Bye bye Tourist - Oils spill could reach Jamaica

[Time]

Caricom warns oil spill could reach Bahamas, Jamaica
AP
Saturday, June 05, 2010

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Caribbean countries are warning that an oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico could reach the Bahamas and Jamaica.
The Caribbean Community says a recent change in wind patterns could push the oil past the southern tip of Florida and toward its northern member states.

Secretary-General Edwin Carrington said Saturday that tourism-dependent countries in the 15-nation group are concerned about the oil spill from an underwater well off the US coast.

The issue is expected to come up at Thursday's meeting in Barbados between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and regional foreign ministers.

[Hortical]

Not likely, the trade wind currents move in a northerly direction.

[Muadib]

Hurricane could be interesting....

[Stonigut]

Actually you have two issues here I think the gulf stream pulling north to north east around the Florida peninsula and the actual trade winds which blows in a south westerly direction out of the northeast, so as the gulf stream brings around the oil, the possibility is there that the trade winds pull the oil down through the windward passage, but that seems not so easy to me, plus Ja has the biggest sand berm in the world between us and the gulf, it is a 800 mile Cuba.

[Don1]

Actually you have two issues here I think the gulf stream pulling north to north east around the Florida peninsula and the actual trade winds which blows in a south westerly direction out of the northeast, so as the gulf stream brings around the oil, the possibility is there that the trade winds pull the oil down through the windward passage, but that seems not so easy to me, plus Ja has the biggest sand berm in the world between us and the gulf, it is a 800 mile Cuba.

does water flow around Cuba or is it a dam?

[Mosiah]

sand berm! rude!

[Stonigut]

Yes water does flow around Cuba, however oil and oil related material sticks and adheres to the first thing it comes in contact with thus it is a great thing strictly from a Jamaican standpoint that Cuba totally blocks Jamaica to the north from the gulf, the only weaknesses to that theory is the fact that the gulf stream moves water to the east basically setting up an unusual rendevous point with the tradewinds blowing to the south west, however since the gulf stream hugs the florida east coast pretty tight, that rendevous spot between the trades and the gulf stream is such that any left over that the gulf stream does not take with it and dump on the eastern seaboard or later in ireland and Norway west coast, will all be driven by the trade winds onto the Cuban north coast and from the rendevous point the Cuban coast line runs about 600 miles to the east of Cuba before it hits the windward passage, whatever remmants come down the windward passage there is still hundreds of miles of coast line in the passage to the west and east ( eastern Cuba and western hispanolia) in the windward passage that should get hit before jamaica north coast sees anything, from my understanding the chance of any oil hitting jamaica is about the same as getting snow on Blue Mountain peak, possible theoretically but very remote from a practical standpoint!!!

[Stonigut]

Haha, Cuba is one hell of a big brother!!! taking Hurricanes, being a sand berm for oil spills, providing resources etc.