SPOT5 / Imagery processed at CSTThis satellite image shows vessels at the source of the leaking oil, at the same location where just a week before the platform Deepwater Horizon sank after burning for two days.
Gulf spill balloons, could move east
Rough seas hamper cleanup; Obama to visit Sunday
Rough seas hamper cleanup; Obama to visit Sunday
By ALLEN G. BREED, SETH BORENSTEIN
updated 7:02 p.m. ET, Sat., May 1, 2010
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VENICE, La. - Gloom settled over the American coastline from Louisiana to Florida on Saturday as a massive oil slick spewing from a ruptured underwater well kept growing, and experts warned that an uncontrolled gusher could create a nightmare scenario if the Gulf Stream carries it toward the Atlantic.
President Barack Obama planned to visit the region Sunday to assess the situation amid criticism that the government and oil company BP PLC should have done more to stave off the disaster. Meanwhile, efforts to stem the flow and remove oil from the surface by skimming it, burning it or spiking it with chemicals to disperse it continued with little success.
"These people, we've been beaten down, disaster after disaster," said Matt O'Brien of Venice, whose fledgling wholesale shrimp dock business is under threat from the spill.
"They've all got a long stare in their eye," he said. "They come asking me what I think's going to happen. I ain't got no answers for them. I ain't got no answers for my investors. I ain't got no answers."
He wasn't alone. As the spill surged toward disastrous proportions, critical questions lingered: Who created the conditions that caused the gusher? Did BP and the government react robustly enough in its early days? And, most important, how can it be stopped before the damage gets worse?
Size of spill unknownThe Coast Guard conceded Saturday that it's nearly impossible to know how much oil has gushed since the April 20 rig explosion, after saying earlier it was at least 1.6 million gallons — equivalent to about 2½ Olympic-sized swimming pools. The blast killed 11 workers and threatened beaches, fragile marshes and marine mammals, along with fishing grounds that are among the world's most productive.
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Video
Bad weather stalls oil spill cleanupMay 1: Lester Holt and Anne Thompson report from Venice, Louisiana.
Today showEven at that rate, the spill should eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident as the worst U.S. oil disaster in history within about a week. But a growing number of experts warned that the situation may already be much worse.
He wasn't alone. As the spill surged toward disastrous proportions, critical questions lingered: Who created the conditions that caused the gusher? Did BP and the government react robustly enough in its early days? And, most important, how can it be stopped before the damage gets worse?
Size of spill unknownThe Coast Guard conceded Saturday that it's nearly impossible to know how much oil has gushed since the April 20 rig explosion, after saying earlier it was at least 1.6 million gallons — equivalent to about 2½ Olympic-sized swimming pools. The blast killed 11 workers and threatened beaches, fragile marshes and marine mammals, along with fishing grounds that are among the world's most productive.
getCSS("3088867")
Video
Bad weather stalls oil spill cleanupMay 1: Lester Holt and Anne Thompson report from Venice, Louisiana.
Today showEven at that rate, the spill should eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident as the worst U.S. oil disaster in history within about a week. But a growing number of experts warned that the situation may already be much worse.
The oil slick over the water's surface appeared to triple in size over the past two days, which could indicate an increase in the rate that oil is spewing from the well, according to one analysis of images collected from satellites and reviewed by the University of Miami. While it's hard to judge the volume of oil by satellite because of depth, it does show an indication of change in growth, experts said.
"The spill and the spreading is getting so much faster and expanding much quicker than they estimated," said Hans Graber, executive director of the university's Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing. "Clearly, in the last couple of days, there was a big change in the size."
Florida State University oceanography professor Ian R. MacDonald said his examination of Coast Guard charts and satellite images indicated that 8 million to 9 million gallons had already spilled by April 28.
Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer for exploration and production, said it was impossible to know just how much oil was gushing from the well, but said the company and federal officials were preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Click for related content
Spill draws flock of lawyers to GulfLeak is the bad one experts fearedField Notes: Couldn't be worse timing for wildlifeNewsweek: Will the oil spill kill offshore drilling?Gulf spill: Worse than Exxon Valdez?Interactive: Track the oil sheenTop 10 worst oil spills
Environmental disaster possibleOil industry experts and officials are reluctant to describe what, exactly, a worst-case scenario would look like — but if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream and carries it to the beaches of Florida, it stands to be an environmental and economic disaster of epic proportions.
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What's at stake for the environment?May 1: NBC's Mark Potter reports on the impact of the oil spill.
Today show
The Deepwater Horizon well is at the end of one branch of the Gulf Stream, the famed warm-water current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic. Several experts said that if the oil enters the stream, it would flow around the southern tip of Florida and up the eastern seaboard.
"It will be on the East Coast of Florida in almost no time," Graber said. "I don't think we can prevent that. It's more of a question of when rather than if."
At the joint command center run by the government and BP near New Orleans, a Coast Guard spokesman maintained Saturday that the leakage remained around 5,000 barrels, or 200,000 gallons, per day.
But Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, appointed Saturday by Obama to lead the government's oil spill response, said no one could pinpoint how much oil is leaking from the ruptured well because of its depth — about a mile underwater.
"Any exact estimation of what's flowing out of those pipes down there is impossible," he told reporters on a conference call.
CONTINUED : Growing crisis
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Bad weather stalls oil spill cleanupMay 1: Lester Holt and Anne Thompson report from Venice, Louisiana.
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Expert: Attack oil spill at the sourceMay 1: Cleaning up oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico is important, but the deep-sea well will keep spewing oil until it is capped, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said Saturday.
Today show
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"The spill and the spreading is getting so much faster and expanding much quicker than they estimated," said Hans Graber, executive director of the university's Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing. "Clearly, in the last couple of days, there was a big change in the size."
Florida State University oceanography professor Ian R. MacDonald said his examination of Coast Guard charts and satellite images indicated that 8 million to 9 million gallons had already spilled by April 28.
Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer for exploration and production, said it was impossible to know just how much oil was gushing from the well, but said the company and federal officials were preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Click for related content
Spill draws flock of lawyers to GulfLeak is the bad one experts fearedField Notes: Couldn't be worse timing for wildlifeNewsweek: Will the oil spill kill offshore drilling?Gulf spill: Worse than Exxon Valdez?Interactive: Track the oil sheenTop 10 worst oil spills
Environmental disaster possibleOil industry experts and officials are reluctant to describe what, exactly, a worst-case scenario would look like — but if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream and carries it to the beaches of Florida, it stands to be an environmental and economic disaster of epic proportions.
getCSS("3088867")
Video
What's at stake for the environment?May 1: NBC's Mark Potter reports on the impact of the oil spill.
Today show
The Deepwater Horizon well is at the end of one branch of the Gulf Stream, the famed warm-water current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic. Several experts said that if the oil enters the stream, it would flow around the southern tip of Florida and up the eastern seaboard.
"It will be on the East Coast of Florida in almost no time," Graber said. "I don't think we can prevent that. It's more of a question of when rather than if."
At the joint command center run by the government and BP near New Orleans, a Coast Guard spokesman maintained Saturday that the leakage remained around 5,000 barrels, or 200,000 gallons, per day.
But Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, appointed Saturday by Obama to lead the government's oil spill response, said no one could pinpoint how much oil is leaking from the ruptured well because of its depth — about a mile underwater.
"Any exact estimation of what's flowing out of those pipes down there is impossible," he told reporters on a conference call.
CONTINUED : Growing crisis
1 2 Next >
Discuss Story On Newsvine
Rate Story:View popularLow
High4.5 after 791 ratings
WriteRatings();
Instant Message
Bad weather stalls oil spill cleanup
Video
Bad weather stalls oil spill cleanupMay 1: Lester Holt and Anne Thompson report from Venice, Louisiana.
Today show
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Video
Expert: Attack oil spill at the sourceMay 1: Cleaning up oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico is important, but the deep-sea well will keep spewing oil until it is capped, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said Saturday.
Today show
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The surface area of a catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill has quickly tripled in size amid growing fears that the slick could become vastly more devastating than it seemed just two days ago.
Lawyers flock to Gulf for spill lawsuits
Oil spill is a ‘potential mega-disaster’
Obama shelves new drilling as oil hits La.
Experts: Oil spill is the ‘bad one’ they feared
Vietnamese American shrimpers fear spill's toll
U.S. news
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The surface area of a catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill has quickly tripled in size amid growing fears that the slick could become vastly more devastating than it seemed just two days ago.
Lawyers flock to Gulf for spill lawsuits
Severe flooding kills at least 5 in Tenn.
NYC’s Times Square evacuated in vehicle fire
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The surface area of a catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill has quickly tripled in size amid growing fears that the slick could become vastly more devastating than it seemed just two days ago.
Super Saver gives Pletcher his first Derby win
Severe flooding kills at least 5 in Tenn.
Lawyers flock to Gulf for spill lawsuits
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Click for related content
Spill draws flock of lawyers to GulfLeak is the bad one experts fearedField Notes: Couldn't be worse timing for wildlifeNewsweek: Will the oil spill kill offshore drilling?Gulf spill: Worse than Exxon Valdez?Interactive: Track the oil sheenTop 10 worst oil spills
Environmental disaster possibleOil industry experts and officials are reluctant to describe what, exactly, a worst-case scenario would look like — but if the oil gets into the Gulf Stream and carries it to the beaches of Florida, it stands to be an environmental and economic disaster of epic proportions.
The Deepwater Horizon well is at the end of one branch of the Gulf Stream, the famed warm-water current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic. Several experts said that if the oil enters the stream, it would flow around the southern tip of Florida and up the eastern seaboard.
"It will be on the East Coast of Florida in almost no time," Graber said. "I don't think we can prevent that. It's more of a question of when rather than if."
At the joint command center run by the government and BP near New Orleans, a Coast Guard spokesman maintained Saturday that the leakage remained around 5,000 barrels, or 200,000 gallons, per day.
"It will be on the East Coast of Florida in almost no time," Graber said. "I don't think we can prevent that. It's more of a question of when rather than if."
At the joint command center run by the government and BP near New Orleans, a Coast Guard spokesman maintained Saturday that the leakage remained around 5,000 barrels, or 200,000 gallons, per day.
But Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, appointed Saturday by Obama to lead the government's oil spill response, said no one could pinpoint how much oil is leaking from the ruptured well because of its depth — about a mile underwater.
"Any exact estimation of what's flowing out of those pipes down there is impossible," he told reporters on a conference call.
"Any exact estimation of what's flowing out of those pipes down there is impossible," he told reporters on a conference call.
Bad weather stalls oil spill cleanup
May 1: Eleven days after an oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, rough seas continue to hamper efforts to cleanup as much as 1 million gallons of oil that is threatening wildlife and commercial fishing. Lester Holt and Anne Thompson report from Venice, Louisiana.
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