"NEW ORLEANS -- After months of laboratory work, scientists say they can definitively finger oil from BP's blown-out well as the culprit for the slow death of a once brightly colored deep-sea coral community in the Gulf of Mexico that is now brown and dull."
"In a study published Monday, scientists say meticulous chemical analysis of samples taken in late 2010 proves that oil from BP PLC's out-of-control Macondo well devastated corals living about 7 miles southwest of the well. The coral community is located over an area roughly the size of half a football field nearly a mile below the Gulf's surface.
The damaged corals were discovered in October 2010 by academic and government scientists, but it's taken until now for them to declare a definite link to the oil spill."
The Associated Press had the story March 26, 2012.
SEE ALSO:
"Gulf Dolphins Exposed to Oil Are Seriously Ill, Agency Says" (Green/NYT)
"BP Oil Spill’s Sticky Remnants Wash Up Sporadically On Gulf Beaches" (National Geographic)
"Study by NOAA and Partners Shows Some Gulf Dolphins Severely Ill" (NOAA)
"Barataria Bay Dolphins Severely Ill" (Mother Jones)
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