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Oil from Gulf spill reaches major current

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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

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US scientists say that oil from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reached the Loop Current, which could propel the oil towards the coast of Florida.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), limited amounts of oil have entered the current, and could reach Florida's coast in as few as six days, although it would be highly diluted by the time it did so. Other estimates place the time before oil reaches Florida as closer to ten days.

Satellite images show oil moving south from the main slick into the current, which is a rapidly-moving body of water that flows from the Caribbean Sea towards the Atlantic Ocean. The speed of the current is predicted to disperse the oil that is picked up, which would lead to difficulties in tracking it.

NOAA qualified their warning by saying that the amount of oil in question is a small percentage of the total spilled, most of which is to the north of the current. The agency's Scientific Support Coordinator, Charlie Henry, said that "[t]here is some light oil filling the loop current," though he said the agency "expect[s] it to degrade before it comes close to threatening South Florida."


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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
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