That oil is slick indeed. While we were all distracted by top kills, containment domes, and other measures to plug or catch it, a hundred million gallons of oil slipped ’round the back and… Cleanup crews and radar images earlier this week reported the same surprising news: The oil seems to be disappearing. Where, if not into the 3.41 million feet of containment boom and 7.82 million feet of absorbent boom, did it go?
Most of it got eaten, according to Peter Schlosser, a professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia. He explained that, as the oil mixes with chemical dispersants—two million gallons have been dumped into the water—it gets heavier. Below the surface, bacteria can break down the oil and use it for energy. That simple chemical reaction accounts for the bulk of the disappearing oil, according to Schlosser. As for the rest, “some of it is diluted by the large amount of water in the Gulf, other parts have been burned off, and other parts have washed ashore and collected in the form of tar balls.” Evaporation also accounts for a bit of the oil’s escape from the Gulf, but not much, he adds.
Hungry bacteria are good news for birds, which are less likely to get coated in oil that washes ashore. But the chemical reaction gives off carbon dioxide and lowers oxygen levels, which could upset deep-sea dwellers. But not, unfortunately, the public; asphyxiated fish won’t make for much of a slide show.