The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 is being compared to the Lakeview Gusher of 1910. The Lakeview Gusher, a California disaster of 100 years ago known now as the worst oil spill in U.S. history, will likely be dethroned by the BP oil spill, which shows no sign of being contained after 50 days. Back in the present, an oil spill cap, shown on the oil spill live feed seems to be capturing only a fraction of the BP gusher as tens of thousands of barrels a day continue to spew into the sea.
Source for this article: BP oil spill likely to pass the Lakeview Gusher as the worst ever
Lakeview Gusher vs. BP oil spill
The Lakeview Gusher began when an oil well blew out near Maricopa, Calif. in March 1910 The Pasadena Star-News reports the Lakeview Gusher lasted 18 months and spilled 9 million barrels of oil–378 million gallons. Estimates in the first 50 days of the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 are as high as 122 million gallons. Skeptical experts say that figure is far too low. The Lakeview Gusher blowout flowed at about 48,000 barrels a day. The daily output of the BP oil spill has been estimated as high as 72,000 barrels (3 million gallons) a day.
Rivers and lakes of oil
Despite its spectacular blow-out, the Lakeview Gusher ended up as probably the most successful well ever in California.At the start the gusher spilled 18,000 barrels a day into the ground. At its peak, 90,000 barrels a day escaped into the environment. A 60-acre lake formed from a river of oil flowing downhill from the well.So much oil was recovered from the lake that William Rintoul in his book, “Drilling Through Time,” said it drove down the price of oil in 1910.
Oil spill live feed defies estimates
The oil spill live feed (see below) shows the oil spill cap, BP's last best attempt to stop the undersea gusher, being overwhelmed by the ruptured well's powerful flow. MSNBC reports that scientists are skeptical of BP’s claim that the oil spill cap is capturing the vast majority of oil. BP said about 15,000 barrels of oil were contained from the leak on Monday. Ira Leifer, a member of the Flow Rate Technical Group, a national panel of scientists and engineers tasked with determining the spill size, told MSNBC the well may be gushing as much as 100,000 barrels a day.
BP oil spill underwater plumes
The New York Times reports that scientists have traced deep underwater plumes of oil carrying one of the most grave threat to undersea live ever seen. The Times said that scientists cruising the gulf over the last two weeks detected a deeply submerged plume of oil roughly 15 miles wide, 3 miles long and about 600 feet high. The center of the huge oil cloud floats at about 4,000 feet down. Bacteria breaking down the oil are consuming oxygen from the water in a “massive, microorganism feeding frenzy” that threatens to smother most marine life.
More information on this topic
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msnbc.msn.com
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