Corals Affected by the BP Spill
The scientists have found signs of damage on the corals which were located in the proximity of the BP well, the same well which caused the biggest environmental disaster in history. They say that it is a reason to worry, as this could indicate the fact that the damage done by the spill might be much higher than it was initially estimated.
It seems that other marine life was affected by the oil as well, but the scientists will need to conduct certain tests first, in order to make sure that the corals were not killed by other causes. Most of the scientists are convinced that the oil caused the destruction; however they will make the tests in order to be 100 percent positive about it. Charles Fisher, who is a biologist with Penn State University, and who is the man who led the expedition aboard the Ronald Brown, stated that everything indicates that the oil was responsible for the damage done to the marine life.
These findings contradict the predictions made by the government, which were very optimistic. Right after the incident was completely over; they stated that the water has the capacity of absorbing the oil on its own, and that the chances of contamination are very slim. They also stated that about 70 percent of the oil which was spilled into the water was eliminated by the natural processes and by the people who were in charge of the cleaning, and that the remaining 30 percent will not be too much of a problem. The bottom of the Gulf is muddy, but even so, the coral appeared in the area once in a while. The coral was extremely important for the area because it provided habitat for various types of fish and snails, and other types of marine life.
The problem is that the coral grows very slow, for example it fully grows in about ten years, and it is very fragile, as every little change can cause its damage. Another problem is the fact that the area is very large, and it can not be examined even with the most advanced technologies. They might never find out what actually happened down there. The researchers stated that when they analyzed the area they saw that the corals were brown, and that is a clear sign that something is wrong. The corals should be full of color, and they weren’t which means that they were affected by something. They want tot analyze the places located in the proximity of this one which has been affected by the spill in order to make sure that they did not suffer as well.11
