Florida and Oil

[inkitnow]

We are thinking of moving to Florida's west coast next year - someplace between Sarasota and Venice. Now, we're concerned that these 39 million gallons (or is it barrels?) of oil will find it's way to Florida's shores.

Any thoughts about this? Are people worried? I guess by next spring, we'll know alot more but it sure is scary.

What sayeth you?

 

[73ss454]

Don't worry, it's only gallons!

Like anything else, eventually it will go away or get better. I'm on the east coast but I think we may see some of the oil on this side if they don't cap it soon.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Don't worry, it's only gallons!

Like anything else, eventually it will go away or get better. I'm on the east coast but I think we may see some of the oil on this side if they don't cap it soon.

From what I gather, the current in the Gulf will drag the oil down the west coast of Florida, from north to south, about 100 miles offshore, down thru the keys and up the eastern coast of Florida and northward. Really, who knows what will happen? If this oil keeps coming until the releaf wells are drilled (maybe this fall), disaster awaits if a hurricane developes.

 

[inkitnow]

Yes, and they predict at least 10 big hurricanes this year!

 

[Moemg]

We are thinking of moving to Florida's west coast next year - someplace between Sarasota and Venice. ?

You do know that there is not a lot between Sarasota & Venice . Anyway I live in Sarasota and I'm taking a wait & see approach .

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

No one knows. The better informed experts seem to worry a bit about Key West, not so much the west coast. It's a national catastrophe, and a local one so far for La through the Pensacola areas.

Hurricanes? Unpredictable as always but in a given location rare enough to warrant a bit of planning and some vigilance, but not to lose sleep. Name your poison: tornados in the midwest, fires in the west, quakes in California, plagues of all sorts in Texsa, blizzards in the north and east.

I know of a Missouri family who were tormented about moving to Fl. Ultimately decided not to move because of hurricane fears. The following spring their house in Missouri was destroyed by a tornado.

 

[Walt34]

Name your poison: tornados in the midwest, fires in the west, quakes in California, plagues of all sorts in Texas, blizzards in the north and east.

That about sums it up.

 

[briankim09]

Yes, and they predict at least 10 big hurricanes this year!

I think the same.

 

[jayc]

You do know that there is not a lot between Sarasota & Venice

Osprey. I had a condo on Seista Key for 10 years. Beautiful area, I hope the beaches in the area are spared.

 

[kcowan]

I would hold off and not speculate. By Christmas, the actions and inactions of BP will be well-known. And the hurricane season will be over.

Although the impact will be felt for many years, the idea of buying real estate based on a set of assumptions seems to be highly speculative.

 

[inkitnow]

By spring, we'll know a lot more. Our back-up plan, in case the beaches are ruined, is Ft. Colling or Loveland, CO. I know. I know. Quite a diffent set of issues. Not oily water - no water!

 

[flpanhandle]

I would not buy in the gulf coast area until this oil situation is solved. Too many unknowns.

 

[lets-retire]

The thing about FL is they take care of their beaches. Their economy is based on the beaches and the mouse. As long as you don't live in an area where the beaches are marshy, it should be an easy clean-up. Scrape the top layers off put more sand down. The area I lived in FL was almost constantly putting more sand down. Typically they replaced two or three feet of sand every couple years or so. Whenever we went to the beach we could see the dredgers out in the gulf getting more sand to replenish the beaches as the sand washed away.

 

[kcowan]

Whenever we went to the beach we could see the dredgers out in the gulf getting more sand to replenish the beaches as the sand washed away.

Good plan. They might have to get new stuff trucked in but at least they have the right mindset.

 

[TromboneAl]

What if it turns out that there's a strong oil smell at the beach for the next 10 years?

 

[lets-retire]

What if it turns out that there's a strong oil smell at the beach for the next 10 years?

I seriously doubt the smell will last more than a few months, if that long. The only way to have the smell is to have the product in the area. So in this case the only way for the smell to stick around would be to have the oil stick around.

 

[emi guy]

Sinking oil

With the volume of oil that is gushing into the gulf and the dispersants used, much will sink to the ocean floor, where it will be very difficult to remove. There has been much coverage about cleaning beaches and skimming surface water but virtually nothing about how to address the sludge on the bottom. I am not a biologist but I suspect that this sludge will kill just about everything that lives on the ocean floor, reefs etc and, consequently, ripple up through the food chain. I fear the gulf coast could become a very different place due to this disaster. I was looking for a retirement home in Marco, near Naples, but I too am putting things on hold for now. God help the gulf.

 

[kcowan]

Yes the long term effects of that huge lake of crude oil below the surface is frightening to contemplate. I suspect some new technology will be devised to tap into it. I hope so.

 

[Zathras]

With the volume of oil that is gushing into the gulf and the dispersants used, much will sink to the ocean floor, where it will be very difficult to remove. There has been much coverage about cleaning beaches and skimming surface water but virtually nothing about how to address the sludge on the bottom...

I haven't heard of any oil settling to the ocean floor.
I have heard of the underwater oil going under oil booms and the surfacing as it gets to shore.
Do you have any info about this seafloor 'sludge'?

 

[Bikerdude]

Yes the long term effects of that huge lake of crude oil below the surface is frightening to contemplate. I suspect some new technology will be devised to tap into it. I hope so.

From what I've heard and read, microorganisms will feast on the oil until it is gone as long as there is oxygen in the water.

 

[emi guy]

Do you have any info about this seafloor 'sludge'?

Oil that contains volatile organic compounds partially evaporates, losing between 20 and 40 percent of its mass and becoming denser and more viscous (i.e., more resistant to flow). A small percentage of oil may dissolve in the water. The oil residue also can disperse almost invisibly in the water or form a thick mousse with the water. Part of the oil waste may sink with suspended particulate matter, and the remainder eventually congeals into sticky tar balls. Over time, oil waste weathers (deteriorates) and disintegrates by means of photolysis (decomposition by sunlight) and biodegradation (decomposition due to microorganisms). The rate of biodegradation depends on the availability of nutrients, oxygen, and microorganisms, as well as temperature.

Source: Oil Spills: Impact on the Ocean - sea, effects, temperature, percentage, important, largest, types, source, marine, oxygen, human
​

 

[Zathras]

Awesome, thank you for the reference.
However, there are an awful lot of 'can' and 'may' qualifiers.
We certainly have seen lots of tar balls and have documentation of numerous oil plumes under water.
Has anyone reported any of this sludge on the ocean floor?