Modeling the Oil Spill in the Gulf

What do we know about the properties of oil in the Ocean and how it interacts with the environment?

Usefull Websites Gulf Stream Currents: animation: Bathymetry Map of Gulf of Mexico: Model of the dispersant acting on an oil spill: Looking The seasonal changes in the Loop Current:

Outline of Activities Give students background data on the history of the spill Model the way oil acts in fresh and salt water Model the way dispersants work in fresh and salt water Model the action of wind on surface water Have students graph surface wind data from Gulf of Mexico Buoy data Have students graph surface wind data from Gulf of Mexico Buoy data Students will then go to the NY Times site -oil-spill-tracker.html -oil-spill-tracker.html -oil-spill-tracker.html They will find 3 days that the plume moved the most, return to the buoy site and graph those days. Comparing the data with the plume they will answer questions about their findings.

Materials for set up of oil spill model

Objectives 1. Students will observe the movement of oil under pressure in a tank of water 2. Students will compare the density of oil with the density of water. 3. Students will observe the movement of oil on the water’s surface in response to winds 4. Students will model the action of a dispersant on surface oil.

Procedure Part 1: The Oil Spill 1. Stick a egg size piece clay (plasticene modeling clay) to the bottom of the container. This is NOT soluble in water. 2. Imbed the fine gauge plastic tube in the clay so that two ends are visible, allowing about 2 inches of one end and only.5 inches of the other to show. 3. Set up a light so that the entire apparatus is back-lit. When your model is secure, fill with water to within 1 inch of the top of the container. 4. Fill the syringe half to two thirds with oil. 5. Attach the end of the syringe to the 2 inch end tubing under the water. 6. Force the plunger into the syringe so that the oil spurts out of the other end within the clay. 7. Vary the rate at which you push in the plunger and have students allow various amounts of oil to enter their model. Record observations

Part 2: The Wind 1. Set up a small fan so the breeze it creates blows across your model. This works much better than blowing with a straw, although the latter is an OK substitute. 2. Set up a second small fan blowing in a different direction but keep the first one on. 3. Record observations.

Part 3: The Surfactant 1. Let the container of oil and water come to rest after removing the fans. 2. Fill a spray bottle with Dawn dish detergent. 3. Lightly spray the surface of the oil coating the water. 4.Record observations. Repeat all three parts with salt water.

STUDENT QUESTION SHEET On a separate piece of paper, discuss these questions with your lab group and type your answers demonstrating your understanding of this experiment. 1. You have attempted to create a model of the BP oil spill. Why did your oil come up to the top of your container with such force? 2. Was this a reasonable model of the oil’s entry into the ocean? Explain. 3. Why did the oil rise to the top of the surface? What property of oil explains this? 4. When you turned the fan on describe what happened at the water’s surface. 5. Describe how the water changed when you turned on the second fan. 6. How did the dish detergent interact with the oil at the water’s surface? 7.Was this a good model of the real dispersant that was used by BP? How was it different in its behavior?

Gulf of Mexico Buoy Student Handout In 2010, the BP Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon exploded releasing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Many physical ocean characteristics can effect the flow of the oil. In this activity you will look at the surface winds of 2 buoys in the Gulf of Mexico and graph the data.

Your Task Go to Click on Station Click on Real Time Data in tabular form Click on Real time continuous use data Mac’s click apple F and find 00 00, for PC’s click control F and put find Write down all the wind readings Return to and scroll over to Western Florida and click on Station 42036http:// Repeat number 3-6 Create a bar graph with the data

Buoy Data DateBuoy wind m/sec Buoy wind m/sec location, longitude/latitude 28°30'0" N 84°31'0" W25°54'0" N 89°40'0" W

Oil Spill Plume Student Handout #2 We have already looked at Buoy data from the Gulf of Mexico and graphed the wind speed over the last month. What does this mean? Can we predict the movement of an Oil spill with wind currents? This Activity will help you answer these questions.

Your Task 1. Go to spill-tracker.html spill-tracker.html Move the date until you find a date where there was a large movement in the oil spill over 3 days. Return to the NOAA buoy site and look at the wind data from that time and graph the data, the same as you graphed the earlier month data, this time the data will be 3 days. Use attached sheet. Look at your earlier graph and find what day(s) that you graphed that had the highest wind. Return to the New York Times interactive site and check those dates to see if there was a large movement of the oil plume.

Discussion What dates did you see the greatest movement of the oil plume in the Gulf? What were the corresponding surface winds ion the Gulf? Is surface wind the only parameter that effects the flow of oil? What are some of the other physical characteristics that will effect the movement of the oil? The buoy takes wind reading every 10 mins and you looked at only one reading each day. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a snapshot of the data.

Plume Data DateBuoy wind m/sec Buoy wind m/sec location, longitude/latitude 28°30'0" N 84°31'0" W25°54'0" N 89°40'0" W