Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Columbia Researchers Find 6 Inches of Oil Snow on Gulf Floor


Live Science reported:

A research team from Columbia University in New York returned this past weekend (Sept. 17 to 19) from a tour of duty in the Gulf of Mexico with new data to attempt to measure the location and magnitude of subsurface oil plumes, and their effects on the marine ecosystem, which have recently been the focus of much debate.

They found oil on the seafloor, evidence that it may be in the food chain, and signs that it may be hidden in large marine mammals. In spots, the "oily snow" — degraded oil and other organic material that clings to it — was up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) deep on the seafloor, said Columbia oceanographer Ajit Subramaniam.

The graphic information above is from the Thomas Jefferson in early June. The red cylinder is the Macondo well head. Red and yellow columns are oil and gas leaks. Possible oil and gas anomolies are shown by brown, green and white spheres. It'd be interesting to see this information updated.

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