BP oil spill seriously harmed deep-sea corals, scientists warn

[xchrom]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/26/bp-oil-spill-deepwater-horizon


Scientists use the robot-armed submersible Alvin to find evidence of coral damage by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Photograph: Chuck Fisher Of Penn State Unive/PA

Deep sea corals appear to have been seriously harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to scientists.

A survey of one site near the well in the Gulf of Mexico uncovered "compelling evidence" of pollution damage. Coral communities more than 1,220 metres (4,000ft) below the surface of the ocean appeared stressed and discoloured.

Tests showed that oil from the site bore Deepwater Horizon's chemical "fingerprint".

Determining the impact of oil spills at the bottom of the ocean can be difficult because oil seeps naturally from cracks in sea floor.

[Nathanael]

1. No Longer a Warning, It's Definitive

Scientists have just published findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that oil spilled from the Macando well is "definitively" linked coral death in the Gulf.

Link: http://www.energyboom.com/emerging/scientists-determine-bp-oil-spill-definitively-linked-coral-death-gulf