Even as the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday that the tar balls found on the Florida Keys shoreline were not connected to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, tourism officials in the state remain gravely concerned that the millions of gallons that have already gushed from the leaks are moving closer to the Florida coastline.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator, Jane Lubchenco said in a news conference today that:
“Satellite imagery on May 17 indicates that the main bulk of the oil is dozens of miles away from the Loop Current but that a tendril of light oil has been transported down close to the Loop Current. The proximity of the southeast tendril of oil to the Loop Current indicates that oil is increasingly likely to become entrained if it is not already. When that occurs, oil could reach the Florida Straits in 8-10 days. Once entrained in the Loop Current, persistent onshore winds and/or oil getting into an eddy of the Loop current would be required to bring the oil onto the Florida shoreline.”
Lubchenco added:
“During the transit time the oil is in the Loop Current, the natural processes of evaporation and dispersion would reduce the oil volume significantly and change its nature and character. The remaining oil could be composed of emulsified streamers, long strips, and mostly tar balls.”
The NOAA head said that in response to the possibility of oil entering the Loop Current, the agency was announcing an expansion of the fishery closure area. With this closure, some 45,728 square miles representing around 19 percent of the entire Gulf of Mexico federal waters are now closed off to fishing.
The Loop Current is an area of warm water that comes up from the Caribbean flowing past the Yucatan peninsula and into the the Gulf of Mexico. According to NOAA, it generally curves east across the Gulf and then flows south parallel to the West Coast of Florida.
