The "Tragedy of the Commons" played out for all between 20 April and 15 July 2010. On 20 April 2010 (ironically, Earth Day), the Deep Water Horizon drilling vessel in the Gulf of Mexico suffered a catastrophic blow-out and explosion resulting in the loss of 11 men and ultimately the loss of the $540 million dollar vessel. Loss of control of the oil well permitted oil to flow freely into the Gulf of Mexico for 86 days. It stands today one of the largest oil spills in history. The reports of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling are freely available: GPO-OILCOMMISSION.pdfYour task is to estimate the quantity of oil that leaked from the Deep Water Horizon well between 20 April and 15 July 2011. I hope you will be surprised to discover that reasonable estimates from a small quantity of available data are possible and reveal much about this "Tragedy of the Commons."To do this, you need a few important pieces of information:The diameter of the Deep Water Horizon oil pipe is 21 inches.The oil stream emanating from the pipe exits at about 21 inches per second.12 x 12 x 12 = 1728 cubic inches = 1 cubic foot.To find the cross-section of the pipe, you need to know that the area of a circle is: A = πr^2 Calculate the circular cross-section of the Deep Water Horizon pipe: ______________________ (note: your answer is in sq. in.)Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every second: ______________ cubic inches/second (hint: this involves multiplying a linear rate of inches per second with the cross section)Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every minute: ____________________ cu. in/minuteCalculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every hour: _______________________ cu. in/hourCalculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every day: __________________________ cu in/dayConvert cu in/day to cubic feet per day: ______________________________________ cu ft/dayConvert cu ft/day to barrels/day (5.61 cu ft/barrel of oil): _________________________ bbl/day (Note: bbl is the abbreviation for ‘barrels’)Multiply bbl/day x 86 days: _________________________________= total barrels of oil leaked.Calculate the gallons of oil leaked: ___________________________= total gallons of oil leaked (There are 42 U.S. gallons in a barrel of oil).Respond: Review chapter 6 of the linked report found in the Unit 5 Student Tasks Guide. Discuss at least three environmental impacts caused by this devastating oil spill.

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Answered: Calculate the circular cross-section of…

Applications and Investigations in Earth Science (9th Edition)

9th Edition

ISBN:9780134746241

Author:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa

Publisher:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa

Chapter1: The Study Of Minerals

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1LR

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The "Tragedy of the Commons" played out for all between 20 April and 15 July 2010. On 20 April 2010 (ironically, Earth Day), the Deep Water Horizon drilling vessel in the Gulf of Mexico suffered a catastrophic blow-out and explosion resulting in the loss of 11 men and ultimately the loss of the $540 million dollar vessel. Loss of control of the oil well permitted oil to flow freely into the Gulf of Mexico for 86 days. It stands today one of the largest oil spills in history. The reports of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling are freely available: GPO-OILCOMMISSION.pdf

Your task is to estimate the quantity of oil that leaked from the Deep Water Horizon well between 20 April and 15 July 2011. I hope you will be surprised to discover that reasonable estimates from a small quantity of available data are possible and reveal much about this "Tragedy of the Commons."

To do this, you need a few important pieces of information:

The diameter of the Deep Water Horizon oil pipe is 21 inches.
The oil stream emanating from the pipe exits at about 21 inches per second.
12 x 12 x 12 = 1728 cubic inches = 1 cubic foot.
To find the cross-section of the pipe, you need to know that the area of a circle is: A = πr^2

1. Calculate the circular cross-section of the Deep Water Horizon pipe: ______________________ (note: your answer is in sq. in.)
2. Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every second: ______________ cubic inches/second (hint: this involves multiplying a linear rate of inches per second with the cross section)
3. Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every minute: ____________________ cu. in/minute
4. Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every hour: _______________________ cu. in/hour
5. Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every day: __________________________ cu in/day
6. Convert cu in/day to cubic feet per day: ______________________________________ cu ft/day
7. Convert cu ft/day to barrels/day (5.61 cu ft/barrel of oil): _________________________ bbl/day (Note: bbl is the abbreviation for ‘barrels’)
8. Multiply bbl/day x 86 days: _________________________________= total barrels of oil leaked.
9. Calculate the gallons of oil leaked: ___________________________= total gallons of oil leaked (There are 42 U.S. gallons in a barrel of oil).
10. Respond: Review chapter 6 of the linked report found in the Unit 5 Student Tasks Guide. Discuss at least three environmental impacts caused by this devastating oil spill.