Previously unknown microbe ate BP oil deep-water plume

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment CorrespondentTue Aug 24, 2010 5:25pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Manhattan-sized plume of oil spewed deep into the Gulf of Mexico by BP’s broken Macondo well has been consumed by a newly discovered fast-eating species of microbes, scientists reported on Tuesday.   The micro-organisms were apparently stimulated by the massive oil spill […]

Mysterious biological residue washing ashore in Alabama

By Ben Raines, Press-Register Sunday, August 22, 2010, 5:30 AM     Scientists are intrigued by the heavy sheen and persistent clouds of dingy brown water washing up in pockets from Perdido Pass to Petit Bois Island since July. Waves carrying the brown water ashore leave a conspicuous amber stain on the white sand. A recent snorkeling […]

Deep plumes of oil expected to cause dead zones in the Gulf that last ‘a couple of years’

(American Geophysical Union) A new simulation of oil and methane leaked into the Gulf of Mexico suggests that deep hypoxic zones or “dead zones” could form near the source of the pollution. The research investigates five scenarios of oil and methane plumes at different depths and incorporates an estimated rate of flow from the Deepwater […]

Cape Cod waterways face pollution crisis — ‘It looks beautiful, but it’s all dead underneath’

By KATIE ZEZIMAPublished: August 17, 2010 ORLEANS, Mass. — Rising nitrogen levels are suffocating the vegetation and marine life in saltwater ponds and estuaries on Cape Cod, creating an environmental and infrastructure problem that, if left unchecked, will threaten the shellfishing industry, the tourist economy and the beaches that lure so many summer visitors. More […]

BP / Gulf spill: 172 million gallons of oil, 11.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas

SkyTruthWednesday, August 18, 2010 Scientists vehemently disagreed with the brief report issued by the federal government on August 4 that some interpreted as evidence that most of the oil spilled from BP’s Macondo well was … gone. Researchers at the University of Georgia issued their own report yesterday, claiming that nearly 80% of the oil […]

Coastal creatures may have reduced ability to fight off infections in hypoxic, acidified oceans

Provided by American Physiological SocietyAugust 5, 2010 Human impact is causing lower oxygen and higher carbon dioxide levels in coastal water bodies. Increased levels of carbon dioxide cause the water to become more acidic, having dramatic effects on the lifestyles of the wildlife that call these regions home. The problems are expected to worsen if […]

Mediterranean marine life in greatest peril, census shows

Bombs, the invasion of alien species and pollution among threats facing fish in the enclosed sea, according to study By Alok Jha, www.guardian.co.uk Monday 2 August 2010 21.05 BST Marine life in the Mediterranean faces the greatest risk of damage and death, the Census of Marine Life shows. “Enclosed seas have the risk that, when […]

Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ largest on record, overlaps BP spill zone

  By Deborah Zabarenko; editing by Doina ChiacuMon Aug 2, 2010 1:36pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) – This year’s low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest ever, about the size of Massachusetts, and overlaps areas hit by oil from BP’s broken Macondo well, Louisiana scientists report. The area of hypoxia, […]

Gulf of Mexico has long been dumping site — ‘Too far gone to salvage’

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSONPublished: July 29, 2010 HOUMA, La. — Loulan Pitre Sr. was born on the Gulf Coast in 1921, the son of an oysterman. Nearly all his life, he worked on the water, abiding by the widely shared faith that the resources of the Gulf of Mexico were limitless. As a young Marine staff […]

Oceans in peril: Primed for mass extinction?

By Wynne Parry, Senior Writer29 July 2010 07:39 am ET One hundred days ago Thursday, the oil rig Deepwater Horizon began spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico. As profoundly as the leak of millions of barrels of oil is injuring the Gulf ecosystem, it is only one of many threats to the Earth’s oceans […]

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