BP oil spill in 2010 left an oily bathtub ring on the sea floor the size of Rhode Island

Scientists have discovered yet another unforeseen effect of BP’s historic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico: a 1,235-square-mile “bathub ring” of oil on the deep ocean’s floor.

Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science on Monday showed that approximately 10 million gallons of oil settled and coagulated on the floor of the Gulf near the Deepwater Horizon rig, which spilled a total of 172 million gallons of oil into the ocean in April 2010.

LINK (via:Think Progress)

BP disputes the claim.

Gulf Coast Islands: Now You See 'Em, Now You...??

Four years have passed since the BP Oil and Gas Disaster began in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the lasting damage from that spill is just becoming apparent. One possibility: the acceleration of wetlands loss and coastal erosion due to the die-off of marsh vegetation.

Using the Historical Imagery tool in Google Earth, it's easy to see how quickly some of these islands, which provide important habitat for shorebirds and migrating songbirds, are disappearing.

LINK (via:Skytruth)

BP settles with US for $4.5 billion in Gulf spill

BP said Thursday that it will pay $4.5 billion in a settlement with the U.S. government over the massive 2010 oil spill and will plead guilty to felony counts related to the deaths of 11 workers and lying to Congress.

The figure includes nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines — the largest such penalty ever — along with payments to several government entities.

LINK (via:The LA Times)

Blown-out BP well in Gulf officially declared dead

Scott Adams

Ding dong the well is dead.  LINK (Via: MSNBC)

Massive fish kill reported in Louisiana

What you see above isn't a rural gravel road. It's a Louisiana waterway, its surface completely covered with dead sea life -- a mishmash of species of fish, crabs, stingray and eel. New Orleans CBS affiliate WWL-TV reports that even a whale was found dead in the area.

Fish kills are fairly common along the Gulf Coast, particularly during the summer in the area near the mouth of the Mississippi, the site of this kill. The area is rife with dead zones -- stretches where sudden oxygen depletion can cause widespread death. But those kills tend to be limited to a single species of fish, rather than the broad sort of die-off involved in this kill.

And therein lies the concern of Gulf residents, who suspect this may be yet another side effect of the catastrophic BP oil spill.

LINK ( Via Yahoo News)

Eau De Deepwater

When oil from BP’s Deepwater Horizon well finally stops gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, the decision about whether to reopen at least 81,000 square miles of waters to commercial fishing will rest with the trained noses and palates of a secret panel of nearly two dozen seafood sniffers. 

There are between 60 and 70 people in the U.S. trained as expert seafood sensory assessors, about 16 of those experts specialize in petroleum taint.

LINK (Via: NBC Field Notes)