Over the last few weeks, we've heard a lot of talk about "tar balls," washing up on the sandy shores of the Gulf Coast.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) calls them "tarballs," omitting the space between the two words, minting a neologism.
Tarballs, the little, dark-colored pieces of oil that stick to our feet when we go to the beach, are actually remnants of oil spills. When crude oil (or a heavier refined product) floats on the ocean surface, its physical characteristics change. During the first few hours of a spill, the oil spreads into a thin slick. Winds and waves tear the slick into smaller patches that are scattered over a much wider area. Various physical, chemical, and biological processes change the appearance of the oil. These processes are generally called "weathering."
After the lighter components of oil evaporate, the crude oils "mix with water to form an emulsion that often looks like chocolate pudding," NOAA says.
Winds and waves continue to stretch and tear the oil patches into smaller pieces, or tarballs. While some tarballs may be as large as pancakes, most are coin-sized (a relatively large tarball is shown in the photo above). Tarballs are very persistent in the marine environment and can travel hundreds of miles.
According to Don Gonyea, NPR's national political correspondent, who took this photo a few minutes ago, there are "millions of these raisin-like tar balls along Grand Isle Beach."
Gonyea is in Grand Isle, Louisiana, a town in Jefferson Parrish, where the president is supposed to address reporters soon. (Actually, he was scheduled to deliver some brief remarks almost an hour ago. There has been no explanation for the delay.)
Update at 2:57 p.m. ET: The president, acknowledging the summertime heat in Grand Isle, flanked by Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is coordinating the government response, and politicians from the Gulf Coast, is now speaking.
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