This is a whole helluva lot more than the supposed 5000 barrels said to be leaking just a few days ago....
New leak estimate: 1.4M to 2.5M gallons a day
Scientists have released their revised estimate of how much oil is spewing into the Gulf of Mexico each day. They now calculate the daily disaster at between 1.47 million and 2.52 million gallons, the AP reports.
Update at 5:52 p.m. ET: Friday, the government-sanctioned panel of scientists doubled the daily estimate of oil gushing from the ruptured deepwater well, putting the top figure at 2.1 million gallons. But those calculations were made before BP cut the riser pipe and placed a containment contraption over it. Though more oil is being collected, it's clear that more is pouring forth.
Today's revision works about to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day. BP's initial estimate after the April 20 rig explosion was 5,000 barrels a day, which was parroted by the Coast Guard and other government agencies for several weeks.
"This estimate brings together several scientific methodologies and the latest information from the sea floor, and represents a significant step forward in our effort to put a number on the oil that is escaping from BP's well," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement.
The new calculations are based on analyses of high-resolution video taken by underwater robots, pressure meters, sonar, and measurements of oil collected by the containment device on top of the well.
PhysOrg looked at the science of trying to accurately estimate the flow.
