- July 28, 2010 - Sixteen birds released at Rockefeller refuge
- July 27, 2010 - BP CEO to be succeeded by Dudley
- July 26, 2010 - As work on busted well resumes, oil mostly ...
- July 23, 2010 - Bonnie halts oil spill clean-up efforts
- July 20, 2010 - Obama adopts recommendations of Interagency ...
- July 16, 2010 - No oil leaking as BP conducts tests in well
- July 14, 2010 - Animal autopsies in Gulf reveal only a mystery
- July 11, 2010 - Largest oil spill response continues; skimmers ...
- July 10, 2010 - Louisiana firm retrofits bird rehabilitation facility
- July 9, 2010 - Agencies safeguard sea turtle nests; FedEx ...
- July 9, 2010 - Website seeks information on oil-spill research ...
Sixteen birds released at Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge
Copyright 2010 Deepwater Horizon Response. All rights reserved.
July 28, 2010 - NEW ORLEANS – State and federal biologists released 13 laughing gulls, two royal terns, and one sandwich tern at Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge Wednesday, after being rescued and rehabilitated from oil impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge in Grand Chenier, La., was selected by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the release site because it has not been impacted by oil and contains natural habitat for these species.
“This refuge and nearby natural areas provide these birds the best chance of survival and success,” said Robert Barham, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “We hope to release more rehabilitated birds in state in coming weeks.”
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE AT DEEPWATER HORIZON RESPONSE
BP CEO to be succeeded by Dudley
Copyright 2010 BP.
All rights reserved.
July 27, 2010 - BP today announced that, by mutual agreement with the BP board, Tony Hayward is to step down as group chief executive with effect from
October 1, 2010. He will be succeeded as of that date by fellow executive director Robert Dudley.
BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said: "The BP board is deeply saddened to lose a CEO whose success over some three years in driving the performance of
the company was so widely and deservedly admired.
"The tragedy of the Macondo well explosion and subsequent environmental damage has been a watershed incident. BP remains a strong business with
fine assets, excellent people and a vital role to play in meeting the world's energy needs. But it will be a different company going forward, requiring
fresh leadership supported by robust governance and a very engaged board.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE AT BP.COM
As work on busted well resumes, oil mostly stays off Alabama beaches
Copyright 2010 Press Register. All rights reserved.
July 26, 2010 - Neither oil, nor the remnants of former Tropical Storm Bonnie, made much of a mark on Alabama shorelines Sunday, reports indicated, as response officials resumed efforts to permanently plug BP PLC's broken well in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dauphin Island as seen on July 25, 2010. (Press-Register/Bill Starling) |
With the gusher's cap still closed and reportedly stable, the company and federal government officials said the "static kill" that they hope will
finally choke off the well should begin in the next week or two. Spill responders expect to complete the relief well soon after that.
READ MORE ONLINE AT AL.COM
Bonnie halts oil spill clean-up efforts
Copyright 2010 Press Register. All rights reserved.
July 23, 2010 - Local oil spill responders halted clean-up efforts today, moved equipment off the beaches and even took down some boom in
anticipation of Bonnie, a tropical depression expected to again become a tropical storm as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico.
Surfers wait for a wave, Friday, July 23, 2010 near Haulover Beach Park in Miami-Dade County, Fla.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for the Gulf coast as Tropical Storm
Bonnie begins moving over South Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) |
On Saturday, as high waves and rain showers are expected to move in, there will be no skimming or other operations in local waters, said Keith Seilhan,
BP PLC's Mobile Incident Commander.
All totaled, 75 truckloads of equipment have been moved to higher ground in Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.
And by the end of today, about 75,000 feet of boom -- out of a total of 1.7 million feet that has been placed out in the three states --
was expected to be removed from some of the "most sensitive areas," Seilhan said.
That includes some put out in Mobile Bay and Bayou La Batre.
READ MORE ONLINE AT AL.COM
Obama adopts recommendations of Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force
Copyright 2010 Office of the President of the US. All rights reserved.
July 19, 2010 - President Obama signed an Executive Order today
establishing a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and
Great Lakes. The executive order adopts the Final Recommendations of the
Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and directs federal agencies to take the
appropriate steps to implement them.
The Executive Order strengthens ocean governance and coordination, establishes guiding principles for ocean management, and adopts a flexible framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning to
address conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes.
READ MORE ONLINE AT WHITEHOUSE.GOV
No oil leaking as BP conducts
tests in well
Copyright 2010 CNN. All rights reserved.
July 16, 2010 -
New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- For the first time in nearly three months, oil has stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico as BP proceeds
with a highly anticipated test designed to measure pressure within its ruptured oil well.
The move is being lauded as a positive step, accompanied by a strong note of caution that the cutoff is simply part of the test, as
BP and government experts assess how the well is holding up.
The test got under way Thursday after two days of delays, first as government scientists scrutinized testing procedures and
then as BP replaced a leaking piece of equipment known as a choke line.
The oil stopped flowing early Thursday afternoon, according to BP Senior Vice President Kent Wells. And a series of cameras below the
surface clearly showed the halt -- a far different scene from the images day after day of a relentless flow.
The data are being particularly closely scrutinized at six-hour intervals. Higher pressure readings mean the well is containing the oil,
while lower pressure means some is leaking out.
The "well integrity" test could end after one of the six-hour periods if the results are disappointing. But it could go on for 48 hours.
The longer it goes, the better indications are that the well is holding with a custom-made sealing cap.
BP cautioned that the oil cutoff, while welcomed, isn't likely to go beyond the 48 hours.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE AT CNN
Animal autopsies in Gulf
reveal only a mystery
Copyright 2010 New York Times. All rights reserved. By Shaila Dewan
July 14, 2010 -
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle lay belly-up on the metal autopsy table, as pallid as split-pea soup but for the bright orange X
spray-painted on its shell, proof that it had been counted as part of the Gulf of Mexico’s ongoing “unusual mortality event.”
Under the practiced knife of Dr. Brian Stacy, a veterinary pathologist who estimates that he has dissected close to 1,000 turtles over the
course of his career, the specimen began to reveal its secrets: First, as the breastplate was lifted away, a mass of shriveled organs in the
puddle of stinky red liquid that is produced as decomposition advances. Next, the fat reserves indicating good health. Then, as Dr. Stacy
sliced open the esophagus, the most revealing clue: a morsel of shrimp, the last thing the turtle ate.
“You don’t see shrimp consumed as part of the normal diet” of Kemp’s ridleys, Dr. Stacy said.
This turtle, found floating in the Mississippi Sound on June 18, is one of hundreds of dead creatures collected along the Gulf Coast since
the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded. Swabbed for oil, tagged and wrapped in plastic “body bags” sealed with evidence tape, the carcasses —
many times the number normally found at this time of year — are piling up in freezer trucks stationed along the coast, waiting for scientists
like Dr. Stacy, who works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to begin the process of determining what killed them.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE AT THE NEW YORK TIMES
Largest oil spill response continues; skimmers mass at well site
Copyright 2010 Deepwater Horizon Response. All rights reserved.
July 11, 2010 - NEW ORLEANS - The Unified Area Command announced Sunday that the skimmer fleet supporting the Deepwater Horizon Response
Operations doubled the volume of oil skimmed near the well site Saturday.
The skimming armada capitalized on good weather conditions and surged to the site to confront the anticipated increased oil
flow from the current operation to remove the top cap and install the capping stack. The skimmers were able to skim an estimated 25,500 barrels
of oily water Saturday, doubling the amount collected the previous day.
"As BP transitions to the new cap, we have massed our best skimming forces at the source of the oil, 40 miles offshore,” said Rear Adm. James Watson,
Federal On Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Hoizon Response. "The skimmers join a total force of 65 vessels that are supporting an effort to
kill the well and collect the oil offshore before it hits the beaches and marshes. This represents the world's largest collection of skimmers located in one
area. These are a very important few days and we will continue to work around the clock and use everything at our disposal to mitigate the oil's impacts."
Currently 46 skimmers are operating at the well site, where crews continue to work around the clock to place a new capping stack on the blowout
preventer to contain the oil. The skimmer force working at the well site is part of the fleet of more than 570 skimmers conducting the largest
oil spill response in U.S. history.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE AT DEEPWATER HORIZON RESPONSE
Local Louisiana firm retrofits
bird rehabilitation facility
Copyright 2010 Deepwater Horizon Response. All rights reserved.
July 10, 2010 - New Orleans - A local Louisiana firm - Pevey Construction, LLC of Ponchatoula - has been selected to retrofit an existing building in
Hammond, Louisiana, to become the new Bird Rehabilitation Facility. Work began July 4 and major projects are expected to be completed in two to three weeks.
The 2010 Hurricane Season is already underway and all efforts are being made to complete the move to the Hammond facility before a hurricane requires an evacuation.
The Hammond Bird Rehabilitation Facility will replace the Fort Jackson Bird Rehabilitation Facility. Hammond is outside of the three phase
hurricane evacuation zones, therefore minimizing the possibility of evacuations during the 2010 hurricane season.
The Hammond Bird Rehabilitation Facility is 30,000 square feet and has the capacity to care for approximately 2,000 birds.
The Hammond Facility is on an eight-acre campus with existing buildings in a quiet, non-residential area.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE AT DEEPWATER HORIZON RESPONSE
Agencies safeguard sea turtle nests; FedEx provides transportation
Copyright 2010 Deepwater Horizon Response. All rights reserved.
July 9, 2010 - The first of several hundred sea turtle nests on beaches from Alabama across the Florida panhandle was excavated and
moved to Florida’s East Coast today. The loggerhead nest of roughly 100 eggs was excavated from a site near St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve outside
St. Joe, Florida.
“This is an extraordinary rescue mission to deal with an unprecedented threat to iconic and endangered sea turtles,” said Tom Strickland, Assistant
Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. “Nothing on this scale has ever been attempted, but the scientific consensus is that it
is worth the risk given the magnitude of the threat.”
FedEx Custom Critical provided specialized transportation and will move hundreds of other nests to Florida’s east coast adjacent to the Kennedy
Space Center for final incubation and hatchling release. Dozens of nest relocations are expected to take place over the next several weeks.
“Kennedy is uniquely situated on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Canaveral National Seashore. We are home to many species of
protected wildlife and we hope to provide these sea turtles with a better chance of survival,” said Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE AT DEEPWATER HORIZON RESPONSE
Website seeks information on oil-spill research, monitoring activities
Copyright 2010 Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant. All rights reserved.
July 9, 2010 - Scientists performing oil spill-related research and
monitoring activities are encouraged to enter their information into the
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Research and Monitoring
Activities Database
.
Researchers may enter their projects in less than 5 minutes per activity. People interested in viewing the information can perform queries or view
all activities on the website.
Numerous organizations have provided input and endorse this online
clearinghouse, which contains brief descriptions of oil spill-related
research, monitoring and restoration activities that are occurring at or
funded by universities and state and federal agencies.
In addition to coordinating existing research activities, Sea Grant has
developed a webpage that lists
opportunities for researchers and others to find
oil-spill-related research, monitoring and
restoration funding opportunities.
For more information about these activities, contact Steve Sempier at
stephen.sempier@usm.edu.
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