Dead Coral Found Near Site of Gulf Oil Spill

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

Dead Coral Found Near Site of Gulf Oil Spill
By JOHN COLLINS RUDOLF
Published: November 5, 2010

A survey of the sea floor near BP’s blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico has turned up dead and dying coral reefs that were probably damaged by the oil spill, scientists said on Friday.

The coral sites lie seven miles southwest of the well, at a depth of about 4,500 feet, in an area where large plumes of dispersed oil were discovered drifting through the deep ocean last spring in the early weeks after the spill.

The large swaths of darkened coral and other damaged marine organisms were almost certainly dying from exposure to toxins, scientists said.

The corals were discovered on Tuesday by scientists aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel, using a submersible robot equipped with still and video cameras and sampling tools.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/science/earth/06coral.html?_r=1&hp

[2QT2BSTR8]

1. Sadly I think this is just the beginning.

[lonestarnot]

2. Pitiful. And no one could stop them.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Scientists Find Damage to Coral Near BP Well

Scientists Find Damage to Coral Near BP Well
Goverment scientists find first damage to marine life on ocean floor near blown-out oil well
The Associated Press
By CAIN BURDEAU Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS November 5, 2010 (AP)

For the first time, federal scientists have found damage to deep sea coral and other marine life on the ocean floor several miles from the blown-out BP well — a strong indication that damage from the spill could be significantly greater than officials had previously acknowledged.

Tests are needed to verify that the coral died from oil that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, but the chief scientist who led the government-funded expedition said Friday he was convinced it was related.

"What we have at this point is the smoking gun," said Charles Fisher, a biologist with Penn State University who led the expedition aboard the Ronald Brown, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel.

"There is an abundance of circumstantial data that suggests that what happened is related to the recent oil spill," Fisher said.

For the government, the findings were a departure from earlier statements. Until now, federal teams have painted relatively rosy pictures about the spill's effect on the sea and its ecosystem, saying they had not found any damage on the ocean floor.

More:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12070339