OCEAN SCIENTISTS in the Gulf of Mexico have found giant plumes of oil coagulating at up to 1,300m (4,265ft) below the surface, raising fears the BP oil spill may be larger than had been thought and that it might create huge “dead zones”.
Experts from the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology have been traversing the area around the location of the Deepwater Horizon, the rig that exploded and sank on April 20th.
Using the latest sampling techniques, they have identified plumes up to 20 miles away from the Deepwater Horizon well head, which continues to spew oil into the water at a rate of at least 790,000 litres a day. The largest plume found so far was 90 metres thick, 4.8km (three miles) wide and 16.1km (10 miles) long.
Samantha Joyce, marine science professor at the University of Georgia, who is working on the project, said: “The plumes are abundant throughout the region.”
The discovery came as BP struggled for a third day to implement its latest attempt to minimise the spillage. The firm is trying to insert a tube into the riser pipe from which the oil is spewing, which may allow it to siphon off oil to a collecting tanker. However, all attempts to make the connection have so far failed.
There were reports yesterday it had finally succeeded in inserting the tube into the broken pipe, a procedure that has been likened to threading the eye of a needle.
BP has yet to confirm that it has pulled off the manoeuvre, and it remains unclear whether the tube would be able to siphon off substantial amounts of oil. Even under best case projections, some oil would still enter the sea.
The presence of huge strings of oil deep underwater has puzzled scientists on the research vessel Pelican, which has returned to dock after two weeks at sea. The assumption had been that all the oil would rise to the surface, but some has formed into multiple layers suspended in varying thicknesses deep in the water.
There is speculation that the plumes, first reported by the New York Times, might be forming as a result of BP’s use of dispersants injected close to the source of the spillage at the sea floor.
The technique has never before been used, and scientists are now wondering whether the dispersants are causing the oil to coagulate into relatively large clumps which remain suspended below the surface.
One concern linked to the plumes is that the oil will reduce oxygen levels in the water as micro-organisms work to decompose it. In some parts of the Gulf, oxygen levels are already almost one-third below normal. If they should fall below levels needed to support life, dead zones devoid of all marine creatures could be created.
As scientific knowledge grows about the environmental impact of the oil spill, pressure is mounting on both BP and the Obama administration. – (Guardian service)