It’s yet another Monday and there’s a bit of chill in the air. Did everyone have a nice and relaxing weekend? Share your thoughts here on the open thread
Sad news, singer Lena Horne has died at age 92.
Here’s her classic, Stormy Weather.
The dome that BP was hoping to put over the well leak this weekend failed because of crystallization in the dome. BP is working on several other ideas:
NOAA officials said that BP continues to work on solving the problem of ice-like methane hydrate crystals that accumulated inside of the dome intended to capture the leaking oil. A process known as a “junk shot”, in which debris is injected into the blow out preventer, is being examined. The drilling of the relief wells continues.
The “junk shot” is actually quite risky, hopefully it’s a last resort:
Admiral Thad Allen, head of the US Coast Guard, suggested they were considering what he called a “junk shot” to plug the main leak.
“They’re actually going to take a bunch of debris, shredded up tires, golf balls and things like that and under very high pressure shoot it into the preventer itself and see if they can clog it up and stop the leak,” Allen, who is leading the US government’s response, told CBS television.
This could be risky as experts have warned that excessive tinkering with the blowout preventer — a huge 450-ton valve system that should have shut off the oil — could see crude shoot out unchecked at 12 times the current rate.
For really technical details on the oil spill and containment efforts, The Oil Drum is a must-read.