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Several years ago I wrote a piece titled, "To Save the Gulf, Send the Enterprise". At the time the Deepwater Horizon oil geyser was spewing crude oil into the G
by teslabox 9y ago
Several years ago I wrote a piece titled, "To Save the Gulf, Send the Enterprise". At the time the Deepwater Horizon oil geyser was spewing crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and the well's owners were trying to figure out what to do.
I suggested sending the US Navy's portable nuclear reactors (such as carried in the Enterprise and other aircraft carriers) to aerate the ocean surrounding the oil geyser. It was entirely impractical - a navy blogger responded to my email with a blog post (and a link) to say it was a terrible idea.
The Enterprise has since been retired, and is currently being disposed of. But I think the core of the idea is still valid. Aeration would help deal with all this agricultural runoff...
Maybe I'll write a new post for my neglected website: http://SendTheEnterprise.org/ http://SendTheEnterprise.org/
- Declanomous 9y agoWas it an official navy blogger or just a person in the navy with a blog?
- teslabox 9y agoIt was not an official US Navy blog. Here's the link: http://blog.usni.org/2011/03/19/send-the-enterprise/ http://blog.usni.org/2011/03/19/send-the-enterprise/
- sharpercoder 9y agoSeems entirely reasonable; using a nuclear reactor to pump vast amounts of air into the water. While you can have high volume, it is restricted to a relatively small area only. To have noticeable impact on agricultural runoff, we need similar devices in river delta's. They can probably be less powerful; simple windmills probably could have a local measurable impact already.
- haZard_OS 9y agoWould you mind explaining how your proposal could help mitigate the effects of agricultural runoff?
- teslabox 9y agoPeople put bubblers in aquariums to support more fish than could otherwise survive based solely on the surface area of the tank. The gulfs are basically anaerobic septic tanks. Adding oxygen would allow aerobic bacteria to consume the excess nutrients. Edit: thanks for asking, I should develop this into a full blog post.
- haZard_OS 9y agoI would appreciate a blog post or article on this topic. I asked for an explanation because I see a number of serious obstacles to implementing a solution of this kind. A more complete explanation would give you the space to lay out the proposal in a way that might answer my objections. FYI - I work in the environmental field and so I am genuinely curious about the specifics of your proposal. If you do write a more complete version, please let me know . haZard_OS@protonmail.com
- sambull 9y agoHow do you get rid of the heat in the ocean that allows for less oxygen to dissolve in the water?
- teslabox 9y agoI think air bubblers at depth would bring cold water to the surface. Just speculation, though.