Bohrplattform

Carl Tanzler – Flickr

Bild: Carl Tanzler

Die Deepwater Horizon war eine von dem britischen Ölkonzern BP beauftragte Ölbohrplattform im Golf von Mexiko, die am 20. April 2010 in Brand geriet und zwei Tage später unterging. 11 Arbeiter kamen bei diesem Unglück ums Leben.

Das Bohrloch in 1.500 m Tiefe besaß – aus Nachlässigkeit und um Kosten zu sparen – keine funktionierende Sicherheitseinrichtung für den Notfall (Blowout-Preventer). Täglich strömten so bis zu 800.000 Liter Rohöl aus drei Öffnungen der Ölquelle ins Meer.

Es dauerte fast drei Monate bis der direkte Ölausfluss mit einem vorläufigen Verschluss gestoppt werden konnte. Aus dem Leck waren insgesamt etwa 660.000 Tonnen Öl ins Meer geströmt. Es ist die bislang schwerste Ölpest in der Geschichte der USA.

Um diese weltweit größte Ölkatastrophe einzudämmen wurden von den USA und dem britischen Ölkonzern BP alle Ressourcen mobilisiert. Die US Küstenwache richtete eine mobile Hightech-Kommandozentrale für Funk- und Satellitenkommunikation ein.

BP hatte mehrere Leitstellen für die vielfältigen Arbeiten an Land, auf den Schiffen und für die vielen (zeitweise bis zu 12) in 1.500 m unter Wasser arbeitenden Tauchroboter: ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle).

Die ROVs waren mit Scheinwerfern, Videokameras und Roboterarmen ausgestattet und wurden vom Schiff aus ferngesteuert. Alle Unterwasserarbeiten waren live am Bildschirm (und z.T. auch im Internet) zu sehen.

Louisiana Shoreline Cleanup

PORT FOURCHON, La. - Members of a Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Team removes oil from a beach in Port Fourchon, La.—part of ongoing response efforts to minimize shoreline impacts from the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill, May 23, 2010. The teams—made up of representatives from the Coast Guard, the State of Louisiana and workers contracted by BP—are working to clean up any oil that washes up on the Louisiana coast. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley.
Bild: Deepwater Horizon Response

lagohsep – Flickr

Bild: lagohsep

YouTube

Bild: BPplc

Stena Don

Stena Don, built in Rostock, passing the Oeresund. The rig is just being floated off the boa barge.
Bild: dans le grand bleu

uscgd8 – Flickr

Bild: uscgd8
BP

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill – MODIS/Aqua Detail (with interpretation), July 28, 2010

This MODIS / Aqua satellite image taken at 2 pm Central time on July 28, 2010, shows oil slicks and sheen (encircled with orange line), that are likely attributable to the BP / Deepwater Horizon oil spill, spread out across 11,832 square miles (30,644 km2) in the Gulf of Mexico. Given the steady dissipation in the oil slick that we've observed on satellite imagery over the past few days, and reports from the Coast Guard and independent observers, we are assuming that most of this is very thin sheen. We've marked the eastern edge of a persistent ocean-color anomaly with a dashed line; this anomaly may simply be related to the Mississippi River discharge, or could indicate an area where ocean chemistry has been affected by oil, dispersant, and/or dissolved methane from the spill and cleanup response. Three small slicks attributable to natural oil and gas seeps are also marked.
Bild: SkyTruth

NASA’s Terra Satellites Sees Spill on May 24

Sunlight illuminated the lingering oil slick off the Mississippi Delta on May 24, 2010. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image the same day. Oil smoothes the ocean surface, making the Sun’s reflection brighter near the centerline of the path of the satellite, and reducing the scattering of sunlight in other places. As a result, the oil slick is brighter than the surrounding water in some places (image center) and darker than the surrounding water in others (image lower right). The tip of the Mississippi Delta is surrounded by muddy water that appears light tan. Bright white ribbons of oil streak across this sediment-laden water. Tendrils of oil extend to the north and east of the main body of the slick. A small, dark plume along the edge of the slick, not far from the original location of the Deepwater Horizon rig, indicates a possible controlled burn of oil on the ocean surface. To the west of the bird’s-foot part of the delta, dark patches in the water may also be oil, but detecting a manmade oil slick in coastal areas can be even more complicated than detecting it in the open ocean. When oil slicks are visible in satellite images, it is because they have changed how the water reflects light, either by making the Sun’s reflection brighter or by dampening the scattering of sunlight, which makes the oily area darker. In coastal areas, however, similar changes in reflectivity can occur from differences in salinity (fresh versus salt water) and from naturally produced oils from plants. Michon Scott NASA's Earth Observatory NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA