Location of Spilled Oil From 2010 Deepwater Horizon Event Found

Chipmunk100 writes: A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (abstract) claims to have identified the location of two million barrels of submerged oil thought to be trapped in the deep ocean following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. By analyzing data from more than 3,000 samples collected at 534 locations over 12 expeditions, they identified a 1,250-square-mile patch of the deep sea floor upon which 2 to 16 percent of the discharged oil was deposited. The fallout of oil to the sea floor created thin deposits most intensive to the southwest of the Macondo well. The oil was most concentrated within the top half inch of the sea floor and was patchy even at the scale of a few feet."

Comments

Re:Think about it

[MightyMartian]

Evaporation and emulsification; evaporation leaves behind the heavier components of oil, emulsification creates a seawater-oil mixture that will sink.

There's also all the dispersants that BP flung at the leak, whose long-term effects probably still aren't fully understood.

Re:No Worries

[Bill_the_Engineer]

I think you just experienced backlash that stems from BP trying to use natural seeps to downplay the magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon event. Living on the gulf coast I experienced first hand their spin doctors at work telling us about natural seeps and microbes that eat crude oil.

From the large tar balls washing up on our beaches, the residue that stayed in our marshes, the deaths of marine animals and the increased erosion from the death of grasses and trees along the waterline, only a fool would have fell for their bullshit.

I know that you only meant to bring up a natural phenomena but bringing up the topic of natural seeps in a story about the Deepwater Horizon does make you look like a shill for BP.