NEW ORLEANS — After months of laboratory work, scientists say
they can definitively finger oil from BP's blown-out well as the
culprit for the slow death of a once brightly colored deep-sea
coral community in the Gulf of Mexico that is now brown and
dull. In a study published Monday, scientists say meticulous
chemical analysis of samples taken in late 2010 proves that oil
from BP PLC's out-of-control Macondo well devastated corals
living about 7 miles southwest of the well. The coral community
is located over an area roughly the size of half a football
field nearly a mile below the Gulf's surface. The damaged corals
were discovered in October 2010 by academic and government
scientists, but it's taken until now for them to declare a
definite link to the oil spill. Most of the Gulf's bottom is
muddy, but coral colonies that pop up every once in a while are
vital oases for marine life in the chilly ocean depths. The
injured and dying coral today has bare skeleton, loose tissue
and is covered in heavy mucous and