Gulf coral damage from BP oil spill ‘worse than first thought’

Gulf coral damage from the massive BP oil spill is more extensive than previously thought, according to a new study that revealed sick and dying corals in the rich, deep-water environment off the coasts of Alabama and Mississippi known as the Pinnacles. Using remotely operated submarines, researchers explored the Pinnacle Reef in September 2011 and found more than 400 coral colonies were injured. Corals — such as sea whips, sea fans and black corals — were covered in a scum of dead tissues and oily residue. Some showed severe damage, such as bare skeletons and missing branches.

The area we have looked at so far is only the tip of the iceberg.

Ian MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University

These colonies are found about 35 miles to 68 miles to the north of BP PLC’s blown-out well, which spewed more than 130 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Previous discoveries of coral damage were found south of the BP well and in much deeper water. The coral in the Pinnacles live about 200 feet under the water surface. The Pinnacles is a rocky outcropping on the Continental Shelf about 70 miles off the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama. The study was conducted by a team of Florida State University researchers and federal scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was also done as part of the work to assess damage from the spill, the so-called natural resources damage assessment. The study is set to be published in Deep-Sea Research, an oceanography journal.

It is a new region and a new ecosystem showing impact.

Erik Cordes, a deep-sea marine scientist familiar with the Pinnacles Reef study

World Gulf of Mexico