Research Spotlight: Aircraft measured oil evaporating from Gulf oil spill

Abstract

Following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in April 2010, some hydrocarbons dissolved in the ocean, while other leaked hydrocarbons that did not dissolve evaporated into the atmosphere. Ryerson et al. describe airborne in situ measurements of the hydrocarbons in the atmosphere after the oil spill, during initial cleanup operations. By comparing the amounts of chemicals in the atmosphere with those in crude oil, they determined which compounds dissolved in the ocean and which evaporated; by measuring the rate at which the compounds reached the atmosphere, they could estimate that oil and gas were leaking into the Gulf at a rate of at least 32,600–47,700 barrels of fluid per day.