Replenished Beach at Atlantic City

Beautiful Fall on Raritan River (near my office)

Pipe up the Leaking Oil: An Initial Success!

BP announced earlier today that "oil and gas is being received onboard the Discoverer Enterprise following the successful placement of a containment cap on top of the Deepwater Horizon's failed blow-out preventer (BOP). This follows the cutting and removal of the riser pipe from the top of the BOP's lower marine riser package (LMRP)."

Congratulations to BP, U.S. Government, and everybody involved!

I hope performance of the system would be enhanced soon to minimize or eliminate the residual oil leak around the imperfectly fitted/sealed cap.

Pipe up the Leaking Oil - The New LMRP-Cap Attempt to Succeed

It has been more than one month since BP (British Petroleum) and the U.S. Government started to attempt stopping the catastrophic oil leak at Gulf of Mexico. I have not paid much attention until yesterday when I heard that an estimated 20 million gallons of oil have already leaked out, and the latest attempt to "top kill" the leak failed.

In general, it is easier to channel out the flow than to plug the flow. I hope the new "flow channeling" attempt, using the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap Containment System, would work.

The idea (see the graph) is to connect the LMRP Cap to oil outlet of the Blowout Preventor (BOP), with the help of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). The oil would then be piped up to the waiting surface ship, approximately 5,000 ft above.

The cap (with the pipe on top) must be lined up with the BOP outlet, and be connected and sealed to it, all to be done inside the oil gusher under an extremely high ambient sea water pressure (above 2,000 pounds per squared inch) and dark, turbid environment. I visually estimate the gushing oil would have a flowing velocity of only about a foot per second. The relatively weak oil gushing velocity, alone, should not create a problem for the pipe lining up and connecting. The high ambient pressure would not be a huge inconvenience either as long as pressures inside and outside the cap (and the pipe) are maintained essentially the same.

The question is whether this new attempt would succeed. I think it would. Many lessons have been learned from the previous attempts, especially on formation of the gas hydrates (the ice crystals).

There is also a concern about whether the new attempt would make the matter worse if it were to fail. I do not think it would make it worse, at least not significantly. There are multiple openings (at least two large ones) along the collapsed riser pipe at this time. Cross section area of the sole opening to be cut at top of the BOP should not be much larger, if at all, than sum of the areas of multiple openings. Moreover, change in the head losses would have a minor effect, considering the oil pressure head available.

The oil leak and subsequent several failed attempts (thus far) to stop the leak, yet again, highlight the importance of disaster prevention, preparation, response, and emergency engineering measures.

Image credit: BP

ANNOUNCEMENT: Henry Hudson New Generation Water Competition

Henry Hudson 400 Foundation invites undergraduates, including 2009 graduates, in marine and environmental studies, engineering, oceanography, urban design and planning, policy planning, public health, and any other related major to submit proposals on the topic Sustainability for Coastal Cities. See below for details.

• Topic: Sustainability for Coastal Cities
• Instructions: Submit a one-page description of an innovative solution to the challenges of Sustainability for Coastal Cities.
• For more information and application: http://www.henryhudson400.com/hh400_project.php?id=32
• Deadline May 29, 2009

Winners receive
• Cash prizes
• Internships at major companies
• All expenses paid invitation to international H209 Forum on September 9-10 at Liberty Science Center.
• Awards presented by Prince of Orange of The Netherlands, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., members of Obama’s environmental team, and top NY/NJ officials.

New Generation Competition is the centerpiece of the H209 Forum for business leaders, policy and decision makers, and environmental and planning experts. H209 Forum celebrates the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s pioneering voyage that led to the settlement of what is now New York City. For more information, visit www.henryhudson400.com

I was asked by the organizer to help publicize the competition.

Photo: New York Harbor near Jersey City, New Jersey, from Wikimedia Commons.

Hurricane Gustav on News Orleans: A Narrow Miss

Gustav has made the landfall near Cocodrie, Louisiana, 72 miles southwest of New Orleans, as a category 2 hurricane. New Orleans has avoided a direct hit, what a relief!

Map to the left shows the levee system to protect New Orleans. The levee system was breached at numerous locations during Hurricane Katrina (category 3) three years ago. The levee system has since been repaired to or beyond the pre-Katrina protection level. However, the levee system planned by the US Army Corps of Engineers to protect the city from a "100-year storm" is still being re-built or newly constructed and will not be completed by 2011.

It should be pointed out that the strength (height and speed) of a surge at a specific location depends on the approaching angle of the hurricane as well as the type and length of the channel that the initial surge would have to travel through, not just the category number. Highly sophisticated computer models are available and can be used to forecast the flood level more accurately.

I applaud the coordinated efforts by Federal, State, and local authorities to successfully inform and evacuate residents in advance. Forecasting the flood level is not yet an exact science, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

For Gustav, the surge water has now entered the city canals, and some water is splashing over the top of the Industrial Canal (the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal on the map). May the levee system in New Orleans continue to hold and the water drainage/pumping system continue to function to minimize the property damages!

(Source of Map: 2006 Report by the US Army Corps of Engineers)

The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

My family and I visited Cape Cod and Boston last weekend. Photo to the left shows a family of four whales (two parents above water and two babies under water) hanging around our tour boat. Awesome!!!

My album contains additonal photos of the whale watching.