Oil on Surface of Gulf Is Rapidly Disappearing, Officials Say

The massive oil slick that just a month ago threatened extensive sections of the Gulf of Mexico coast has largely disappeared, according to federal officials, scientists, and conservationists. Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said that a “significant amount” of the light crude oil from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon rig is “biodegrading quickly” on the surface of the gulf. Journalists and conservationists who flew over the Gulf in recent days also reported that much of the surface slick has vanished. Lubchenco and other scientists said the slick is rapidly dissipating for a variety of reasons: bacteria in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico have evolved to devour crude oil that naturally seeps from the bottom of the Gulf; the massive clean-up effort, involving more than 1,400 vessels, has succeeded in skimming large quantities of oil from the surface; and the flow of oil was halted on July 15 when BP installed a tight-fitting cap on the well a mile below the surface. But Lubchenco cautioned that large quantities of oil remain in the water column and could adversely affect marine life for years to come.