Gulf Oil Spill Could Be Disastrous in Gulf Stream, JMU Professor Says

Stan Ulanski's book about the history of the Gulf Stream was published in 2008 by the University of North Carolina Press.

There's much debate about how much oil could enter the Gulf Stream from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but James Madison University professor and Gulf Stream expert Stan Ulanski, says it wouldn't take much to severely effect the marine ecosystem around the Florida Keys.

"Since there is so much debate about exactly how much oil is escaping from the crippled rig, I hesitate to estimate how much. But let me say, if the oil reaches the Florida Keys and the very fragile coral reefs, then even a relatively small amount could be devastating," said Ulanski, professor of meteorology in the department of geography and environmental sciences at JMU and author of, "The Gulf Stream: Tiny Plankton, Giant Bluefin, and the Amazing Story of the Powerful River in the Atlantic" (University of North Carolina Press, 2008).

Ulanski said it is likely that some oil from the spill will get into the Gulf Stream. "At present, some of the oil is already in the loop current that flows in the Gulf of Mexico," he said. "This current is a feeder to the Gulf Stream, so there is a very good chance that oil will be found in the Gulf Stream."

Ulanski can be reached at 540-568-7134 or  ulansksl@jmu.edu.

Posted May 25, 2010