Note: Surfrider’s estimate of the spill volume is based on a rate of 26,000 barrels per day. The most recent estimate of the continuing rate of the oil gusher is between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day (1,470,000 to 2,520,000 gallons per day). If the release has been at that rate since Day 1, the total volume of oil released is now between and 123 and 212 million gallons. The government estimates that about 750,000 gallons of oil have been recovered.
NOAA’s GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse online tool provides nearshore and offshore “spill trajectory estimates” for the current oil plume and the next two days. You can also use the tool to show the current plume, the location of “beached oil” and surface water currents.
State of Efforts to Stop Flow
BP’s “top hat” containment system plus auxiliary collection and flaring systems are being replaced by a tighter fitting cap (termed "capping stack") that is intended to contain all of the oil gushing from the Macondo well. Read more.
Meanwhile, BP continues to drill two “relief wells” that are intended to intercept the blown-out well at a depth of about 16,000 feet. Drilling mud and cement would then be pumped into the well to seal it. It is hoped that this work can be accomplished by late July or early August. Read more.
Ecological Damage
The GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse online tool can be configured to show the fishery closure area (83,927 square miles, covering about 35% of the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone as of July 13) and confirmed marine mammal and sea turtle strandings and observations.The National Fish and Wildlife Service publishes daily reports showing the current number of birds, sea turtles and marine mammals that have been "collected" in the oil spill area.
