[dirtboy]

Based on measurements taken in late June, the study confirms the existence of an invisible, finely diffused mile-wide swath of oil-infused water that snaked more than 20 miles southwest from the crippled BP PLC well, some 3,000 feet beneath the Gulf's surface. The plume may have stretched even farther, but the scientists had to cut short their late-June research journey in the face of hurricane threats before they found the end of the plume.

Wow. A mile wide and twenty miles long, in a body of water the size of the Gulf. And southwest, away from land.

Along the plume, researchers did not find dissolved oxygen depleting at levels they anticipated, indicating that while bacteria growth was stimulated and likely degrading the oil, there was not a huge swell in microbial life. Bacterial growth can deplete undersea oxygen levels, creating "dead zones" that are harmful to other marine creatures.

So in other words, there doesn't seem to be a signficant ecological impact here.

[Joe 6-pack]

Hindsight is always 20/20, but from the folks I've spoke with in the industry, here in Louisiana, adding the dispersants in deep water was probably a mistake. Had the oil just been allowed to surface, and had the EPA approved burns, this would have, IMHO been more manageable.

Hopefully this whole matter will get an honest assessment from both government and the industry, so that there will be a good bank of data to draw on for future spills.

[colorado tanker]

The original article reporting on the study also said the "oil" "plume" was so finely dispersed you could swim through it and the water would appear clear to you.

They so desperately want to find some crisis to justify shutting down the Gulf oil industry.

[Matchett-PI]

bttt

[editor-surveyor]

“So in other words, there doesn’t seem to be a signficant ecological impact here.”

.
No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!

Don’t say that, then we can’t get federal grants to continue studying this dissipating- er- massive problem.