Coral Miles Away From 2010 BP Oil Spill Still Shows Damage

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Four years after a BP oil rig exploded and flooded the Gulf of Mexico with an estimated 170 million gallons of oil, scientists have discovered further evidence of coral communities affected by this environmental disaster.

Scientists at Pennsylvania State University, in State College, Pennsylvania, found coral communities that show signs of damage from 2010's Deepwater Horizon oil spill more than 12 miles from the disaster site. The new findings suggest that the oil spill's footprint is both deeper and wider than was previously thought.

"This study very clearly shows that multiple coral communities, up to 22 kilometers [13.7 miles] from the spill site and at depths over 1,800 meters [5,905 feet], were impacted by the spill," Charles Fischer, a professor of biology at Penn State and co-author of the study, said in a statement. Read more...

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