Almost 80% of the oil from Deepwater Horizon disaster remains in the Gulf

Despite what BP and and the media may be reporting, a study by the Georgia Sea Grant and the University of Georgia that was released yesterday stated that almost 80% of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster remains in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The study was written by five prominent marine scientists who analyzed data from the Aug. 2 National Incident Command Report which "calculated an 'oil budget' that was widely interpreted to suggest that only 25 percent of the oil from the spill remained." So that's where the media has been getting the figure of 25% — way off from 80%, eh?

The research group estimated the evaporation and degradation rates, showing that it was "impossible" for that large an amount of oil to just dissolve. Only oil that remained on the surface could have dissolved into the atmosphere by now, whereas there are still large amounts of oil trapped underwater and sitting on the sea floor.

This article appears in Aug 12-18, 2010.