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Summary Oil from the BP spill remains stuck to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. According to scientists, video proof shows that the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor. The report contradicts that the damage by the BP spill will be well by 2012.
At the Advancement of Science annual conference in Washington, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia aired early results of her December submarine dives around the BP spill site. She expected the oil and residue from oil-munching microbes would be gone by then. Theres some sort of a bottleneck we have yet to identify for why this stuff doesnt seem to be degrading, Joye said at the conference. Her research and those of her colleagues contrasts with other studies that show a more optimistic outlook about the health of the gulf. The head of the agency in charge of the health of the Gulf said that she thought that most of the oil is gone. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab scientist, Terry Hazen said his research differs from Joyes because they looked at different places at different times. Joyes research was more widespread, she did five different expeditions; the last one in December when Joye and colleagues took 250 cores of the sea floor and travelled across 2,600 square miles. Joye and three colleagues last week published a study in Nature Geoscience that said the amount of gas injected into the Gulf was the equivalent of between 1.5 and 3 million barrels of oil.Earlier this month, Kenneth Feinberg, the governments oil compensation fund czar, said based on research he commissioned he figured the Gulf of Mexico would almost fully recover by 2012. On the other hand Joye states, Ive been to the bottom. Ive seen what it looks like and its not going to be fine by 2012.
