National Geo: "Sea Snot" Explosion Caused by Gulf Oil Spill?

[Generic Other]

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill sparked an explosion of sticky clumps of organic matter that scientists call sea snot, according to ongoing research.

The boom likely precipitated a sea-snot "blizzard" in Gulf (map) waters, researchers say. And as the clumps sank, they may have temporarily wiped out the base of the food chain in the spill region by scouring all small life from the water column.

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In addition to being perhaps suffocatingly large, the blizzard may have been toxic. Scientists have found tiny black dots in sediment traps near the BP spill site that—if confirmed as oil from the Gulf spill—suggest tarballs got swept up in the snowstorm.

Normally, dead organisms settling on the seafloor are free meal deliveries for animals living at depth. "But when it's oil-soaked particles, I suspect the bottom-dwelling organisms might not be so happy," marine-snow expert Alice Alldredge said.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/09/100916-sea-snot-gulf-bp-oil-spill-marine-snow-science-environment/

[Swamp Rat]

1. dupe

[Swamp Rat]

2. k&r

[xchrom]

3. Recommend

[dipsydoodle]

4. Maybe it'll turn out to be useful as Gorilla Snot

Lots of if, buts, and maybes in that article in which even the title has a question mark.