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As a writer and photographer covering the oil spill in the Gulf, I've been frustrated by the well-documented efforts by BP and the U.S. Government to limit media access to the damage. The restrictions tightened last week, when the Coast Guard announced rules that prevent the public--including news photographers and reporters--from coming within 20 meters (about 65 feet) of any response vessels or booms on the water or beaches. Violate the "safety zone" rule and you can be slapped with a $40,000 fine and prosecuted under a Class D felony.
Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen defended the buffer, saying it is "not unusual" to enact measures for "marine events" or "fireworks demonstrations."
Local residents photographed the fish kill in Lake Pontchartrain before BP, the Coast Guard and local police could boom and arrest photographers.
Tests results determining the cause of the fish kill are expected to be reported on Monday.
SLIDELL, La. photo by Darrin Johnson
Residents in Slidell spotted dead fish floating ashore on Lake Pontchartrain on Friday, days after oil from the BP spill was first spotted in the lake. Darrin Johnson lives on Carr Drive and said he has seen "thousands of dead fish and crabs" in the canals near his home.
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"It's pretty obvious this is some sort of low oxygen event that has occurred," said John Lopez of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. "It is awfully fortuitous we are seeing this low-oxygen fish kill (after oil was discovered) just two days ago on the lake."
Two new species of batfish were discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately one of the new species lives only in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico in the area affected by BP oil and dispersants. This could be the last time we see the little guy.
Two new species of bottom-dwelling "walking" fish have been found in the Gulf of Mexico—right in the path of the Gulf oil spill, experts say.
Small enough to fit in a person's palm, members of the two species of pancake batfish might already be threatened by the ongoing Deepwater Horizon spill and the oil-dispersing chemicals being used in its cleanup, experts say.
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It's also unclear whether the right kinds of microbes exist in deep ocean to digest the oil once it's broken up by dispersants, Chakrabarty pointed out.
"How the oil breaks down and how it's affecting the fish is totally unknown. This shouldn't have been done without a study beforehand," he added. "I'm afraid that next year when there's no oil on the surface, people will forget about it. People are going to say everything's fine in the Gulf, when in fact terrible things are still going on below the surface."
Today, July 9, a red plume of oxidized iron in the oil marks the spot of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.
In this MODIS aqua satellite true color image, oil tainted water has a reddish brown hue.
Today's MODIS Terra satellite pass caught the BP oil in a different light that shows multiple slivery slicks of BP oil extending well into the middle of the Gulf of Mexico west of the Mississippi river delta.
The Texas tarballs are probably associated with the reddish brown tainted water off of the Texas coast. Today's multiple photos should be very helpful to experts in satellite photo interpretation because they capture the oil slicks in different light just several hours apart. These images show how a subtle red-brown tint can be revealed as a shiny silvery surface slick in the glint of the sun. The Terra photo shows silvery slicks hundreds of miles into the center of the gulf, but does not reveal the full extent of the slick to the east and west.
A modeling study shows the huge area that could be affected by oil, dispersants and oil weathering products over the coming year. The model does not allow for oil to be digested or evaporated by biological, physical or chemical processes.
This model isn't realistic because it doesn't account for the breakdown of oil. Realistically, most of the environmental damage will be in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This video shows the region that could be affected by oil and oil degradation products over the next year.
UV light at night exposes oil as bright white on a purple background of clean sand. UV light may aid in cleanup efforts.
The BP oil spill mothership has all the links. Don't forget to give it a rec.