Is the Oil Spill Headed Our Way?

JULY 13, 2010

While the Gulf Coast faces serious consequences as a result of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, everyone’s wondering about the disaster’s potential effects on the East Coast.

The impact of the spill is already being felt, albeit indirectly, in New York City: Oyster and shrimp lovers have been hit with higher prices in local restaurants. But is an underwater oil slick headed for our own beaches and harbors?

According to Fast Company magazine, a simulation by an Intel supercomputer has suggested that the oily mess will move past Florida to the Gulf Stream current, which will pull it up to 3,000 miles along the East Coast each month. According to this Wall Street Journal report, a director at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico—emphasized that these data are “truly a simulation, not a prediction.”a participant in the project—emphasized that these data are “truly a simulation, not a prediction.”

It has also been difficult to predict the amount of oil that may be mixing with the ocean’s currents. Based on what experts do know about the behavior of those currents, it isn’t likely that any direct impact the spill may have on the East Coast will be serious or dangerous. And, as explained in a statement by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, it’s unlikely that we’ll see any effects at all until at least late summer or early fall; until then, you’ll need to visit eBay to grow your tar ball collection.

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Is the Oil Spill Headed Our Way?

JULY 13, 2010

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