UGA scientists say Gulf Oil spill still a threat

By Jeanne Bonner

Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia scientists analyzing the impact of the Gulf oil spill say most of the oil has not disappeared. That contradicts a federal report released last week that says an estimated 75 percent of the oil has evaporated or been dispersed. The UGA scientists arrive in the Gulf region this week to continue their research.

The UGA scientists say it's unclear how much oil has evaporated because only oil on the surface can evaporate. They believe much of the oil is probably under the surface.

Charles Hopkinson is a professor of marine sciences at UGA.

"The only way this oil can evaporate is for it to get up to the surface and come into contact with the atmosphere," Hopkinson said on a conference call Tuesday morning. "So we know this oil was released at 1800 meters and a lot of this oil is trapped between the warm surface waters and the deeper, colder bottom waters."

The UGA team is led by Dr. Samantha Joye. It has been examining the impact of the oil spill since May. On Tuesday, Joye renewed calls for federal experts to look at the impact of methane. When an oil well is tapped, methane, also known as natural gas, is in the crude that gushes out.

"I would argue that not only is there a lot of oil remaining in the system but there's also a tremendous amount of gas in the system that's not being accounted for," Joye said.

Micro-organisms are eating up some of the methane, but to do so, they require oxygen. Joye and others are worried they will deplete oxygen needed by the sea life.

The UGA team will spend a month in the Gulf, measuring the amount of methane and oil in the water. For WABE News, I'm Jeanne Bonner.