U.S. Geological Survey discovers 2,000 year old coral reef near the BP Gulf oil well
Federal scientists say they have dated coral living near the site of the busted BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico at 2,000 years old.
The U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday it had determined the age of the black coral in the Gulf for the first time. Scientists had been studying the ancient slow-growing corals before BP’s well blew out on April 20, 2010. The corals were found about 21 miles northeast of the BP well living 1,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf.
“They’re extremely old and extremely slow-growing,” said Nancy Prouty, a USGS scientist. “And there are big questions about their vulnerability and their ability for recovery.”
Black corals feed on organic matter sinking to the sea floor and it could take decades, or even centuries, to recover from “a disturbance to these ecosystems,” Prouty said.
She said scientists were looking at whether the ancient coral had been damaged by the BP oil spill, but the damage assessment had not been completed.
The location of the black coral is important because computer models and research cruises have mapped much of the deepwater oil moving to the southwest of the BP well, away from the black coral colony. Scientists have found dead coral southwest of the well.
However, Prouty said the surface oil slick was over the black coral colony during the spill.
I wonder what Sarah would do with this news?