FLORIDA KEYS: ENCOURAGING NEWS ABOUT THE OIL SPILL, Thanks Eddy Franklin!!!

God Bless Eddy Franklin and the Florida Keys

Great News for the Florida Keys. The Loop current has pinched off into Eddy Franklin which means that there is not a path for the oil to enter the currents that flow around the Florida Keys. Lets see if this gets as much press as the Tar Ball story, I think not. Good news never seems to get as much press as the bad. But, the folks in the Florida Keys have much to be thankful for.

NOAA Discontinues Offshore Spill Trajectory Forecast
as Threat to Keys Lessens

Graphic shows the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large clockwise eddy (Eddy Franklin), indicating no clear path for spilled oil to enter the Loop Current from the source in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Graphic courtesy US Navy

Keys Advisory: June 23, 2010 from the Florida Keys Tourist Development Council

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has temporarily suspended daily production of offshore Transocean/BP oil spill trajectory maps, because a change in ocean currents has minimized the risk of impacts to the Florida Keys.

The NOAA website explains the suspension, because the northern end of the Loop Current has been pinched off into a large clockwise eddy (Eddy Franklin) so there is no clear path for spilled oil to enter the Loop Current from the source in the northern Gulf of Mexico that is about 500 miles northwest of Key West.

The Gulf Loop Current is a clockwise current that normally carries water from the Yucatan Channel north into the Gulf of Mexico, then back down south off Florida's west coast, past the Dry Tortugas and into the Gulf Stream.

NOAA is not certain how long the separation will remain, but the agency plans to resume production of offshore spill trajectory maps, if needed.

If any of the oil does make it to the vicinity of the Florida Straits, it should be weathered and appear in the form of tar balls, not the thick aqueous oil being seen in the northern Gulf of Mexico near the spill site, said Billy Causey, superintendent of the southeast region for NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries. Causey said it is not known if the tar balls would end up in Keys nearshore waters or on coastlines; or float by the Keys in deeper water.

BP, under the direction of the U.S. Coast Guard, has a contractor to clean up tar balls.

Currently, there are no advisories recommending against travel to the Florida Keys or any other precautions advising visitors and residents not to engage in fishing, diving, swimming or other water sports, according to the Monroe County Health Department. Seafood from immediate Florida Keys waters is safe to eat, officials said.

NOAA has closed a significant portion of the Gulf of Mexico to recreational and commercial fishing. The closest point of the closure to the Keys remains about 200 miles to the west of Key West.

Additional details on efforts to mitigate the oil spill are on these official Web sites:

Florida Department of Environmental Protection
NOAA
Deep Water Horizon Response

Florida Oil Spill Hotline (8 a.m.- 6 p.m.): 1-888-337-3569