by Dartagnan
There is no record of a hurricane ever encountering a large oil spill. One of the unresolved questions posed by the Gulf disaster is the impact of seasonal Hurricanes on the oil mass, and vice versa. Beyond the debate of whether the slick would weaken, or possibly strengthen the hurricane, and beyond the issue of dispersal or non-dispersal of the oil within the mass, several sources have raised the possibility of an "oil rain" spreading inland through sea spray caught up in the Hurricane, while others have ridiculed the idea, contending that oil is heavier than water and could not be "evaporated" or otherwise transported into clouds. A Compilation of the theories notes: A hurricane would significantly dilute the oil, but it also could scatter the oil over a wider area. If the layer of oil is thin, high winds and seas will mix and 'weather' the oil, which helps accelerate the biodegradation process. However, there is the chance for windborne oil particles from sea spray to be moved inland.
continued at Daily Kos....
