Gulf of Mexico Seafloor Tainted with Oil
A team of oceanographers and chemists from the University of Georgia surveyed an area within 40 miles of the Deepwater Horizon well head in the Gulf of Mexico. Their study included photo and video documentation as well as sample collection. The findings of their work were recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The team found oil deposits that “appear extensive but patchy, and range from little spots of oil on the seafloor to localized blankets of goopy hydrocarbons several inches thick.” Scientists, Samantha Joye, presented images and video of, “eerie strings of bacterial slime – mucus streamers that range from 1 mm to almost 2 m long.” According to findings, the key ingredient in the slime is what Joye is calling, “bacterial spit, “ a substance secreted by oil-eating bacteria that make the oil easier for them to digest. The slime travels through the water picking up debris and becoming heavy and sticky, depositing in globs in the seafloor.
Core samples taken from the spill-impact zone showed the top layer to be devoid of animal life. Joye referred to it as an, “invertebrate graveyard.” During the research expeditions, Joye also saw a significant amounts of dead coral, crab and sea stars. On the surface of the Gulf there were also high numbers of dead, free-floating jelly fish and sea squirts, and worms that were little more than hollow tubes.
Joye also indicated that along with oil, they found other spill-related pollutents that had found their way to the seafloor, namely the chemical remnants of the oil-spill burning.
NOAA Administrator, Jane Lubchenco, in response to the Univeristy findings and sampling conducted by the NOAA, that sampling, “has shown that there is oil – residue or some kind of oil product – on the seafloor.” Lubchenco also said, on behalf of the NOAA, “we believe there needs to be a lot more monitoring on an ongoing basis.”
To read more about the findings, please go to ScienceNews.
