The vast plume of oil that coated the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of 2010 BP Horizon deep-water drilling disaster is disappearing, and the cause of the big mystery may be some very small organisms.
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) has attributed the oil’s diminished presence to bacterial microbes, according to e! Science News. WHOI’s study sampled water from the surface oil slick and surrounding water from the Gulf. WHOI researchers discovered microbe oil consumption was five times higher in areas where the microbes were in the oil slick versus microbe oil consumption in areas outside of the oil slick. The microbes accelerated consumption surprised analysts.
“We thought microbe respiration was going to be minimal,” Benjamin Van Mooy, WHOI chemist and senior author of the study, reported in a press release. Van Mooy said he and colleagues had anticipated lower levels of consumption due to limited amounts of nutrients vital to microbe cellular regeneration.
The microbes’ rapid ingestion of oil was not the only marvel that stunned researchers. In spite of high consumption levels, the microbes’ population was static. Reproduction is a normal result of accelerated feeding or respiration. So far, scientists are baffled as to why this normal reproductive process did not occur.
“It’s a real mystery,” Van Mooy mused.
While the disappearance of the oil plume is no doubt beneficial, there is some concern as to how the study results will affect the long-term treatment of the disaster. Bethanie Edwards, lead author of the study, worried the findings would encourage carelessness in the future.
“[Oil companies] could say ‘Look we can put oil into the environment and the microbes will eat it,’” Edwards said. She also told the Offshore Magazine, molecules that cannot be reached by the microbes are still present and can have a detrimental impact on the food chain of the Gulf.
There will be a follow-up observation to determine the where the energy created by the microbes’ consumption went, according to the magazine.
News Release: WHOI Study Reports Microbes Consumed Oil in Gulf Slick at Unexpected Rates [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute]
Study of Macondo oil spill in Gulf puzzles scientists [Offshore Magazine]
WHOI study reports microbes consumed oil in Gulf slick at unexpected rates [e! Science News]
Image Credit: AP Photo/Dave Martin