Gulf Loop Current ferrying spilled oil towards Florida Keys
Loop Current Pathway
Via http://arstechnica.com/science/
The University of Miami is announcing that a research cruise sponsored by the National Science Foundation has discovered that a large oil plume originating from the Deepwater Horizon site is heading for the Dry Tortugas. These islands, preserved as part of a US national park, reside just to the west of the Florida Keys. Should the oil make it that far, it will almost certainly find its way into the Atlantic Ocean.
The flow of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon has been difficult to track, since the source is on the sea floor, while oil’s buoyancy will cause it to move towards the surface. On its way there, it will encounter different currents at various depths. The currents in the Gulf are dominated by what’s called the Loop Current, which enters the Gulf between Cuba and the Yucatan. What happens next can vary considerably.
Depending on a variety of factors, the Loop can extend well north in a large clockwise sweep through the Gulf before exiting into the Atlantic near the Florida Keys. At other points, this loop pinches off into an independent vortex as the main current heads directly for the Atlantic. The