The imaginings of what may come of the BP oil leak get more and more inventive and dramatic.  The following article about the absolute worst-case scenario from the oil leak in the Gulf was read on one of my favorite radio shows Friday night.    After the host of the show read the story, he read a calmer email from a friend of his that he claimed provides him with “realistic sounding” scientific advice on a regular basis. His friend assured him that this scenario won’t happen and can’t happen.  But since I don’t know his advice giver at all, I can’t vouch for that advice.   Maybe this is something to worry about,  but that’s left up to you.   Just in case you live in Florida or on an island, you might want to consider this possibility.

The basics of this story: There is a massive methane bubble under the sea floor, and  the Deepwater Horizon drilling operation poked a hole in this methane pocket as it was getting to the oil.  Seven times more methane than normal is coming up with this oil, and it’s very volatile, so it could explode with a roar. If it blows, which is likely (or impossible, depending on who you believe) it will unleash a “supersonic tsunami” that will cover Florida and much of the Gulf coast.

Of course,  this is science fiction. Of course it is. But just for your own amusement, you can read the article anyway.   This is a take on the original story from Helium.com and another by the AP,  and presented by David Degraw.

“I was sent an article yesterday that presented a worst case scenario in the BP Gulf oil spill which described a possibility that sounded too horrifying to be true. The report said the BP drill site is directly over a massive underground reservoir of methane that could result in a huge explosion that would create “a supersonic tsunami” that “would literally sweep away everything from Miami to the panhandle in a matter of minutes. Loss of human life would be virtually instantaneous and measured in the millions.”

Sounded like exaggerated fear mongering to me, until I saw this report from AP today:

Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns

It is an overlooked danger in oil spill crisis: The crude gushing from the well contains vast amounts of natural gas that could pose a serious threat to the Gulf of Mexico’s fragile ecosystem.

The oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits, said John Kessler, a Texas A&M University oceanographer who is studying the impact of methane from the spill.

That means huge quantities of methane have entered the Gulf, scientists say, potentially suffocating marine life and creating “dead zones” where oxygen is so depleted that [...]