Scientists just back from a research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico report finding dead and dying corals in the vicinity of the now-plugged oil well blowout.
Researchers who spent three weeks exploring the Gulf aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel Ronald H. Brown say they observed deep-water corals on the sea bottom with sloughing tissue and discoloration about seven miles southwest of the Macondo wellhead. Large patches appeared to be covered with what scientists described as a "brown substance."
Scientists say they won't know if the brown substance is oil, or if the coral damage is related to the spill, until they've been able to analyze samples retrieved and brought back to the laboratory. You may recall I blogged earlier this week that University of Maryland aquatic toxicologist Carys Mitchelmore found in lab tests that corals suffer even if the oil is dispersed chemically, as happened with much of the light crude that leaked from the Deepwater Horizon drill rig blowout. For more on the expedition's findings, go here.
(A single colony of coral with dying and dead sections (on left), apparently living tissue (top right) and bare skeleton with very sickly looking brittle star on the base. Photo courtesy of Lophelia II 2010 Expedition, NOAA)