Rebecca Boyle of Popular Science reported on January 7 of 2010 that zooplankton have eaten much of the plume of spilled oil from the Deepwater Horizon Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers from East Carolina University and the University of Maryland formed a research team able to match a "fingerprint" of Macondo oil through certain aromatic hydrocarbons that are present. The team’s results were published in Geographical Research Letters.
Details at:
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/deepwater-horizon-oil-entered-ocean-food-chain-through-tiny-plankton
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"Within four months of the oil spill, bacterial blooms had removed more than 200,000 metric tons of
dissolved methane, returning concentrations to normal background levels.
"That was a surprise, because in mid-June, scientists found methane concentrations nearly 100,000 times above normal levels, and learned it was decomposing slowly, suggesting it would take years for the hydrocarbon to dissipate."
-- http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/bacteria-ate-all-methane-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-new-study-says
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"Remember how we also told you about the added variable of politics and money? This finding was partly
funded by research dollars from BP. The funds were from an existing 10-year BP grant and have nothing to do with the oil spill, though.
"Hazen, with Berkeley Lab’s earth sciences division, said the bacteria are adapted to break down oil at very cold temperatures, which was somewhat surprising. It’s the first time anyone has ever studied microbial degradation at such depths."
-- http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-08/bacteria-ate-oil-plume-new-study-says
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Some oil accumulated on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico:
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-09/oil-layer-seafloor-likely-came-bp-well-researchers-say
The blog author cannot ascertain a reliable study showing that microbes have or have not further degraded this accumulation.
Details at:
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/deepwater-horizon-oil-entered-ocean-food-chain-through-tiny-plankton
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"Within four months of the oil spill, bacterial blooms had removed more than 200,000 metric tons of
dissolved methane, returning concentrations to normal background levels.
"That was a surprise, because in mid-June, scientists found methane concentrations nearly 100,000 times above normal levels, and learned it was decomposing slowly, suggesting it would take years for the hydrocarbon to dissipate."
-- http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/bacteria-ate-all-methane-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-new-study-says
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
"Remember how we also told you about the added variable of politics and money? This finding was partly
funded by research dollars from BP. The funds were from an existing 10-year BP grant and have nothing to do with the oil spill, though.
"Hazen, with Berkeley Lab’s earth sciences division, said the bacteria are adapted to break down oil at very cold temperatures, which was somewhat surprising. It’s the first time anyone has ever studied microbial degradation at such depths."
-- http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-08/bacteria-ate-oil-plume-new-study-says
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Some oil accumulated on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico:
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-09/oil-layer-seafloor-likely-came-bp-well-researchers-say
The blog author cannot ascertain a reliable study showing that microbes have or have not further degraded this accumulation.
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