Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Likely to Spread into the Atlantic Ocean

Video prediction of how the oil will spread into the Atlantic Ocean

The National Center for Atmospheric Research has released animation depicting how wide the oil spill may spread if the loop current in the Gulf of Mexico flows normally during the spring and summer seasons.

The science behind the animation predicts that the oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak will enter the Atlantic Ocean around day eighty (around July 1). The environmental sensitive southern Florida coast as well as northern Cuba and the barrier islands of North and South Carolina are most threatened. Meanwhile the southern American fisheries are also at risk.

The disaster could get even larger if the leak continues on for years if efforts to stop the leak fail. Oil in the Gulf Stream could take the toxic pollution all the way to the coast of Europe.