Massive Coral Die-Off

Massive deep-sea coral die-off found near BP oil disaster source in GOM

Large colonies of bottom-dwelling coral were found covered in a black substance, most probably crude oil, at a depth of about 1,400m (4,600 feet) near the damaged Macondo wellhead, NOAA scientists said.

This dying coral was found covered in a dark substance, near the damaged Macondo wellhead. Could it be oil from the BP oil disaster in GOM? Image source: NOAA

“Corals do die, but you don’t see them die all at once,” said cruise lead scientist Charles Fisher of Penn State University. “This … indicates a recent catastrophic event,” he told National Geographic News.

“The proximity of the site to the disaster, the depth of the site, the clear evidence of recent impact, and the uniqueness of the observations all suggest that the impact we have found is linked to the exposure of this community to either oil, dispersant, extremely depleted oxygen, or some combination of these or other water-borne effects resulting from the spill,” Fisher said.

Related Links

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Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster: Headline News

1. As BP stock plunges to a 14-year Low, UK PM fears the firm’s “destruction”

“It is also in all our long-term interests that there is some clarity, some finality, to all of this, so that we don’t at the same time see the destruction of a company that is important for all our interests,” UK PM David  Cameron told Canadian broadcaster CBC.

2. Gulf braces for storm, halt to oil containment

“Federal officials Friday say a tropical storm or hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico could shut down spill-containment operations at BP’s leaking oil well for two weeks, a report said.

3. Govt asks appeals court to keep deepwater drilling ban

Enemy of Earth Judge Feldman had ordered the moratorium be lifted because he decided it was “too broad” and did not justify the impact on the economy. “On Thursday, he denied a stay request by the Obama administration. ”

4. BP oil spill: Suicide of fisherman ‘distraught at spill’

“Captain William Allen-Kruse was found dead with a gun on board his boat by fellow workers. Coroner Stan Vinson told US media that witnesses believe Mr Kruse, who had been a charter boat fisherman for 20 years, had been distraught at the spill.”

Related Links:

• Tropical Depression One: Forecast
• Black Rain in Louisiana?
• Gulf of Mexico in BP Crosshair
• Methane in Gulf Million Times Above Normal

• Gulf of Mexico Worth More Dead Than Alive: Oil Industry
• World’s Largest Oil Tailing Pond – Satellite Images
• BP Hayward: Frankly, I Couldn’t Give a Damn!
• Oil Disasters