Gulf oil spill: Undersea oil 'clouds' confirmed in spill zone

[n2doc]

June 8, 2010 | 10:33 am
Scientists on a federal research vessel said Tuesday morning that they have confirmed a sub-sea concentration of hydrocarbons near the Deepwater Horizon leak site.

The preliminary findings suggest that the undersea oil appears and disappears in a series of cloud-like concentrations -- instead of as a steady stream of oil, or plume, as early reports from university researchers suggested.

The federal researchers aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel Thomas Jefferson stressed that they could not conclusively say the oil is linked to the BP leak until water sample tests are completed. The initial findings were based on tests using sophisticated sound-monitoring and fluorescent scanning equipment that detects the presence of crude oil underwater.

NOAA researchers, joined by a University of New Hampshire expert and other outside scientists, detected the "clouds" of oil about 1,100 feet below the surface, 7 1/2 miles west-southwest of the Horizon leak.

The clouds were dynamic -- some appeared on sensors at one point and then, later, did not register in the same location.

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/06/gulf-oil-spill-undersea-oil-clouds-confirmed-in-spill-zone.html