Plumes Report Rejected by NOAA Lubchenco

Gas Flaring from Siphon Tube.

Massive Oil Spill BP

Robert, Louisiana (Hollywood Backstage) -- NOAA has broadly rejected media reports concerning oil plumes discovered by Pelican research scientists.

"Nothing like it has really ever been seen in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico before," Samantha Joye, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Georgia, told CNN's "American Morning." "It's not only a large feature, but it's a very complex feature. There's a lot of vertical structure to it."

NOAA scientists have rejected media reports that the layers detected by the Pelican research vessel are in fact oil.

According to an NPR report: "There's also sort of an unknown here, and that is the effect of the dispersants," Vernon Asper, a professor of marine science at the University of Southern Mississippi said. "We don't know what the dispersants are really doing to this deep oil. It's possible that they will affect the way these plumes act. And, in fact, these plumes could be the result of them adding dispersants already."

NOAA rejects the hypothesis that oxygen levels are a concern at this time. They also find nothing to indicate that subsea dispersants are connected in any way to the subsurface layers discovered by the Pelican scientists.

According to NOAA:

"Media reports related to the research work conducted aboard the R/V Pelican included information that was misleading, premature and, in some cases, inaccurate. Yesterday the independent scientists clarified three important points:

1. No definitive conclusions have been reached by this research team about the composition of the undersea layers they discovered. Characterization of these layers will require analysis of samples and calibration of key instruments. The hypothesis that the layers consist of oil remains to be verified.

2. While oxygen levels detected in the layers were somewhat below normal, they are not low enough to be a source of concern at this time.

3. Although their initial interest in searching for subsurface oil was motivated by consideration of subsurface use of dispersants, there is no information to connect use of dispersants to the subsurface layers they discovered.

NOAA thanks the Pelican scientists and crew for repurposing their previously scheduled mission to gather information about possible impacts of the BP oil spill. We eagerly await results from their analyses and share with them the goal of disseminating accurate information. 

NOAA continues to work closely with EPA and the federal response team to monitor the presence of oil and the use of surface and sub-surface dispersants. As we have emphasized, dispersants are not a silver bullet. They are used to move us towards the lesser of two environmental outcomes. Until the flow of oil is stemmed, we must take every responsible action to reduce the impact of the oil.”

Ocean Oil Spill

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