Weather oil slick found south of New Orleans

Sea water off the coast of New Orleans is being tested after a large area of discoloured water was discovered this weekend, prompting fears that it could be oil from the Deepwater horizon oil spill.

Tests on the water will be able to confirm whether the discolouration, which is suspected to be oil, actually originated from the Macondo well. There also appears to be a large algal bloom in the area which Jeff Hall, from United Area Command says could account for some of the discolouration.

Two reconnaissance flights and two sea going vessels checked the waters on Saturday and discovered that the area in question is around 2.5 miles long and 300 yards wide. Mr Hall stated that it appears to be

“some kind of silvery, weathered oil”.

The BP spill happened over six months ago and although we were led to believe that most of the spilled oil had been dispersed and collected by booms, some researchers are claiming that large quantities of oil are being found on the sea bed. Fishermen are also claiming to have found mile-long strands of weathered oil floating on the sea surface.