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Gulf Oil Is in the Loop Current, Experts Say Satellite pictures show oil snared by an eddy. Satellite pictures show the Gulf oil spill moving toward the Loop Current, which is illustrated at bottom. Top and middle images courtesy MODIS/NASA; diagram courtesy FGBNMS/NOAA Christine DellAmore National Geographic News Published May 18, 2010 Some oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill is increasingly likely to be dragged into a strong current that hugs Floridas coasts, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said today. But other experts say that the oil is already theresatellite images show oil caught up in one of the eddies, or powerful whorls, attached to the Loop Current, a high-speed stream that pulses north into the Gulf of Mexico and travels in a clockwise pattern toward Florida. Images from the past few days show a big, wide tongue of oil reaching south from the main area of the spill, off the coast of Louisiana, said Nan Walker, director of Louisiana State Universitys Earth Scan Laboratory, in the School of the Coast and Environment. Meanwhile, a particular eddy has intensified and expanded north in recent days. The images reveal that the eddy has snagged oil and pulled it southeastward 100 miles , which means the crude is now circulating inside the turbulent waters. | 
