BP Oil Spill Left Rhode Island-Sized 'Bathtub Ring' on Seafloor

New research shows that the BP oil spill left an oily "bathtub ring" on the sea floor that's about the size of Rhode Island. The study by UC Santa Barbara’s David Valentine, the chief scientist on the federal damage assessment research ships, estimates that about 10 million gallons of oil coagulated on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico around the damaged Deepwater Horizons oil rig. Valentine said the spill left other splotches containing even more oil. The rig blew on April 20, 2010, and spewed 172 million gallons of oil into the Gulf through the summer. Scientists are still trying to figure where all the oil went and what effects it had.

Valentine and his colleagues identified hot spots of oil fallout near damaged deep-sea corals, suggesting that these corals were damaged by the Deepwater Horizon spill. “The evidence is becoming clear that oily particles were raining down around these deep sea corals, which provides a compelling explanation for the injury they suffered,” Valentine said. The study is in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/bp-oil-spill-left-rhode-island-sized-bathtub-ring-seafloor-n234961