I'll get around to replying in depth to earlier messages when time permits, but I thought this worthy of pointing out immediately. Please see all three of these: Size of Oil Spill Underestimated, Scientists Say http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us/14oil.html?hp Gulf Spill Could Be Much Worse Than Believed http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126809525 BP / Gulf Oil Spill - How Big Is It? http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/05/bp-gulf-oil-spill-how-big-is-it.html Here's the bottom line after reading all three: Multiple independent methods of estimating the rate all yield MUCH higher estimates that the 5000 barrels/day figure being uncritically used in [nearly all] press reports. "Much" as in "an order of magnitude higher". BP has the ability to conduct an on-site measurement that would likely yield a very good estimate but refuses to do so. An incisive and (in my opinion as a physicist and engineer) technically accurate take on this is contained in the quoted box on this page: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/13/866263/-Gulf-Coast-Oilpocalypse-at-least-ten-times-worse-than-previously-estimated:-NPR The key quote is this: They could stick a a pitot tube over that leak, actually into the pipe just a bit, just holding it out there on a ROV arm, take 2 minutes worth of pressure readings, and as long as they have a reasonable idea of the GOR (they do) they could get within 15% +/- of the volume of that leak, both gas and oil. GOR: gas-to-oil ratio, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_oil_ratio Pitot tube: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitot_tube ---Rsk *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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