Gulf Stream Current
The Gulf oil spill is a devastating disaster, and the threat of damage from the oil is spreading everyday. The possibility of the oil spill in the gulf hitching a ride on the Gulf Stream and arriving along the North Carolina coast is being discussed, but the likelihood of such an event is still an unknown. However, the Coast Guard has trained for these types of scenarios and is ready to act if needed.
In most cases, oil moving up the Atlantic Coast would stay well offshore, but the Coast Guard isn’t taking any chances. The Coast Guard is currently taking all the necessary measures to plan for the possibility of the oil turning towards the coast. Every three years, the coast guard practices for the event of a full-scale oil spill. Two years ago a diesel fuel spill was simulated from a barge in the Cape Fear River. In the 1980s, an oil spill washed up on the shores of Dare County. Oil that washed up on shore came from an unknown source, but ended up covering four miles of beach.
Dare County emergency management coordinator N.H. “Sandy” Sanderson is not overly anxious about gulf oil. In a recent interview with the Bellingham Herald, Sandy mentioned that “This spill is going to get so much attention, and there are so many trip wires in place, that there will be plenty of time to coordinate the response.”
In the same article, a representative for a company that handles oil cleanup in North Carolina mentioned that they “don’t really have a lot of faith that (Gulf oil) will come ashore here, but if it did we would have full capability to respond to it.”
Cleanup crews use an array of boats, skimmers, soak-up gear and other equipment, including more than two miles of booms to contain oil. Computer software that simulates the force of tides and wind helps predict where an oil plume will go, giving responders an edge.
Update: Here’s a post from 6.4.10 with an FAQ from the Outer Banks Visitor’s Bureau about the potential for oil to hit the Outer Banks from the Gulf spill; at this point, the OBX beaches are clean.
