Experts allay oil spill fears for Ireland
International oil experts fear that the vast oil contamination which originated in the Gulf of Mexico could eventually spread out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Research by the American-based National Center for Atmospheric Research has projected that oil from the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico might soon extend along thousands of miles of the Atlantic coast and open ocean as early as this summer.
That has prompted concerns that any oil entering the Gulf Stream could be carried by that current to the Irish coastline, with potentially harmful results for the environment.
The warm water is carried out in a vast stream towards the North East Atlantic and is responsible for Ireland’s mild climate.
Typically, it takes several months for the body of warm water to reach the western coast of Ireland, where it travels in an arc from Cork to Kerry, Clare and as far north as Donegal, before petering out over the North Sea.
The Irish Coast Guard said it was actively monitoring events and was receiving daily updates from the Monitoring Information Centre in Brussels and the European Maritime Safety Agency.
“There is nothing to suggest so far that the spill will move any further than the Caribbean basin,” it said.
The Marine Institute, which is also monitoring the possible flow of oil from the catastrophic leak off the American coast, said the prospect of any pollution of the Irish coastline was very remote.
However, it admitted that it did not know enough about the composition of the oil to make a definitive statement. Lighter oil would be more likely to evaporate, whereas heavier, thicker oil could fall to the ocean floor or, conceivably, be carried across the ocean if it was to enter the Gulf Stream.
“The Marine Institute has no details of the chemical composition of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico and therefore cannot make an authoritative statement on this scenario,” it said.
“But in most cases of such spills the bulk of the oil evaporates into the atmosphere after some days and the rest generally sinks to the bottom.
“Therefore, in light of the distance from the Gulf of Mexico to Europe and the significant dispersal capacity created by the large ocean area, the possibility of detectable levels of oil being transported to Europe are very remote.”
Prof Michael Hayes of the chemical and environmental science department at the University of Limerick said the MI position was “entirely reasonable” and that the “only tangible possibility” of the oil reaching Ireland was entry into the Gulf Stream.
