BP Oil Spill Predicted to Move Away From Mexico

The masses of oil left behind in the wake of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, will most likely move in the opposite direction of the Yucatan peninsula as a result of the so-called “Loop Current.”

Loop Current July 21, 2010

“Loop Current” is defined by Wikipedia as:

Part of the Gulf Stream, the Loop Current is a warm ocean current in the Gulf of Mexico that flows northward between Cuba and the Yucatán peninsula, moves north into the Gulf of Mexico, loops west and south before exiting to the east through the Florida Straits.

The picture at the top right corner of this post and this animation illustrates how the oil is expected to move into to the Atlantic and then up the eastern seaboard of the U.S.

Oil spill “trackers” provided by the New York Times and other sites show the effects of the oil spill to be largely confined to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.

While it appears Mexico might come 0ut of the oil spill unscathed, it looks like some of the wildlife that the country is known for will suffer the consequences of the oil spill. This article describes the negative effects that the oil spill will likely have on the nurse sharks that migrate to the Yucatan peninsula each year.

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