It Can’t Rise And Be Visible
Because of the dispersants, a major reason BP used them, so CNN reports that Plumes of Gulf oil spreading east on sea floor
Researchers at the University of South Florida have concluded that oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill may have settled to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico further east than previously suspected — and at levels toxic to marine life.
Initial findings from a new survey of the Gulf conclude that dispersants may have sent droplets of crude to the ocean floor, where it has turned up at the bottom of an undersea canyon within 40 miles of the Florida Panhandle. The results are scheduled to be released Tuesday, but CNN obtained a summary of the initial conclusions Monday night.
Plankton and other organisms at the base of the food chain showed a “strong toxic response” to the crude, and the oil could well up onto the continental shelf and resurface later, according to researchers.
“The dispersant is moving the oil down out of the surface and into the deeper waters, where it can affect phytoplankton and other marine life,” said John Paul, a marine microbiologist at USF.
The researchers are just finishing up compiling data and roughing out their reports, so you have to wonder what the Feds were using when they told us the oil went away. As I mentioned, fresh tar balls and patches showed up on beaches in Walton County when the tropical depression went by, so what is a hurricane going to do?
