U.S. Geological Survey
This is an archived copy of the "USGS Twitter Event: Press Conference -- Deepwater Horizon Oil Flow Update (May 2010)" as of June 4, 2010. The tweets listed below have not been modified in anyway.
Disclaimer: Links and pointers to non-USGS sites, as well as any product mentioned, are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsement by the USGS, U.S. Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government, of the referenced organizations, their suitability, content, products, or services, whether they are governmental, educational, or commercial. Further details can be found in the USGS Policies and Notices page.
Some common things you may see used:
USGSLive: Thanks to everyone for following.
USGSLive: MM: This is a very significant spill.
USGSLive: Q: Can we say #oilspill has eclipsed Exxon-Valdez in terms of amount of oil?
USGSLive: MM: So they took a middle number they felt was conservative but defensible. Then dev. group to look more closely when more info. available.
USGSLive: MM: Original estimate was based on limited data from NOAA. They did have numbers that ranged from 1k-13k bbls/day based on surface obs.
USGSLive: CNN: How did original est. get it wrong?
USGSLive: instantaneous rates while Mass Balance is looking at integrated data.
USGSLive: MM: 12k-19k is the overlap of both independent estimates. Plume Team came up with 12k-25k. Diff. kinds of estimates. Plume looking at . . .
USGSLive: Wall Street Journal: What is the lower-bound range?
USGSLive: MM: . . . gas. About 75% of video flow was actually gas, so surface gave better estimate.
USGSLive: MM: Video data problematic bc dominated by gas phase. Until RIT tool put into riser at ocean flow there was no way to correct how much was
USGSLive: LA Times: Why were video analyses not employed earlier?
USGSLive: MM: Team had some hiccups getting data from BP bc files from ROV's were too big, but now we have more data than we know what to do with.
USGSLive: MM: We will be making names of fed. team members public soon.
USGSLive: MM: Flow Rate Team did not give an upper bound bc flow goes btw gas & oil phase. Stay tuned. Mass Balanced Team shows avg. flow rate.
USGSLive: AP: What is the upper bound of the video observation team? Are you satisfied with BP's cooperation in terms of video? Provide names of team?
USGSLive: Question and Answer Session to begin.
USGSLive: MM: My scientific team pulled all-nighters to come up with this data. Thanks to team for their hard work.'
USGSLive: MM: 3 methodologies cited today suggest 12k bbls/day, while 2 suggest as much as 19k bbls/day.
USGSLive: MM: Both teams have own limitations and biases, so we are combining both results.
USGSLive: MM: 2nd Team - Plume Modeling Team used video footage to determine flow rate from pipe. Est.12k-25k barrels per day.
USGSLive: MM: Rate of release est. at 12k-19k barrels per day.
USGSLive: MM: We estimate130k-270k barrels of oil present on surface as of May 17. Est. a similar amt. has been burnt, skimmed, dispersed or evap.
USGSLive: MM: 1st Team, Mass Balance Team analyzed how much oil on surface of Gulf with USGS data using NASA satellite technology.
USGSLive: MM: How we developed our estimate . . .
USGSLive: MM: We are still getting more data and refining our scientific model.
USGSLive: MM: Since Day One, the Administration's response has been based on the classification of the event as a worst-case scenario.
USGSLive: MM: I am also leading the Flow Rate Technical group, includes reps from government, scientists and academic institutions. BP not involved.
USGSLive: MM: Just got back from Houston last night. We have been working nonstop to get the source stopped and the flow under control.
USGSLive: Dr. McNutt's Statement begins.
USGSLive: RT @USGS: Tune into @USGSLive at 10 am EST 2 follow @USGS Dir. Marcia McNutt's News Media Teleconference 2 Discuss Updates on Oil Flow R ...Disclaimer: Links and pointers to non-USGS sites, as well as any product mentioned, are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsement by the USGS, U.S. Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government, of the referenced organizations, their suitability, content, products, or services, whether they are governmental, educational, or commercial. Further details can be found in the USGS Policies and Notices page.