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The following is a
letter from Captain
Al who drives the
boat for us and
works for other
operators as well:
Ann and Darrell,
I just returned from
a second trip into
the Gulf of Mexico
searching for tar
balls and thought I
would let you know
what is happening
there.
The boat I was
working on was
chartered by the
National Response
Corporation (NRC)
and our mission was
to search for tar
balls in and around
the Loop Current and
it's Eastern eddies.
The purpose of
these searches is to
be a sentry for tar
detection and with
that information a
preparedness/response
plan, if one is
needed, can be
developed for South
Florida.
On our first trip,
we had a senior
scientist from the
Fla. Dept. of
Environmental
Protection on board
and were directed by
the NRC to a 1500
square nautical mile
search area 150 nm
West of Port
Charlotte (Ft.
Myers). We spent
three days sampling
that area by towing
a one-half meter
round Neuston net
for one mile every
10 miles of travel
and found no tar,
oil, or oily sheen.
We were then
directed to a second
search area 200 nm
West of Tampa Bay.
This area was 3000
sq. nm and we spent
four days sampling
the water there.
Here we began to
find some tar, but
no oil or oily
sheen. Most of the
tar was hard, grey,
and brittle,
indicating that it
had been in the
water for an
extended period and
NOT from the
Deepwater Horizon
(DH) incident. We
did find three tar
balls that were
soft, black and
pliable, so they MAY
have been from the
DH site--only the
lab will be able to
determine if those
samples are actually
from DH. The
largest of the tar
balls was 3 mm in
diameter and when
smashed flat, as
instructed for
preservation
purposes, was not
the size of a dime.
The total amount of
tar that was
collected in seven
days of sampling and
over 1000 nm of
travel was less than
one (1) ounce. From
these findings, our
scientist commented
that unless the Loop
Current had
sustained contact
with the oil from DH
South Florida would
be spared.
On our second trip,
we were directed to
a 3000 sq. nm area
200 nm West of Port
Charlotte to sample
an eddy that had
formed East of the
Loop Current. On
board in charge of
the sampling was a
volunteer from the
Army Corps of
Engineers. During
this trip we were
able to sample the
entire eddy as it
moved Eastward
through our search
area. Again, we
found tar, but no
oil or oily sheen
and most of the tar
was hard and grey.
The few tar balls
that were soft and
black were found in
the Southern portion
of the eddy and the
largest one was 9 mm
at it's largest
dimension. After
being smashed flat,
it was very close to
the size of a nickel
in both diameter and
thickness. The next
smaller tar ball was
about the size of a
dime and the
remaining tar balls
were less than 2 mm.
Total tar collected
on this trip was
about 1.5 ounces,
and while that was
more than on the
first trip, we did
travel more than
twice the distance
(2200 nm) than was
covered on the
previous outing.
To give it all some
perspective, on the
two trips we
traveled over 3000
nm--about the
driving distance
from Key West to
Seattle, WA--towed
the sample net for
over 300 nm, and
collected less than
two (2) ounces of
tar.
I hope this helps
shed some light on
the Gulf situation,
Capt. Al
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