Study Says Gulf Oil Spill Caused Manhattan-Size Plume

Still images taken June 1 by a remote-operated camera descending through the Gulf of Mexico just southwest of the well site showed what scientists called a "highly turbid" layer of emulsified oil between 1,065 meters and 1,300 meters deep.

At the height of the Deepwater Horizon spill, oil escaping from the damaged well was trapped underwater in a drifting plume of hydrocarbons the size of Manhattan and helped turn the Gulf of Mexico into a test-tube of experimental petroleum chemistry, scientists who probed the submerged spill region said Thursday.

Their new findings add to evidence from several other independent research groups this week that the offshore spill—the largest in history—is confounding expectations about the behavior of oil and water.

By confirming the existence of this submerged plume, the new data also challenge government estimates that the vast majority of the 4.9 million barrels of spilled oil is already gone from the Gulf or being rapidly broken down by bacteria, several marine experts said.

more

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703791804575439551236042216.html

;-)