CNN 2010-06-05

Oil spill, Day 42 of this oil spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico. Still there is no end in sight for this crisis.

 

Right now take a look with me. Work under water and under way to place a custom built dome² over that ruptured³ well. Remember that effort top kill we've been keeping our eye on for the last couple of days, well, that effort to plug the leak now under way as we learn over the weekend that the top kill has failed.

 

It could be several more days before we know definitively⁵ if this new capping method will work. And even it does -- listen to this. Even if it does, BP will only be able to collect, they say, most -- not all -- of the oil that is gushing⁶ out.

 

Now BP has long conceded that the only permanent solution is to drill a relief well that will choke off the flow. But that work cannot be completed before August.

 

Want to get a closer look now as to that effort underway. Placing this dome, this custom-fit cap as what they're saying over that leaking well, and CNN's Josh Levs is here with some great animation⁷ to help kind of walk us through this LMRP cap, right, Josh?

 

Yes, it's the latest step in the complicated lexicon⁸ of this crisis. And in order to understand what BP is doing next, we've got some pictures to help you.

 

I want to go first to this video. It's an animation because when you look at the animation, it gives you the basic idea here. You're looking at a section of the blowout preventer. That's the lower marine⁹ riser. And it's the lower marine rise package, you need to cap it off, right?

 

And we watch what happens in this picture. You have all this oil gushing out. And they're creating a cap that's going to come on, they hope, and be able to be placed right on top of it.

 

Now looked well and good, it looks pretty. Here's the problem. It doesn't look like that right now. There isn't a little stub that you can just put a cap on top of. And that's where we're going to come to these images right here. We can close in. These are images that come from BP.

 

And what needs to happen, this right here is the blowout preventer. And what you have right here is basically this pipe, it was originally going up now as part of -- the whole falling apart. The explosion, it's over like this.

 

What you need to have are these little tiny remote-operated vehicles. Make it cut. So let's zoom¹⁰ way in here. I want you to see what this is going to look like. You have these little remote- operated vehicles and they're going to make a cut right along there. Now that's the first one. These are little hydraulic¹¹ shears¹² will have to make a cut.

 

Then come over here with me. Then you have this other remote-operated vehicles, this one has a diamond wire cutters. It's going to have to make a second cut in order to get rid of all of that.

 

And then, if all that works as they want it to, then you get this. I want to make it nice and big. Then what you will get ultimately is a stub right here and then a cap that can come down and plug it up.

 

But think about what I just showed you. We're basically talking about underwater surgery at this point. We're talking about the complicated task of going 5,000 feet under water, removing incredibly specifically exactly what you need to so that the cap can even fit on top of that stub.

 

With that in mind, let's go back to the animation. I want you to see it again. Because now what you're going to notice when you look at the animation BP is providing is that at the beginning of all of this, you're looking at that lower marine riser package. Then you come up and you see these two pieces disappear.

 

So this is the initial problem, the initial challenge that's so hard. And in the process of doing that, BP is saying that it's going to increase the amount of oil that's flowing out. They're saying 20 percent more will flow out in that time. We'll see how that works.

 

So that right there is the challenge that we're dealing¹³ with at this point, Brooke. It's putting that cap on top of the lower marine riser package.

 

There's one more thing to know about it. As it's there, it's also not only going to be directly that oil, it's also going to be pumping in something called methanol. And the reason is what went wrong in the past.

 

Let's go back to that containment¹⁴ dome. A few weeks ago, you all probably are having déjà vu right now. You're saying didn't they try to put a dome on top of this already? Well, they did several weeks ago. They put that containment dome. They tried. And what happened was, water got in and mixed with the gas and then created these ice-like hydrate crystals.

 

So it never worked out. So this new cap that they're putting on in addition to guiding out the oil is supposed to also guide in some methanol to prevent crystals from forming. So basically what you hear when I talk to you about all this, a whole lot of variables, a whole of questions.

 

They say it could be four to seven days before they can really begin the process of doing this. Then lots of fingers crossed to see if that cap works out. And even if it does, it's not a 100 percent seal. It's hoping -- as Brooke was just saying, it's hoping to get most of the oil contained. Then they're still the larger challenges in the future.

 

So, Brooke, that's where we are right now, this massive underwater surgery that's going to be taking place 5,000 feet under to try to get that lower marine riser cap to control the oil at last.

 

Right. And as you've said, they're saying maybe 20 percent extra flow, you know, of the oil once they cut that riser. That's a whole other variable. We are hoping it works but really it seems like August with those relief wells. The final perhaps definitive⁴ closure to all of this.

 

And let's hope that we can get the wells up by August.

 

Let's hope we can.

 

This is what they're saying. Yes. Fingers crossed on that one, too.

 

All right, Josh Levs, great explainer.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

3 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

4 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

5 definitively   

adv.决定性地，最后地

参考例句：

• None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. 三个超级国家中的任何一国都不可能被任何两国的联盟所绝对打败。 来自英汉文学
• Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph. 因此，没有什么可以明确了一张照片。 来自互联网

6 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

8 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

11 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

12 shears   

n.大剪刀

参考例句：

• These garden shears are lightweight and easy to use.这些园丁剪刀又轻又好用。
• With a few quick snips of the shears he pruned the bush.他用大剪刀几下子就把灌木给修剪好了。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。