US Person used the term "dead zone" in discussing the possible effects of the unprecedented oil gusher now polluting the entire Gulf of Mexico. The term is appropriate, and not just idle hyperbole. Scientists who have
surveyed the Gulf for methane levels have found levels of methane as much as 100,000 times normal within a five mile radius of the wellhead. Such high concentrations of methane below the surface can cause bacterial blooms that consume the natural gas and deplete oxygen dissolved in seawater. The survey team found areas were oxygen was depleted up to 30% of normal. If depletion of oxygen continues, "dead zones", where no other marine life can survive are created. An earlier
scientific study found giant oil clouds beneath the surface in which methane levels were recorded at extremely high levels. (10,000 times background level). This study confirmed earlier findings by a third team from the University of South Florida. More studies are needed as the conditions do not appear to be uniform, and surface levels of methane are approximately normal.
