ROFFS™ - schaudt.us OCEANOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS FOR ARCTIC ONE SEARCH PROJECT AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA PROVIDED ON TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2005 USING IMAGERY AND DATA FROM AUGUST 26-28 2005

Currently we are not able to observe the ocean conditions in this area after Hurricane Katrina due to continuous scattered cloud cover and moisture. We were, however, able to observe the ocean conditions before Hurricane Katrina moved over the Arctic 1 rig site. Overall, Arctic 1 appeared to be located along the northern edge of a small counter clockwise rotating eddy with the center of circulation near 89°10’W & 28°26’N. South of the Arctic 1, the majority of the water was flowing in an eastward direction due to the effects of a large blue water Loop Current eddy that is rotating in a clockwise direction with the center of circulation offshore of this area near 89°30’W & 26°00’N. We are not able to estimate current speeds of this water at this time but believe that the speeds of this eastward flowing water is from between 2-3 knots. East of the Arctic 1, we are also able to observe a large pool of dark blue water that is moving in a westward direction towards the Arctic 1 rig site before getting pulled in a southward southeast direction due to the effects of another smaller counter clockwise rotating eddy feature with a center of circulation near 87°55’W & 28°00’N. The combination of the large offshore clockwise Loop Current eddy and the counter clockwise eddy centered near 87°55’W & 28°00’N appears to have created a strong current (possibly between 3-5 knots) flowing in a southeastward offshore direction from near 89°00’W & 28°15’N to near 87°00’W & 26°30’N. With this in mind, and not knowing the exact time when the Arctic 1 broke free from it’s moorings, we believe that the Arctic 1 may have started out in a southwest direction due to the strong sustained west, southwest, and south winds provided by the western wall of Hurricane Katrina. Although the winds may have effected the movement of the Arctic 1 initially, as the storm continued northward inshore, the ocean currents would have taken control of the direction of movement. With this, we believe that the Arctic 1 moved southwestward anywhere from 20-25 miles and then got pulled in a more eastward southeastward direction due to the strong currents provided by the large offshore Loop Current eddy. We suggest looking for the Arctic 1 rig within the green colored box with the corners as 88°32’W & 28°30’N, 89°20’W & 27°55’N, 87°58’W & 26°55’N, and 87°34’W & 27°13’N.