Scientists and state officials are watching closely as crews try to stop the gusher that is leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico and trying to assess whether any oil from the spill could reach Maine’s coastline.

“Obviously, there’s concern,” said George LaPointe, Maine commissioner for marine resources. “It’s a huge spill, and it’s ongoing. But we’re less at risk than other places.”

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection also is monitoring the progress of the spill, according to Barbara Parker, director of the DEP’s Division of Response Services.

“We have been monitoring it on a daily basis,” Parker said Tuesday. “We’re keeping an eye on the triangulations that NOAA puts out on where the oil is day to day. It seems hard to believe that it could get all the way up here.”

It probably won’t, according to oceanographer Larry Mayer, a professor in the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences. And if it does, he said, it likely will be so diluted that it would not pose a danger to the Maine coast.

There is an “extremely low probability” that the oil spill will have an impact on Maine, Mayer said this week.

“In science we never say never,” he said, “but oil from the spill in amounts that would create ecological problems in the Gulf of Maine — I really doubt it.”

Oil has been leaking from an underwater well for more than three weeks, spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists this week said that oil from the spill could move into the warm gulf loop current which could carry it out of the Gulf of Mexico past the Florida Keys and into the Gulf Stream, where it could threaten sensitive wildlife areas and popular beaches along the Florida coast.

While many scientists don’t believe the oil would travel beyond Cape Canaveral before moving out to sea where it would be diluted, scientists along the U.S. East Coast are monitoring the oil’s movement.

Mayer said the path of the Gulf Stream would transport oil away from the Maine coast. The Gulf Stream heads north along the East Coast but veers east after reaching Cape Hatteras, N.C., and away from the Maine coast by as much as several hundred miles.

There is one complication, he said, that comes in the form of warm core rings — areas of turbulence along the edges of the Gulf Stream that break off from the main current and channel some Gulf Stream water toward the Gulf of Maine.

“Gulf Stream waters pinch off of the Gulf Stream and move onto the Continental Shelf,” said Huijie Xue a physical oceanographer at the University of Maine, “But they really are blocked by Georges Bank.”

Xue said those warm core rings do not enter the Gulf of Maine intact, but some of the Gulf Stream water does spin off the rings and into the Gulf of Maine.

She agreed, however, that the likelihood of oil causing a problem in Maine is slight.

“The possibility of oil coming all that distance is already very small,” she said. “The chances of it having an impact in Maine are almost nonexistent unless it [the spill] keeps going and going.”

Despite the unlikely migration of the gulf oil to Maine, Mayer said, the materials used to break up the large plumes of oil could make it easier for oil to move in the water.

“That’s a lot of oil in the sub-surface, and the concern is that it might have a better chance of getting into the Gulf of Maine,” he said. “We don’t have much experience with that.”

Mayer said he also was concerned about the composition of the dispersants and the effect they might have. He said some components appear to be proprietary information and have not been disclosed.

“I’d like to know what that stuff is,” he said.

Despite that concern, Mayer said the large amounts of water moving through the Gulf Stream would certainly dilute any oil transported north. The average person wouldn’t know it was there, he said.

If oil from the spill does arrive in Maine, the state would work with multiple partners to deal with the problem, according to Barbara Parker at DEP. She pointed out that in March, Maine hosted a “Spill of National Significance” exercise in Portland, which involved more than 50 federal and state agencies and private organizations that responded to a mock oil spill at sea.

The spill in the gulf is the first significant oil spill since that drill.

“In the event of an incident anywhere in New England, we would work with the Coast Guard and other state partners to figure the best response,” she said. “We have a good handle on the experience and expertise that’s available to us. The problem is that Mother Nature always wins, if she wants to. That’s the struggle that’s going on now in the gulf.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Florida Academy of Science Annual Meeting Features Many from Florida Tech Posted on Jun 12, 10 at 1:01 am.

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Richard Turner led the Florida Academy of Sciences’ 74th Annual Meeting, held on the campus of Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Fla. Turner is president of the organization. Many other Florida Tech faculty and students participated in the conference. Professor Richard Aronson, head of the Department of Biological Sciences, gave the banquet address on climate change and a biological invasion of crabs in Antarctica. Professor Terry Oswalt, head of the Department of Physics and Space Sciences, was awarded the 2010 Florida Academy of Sciences Medal for his professional contributions to astronomy. It was presented to him by the 2002 medalist and past president of the academy John Trefry, professor in the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems. In the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems, an oral presentation, “Development of a Comprehensive Maritime Management Master Plan,” was given by Florida Tech alumnus Matt Culver. He collaborated on it with Department Head George Maul, Professor John Windsor and student Jonathan Linder. Also participating was Ernie Brown, director of Brevard County’s Department of Natural Resources. In the Department of Biological Sciences, oral and poster presentations were given by professors Ralph Turingan and Junda Lin and associate professors Jonathan Shenker and Richard Turner, with students James Kerfoot, Nicole Becker, Helen Croce, Brittany Burke, Adeljean Ho, Bernice and Ronald Maliao, David Burguet, Arthur Hannon, Benjamin Compton, Amanda Spitery, Joseph Kenyon and Matthew Wittenrich. In the Department of Physics and Space Sciences, oral and poster presentations were given by students Mike Abercrombie, Alfred Menendez, Amilkar Quintero, Judson Ben Locke, Xenia Fave, Patrick Ford, Johanna Fischer and Andrea Citati. The students conduct research with Associate Professor Marcus Hohlmann and Research Scientist Kondo Gnanvo. The 75th Anniversary Meeting of the academy will be held March 2011 during spring break week on the Florida Tech campus. Oswalt will give the banquet address.... ...
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Student Receives Dr. Kerry Bruce Clark Scholarship Posted on Jun 12, 10 at 1:01 am.

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology student and marine biology major Helen Croce received the Dr. Kerry Bruce Clark Endowed Scholarship in Marine Biology. Croce was publicly recognized on April 22 during the Honors Convocation in the Gleason Performing Arts Center on campus. The award is based on merit. A junior, Croce earned the award for her strong academic record, her participation in department and campus activities, and involvement in laboratories run by Florida Tech professors Kevin Johnson, Jonathan Shenker and Richard Turner. Her research work at the University of California Santa Barbara was also a deciding factor for her selection. On campus, Croce is a member of the biological honor society Beta Beta Beta, Sigma XiChapter, and she served as an American Cancer Society Relay for Life team captain this year. Croce hopes to attend graduate school and obtain a doctoral degree in marine biology, with a focus on marine invertebrate zoology. “Regardless of the option I choose, I will be involved in scientific research for the rest of my professional life,” says Croce. “Research is very important to me, and my current work in Dr. Turner's lab on the vertebral ossicle morphology of brittlestars has made it clear to me that I want to continue contributing to the field of marine biology through scientific research.” This summer, Croce will participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates at Dauphin Island Sea Lab near Mobile, Ala. Clark, for whom the award is named, was a member of the Florida Tech biological sciences faculty from 1971 until his death in 1999. A full professor, he was named a 1996 Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in honor of his work documenting rare species of sea slugs. His research on mollusks, marine, ecology, psychological ecology and biodiversity was widely published in scientific journals.... ...
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Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse: oil slick enters Gulf loop current Posted on Jun 12, 10 at 1:00 am.

From the Orlando Independent Examiner: NASA satellite imagery on Monday shows that the rapidly expanding oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico has entered a powerful current known as the Loop Current, which flows through the straits of Florida and along the eastern seaboard as far north as North Carolina before heading out into the Atlantic. [...]... ...
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Sarah Nan – from Florida Community Collection Count Posted on Jun 11, 10 at 1:01 am.

My friend Debbie put me in touch with her friend Sarah Nan in Florida. Above is a picture of what her local ocean view is. She has emailed me pictures, and an account from a recent river cleanup that she did. Reading is believing. I've attached her email to me below in parts."I just did a clean up in March at McCoy's Creek in Jacksonville, Florida for the 15th Annual St. Johns River Celebration. This creek flows into the St. Johns River and then flows into the Atlantic Ocean. We pulled out 24 tires, a mattress, box spring, two shopping carts, and 23 large bags of litter (six of those bags were nothing but plastic bottles), a very large tv, a bike, and a semi- truck hood out of the creek . This all came from one tiny area (about 900 feet). I am also doing a cigarette scan tomorrow around a local hospital that has banned smoking on campus, and have a very bad cigarette litter issue that needs to be addressed. The last scan at the hospital, we had picked up 10,000 butts from a small area, right next to the river. - (really? wow that is just totally absurd!!) Sarah didn't weigh her findings, but I am adding this post to the Community Collection Count anyway. Thank you Sarah for your hard work, and enormous effort. I hope to post more from your Florida cleanups in the future! ... ...
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