what we were looking for!

Two whale sharks showed themselves, each feeding in his or her own large bait ball where the tuna were jumping in all directions. We learned last fall to find these gentle giants in the middle of such feeding frenzies far out in the blue water, feeding either horizontally or vertically. So it's seldom that we can pass up one of those circular shadows on the water, knowing what a sight we might find in their middles!

We also found, easily and quickly, a long streak of oil and oil 'globules', stretching for several miles from southwest to northeast but less than 100 meter wide. (See videos below.) And who was near it, but the same BP-contracted vessel we've seen several times before sailing or sampling in this area -- the Sarah Bordelon. According to marinetraffic.com, she returned to the scene of last year's BP disaster (the "MC252 block") as soon as Hurricane Lee had passed through, and for the past few days she has resumed her practice of sailing grid patterns, in the same areas where we have been videotaping and photographing oil from the air. As we approached, she executed a U-turn and proceeded in a direction that brought her closer to us. We'd love to know what BP is doing out there, and what they are finding. How can the public learn this information, and is it legal for them to withhold it from the public? Does the US Coast Guard know? Why doesn't the media ask?

The oil slicks we found today were narrower and shorter and the globules smaller than those we've been seeing the past few weeks. But they are in the same general area as the large slick we reported to you last August 30.

What happened to that large slick?

*We have heard from the US Coast Guard in recent public meetings that dispersants are still being used legally and liberally* in offshore waters, and that they apply them both from surface vessels and aircraft. We wonder if they are being applied here? Or maybe we just need to broaden our search, maybe they moved with the currents and winds. But something causing fresh oil to form linear slicks sure is persisting right here in this area, that's certain.

We can't answer these questions just by flying and photo-documenting. Scientists can tell us whether the fingerprint of the oil samples collected match those of the Macondo well, and many have attested that the look of the large slick we documented last August 30 was not that of a "natural seep." Other groups (such as Eco-Rigs) cite laboratory results that show correlations between MC252 (Macondo well) oil and negative effects on marine animals and coral in this area for many tens of miles. At this point, BP may be the only ones who can afford to keep vessels and aircraft out there monitoring the situation. That seems to us like the proverbial "fox guarding the chicken coop." But, as another old saying goes, folks, "we get what we settle for." Please, folks, do not settle for not knowing the facts about your Gulf and its life.

Our aim in documenting the existence of continued fresh oil in this area is to raise public awareness and bring scientists to the table to help provide facts about the health of the Gulf and the true risks associated with offshore oil and gas drilling. We would think it unfortunate if our finding oil has the consequence that BP or the US Coast Guard, who apparently still have authority to use dispersants such as Corexit liberally and legally in these offshore waters, were to apply still more dispersants to the area. But if the alternative is to keep these facts from the public, we don't see how that can lead to good. It is imperative that you, the public, act on all the facts that we and other groups work to provide you; and then hold our leaders and policymakers accountable to your consciences, your ethics, your true desires.

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See the pre-Tropical Storm Lee footage of massive slicks taken by Wings of Care: http://www.onwingsofcare.org/protection-a-preservation/gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-...